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Title: The moral life of Adderall : health, empowerment, and responsibility in the era of pharmaceuticalization
Creator: Daniels, Tazin Karim
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTTHE MORAL LIFE OF ADDERALL: HEALTH, EMPOWERMENT, AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE ERA OF PHARMACEUTICALIZATIONByTazin Karim DanielsMy dissertation is an ethnographic exploration of how pharmaceutical morality is challenged, negotiated, and reconstructed across the social life of prescription stimulants. It is situated within the modern American university, where students are experimenting with drugs such as Adderall and Vyvanse in an attempt to improve academic performances. Sanctioned for...
Show moreABSTRACTTHE MORAL LIFE OF ADDERALL: HEALTH, EMPOWERMENT, AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE ERA OF PHARMACEUTICALIZATIONByTazin Karim DanielsMy dissertation is an ethnographic exploration of how pharmaceutical morality is challenged, negotiated, and reconstructed across the social life of prescription stimulants. It is situated within the modern American university, where students are experimenting with drugs such as Adderall and Vyvanse in an attempt to improve academic performances. Sanctioned for the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these powerful medications require a doctor’s prescription to access legally. However, studies indicate that they are commonly circulated among peers, leading to proscribed consumption rates of up to 43% in some college populations. Existing research focuses primarily on the motivations of the illicit user and describes their pharmaceutical choices according to neoliberal logics. I build on this work by also considering the moral logics that students rely on to rationalize their controversial behaviors. Moreover, I examine how these logics are translated and absorbed as they filter through the economic, medical, and academic landscapes that circumscribe the user experience. This includes questions of safety, fairness, legality, and efficacy posed by pharmaceutical advertisers, heath service providers, and drug dealers – many of whom contribute to definitions of “responsible” stimulant use in the university setting. Data for this project was based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted from 2012 to 2014 at a large public institution, which I refer to as “American State University.” It is centered around semi-structured interviews and participant observations with 45 undergraduates, aimed at explicating the the complex set of values and concerns that are associated with Adderall in the college environment. I interacted with these individuals over 12 to 24 months in various capacities as they avoided, procured, distributed and consumed stimulants in public and private settings. To provide context for these student-centered experiences, I also conducted a critical discourse analysis of select direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical marketing campaigns and interacted with medical and educational professionals on and around campus. In combination, these methods provided key insights into how discourses around responsible stimulant use were constructed and diffused by these various actors during their interactions with students. My findings suggest that engagements with prescription stimulants have become a fundamental part of how numerous students construct themselves and are constructed by others as healthy, empowered, and responsible individuals. In particular, the flexibility of Adderall as a medication, enhancement, and recreational drug allowed both users and providers to mold its symbolic meaning into a form that would complement or enhance their moral sense of self. However, my data illustrates how flexibility can lead to instability as students struggled to make sense of the social and chemical implications they experienced during circulation and consumption. I argue that this instability triggered what Zigon (2007) describes as “moments of moral breakdown” which were based in concerns over medical non-compliance, malingering, social stigma, drug dealing, academic dishonesty, and addiction. My multi-methodological approach allowed me to document the strategies informants developed to preclude and respond to these moments of moral breakdown, and the multiple functions of Adderall within these rationales. As a result, my research provides ethnographic evidence to better understand how students manage the double-edged flexibility/instability of prescription stimulant use in order to operate unreflectively in an increasingly pharmaceuticalized environment.
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Title: Integration of planning, design, and construction to train 21st century urban professionals
Creator: Dalton, Robert
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The built environment professions are struggling as budgets decrease and scope and importance increase. Attempting to save money, clients are turning to multidisciplinary offices for all-in-one service. Higher education can respond to these shifting trends by preparing the students for a growth mindset and openness to the ideas constructed by a team rather than an individual. Integrative learning may foster such minds. Integrative learning concerns the building of cognitive connections from...
Show moreThe built environment professions are struggling as budgets decrease and scope and importance increase. Attempting to save money, clients are turning to multidisciplinary offices for all-in-one service. Higher education can respond to these shifting trends by preparing the students for a growth mindset and openness to the ideas constructed by a team rather than an individual. Integrative learning may foster such minds. Integrative learning concerns the building of cognitive connections from one skill or piece of knowledge to the next. This study found cultural areas shared among professions as well as those distinct to one profession. These cultural attributes group into four categories: axiology, epistemology, methodology, and ontology. All professions rate learning (epistemology) the required skills best while they work in offices, rather than their time in higher education. Methodologies include the tasks accomplished to plan, design, and build a project and the tools used to do so. Each profession brings their own contributions to problem solving and uses varied software to accomplish their means. These contributions are highly related to the corresponding values (axiology), though mean ratings indicate a high value for a task even if it is not one’s own. The study concludes by assessing the products (ontology) that may be created by the professions most likely to work together. The teams coming together most often represent the professions of the exterior spaces, building and interior spaces, and the legal and real estate professions. Employers and educators alike may use this information to understand the differences among the professional cultures and how bridging these divides or allowing gaps to remain can impact the project delivery.
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Title: The situational prevention of wildlife poaching in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia
Creator: Kahler, Jessica Siders
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This research assessed poaching risks associated with endangered species in Indonesia, examined stakeholder perceptions of risk, and situational factors associated with poaching-related crimes. Wildlife poaching is a global risk that threatens biological, ecological, economic, and socio-cultural systems. Poaching has become increasingly more organized, violent, and lucrative and is now considered a serious threat to regional and global security in addition to biodiversity conservation. As a...
Show moreThis research assessed poaching risks associated with endangered species in Indonesia, examined stakeholder perceptions of risk, and situational factors associated with poaching-related crimes. Wildlife poaching is a global risk that threatens biological, ecological, economic, and socio-cultural systems. Poaching has become increasingly more organized, violent, and lucrative and is now considered a serious threat to regional and global security in addition to biodiversity conservation. As a biodiversity hotspot with the fourth largest human population, Indonesia faces numerous conservation and development challenges including poaching. The contemporary upsurge in wildlife poaching has led to the conservation community to substantially increase traditional enforcement efforts (e.g., rangers, patrols) with a growing acknowledgment of the need to develop more diverse responses to wildlife crime prevention. Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) is a pragmatic application of criminological-based opportunity theories and is appealing for application to poaching because of the immediacy of crime reduction and the proactive, rather than reactive, nature of the techniques aimed to reduce criminal opportunities. Advancing SCP applications within the context of wildlife poaching answers calls to diversify the response, draws on a substantial body of knowledge within criminology, and could provide much needed cost-efficient poaching reduction in the short term. This research merged theory from risk and decision sciences, criminology, and natural resource management to bridge this conservation and criminology gap by using the SCP framework to guide research with field-based conservation practitioners and communities surrounding Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP) in Sumatra, Indonesia. The broad research objectives of this research were to: 1) Investigate the dimensions of wildlife guardianship (i.e., willingness to intervene) and influence of demographic variables and interdisciplinary constructs (e.g., crime seriousness, risk perception, wildlife value orientations) on intentions to serve as a wildlife guardian; 2) Develop an interdisciplinary, wildlife target suitability model that could serve as an explanatory and predictive tool for understanding poaching within BBSNP; and 3) Use the SCP framework to guide a focus group with conservation practitioners to describe the characteristics that make Sumatran tigers suitable as a poaching target, poacher modus operandi, and to brainstorm strategies under an expanded suite of techniques for SCP. Data herein provide novel understanding about the willingness of residents in BBSNP communities to intervene as wildlife guardians, advances an ecologically-informed model to understand and predict species-specific targeting by poachers, and captures conservation practitioners’ rapid assessment of the SCP of tiger poaching including identification of priority spaces within and around BBSNP where developed techniques need to be implemented. In producing new knowledge this research makes theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions to the extant literature on guardianship, target suitability models, and the SCP framework within the context of wildlife poaching.
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Title: The relationship between diet and aggression in adolescents
Creator: Healey, Lauren E.
Date: 2012
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Based on the biosocial theoretical perspective, this study seeks to incorporate the biological sciences in explaining maladaptive behaviors that predict criminal activity. More specifically, this study examines how dietary intake can influence the externalizing problem behaviors of adolescents. While the relationship between nutrition and physiological functioning has been well established, research examining diet modification as a preventative strategy for decreasing aggression and, thus,...
Show moreBased on the biosocial theoretical perspective, this study seeks to incorporate the biological sciences in explaining maladaptive behaviors that predict criminal activity. More specifically, this study examines how dietary intake can influence the externalizing problem behaviors of adolescents. While the relationship between nutrition and physiological functioning has been well established, research examining diet modification as a preventative strategy for decreasing aggression and, thus, potentially mitigating subsequent crime is still relatively new. This study finds that the consumption of soda/juice drinks and fast food significantly increases the probability of externalizing problem behaviors within adolescents. Meanwhile, the consumption of green salads significantly decreases this likelihood. This work supports the provision of nutritional and supplemental aid to children in need, and suggests that early nutrition-based intervention can be an effective and low-cost solution to treating children exhibiting those behaviors shown to predict criminal activity. This work also provides evidence supporting a biological approach to understanding crime causation and validates the presence and usefulness of the biosocial theories within criminology.
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Title: EXAMINING POLITICAL RADICALIZATION USING SIGNIFICANCE QUEST THEORY (TERRORISM JUSTIFYING IDEOLOGY FRAMEWORK)
Creator: Pezeshki Rad, Pardis
Date: 2020
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: ABSTRACTEXAMINING POLITICAL RADICALIZATION USING SIGNIFICANCE QUEST THEORY (TERRORISM JUSTIFYING IDEOLOGY FRAMEWORK)ByPardis Pezeshki RadOne framework of radicalization, called Significance Quest Theory (SQT), is based on assumptions that an individual’s quest for personal significance is the lead factor in promoting political radicalization. Under the framework of Significance Quest Theory (SQT), an individual is pushed towards political radicalization through three distinct means: needs,...
Show moreABSTRACTEXAMINING POLITICAL RADICALIZATION USING SIGNIFICANCE QUEST THEORY (TERRORISM JUSTIFYING IDEOLOGY FRAMEWORK)ByPardis Pezeshki RadOne framework of radicalization, called Significance Quest Theory (SQT), is based on assumptions that an individual’s quest for personal significance is the lead factor in promoting political radicalization. Under the framework of Significance Quest Theory (SQT), an individual is pushed towards political radicalization through three distinct means: needs, narratives, and networks. These factors have been found to increase terrorism involvement, yet quantitative studies are meager. This thesis represents needs, narratives and networks with locus of control, modernization, reliance on religious leaders, and religiosity to examine how these are related to political radicalization among a sample of youth. Using a secondary dataset of 928 youth from Egypt (Alexandria, El-Minya, Cairo) and 954 youth from Saudi Arabia (Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam/Khobar), the present study assessed whether needs, narratives and networks as represented by locus of control, modernization, relying on religious leaders, and religiosity are relevant factors in explaining political radicalization (Moaddel, Karabenick, & Thornton, 2010).
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Title: Influences of time, temperature, and quantity on next-generation 16S bacterial DNA profiles for forensic soil evidence analysis
Creator: Badgley, Alyssa Jo
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Soil is a common form of trace evidence, although it usually qualifies only as class evidence. Microbiological methods have been used to assess if the microbial makeup, primarily bacterial, of soil might be valuable for forensic identification. However, a shortcoming of previous studies is that microbial DNA was assayed shortly after soil collection or the soils were frozen until processing, which is not a realistic forensic scenario. The bacterial makeup of soil is transient and may be...
Show moreSoil is a common form of trace evidence, although it usually qualifies only as class evidence. Microbiological methods have been used to assess if the microbial makeup, primarily bacterial, of soil might be valuable for forensic identification. However, a shortcoming of previous studies is that microbial DNA was assayed shortly after soil collection or the soils were frozen until processing, which is not a realistic forensic scenario. The bacterial makeup of soil is transient and may be influenced by the length of time soil has been removed from a habitat, the storage temperature of known soils for comparison, and the amount of soil recovered from evidence. In this research, next-generation sequencing was used to generate bacterial profiles from diverse habitat soils that were collected from various evidence items over time, stored at four different temperatures, and processed at different masses. Bacterial abundance charts and nonmetric multidimensional scaling plots provided visual representations of the bacterial profiles, and two supervised classification techniques were used to statistically analyze them. Over time, the bacterial composition of the soil evidence displayed specific, consistent changes, and the soil evidence profiles grouped with, although drifted away from, the habitat of origin in multidimensional space. Storing known soils under the same conditions as the aged soil evidence improved the associations between them. Finally, all soil masses processed, including trace amounts, correctly assigned to the habitat of origin. Ultimately, our understanding of the bacterial changes will allow bacterial profiling of soil evidence to be more individualizing and strengthen the potential associations of a suspect, victim, or evidence item with a crime scene.
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Title: Small business owners in Detroit : an assessment of procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions
Creator: Crichlow, Vaughn Joel
Date: 2014
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Little is known about procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions in the business community, particularly in high-crime urban areas. This dissertation comprises a study on the attitudes of small business owners toward the police in the city of Detroit. The main assumption of procedural justice and police legitimacy theory is that individuals will be less inclined to question the legitimacy of police if they believe police are making quality decisions and treating them with respect....
Show moreLittle is known about procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions in the business community, particularly in high-crime urban areas. This dissertation comprises a study on the attitudes of small business owners toward the police in the city of Detroit. The main assumption of procedural justice and police legitimacy theory is that individuals will be less inclined to question the legitimacy of police if they believe police are making quality decisions and treating them with respect. Although existing research indicates that procedural justice is a stable predictor of legitimacy across race, ethnicity and community contexts, there is a paucity of research on the factors that shape business owners' perceptions of policing. This study contributes to research on procedural justice and police legitimacy theory by presenting a conceptual framework on the influence of race, culture and experiences with crime and victimization on attitudes toward police. The research goals are three-fold. The study examines the applicability of procedural justice and police legitimacy perceptions as explanations for small business owners' attitudes toward the police in high-crime areas. It also examines whether the attitudes of small business owners toward the police are influenced by the type and location of business, prior victimizations, fear of crime, race and ethnic origin. In addition, it explores whether these factors also influence the likelihood of business owners reporting crimes to the police, and their willingness to assist the police. This research uses a mixed methods approach. The data were gathered through an exploratory survey of Detroit business owners (n = 63) as well as from a sample of in-depth interviews with business owners (n = 39). The findings indicate that procedural justice perceptions have a significant influence on police legitimacy perceptions. The results also highlight the importance of race, type of business and the risk of victimization and their impact on the willingness of business owners to report crimes to the police. These findings have implications for police practice as well as policies on urban small business support and development. Meaningful interactions between police and small business owners, particularly immigrant-owners, could potentially enhance police-community relations. These interactions could also be crucial to the survival of business activity and the socio-economic health of urban neighborhoods.
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Title: Overshadowed : the media's representation of gender and domestic terrorism
Creator: Morgan, Skyler J.
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Women are underrepresented in the mass media and are most frequently portrayed in stereotypical and limited ways. Recent efforts to expand our understanding of the media's representation of gender have examined the characterization of women in crimes stories as both victim and offenders. One avenue of this research focuses on the portrayal of women involved in terrorism. Although this body of research is limited and has been strictly qualitative, it has provided a useful framework for the...
Show more"Women are underrepresented in the mass media and are most frequently portrayed in stereotypical and limited ways. Recent efforts to expand our understanding of the media's representation of gender have examined the characterization of women in crimes stories as both victim and offenders. One avenue of this research focuses on the portrayal of women involved in terrorism. Although this body of research is limited and has been strictly qualitative, it has provided a useful framework for the current study. This current study sought to expand our knowledge of the media's representation of gender and crime by systematically testing the six frames identified by Brigitte Nacos (2005) that she argues are used to explain women's involvement in terrorism. Using the United States Extremist Crime Data Base (ECDB), this study analyzed the news media articles that covered male and female perpetrators between the years of 1990 and 2016 from far-right, animal/environmental rights and jihadist movements. Findings indicated limited support for the original frames identified by Nacos (2005). However, significant differences were found in the terrorist for the sake of love frame, such that female perpetrators were more likely to be presented through this frame. The current study identified four new frames used by the media to discuss perpetrators of terrorism, which included the disregarded frame, the overshadowed frame, the fact frame, and the life frame. Of new frames identified in the current study, the overshadowed frame had large statistically significant differences between male and female perpetrators."--Page ii.
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Title: The use of classification schemes by police investigators
Creator: Liebler, Juli
Date: 2015
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: There has been little research on the factors that affect investigative decision-making. The purpose of this dissertation is to advance the knowledge on the theory of normal crime and to ultimately work toward finding ways to solve more crime. Through in-depth interviews, analysis of police reports, and the examination of crime data, this study provides a better understanding of how detectives solve crimes and the factors they consider when determining the level of effort to put forth to...
Show moreThere has been little research on the factors that affect investigative decision-making. The purpose of this dissertation is to advance the knowledge on the theory of normal crime and to ultimately work toward finding ways to solve more crime. Through in-depth interviews, analysis of police reports, and the examination of crime data, this study provides a better understanding of how detectives solve crimes and the factors they consider when determining the level of effort to put forth to solve crimes. The data suggest that for serious crimes, officers are internally motivated to solve these cases and will go to great lengths to solve them. The factors that make crimes serious are; violent/egregious acts, victim emotional trauma, victim vulnerability, and serial crimes. Conversely, for typical crimes, investigative effort is motivated primarily by the likelihood that the case can be solved. Factors that affect investigative effort for typical crimes are; the evidence available, when a gun is stolen, the value of stolen property, political/media/community pressure, time available to investigate, and prosecutor constraints. Finally, there are some crimes that cannot be successfully adjudicated by the legal system. These include crimes in which the victim will not cooperate, crimes in which the victim is involved in illegal activity, and false reports. For these cases, investigators put forth enough effort to confirm that the crime cannot be prosecuted. The findings in this study are unique in that they offer a better understanding of investigator decision-making and offer new insight regarding the variables that affect investigative effort.
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Title: American mass shooters and suicide
Creator: Brown, Kylei Elizabeth
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Mass shootings are traumatic events associated with highly publicized and often gruesome homicides that raise public alarm. Yet, researchers know relatively little about shooters and mass shooting events. Therefore, it is important to further extend the research of mass shootings to characterize different types of shooters and how they ultimately perpetrate their attacks. As such, the current study investigated the differences between American mass shooters who commit suicide after their...
Show moreMass shootings are traumatic events associated with highly publicized and often gruesome homicides that raise public alarm. Yet, researchers know relatively little about shooters and mass shooting events. Therefore, it is important to further extend the research of mass shootings to characterize different types of shooters and how they ultimately perpetrate their attacks. As such, the current study investigated the differences between American mass shooters who commit suicide after their attacks and mass shooters who do not. This study examined shooter vitality in 185 mass shootings in America perpetrated by 194 mass shooters between 2000 and 2016. Each shooter was categorized as having survived the attack or the manner in which they died; whether by self-inflicted suicide or being shot by another person. This revised data about how the mass shooters died was compared with thirty-three different independent variables that looked at the characteristics of the mass shooters as well as the characteristics of the mass shootings using both analysis of variance and binary logistic regression analytic techniques. At the same time, an original version of this dataset was tested alongside the revised dataset to look for similarities and comparisons in the results. The results of the revised dataset showed that mass shooters with a prior criminal record are more likely to survive their attacks and those who kill more victims are less likely to survive their attacks. These results are useful to inform both law enforcement personnel intervening in a mass shooting as well as lawmakers developing policies in an attempt to decrease the number of mass shootings in America.
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Title: The effect of integrated CCTV camera systems on crime in public places : an evaluation of Detroit "Green Light"
Creator: Circo, Giovanni
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "The rapid growth of the 'place and crime' literature has demonstrated the need for proactive police strategies in crime hotspots. Research consistently finds that most crime is concentrated at relatively few addresses and that these places tend to remain 'hot' consistently over time (Sherman, Gartin, & Buerger, 1989; Weisburd, et. al., 2004). Today, some of the discussion has shifted to determining what strategies can best accommodate crime problems at these locations. With the advent of new...
Show more"The rapid growth of the 'place and crime' literature has demonstrated the need for proactive police strategies in crime hotspots. Research consistently finds that most crime is concentrated at relatively few addresses and that these places tend to remain 'hot' consistently over time (Sherman, Gartin, & Buerger, 1989; Weisburd, et. al., 2004). Today, some of the discussion has shifted to determining what strategies can best accommodate crime problems at these locations. With the advent of new technologies, researchers have begun examining whether closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras exert a significant deterrent effect at crime hot spots. In 2016, Detroit began the 'Green Light' initiative by outfitting businesses with CCTV cameras connected live to their computer-aided dispatch system. Utilizing the start of the Detroit Green Light initiative in 2016, this study examines 86 business that joined the Green Light program between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016, compared to a matched sample of businesses that did not. Using hierarchical linear models and Bayesian inference, this study assesses the impact of the Green Light program on violent crime, property crime, disorder crime, and calls for service in and around the immediate vicinity of businesses. A cost-benefit analysis of the program determines whether the program is a cost-effective method of crime reduction."--Page ii.
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Title: When ethnic exclusion is good politics : ethnic exclusion, armed conflict, and leadership tenure in small-coalition systems
Creator: Choi, Hyun Jin
Date: 2012
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Why do some leaders deliberately foster ethnic hatred and exclusion even though such a policy increases the risk of ethnic conflict? Contrary to common belief, I find that ethnic exclusion is good politics (but not good policy) for non-democratic leaders with small winning coalitions, despite its positive impact on the risk of ethnic conflict. To explain this mechanism, I modify the selectorate theory of Bueno de Mesquita, et al. (2003) by explicitly accounting for the role of ethnic ties in...
Show moreWhy do some leaders deliberately foster ethnic hatred and exclusion even though such a policy increases the risk of ethnic conflict? Contrary to common belief, I find that ethnic exclusion is good politics (but not good policy) for non-democratic leaders with small winning coalitions, despite its positive impact on the risk of ethnic conflict. To explain this mechanism, I modify the selectorate theory of Bueno de Mesquita, et al. (2003) by explicitly accounting for the role of ethnic ties in the formation of the incumbent's coalition. Four hypotheses are deduced from my theory for explaining ethnic exclusion and leader survival. H1 maintains that, in small-coalition systems, leaders who employ ethnic exclusion are more likely to survive longer in office than those who do not employ it. H2 predicts that, if small-coalition leaders do not pursue an exclusive ethnic policy, they are more likely to be removed from office in an irregular manner. H3 suggests that small-coalition leaders are less likely to lose power during civil war if they employ ethnic exclusion. Lastly, if ethnic exclusion really is good politics for small-coalition leaders, H4 predicts, there should be higher levels of ethnic exclusion in small-coalition systems than in large-coalition systems. These hypotheses are empirically tested and supported by Cox's proportional hazard regressions using data on the tenures of 982 leaders from 1946 to 2004. My results show that in small-coalition systems: (1) the hazard of deposition for leaders who implement a strong exclusion policy is about 80% lower than that of leaders who do not promote ethnic exclusion; (2) the risk of irregular turnover among leaders who employ ethnic exclusion is only about 1.3% of the risk for those who do not employ such a policy; and (3) the risk of irregular removal from office virtually disappears even in times of civil war if a leader employs a strong exclusion policy. Case studies of Iraq, Burundi, and Rwanda further corroborate causal claims made by the exclusion theory. In all three cases, major ethnic groups had been excluded from participation in the incumbent's coalition until a small group of ethnic elites monopolizes key positions in the army and government. The cases of Burundi and Rwanda further demonstrate how small-coalition systems face large-scale violence when inclusive ethnic policy is implemented after years of exclusive rule. Overall, my findings lead to an "unwelcome" conclusion: ethnic exclusion is good politics in small-coalition systems even if it could increase the risk of ethnic conflict. This conclusion suggests that the crucial element in the prevention and resolution of ethnic conflict is the development of policies that can address leaders' incentives for ethnic exclusion.
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Title: The effects of cerebral palsy on dental development
Creator: Lawrence, Karlyn Elizabeth
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The ways in which cerebral palsy affects the growth and development of the human body and skeleton have been thoroughly documented in the scientific literature. Information on the effects of cerebral palsy on dental development, however, is scarce. The primary goal of this thesis is to determine the effects of cerebral palsy on dental development using a commonly practiced anthropological method of age estimation. The Moorrees, Fanning, and Hunt (1963a,b) method of age estimation is used in...
Show moreThe ways in which cerebral palsy affects the growth and development of the human body and skeleton have been thoroughly documented in the scientific literature. Information on the effects of cerebral palsy on dental development, however, is scarce. The primary goal of this thesis is to determine the effects of cerebral palsy on dental development using a commonly practiced anthropological method of age estimation. The Moorrees, Fanning, and Hunt (1963a,b) method of age estimation is used in this study to estimate the ages of a sample of 51 children with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy from the University of Michigan Health System Hospital Dentistry Clinic. The sample is comprised of panoramic dental radiographs and periapical radiographs from 37 males and 14 females between the ages of 3 and 15. After the estimated ages were determined, they were compared with the known chronological ages using paired and independent t-tests to determine if a significant difference existed between the two. The results showed that the Moorrees et al. method of age estimation under-aged 75% of the sample of children with cerebral palsy by an average of 1.25 years. It was concluded that the dental development of the sample of children with cerebral palsy was delayed relative to the unaffected sample used in the Moorrees et al. study. As a result, it was also concluded that the Moorreess et al. method of age estimation is not recommended for use on individuals with cerebral palsy
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Title: The role of gender and risk perception among police officers : general lifestyle risks and occupation-specific risks
Creator: Chua, Yi-Ting
Date: 2012
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The role of gender has been shown to be important in numerous academic fields. This is the case for the study of risk perception and the study of policing. Within the risk perception literature, it has been consistently found that women tend to perceive higher levels of risks compared to men. Similar results remain even when factors such as education and knowledge are controlled for; such as examining specific occupation groups such as scientists, where a gendered driven risk perception gap...
Show moreThe role of gender has been shown to be important in numerous academic fields. This is the case for the study of risk perception and the study of policing. Within the risk perception literature, it has been consistently found that women tend to perceive higher levels of risks compared to men. Similar results remain even when factors such as education and knowledge are controlled for; such as examining specific occupation groups such as scientists, where a gendered driven risk perception gap still exists. The effect of gender is less consistent when examining police officers' behavior. However, there is a noticeable lack of studies that focus on the study of risk perception among police officers with an emphasis on gender effect. Thus, this research is an attempt to bridge the gaps between the two fields via the investigation of whether gender difference in risk perception occurs within one particular occupation - police officers. Two police departments from a city in the Mid-West were selected for this study. Surveys, both by paper and electronically, were administered to the departments. The survey examined officers' perception of risk in relation to work related hazards and hazards encountered in daily civilian life and related factors (such as worldviews). The survey was adapted from previous studies on risk perception and the "White Male Effect". The results of the research will expand existing literature from a theoretical and practical viewpoint: theoretically, it will expand the knowledge on how risk perception is viewed in occupational groups working under a higher-risk environment and the role that gender plays in this process. Practically, it will provide new information to aid policing agencies in addressing potential gender gap in risk perception related to work activities.
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Title: Understanding radicalization process in online far-right extremist forums using social influence model
Creator: Chua, Yi-Ting
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The Internet serves multiple functions such as recruitment, networking, and information sharing, to many subcultural groups. Current literature on online criminal groups recognizes the role of online forums in the transfer of knowledge and socialization of members (Holt, 2007; Holt & Copes, 2010), but debates on the role of the Internet in the socialization and radicalization processes in the context of online extremist groups persist. This study aims to address one of the fundamental...
Show moreThe Internet serves multiple functions such as recruitment, networking, and information sharing, to many subcultural groups. Current literature on online criminal groups recognizes the role of online forums in the transfer of knowledge and socialization of members (Holt, 2007; Holt & Copes, 2010), but debates on the role of the Internet in the socialization and radicalization processes in the context of online extremist groups persist. This study aims to address one of the fundamental questions in radicalization and extremism - does radicalization occur in an online context. Through social learning theory and social network analysis, the study determines if interactions with other forum members contributes to the radicalization process. Findings suggest the occurrence of online radicalization at varying degrees in six of the seven forums, with lower level of expressed extremism after 2009. The study also found strong support of differential association and differential reinforcement, but showed the possibility of other mechanisms, such as self-radicalization and users' prior beliefs, at play. Findings from the study highlight the need to for theory integration, the inclusion of online peer association, and replication to address the complex phenomenon of online radicalization. Knowledge on these factors would enable law enforcement agencies to develop countermeasures and intervention tactics.
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Title: Bioarchaeology of Jicaro : analysis of human skeletal remains and mortuary practices at a Sapoa Period (A.D. 800/900--1350) site in Greater Nicoya
Creator: Wankmiller, Jane Catherine
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This dissertation presents a bioarchaeological study of Jícaro, a village site located on Costa Rica’s northwestern coast in the Guanacaste province. Jícaro is located on the Papagayo Peninsula, which forms the northern and northwestern boundaries of the Bahía de Culebra, along the shores of which approximately 60 archaeological sites of varying sizes and periods of occupation have been identified. The Bahía de Culebra and the sites surrounding it are located within an archaeologically...
Show moreThis dissertation presents a bioarchaeological study of Jícaro, a village site located on Costa Rica’s northwestern coast in the Guanacaste province. Jícaro is located on the Papagayo Peninsula, which forms the northern and northwestern boundaries of the Bahía de Culebra, along the shores of which approximately 60 archaeological sites of varying sizes and periods of occupation have been identified. The Bahía de Culebra and the sites surrounding it are located within an archaeologically defined subregion of the Intermediate Area, the geographical region between Mesoamerica to the north and the Andean cultures to the south, known as Greater Nicoya. Jícaro was occupied between A.D. 800/900 and 1350, according to radiocarbon dates and ceramic typologies. During this time in prehistory, there was substantial interaction between the region in which Jícaro was located and societies to the north and south through extensive land and maritime trade networks. Many researchers also believe that during this time there was an influx of Mesoamericans—or at least an influx of Mesoamerican cultural influence—from the north into Greater Nicoya, based on linguistic and archaeological evidence and changes in mortuary behavior.Salvage excavations at Jícaro and subsequent laboratory analysis of the artifact assemblage were carried out by archaeologists Felipe Solís Del Vecchio and Anayensy Villalobos Herrera and their team between 2005 and 2008. Excavations at Jícaro yielded a number of distinct habitation and activity areas in addition to 237 burials, with a minimum of approximately 440 individuals, of which 308 were analyzed for the purpose of this research. The research presented in this dissertation builds on analyses of the artifacts and burial treatments conducted by Solís and Herrera, incorporating analyses of the demographic characteristics of the population from Jícaro, an assessment of skeletal markers of health, stress, pathology, trauma, and cultural modifications, and a comparison of the results of the skeletal analysis with burial treatments. The findings from the bioarchaeological analyses of Jícaro are then compared with published data on the mortuary practices and skeletal analyses from Nacascolo, a nearby, a thoroughly researched archaeological site that had a period of occupation that was contemporary with occupation at Jícaro. Results of the mortuary analysis at Jícaro, incorporating intra- and inter-site analyses, confirm that mortuary practices at Jícaro are characteristic of the Sapoa Period in the Greater Nicoya region. Skeletal and mortuary data from Jícaro show that this was a relatively egalitarian community with little differentiation among individuals in their burial treatments, except for several classes of grave goods that appear to have been reserved for a particular sex or age cohort, and indications that subadults were more likely to be buried without grave goods than adults. The population appears to have been relatively healthy, except for evidence of a systemic infection among several individuals, possibly related to congenital treponemal infection. Burial practices and cultural modifications at Jícaro are similar to other sites in the immediate vicinity. Differences between burial practices at Nacascolo and Jícaro may be the result of sampling bias at both sites, but they could reveal localized, possibly community-based, decisions regarding social identity and social interactions. While there does appear to be a Mesoamerican presence at the site, the same evidence in support of direct Mesoamerican contact and influence could also be interpreted as evidence for local adaptations with more limited Mesoamerican interaction. Future research at Jícaro should involve molecular and trace element/stable isotope analyses to further explore issues of population relatedness and migration.
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