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Prosecutorial Discretion & Punishment Motives in Ambiguous Juvenile Sex Offense Cases

Description

This study hypothesizes that a sampling of prosecutors would be more likely to prosecute juveniles who identify as homosexual versus those who identify as heterosexual. To test this hypothesis, surveys were mailed to 1,000 prosecutors around the United States with a between subject design, meaning that each participant was only…

This study hypothesizes that a sampling of prosecutors would be more likely to prosecute juveniles who identify as homosexual versus those who identify as heterosexual. To test this hypothesis, surveys were mailed to 1,000 prosecutors around the United States with a between subject design, meaning that each participant was only exposed to one condition in the vignette they read. There were a total of four vignettes, creating four conditions of different sexual orientations and gender in sexually appropriate relationships. The vignettes contain conditions in which either a male or female junior in high school was videotaped having oral sex with either a male or a female freshman in high school. Prosecutors were asked questions about whether they would prosecute the older student for statutory rape. Results indicated that our manipulations of sexual orientation and gender were not statistically significant on prosecutorial discretion or punishment severity/motives, however, these manipulations did alter the prosecutor's perceptions of the offender.

ContributorsCaraveo Parra, Diana Patricia (Author) / Fradella, Hank (Thesis director) / Salerno, Jessica (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2016-05

Nopal En La Frente"": Latino(s) Perceptions of Disorder and Neighborhood Ethnicity

Description

Wilson and Kelling's (1982) broken windows theory (BWT) says that disorder causes crime at the neighborhood level. More specifically, this theory posits that perceptions of disorder increase fear of crime, which then reduces community involvement, making crime more likely. Recent studies show that race plays a pivotal role in people's…

Wilson and Kelling's (1982) broken windows theory (BWT) says that disorder causes crime at the neighborhood level. More specifically, this theory posits that perceptions of disorder increase fear of crime, which then reduces community involvement, making crime more likely. Recent studies show that race plays a pivotal role in people's perceptions of disorder. In short, people tend to associate race with low socioeconomic status, high arrest rates, and lack of policing. Therefore, race plays a central role in the BWT framework as it is linked to perceptions of disorder and crime. However, ethnicity is less well understood when analyzing the perceptions of disorder. To explore this further, the current study examines Latino responses regarding safety and ethnicity to a photograph depicting a religious mural of importance for the Mexican community (La Virgen de Guadalupe). This paper qualitatively analyzes a sample of 299 survey responses of undergraduate Latino students to better understand how Latinos recognize and identify their own culture/heritage and disorder. Implications for understanding ethnicity and broken windows theory are discussed.

ContributorsEsparza, Karla N (Author) / Wallace, Danielle (Thesis director) / Ready, Justin (Committee member) / Lyons, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)

Created2015-05

Gender Differences in Police Use of Force

Description

Police use of force and race often garners a good deal of attention, however it is also important to understand the influence of gender when dealing with male-dominate populations, like police officers. The current study aims to add to the current body of literature by using data from seven cities…

Police use of force and race often garners a good deal of attention, however it is also important to understand the influence of gender when dealing with male-dominate populations, like police officers. The current study aims to add to the current body of literature by using data from seven cities to examine the relationship between officer gender and police use of force, as well as officer gender and citizen resistance. In relation to use of force, the results show that male officers used significantly less force than female officers. In terms of citizen resistance, the results indicate that officer gender had no effect. Additionally, a number of control variables were significantly related to police use of force and citizen resistance. The implications of these findings are discussed.

ContributorsWeiser, Marah Brooke (Author) / William, Terrill (Thesis director) / Trinkner, Rick (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2018-12

Educator Sexual Abuse Cases: Media Biases Affecting Perceptions

Description

Sexual abuse is a major issue in the United States that has only recently begun to get media attention. This media attention has resulted in a growing awareness of the problem of sexual harassment and assault in society, especially in Hollywood and politics. However, sexual abuse is not limited to…

Sexual abuse is a major issue in the United States that has only recently begun to get media attention. This media attention has resulted in a growing awareness of the problem of sexual harassment and assault in society, especially in Hollywood and politics. However, sexual abuse is not limited to those areas, but occurs in all facets of society, including the workplace, schools, prison, and the military. Sexual abuse is only recently being recognized by society as a systemic problem instead of an isolational one. Depsite, this growing awareness of the issue, educator sexual abuse remains understudied. Educator sexual abuse is a largely ignored problem in society. This paper will look at how the media portrays gender in their reporting of educator sexual abuse cases and how this can affect biases, stereotypes, and myths surrounding the issue. We will look at eight cases—four female perpetrators and four male perpetrators—of K-12 educator sexual abuse in the United States. Using two articles for each case, we will analyze how the media reports on these cases and how gender biases are further perpetuated through these reportings. Specifically, we will analyze how perpetrators are portrayed as victims, instances of victim blaming, the implications of terminology in describing consent and responsibility, and the use of click bait all continue to perpetuate stereotypes and myths surrounding the issue of sexual abuse. The media coverage of educator sexual abuse is problematic and it is important to recognize the gender biases in the news coverage. Additionally, we will argue that the media can be a part of the prevention strategy for stopping sexual assault and harassment. Society has a long way to go in stopping sexual assault and educator sexual abuse; however, awareness is often the first step in this process, and the media needs to be careful about further perpetuating damaging stereotypes and myths.

ContributorsLanphier, Erin (Co-author) / Rosenbach, Elizabeth (Co-author) / McGibbney, Michelle (Thesis director) / Johnson, Eric (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2018-05

A Study on Masculinity and how the Views of Christian Young Adults Compare and Contrast to the Views of the Rest of Society

Description

An exploratory research study conducted to determine the comparing and contrasting views and understandings of masculinity between young adults. Specifically those who identify as Christian compared to those who do not identify as Christian. A survey study was distributed through ASU courses and through social media leading to the results…

An exploratory research study conducted to determine the comparing and contrasting views and understandings of masculinity between young adults. Specifically those who identify as Christian compared to those who do not identify as Christian. A survey study was distributed through ASU courses and through social media leading to the results discussing the varying opinions on how masculinity is defined by Religion, Mass Media, and Education. Relationships and comparisons between Christian participants displayed the importance of traditional masculine values, whereas non-Christian participants seemed to have a more open and inclusive understanding of masculinity. Due to this being an exploratory study, much future research is necessary in order to fully expand on the complexities of Christianity, masculinity, and society’s overall understanding of the two.

ContributorsBell, Wesley (Author) / Fey, Richard (Thesis director) / Fessenden, Tracy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)

Created2022-05

Equity Issues Involved in Using Letters of Recommendation to Evaluate Undergraduate Students

Description

Mounting evidence suggests that gender biases favoring men and racial biases favoring whites and Asians contribute to the underrepresentation of women and underrepresented minorities (URM) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Systemic issues caused by gender and racial biases create barriers that prevent women and URM from entering STEM…

Mounting evidence suggests that gender biases favoring men and racial biases favoring whites and Asians contribute to the underrepresentation of women and underrepresented minorities (URM) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Systemic issues caused by gender and racial biases create barriers that prevent women and URM from entering STEM from the structure of education to admission or promotions to higher-level positions. One of these barriers is unconscious biases that impact the quality of letters of recommendation for women and URM and their success in application processes to higher education. Though letters of recommendation provide a qualitative aspect to an application and can reveal the typical performance of the applicant, research has found that the unstructured nature of the traditional recommendation letter allows for gender and racial bias to impact the quality of letters of recommendation. Standardized letters of recommendation have been implemented in various fields and have been found to reduce the presence of bias in recommendation letters. This paper reviews the trends seen across the literature regarding equity in the use of letters of recommendation for undergraduates.

ContributorsKolath, Nina (Author) / Brownell, Sara (Thesis director) / Goodwin, Emma (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)

Created2022-05

Stigma Around Sexual Assault for Gender and Sexual Minorities

Description

This study looked at the relationship between rape myth acceptance and gender, sexual orientation, and participant recruitment method. The study used a sample collected from both ASU students and Amazon MTurk. Using both ANOVAs and Means, the study was able to show that the relationships between rape myth acceptance varies…

This study looked at the relationship between rape myth acceptance and gender, sexual orientation, and participant recruitment method. The study used a sample collected from both ASU students and Amazon MTurk. Using both ANOVAs and Means, the study was able to show that the relationships between rape myth acceptance varies across both gender and sexual orientation. As well as advocate for the use of a community sample in rape myth research. This research is able to provide statistically significant evidence for these relationships and is one of the first studies on the relationship between rape myth acceptance and sexual orientation.

ContributorsPayne, Taylor (Author) / Wallace, Danielle (Thesis director) / Coble, Suzanne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)

Created2022-05

Guía para planificar acciones contra el calor para los vecindarios de la zona metropolitana de Phoenix: crear soluciones al calor urbano en el Valle del Sol

Description

En la zona metropolitana de Phoenix, el calor urbano está afectando la salud, la seguridad y la economía y se espera que estos impactos empeoren con el tiempo. Se prevé que el número de días por encima de 110˚F aumentará más del doble para el 2060. En mayo de 2017,…

En la zona metropolitana de Phoenix, el calor urbano está afectando la salud, la seguridad y la economía y se espera que estos impactos empeoren con el tiempo. Se prevé que el número de días por encima de 110˚F aumentará más del doble para el 2060. En mayo de 2017, The Nature Conservancy, el Departamento de Salud Pública del condado de Maricopa, Central Arizona Conservation Alliance, la Red de Investigación en Sostenibilidad sobre la Resiliencia Urbana a Eventos Extremos, el Centro de Investigación del Clima Urbano de Arizona State University y el Center for Whole Communities lanzaron un proceso participativo de planificación de acciones contra el calor para identificar tanto estrategias de mitigación como de adaptación a fin de reducir directamente el calor y mejorar la capacidad de los residentes para lidiar con el calor. Las organizaciones comunitarias con relaciones existentes en tres vecindarios seleccionados para la planificación de acciones contra el calor se unieron más tarde al equipo del proyecto: Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, RAILMesa y Puente Movement. Más allá de construir un plan de acción comunitario contra el calor y completar proyectos de demostración, este proceso participativo fue diseñado para desarrollar conciencia, iniciativa y cohesión social en las comunidades subrepresentadas. Asimismo el proceso de planificación de acciones contra el calor fue diseñado para servir como modelo para esfuerzos futuros de resiliencia al calor y crear una visión local, contextual y culturalmente apropiada de un futuro más seguro y saludable. El método iterativo de planificación y participación utilizado por el equipo del proyecto fortaleció las relaciones dentro y entre los vecindarios, las organizaciones comunitarias, los responsables de la toma de decisiones y el equipo núcleo, y combinó la sabiduría de la narración de historias y la evidencia científica para comprender mejor los desafíos actuales y futuros que enfrentan los residentes durante eventos de calor extremo. Como resultado de tres talleres en cada comunidad, los residentes presentaron ideas que quieren ver implementadas para aumentar su comodidad y seguridad térmica durante los días de calor extremo.

Como se muestra a continuación, las ideas de los residentes se interceptaron en torno a conceptos similares, pero las soluciones específicas variaron entre los vecindarios. Por ejemplo, a todos los vecindarios les gustaría agregar sombra a sus corredores peatonales, pero variaron las preferencias para la ubicación de las mejoras para dar sombra. Algunos vecindarios priorizaron las rutas de transporte público, otros priorizaron las rutas utilizadas por los niños en su camino a la escuela y otros quieren paradas de descanso con sombra en lugares clave. Surgieron cuatro temas estratégicos generales en los tres vecindarios: promover y educar; mejorar la comodidad/capacidad de afrontamiento; mejorar la seguridad; fortalecer la capacidad. Estos temas señalan que existen serios desafíos de seguridad contra el calor en la vida diaria de los residentes y que la comunidad, los negocios y los sectores responsables de la toma de decisión deben abordar esos desafíos.

Los elementos del plan de acción contra el calor están diseñados para incorporarse a otros esfuerzos para aliviar el calor, crear ciudades resilientes al clima y brindar salud y seguridad pública. Los socios de implementación del plan de acción contra el calor provienen de la región de la zona metropolitana de Phoenix, y se brindan recomendaciones para apoyar la transformación a una ciudad más fresca.

Para ampliar la escala de este enfoque, los miembros del equipo del proyecto recomiendan a) compromiso continuo e inversiones en estos vecindarios para implementar el cambio señalado como vital por los residentes, b) repetir el proceso de planificación de acción contra el calor con líderes comunitarios en otros vecindarios, y c) trabajar con las ciudades, los planificadores urbanos y otras partes interesadas para institucionalizar este proceso, apoyando las políticas y el uso de las métricas propuestas para crear comunidades más frescas.

ContributorsMesserschmidt, Maggie (Contributor) / Guardaro, Melissa (Contributor) / White, Jessica R. (Contributor) / Berisha, Vjollca (Contributor) / Hondula, David M. (Contributor) / Feagan, Mathieu (Contributor) / Grimm, Nancy (Contributor) / Beule, Stacie (Contributor) / Perea, Masavi (Contributor) / Ramirez, Maricruz (Contributor) / Olivas, Eva (Contributor) / Bueno, Jessica (Contributor) / Crummey, David (Contributor) / Winkle, Ryan (Contributor) / Rothballer, Kristin (Contributor) / Mocine-McQueen, Julian (Contributor) / Maurer, Maria (Artist) / Coseo, Paul (Artist) / Crank, Peter J (Designer) / Broadbent, Ashley (Designer) / McCauley, Lisa (Designer) / Nature's Cooling Systems Project (Contributor) / Nature Conservancy (U.S.) (Contributor) / Phoenix Revitalization Corporation (Contributor) / Puente Movement (Contributor) / Maricopa County (Ariz.). Department of Public Health (Contributor) / Central Arizona Conservation Alliance (Contributor) / Arizona State University. Urban Climate Research Center (Contributor) / Arizona State University. Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (Contributor) / Center for Whole Communities (Contributor) / RAILmesa (Contributor) / Vitalyst Health Foundation (Funder)

Created2022

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