Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Body-Worn Cameras And Transparency: Experimental Evidence Of Inconsistency In Police Executive Decision-Making, Brandon Tregle, Justin Nix, Justin T. Pickett

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Body-worn cameras (BWC) have diffused rapidly throughout policing as a means of promoting transparency and accountability. Yet, whether to release BWC footage to the public remains largely up to the discretion of police executives, and we know little about how they interpret and respond to BWC footage – particularly footage involving critical incidents. We asked a nationally representative sample of police executives (N=476) how supportive they were of legislation that would mandate releasing BWC footage upon request as public information, and presented them with an experimental vignette about BWC capturing one of their officers fatally shooting an [armed/unarmed] [Black/White] suspect. …

How Work Constrains Leisure: New Ideas And Directions For Interdisciplinary Research, Laruen Kuykendall, Ze Zhu, Lydia Craig

Psychology Faculty Publications

In this commentary, we note the lack of emphasis on work-related factors in the leisure constraints literature. We highlight three work-related factors that we think warrant investigation as leisure constraints: (1) labor practices related to work scheduling, (2) organizational norms, and (3) work supervisors. We discuss relevant organizational psychology literatures and note that future research focusing on work-related factors could broaden knowledge about leisure constraints and illuminate new paths forward for improving employees’ leisure experiences. We emphasize that addressing these work-related constraints likely requires moving beyond individual-directed strategies and focusing on contextual factors (e.g., organizational policies and practices) that could …

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: September 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

Grantees use an online data management system to submit data on participants served under their Vocational and Life Skills programming. This data is due monthly and reflects all services provided during the previous month to participants. Evaluators at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research work with grantees directly to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis during update calls and site visits.

The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. …

Vocational And Life Skills Quarterly Report: Grant Cycle 4 Quarter 1 July-September 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne, Michael Campagna

Reports

This report presents quarterly data and evaluation updates for the Vocational and Life Skills Program (VLS) through Quarter One of Grant Cycle Four. VLS was created by Nebraska Legislative Bill 907 in 2014 with the purpose of reducing recidivism and increasing meaningful employment for individuals convicted of a crime in Nebraska. The report contains 1) descriptions of the eight funded organizations across the state, 2) a snapshot of participation, 3) demographics of the participants, and 4) participation breakdowns and descriptions of the skills participants are gaining through VLS programming.

The VLS initiative is evaluated by the Nebraska Center for Justice …

Bibliotech, September 2020, Dr. C.C. And Mable L. Criss Library, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

BiblioTech

UNO Libraries' Digital Newsletter, BiblioTech, September 2020, Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library, University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Memories Of Exile And Temporary Return: Chilean Exiles Remember Chile, Cristián Doña-Reveco

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The exile after the military coup of 1973 has been the largest emigration flow in Chilean history. Using oral histories of Chilean exiles collected in the Midwest of the United States as evidence, I describe and analyze their memories of Chile during President Allende’s government and compare them with their memories of recent visits to Chile. I argue that in order to begin recuperating the memory of exile we need to understand the complex relations between the process of exile, the memories of the country of origin, and the nation-state. I conclude this article by proposing that memory not only …

What We Know (And What We Don't): The Impact Of Covid-19 Among Communities Of Color In Nebraska, Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

As the state of Nebraska moves forward to reopen after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, more information is needed to assess the extent to which COVID-19 has affected minority groups. This presentation evaluates the data released by the state on the cases of COVID-19 and deaths from the virus, how often it is updated, and how it can be improved to inform policy decisions to reduce the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on communities of color in Nebraska, which is one of the states with the highest health disparities in COVID-19 cases among racial groups.

A New Reality? Evaluating State And Local Finances, Craig Maher, Christopher Decker, Josie Gatti Schafer, Bruce Mcdonald

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

This panel will focus on tools and resources for examining state and local government finances and economic conditions. We will emphasize tools that are easily manageable and resources easily accessible. These data sources include but are not exclusively available via the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Latest Economic Data And Tools From The Census Bureau, Andy Hait

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

While some of the Census Bureau’s 130+ programs have been around for decades, the ever-changing nature of our economy often requires the creation of new surveys. This presentation will start with an update on the Economic Census data for Nebraska. Then move to three brand new Census business surveys: the Annual Business Survey, the Small Business Pulse Survey, and the updated Business Formation Statistics. Easily accessing these data is important, so the session will feature live demos of the latest version of Census Business Builder as well as the new COVID-19 Data Hub. Bring your burning economic data questions to …

Nebraska State And Local Population Trends, David J. Drozd

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

Nebraska’s population is changing. This session will focus on key demographic aspects, such as aging, increasing diversity, and comparisons between urban and rural Nebraska. Highlights will include information from the population estimates program, which shows changes since 2010 and what the 2020 Census data might indicate, as well as a focus on birth and death trends from the completed 2010s decade and their implications for schools or the workforce.

2020 Data Products And The Basics And Potential Impacts Of Differential Privacy, James Whitehorne, Elizabeth Garner

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

The Census Bureau is rethinking the way it will produce and release the data from 2020 Census. There are concerns that personal information could be discovered given current computing power, other data sources, and Census 2020 results. Currently the Bureau is working to balance data privacy with high quality data products. This presentation will present the basics of the Disclosure Avoidance System including applying differential privacy and its impacts on data quality, what the data user community needs to know, and how to be prepared. The session will focus on 2020 data products with a special emphasis on the redistricting …

Welcome And 2020 Census In Review And Yet To Come, Blanca Ramirez-Salazar

CPAR Presents: A Data and Research Series for Community Impact

The 2020 Census is underway! This session will provide a 2020 Census overview to include adjustments made to conducting a decennial count during a major challenge like a pandemic. Examples will be provided on how the Nebraska partnership team and census partners are strategically using the self-response map to develop initiatives for increasing self-response. Information will be provided on what lies ahead and what you can do to boost self-response in your community.

Imperial Pandemicide, Douglas A. Van Belle, Thomas Jamieson

Public Administration Faculty Publications

Objective To provide a quick, in the moment analysis of the social and political aspects of theCOVID-19 pandemic to preserve the possibly ephemeral aspects that might be overlooked in future historical studies. Methods. Qualitative and a statistical analyses of real time information. Results. The clustering of former imperial powers as states suffering extreme initial impacts, combined with a brief qualitative commentary on the domestic politics related to the pandemic response, suggests that colonial imperialism has lingering domestic political effects. Conclusion. The domestic political power bases that enabled colonial imperialism may be a significant and previously unrecognized factor in politics both …

Witnessing Intimate Partner Violence Across Contexts: Mental Health, Delinquency, And Dating Violence Outcomes Among Mexican Heritage Youth, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda

Social Work Faculty Publications

Immigrant Mexican American (MA) youth are at greater risk for violence exposure due to risk factors associated with migration–postmigration processes and as they settle into urban U.S. communities marked by crime and poverty. Less is known about the contexts of this exposure. Specifically, what are the ecological contexts in which youth witness intimate partner violence (IPV), how do these experiences differ by immigration generational status, and what is the impact on youth’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors? MA adolescents (N = 279; 15–17 years, M = 16.17, SD = 0.81) from the Southwest United States participated in an online survey. …

Staying Serene In A World Of Uncertainty, Christine Chasek

Counseling Faculty Publications

American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a very powerful prayer in 1932; you may recognize it. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference."

The nation was in turmoil when it was written. The Great Depression had a hold on our country, people were out of work, the land turned to dust, and families were starving. Niebuhr was looking for a way to comfort people and give them a sense of direction in a dark time. The Serenity Prayer became that source of …

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: August 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

Grantees use an online data management system to submit data on participants served under their Vocational and Life Skills programming. This data is due monthly and reflects all services provided during the previous month to participants. Evaluators at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research work with grantees directly to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis during update calls and site visits.

The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. …

The Role Of Information Search In Creative Problem Solving, Mackenzie Harms, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Douglas C. Derrick

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigates the role that information search behavior plays in the process of creative problem solving. Although models of creative processing posit that information search is a necessary stage of creative problem solving, no research has separated and measured information search from earlier processes to determine the nature of the role it plays in the creative problem solving process. Two hundred twenty-one people participated in a study where active engagement in problem construction was manipulated. Participants were allowed to search for additional information that may facilitate the generation of a creative solution. Measures of information search that have been …

On The Challenges Associated With The Study Of Police Use Of Deadly Force In The United States: A Response To Schwartz & Jahn, Justin Nix

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In response to Gabriel Schwartz and Jaquelyn Jahn’s descriptive study, “Mapping fatal police violence across U.S. metropolitan areas: Overall rates and racial/ethnic inequalities, 2013–2017,” I provide three reflections. First, the framing of this issue is vitally important. Second, police-involved fatalities represent a nonrandom sample of all incidents involving police use of deadly force (i.e., physical force that causes or is likely to cause death), and unfortunately, we lack comprehensive data on use of deadly force that does not result in fatalities. Finally, to make sense of who is killed by the police, researchers must also identify who was exposed to …

Gun Victimization In The Line Of Duty: Fatal And Non-Fatal Firearm Assaults On Police Officers In The United States, 2014-2019, Michael Sierra-Arévalo, Justin Nix

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Research Summary

Using open‐source data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), we analyze national‐ and state‐level trends in fatal and nonfatal firearm assaults of U.S. police officers from 2014 to 2019 (N = 1,467). Results show that (a) most firearm assaults are nonfatal, (b) there is no compelling evidence that the national rate of firearm assault on police has substantially increased during the last 6 years, and (c) there is substantial state‐level variation in rates of firearm assault on police officers.

Policy Implications

GVA has decided strengths relative to existing data sources on police victimization and danger in policing. …

How Social Dominance Orientation Shapes Perceptions Of Police, Belen Lowrey-Kinberg, Hillary Mellinger, Erin M. Kearns

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose

There remain several underaddressed issues in the procedural justice literature. The authors draw from a rich body of psychological research on how the sociopolitical orientation to group inequality influences individual views on government and apply this to perceptions of procedural justice.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a laboratory-style experimental design to examine the extent to which social dominance orientation (SDO) shapes how people view the language of law enforcement. Four treatments are tested: procedural justice, rapport, deference, and direct.

Findings

The authors find that, overall, exclusively emphasizing rapport – as opposed to procedural justice, deference, or directness – is not …

“Go Hard, Go Early”: Preliminary Lessons From New Zealand’S Response To Covid-19, Thomas Jamieson

Public Administration Faculty Publications

Although the full impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is yet to be realized, New Zealand has suffered comparatively less than other countries, and there were no active cases in the country by June 8, 2020. Building from best practices in emergency management research, several preliminary lessons emerge from the country’s response to the crisis that could be adapted for other settings. In particular, the government acted early and decisively, developed national unity to combat the virus, communicated effectively with the public, and adapted to changing circumstances, especially to address shortcomings in the response. These preliminary lessons provide some …

Why Witnesses Of Bullying Tell: Individual And Interpersonal Factors, Hyungyung Joo, Isak Kim, So Rin Kim, Jolynn V. Carney, Seriashia J. Chatters

Counseling Faculty Publications

The reactions of those who witness bullying are important because they can stop the bullying and prevent further harm. Factors associated with telling behavior were investigated with 477 elementary school students who witnessed bullying. Approximately seventy percent of the students talked to someone about bullying incidents, most often, teachers. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses demonstrated that gender, frequency of witnessing, cognitive empathy, and social skills were found to be associated with telling behavior of witnesses, whereas affective empathy and school connectedness were not significantly related. Findings from this research are important for future practice and studies on bystander intervention.

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: July 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

Grantees use an online data management system to submit data on participants served under their Vocational and Life Skills programming. This data is due monthly and reflects all services provided during the previous month to participants. Evaluators at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research work with grantees directly to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis during update calls and site visits.

The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. …

Who Are The Mavens Of Bystander Intervention? Implications For The Social Diffusion Of Intervention Norms, Leah C. Butler, Bonnie S. Fisher

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A recent randomized controlled trial reported that Green Dot (GD)—a bystander intervention training program that targets popular opinion leaders for intensive training—reduced school-level interpersonal violence perpetration and victimization. Expanding GD’s targeted group members to include “mavens” of bystander intervention—those who spread bystander intervention norms to others by communicating with peers—may increase the effectiveness of such training. Self-report data collected from students at the 13 intervention high schools in Kentucky are analyzed to identify characteristics of those who engage in discussions with peers about preventing interpersonal violence. Findings show that students who engage in more frequent bystander behaviors are more likely …

Covid-19 Impact On Nebraska Businesses: Nebraska Business Response Survey Report Round 2, Josie Gatti Schafer, Tara Grell, Bit An, Melanie Kiper

Past Publications

The State of Nebraska, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, the University of Nebraska and several local project partners came together to develop and share the Nebraska Business Response Survey, Rounds one and two, to understand the impact coronavirus (COVID-19) is having on the revenue and workforce of organizations across the state and find the best ways to support our business and nonprofit community during this crisis. The first round of the survey launched Wednesday, April 15, 2020, at 2 P.M. and closed Friday, April 24, 2020, at 5 P.M. At the end of the first survey, we asked respondents if …

Vocational And Life Skills Evaluation Annual Report: Grant Cycle 3: Year 2 July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne, Michael Campagna, Ryan E. Spohn, Tara Grell

Reports

The report presents data evaluation updates for the Vocational and Life Skills Program (VLS) for the second year of Grant Cycle Three. VLS was created by the Nebraska Legislative Bill 907 in 2014 to improve the transition for individuals returning to the community after incarceration, increase public safety, and reduce recidivism. VLS includes a balance of providers that address different types of participant needs that develop and manifest in different ways. This report contains 1) a VLS logic model, 2) descriptions of the eight funded programs and a matrix of services provided, 3) a snapshot of participation across the programs, …

Aoa Effects In Reading Aloud And Lexical Decision: Locating The (Semantic) Locus In Terms Of The Number Of Backward Semantic Associations, Michael J. Cortese, Sean Toppi, Jonathan Santo

Psychology Faculty Publications

In the present study, we analyse data from the English Lexicon Project to assess the extent to which age of acquisition (AoA) effects on word processing stem from the number of semantic associations tied to a word. We show that the backward number of associates (bNoA; that is, the log transformed number of words that produce the target word in free association) is an important predictor of both lexical decision and reading aloud performance, and reduces the typical AoA effect as represented by subject ratings in both tasks. Although the AoA effect is reduced, it remains a significant predictor of …

5 Reasons Police Officers Should Have College Degrees, Leana A. Bouffard, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Following several deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order on June 16 that calls for increased training and credentialing to reduce the use of excessive force by police.

The order did not mention the need for police to get a college education, even though higher education was identified in the 2015 President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing as one of six effective ways to reduce crime and build better relations between police and the communities they serve.

As researchers who specialize in crime and punishment, we see …

Attitudinal Changes Toward Body-Worn Cameras: Perceptions Of Cameras, Organizational Justice, And Procedural Justice Among Volunteer And Mandated Officers, Jessica Huff, Charles M. Katz, Vincent J. Webb, E. C. Hedberg

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Little is known about officer perceptions of body-worn cameras (BWCs), and whether perceptions change following implementation within their agencies. BWC deployment varies, with some agencies mandating officers to wear BWCs and others using volunteers. Researchers have yet to assess attitudinal differences between volunteers and mandated officers. This study addresses these gaps using data from an evaluation of BWCs in the Phoenix Police Department to examine officer perceptions of the utility of BWCs, perceptions of organizational justice, and support for using procedural justice. We use inverse propensity weighted difference-in-difference models to examine changes in officer perceptions over time between randomly selected …

Marital Satisfaction During Retirement, Marissa A. Fye, Christine Chasek, Grace A. Mims, Jacob Sandman, Alex Hinrichsen

Counseling Faculty Publications

Marriage/commitment and retirement are two common experiences in an adult’s life. Marital satisfaction and retirement have been researched in multiple disciplines. The relationship between these two constructs has not been as widely researched. The purpose of this study was to determine whether retirement has an impact on marital satisfaction. Quantitative methods and analyses were used. The variables used accounted for 83% of the variance of satisfaction. Limitations and implications are provided to inform marriage and family pedagogy and practice.