Discretionary decision-making plays a major role in juvenile transfer to adult court, yet little is known about how and why juvenile transfer is used. In particular, although substantial evidence exists that race and ethnicity play a role in the juvenile transfer decision, little is known about whether contextual race factors impact the decision. This study was designed to examine whether racial threat factors, operationalized by both percent Black and racial residential segregation, are related to increased use of juvenile transfer policies. Racial residential segregation is put forth as a key, yet often overlooked, component in understanding the race-punishment nexus. To examine these relationships, all youth eligible for transfer pursuant to statutory criteria (N=132,615 youth) were examined within the context of the 67 Florida counties. Results are overall supportive of the racial threat hypothesis. Due to the large group of youth eligible for transfer between 2003-4, the work also takes a policy focus. In particular, error rates, consistency, and monitoring of juvenile transfer policies are considered, as well as policy recommendations. These findings can enrich the work of scholars, policy researchers, and practitioners. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / June 19, 2018. / Criminal Justice Policy, Juvenile Transfer, Juvenile Waiver, Prosecutorial Discretion, Racial Disparities, Systems Theory / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas G. Blomberg, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joyce L. Carbonell, University Representative; Kevin M. Beaver, Committee Member; Jillian J. Turanovic, Committee Member.

Although there is general acceptance of law enforcement’s use of criminal profiling, such actions become problematic when they appear to be discriminatory in nature. One of the most frequently examined and contested profiling tactics is related to the use of race and ethnicity to determine which drivers to stop for traffic violations. Much research exists regarding the constitutionality of racial and ethnic profiling as well as the existence of and attitudes toward this practice. However, the literature has rarely addressed the thought processes of social control agents concerning the appearance of racial and ethnic bias within their own enforcement practices. To address this gap, the current study focuses on official written responses from Missouri police agencies in reaction to evidence of racial and ethnic disparities within their mandatory annual vehicle stop reports. The quantitative findings indicate that African American and Latino motorists are stopped, searched, and arrested more often than White motorists. Further, although African American and Latino motorists are searched more often than White motorists, they are less likely to be in possession of contraband when they are searched. Additionally, the qualitative findings reveal that agencies use the written responses to justify the existence of disparities in their jurisdictions’ enforcement statistics, and that both typification and neutralization patterns are present within those written responses. Based on the qualitative thematic content analysis, agencies are most likely to typify crime in racial and ethnic terms and to use the denial of responsibility and condemnation of the condemners neutralization techniques. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2018. / July 19, 2018. / Neutralization, Policing, Racial Profiling, Typification / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric A. Stewart, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephen J. Tripodi, University Representative; Jillian J. Turanovic, Committee Member; Patricia Y. Warren, Committee Member.

Organizational culture and leadership styles of a leader are important to staff members' commitment in a nonprofit organization, yet little is understood about the role of leadership style and the degree to which staff are committed to organizational effectiveness in nonprofit organizations. Using Avolio and Bass' conceptualization of transformational leadership as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the organizational culture, leadership styles, and nonprofit staff members' commitment in 1 large organization in the United States. Survey data were collected (N = 100) through an instrument that combined Cameron and Quinn's Organizational Cultural Assessment and Avolio and Bass's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics to examine organizational culture relative to leadership style. The statistical analyses in this study examined organizational commitment and organizational culture in each leadership style. There were differences in the proportion of organizational commitment and organizational culture among leadership style, which were measured using coefficients of variation. Notably, when participants perceived a leader to exhibit transformational leadership traits, there also were greater proportions of perceptions of organizational commitment and positive organizational culture within those groups. The implications for positive social change stemming from this study include recommendations to organizational leadership to identify the employees' backgrounds, cultures and practice, and to determine the organizational culture's relevance. These recommendations may increase engagement and job satisfaction, thus reducing turnover, increasing profitability and influencing organizational commitment, resulting in a highly productive workforce.

In public policy literature, there is a lack of research that integrates social construction theory within the advocacy coalition framework, and far less is known about how these theories address policy change and processes related to programs for disabled veterans.The purpose of this study was to conduct a policy analysis to evaluate how well the needs of veterans are met through the U.S. Veterans' Disability Compensation (USVDC) program. In a case study of a city in the southeastern U.S., gaps between formulation and implementation of USVDC policy were examined. The theoretical frameworks used in this study were Hacker's formulation and implementation gap to analyze policy, Schneider and Ingram's conceptualization of social construction, and Sabatier and Weible's advocacy coalition framework. The central research question for this study explored the extent to which the USVDC program meets the needs of disabled veterans (DVs). Data consisting of over 355 USVDC formulation and implementation documents, from March 2007 through August 2013, were coded using a priori codes and content analysis methodology.Findings indicate the USVDC policy subsystem struggled to manage the claims backlog that grew to over one million claims. Between April 2013 and September 2013, an emphasis to reduce the claims backlog improved stalled policy formulation, resulting in a shift to positive social constructions for DVs.Implications for positive social change include improved collaboration between policy makers, the Veterans' Administration, and recently transitioned target group DVs, to reshape policy formulation and implementation to further improve the quality of life for sick and injured veterans when entering the USVDC policy subsystem.

This dissertation examines racial inequality and affirmative action in Malaysia and South Africa, two countries with a politically dominant but economically disadvantaged majority group – the Bumiputera in Malaysia, and blacks in post-Apartheid South Africa. We aim to contribute comparative perspectives and current empirical research on affirmative action regimes and dimensions of inequality directly pertinent to affirmative action, chiefly, racial representation and earnings inequality among tertiary educated workers and in upper-level occupations. We discuss theoretical approaches to inequality and affirmative action, with attention to particular circumstances of majority-favoring regimes, then survey, compare and contrast affirmative action programs and their political economic context in Malaysia and South Africa. In the empirical portions, we outline patterns and evaluate determinants of racial inequality, focusing on the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. On Malaysia, we find that Bumiputera access to tertiary education has rapidly increased, but also observe disproportionate difficulties among Bumiputera degree-holders in participating in labor markets and in attaining upper-level occupations. Bumiputera representation at managerial and professional levels has remained static and dependent on the public sector. Econometric results indicate that quality of tertiary education impacts on the prospect of attaining upper-level jobs, and that Bumiputera are more adversely affected. Lack of data restricts our assessment of racial earnings inequality to a deduction that Bumiputera young graduates have experienced relatively greater decline in their earnings capacity. On South Africa, we find that blacks have steadily increased access to tertiary education, although disparities in quality of institutions and in student performance persist, which disproportionately and negatively affect black graduates. We observe that black representation has increased in upper-level, especially professional, occupations, largely in the public sector. We find that white-black earnings disparity declined substantially among degree-qualified workers, while not diminishing or not showing clear patterns among other educational and occupational groups. We conclude by considering, within the constraints of each country’s political economic context, implications that arise from our findings. Most saliently, while affirmative action raises quantitative attainment of tertiary education and representation in upper-level occupations for the beneficiary group, inadequate attention to qualitative development of institutions and progressive distribution of benefits may attenuate progress toward the ultimate objective of cultivating broadbased, self-reliant professionals and managers.

Today inner city neighborhoods seem more threatened by poverty and lack of civil order than at any time since the beginning of the century. Many families confront hunger, homelessness, sickness and a lack of support on a daily basis. For over a century, settlement houses or neighborhood centers have responded to these needs while, contending with funding, staffing, and changing urban landscapes. This study investigated the transition of one settlement house located in a New England city from 1965-1990. Specifically, this investigation describes the response, during this critical time, to these challenges by the staff and leadership of Friendly House, located in Worcester, Massachusetts. An ethnomethodological approach was adopted. The data provided the history and the achievements of Friendly House and the base for possible comparison and contrasts between the Agency and other similar neighborhood centers. This descriptive case study was written by the Director who has had close and prolonged contact with Friendly House. The research questions focus upon the central theme of agency responsiveness to multiple social service requests from a rapidly challenging urban clientele. The results of the study suggest that the most effective and efficient means of delivering services to individuals and families who reside in impoverished inner city neighborhoods is through the settlement house model. Friendly House provides appropriate neighborhood-based services in a nonformalized atmosphere. The Agency affords the opportunity for an individual to be seen and talked to about his or her entire life situation in a setting close to home. Moreover, Friendly House can support at-risk families and offer a secure environment for their vulnerable children. Strategically located in a diverse, low-income neighborhood, Friendly House linked residents with central and public agencies. By continually seeking new sources of funding, Friendly House has adjusted to needs while remaining true to its settlement house roots.

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