An amplified emphasis on global competency and a projected demographic shift toward an increasingly diverse population necessitates that businesses and organizations prepare adequately to remain competitive and effective. Training to enhance employees' multicultural competence is often used by organizations to address these impending changes; however, there is little research documenting the degree to which these trainings are effective. Using archival training evaluation data, the purpose of this study was to examine participant estimations of the effectiveness of one such training and also to determine if participant demographic variables including gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and employee classification (faculty or staff) held any predictive value in relation to training ratings. The results indicated that overall most participants found the training effective. Staff, female, or non-White participants were significantly more likely to rate the training favorably. These results suggest that diversity training may be a viable method of addressing changing organizational demographics and provides some insight as to how training group demographics could be used during the training planning and implementation process to individualize the curriculum.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between juvenile delinquency and involvement with various school activities. In order to do so data from the Monitoring the Future survey of high school seniors in 2008 were used. Univariate measures included descriptive statistics of the variables, while bivariate analysis determined if a relationship exists between the dependent and independent variables. Results of the analysis suggested mixed support for the relationship between adolescent delinquency and involvement in school activities.

How society views the use of the death penalty as a means of punishment greatly affects the decisions of lawmakers, politicians who use it as a platform for election, and the criminals who commit the crime of murder. This study used 40 different vignettes involving real-life murder scenarios in order for participants to form a more precise opinion of what the correct punishment for the crime should be. Given a choice between the death penalty, life without the possibility of parole, a prison term of their choosing, or other, participants were asked to assign a sanction for each vignette. Respondents were asked to answer demographic questions about themselves in order for these variables to be regressed to examine how their status relates to their opinion of the death penalty as a punishment for murder. Statistical analysis showed income level, political affiliation, and religious affiliation to be significant variables. Analysis of the vignettes themselves revealed substantial variation in individual's willingness to apply the death penalty across various types of murder.

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attack resulted in a myriad of new policies designed to enhance aviation security. These policies ostensibly considered the origins of the exact threat facing the United States. Missing, however, were the inputs from rank and file pilots of the airlines that policy makers were attempting to protect. This exploratory study distributed a 50-question survey designed to measure pilot perceptions of security risk and threats. Univariate descriptives were used to examine the extent to which sample data approximated the population of interest. Factor and reliability analysis were used to document the multidimensionality of the constructs and assess the appropriateness of the linear combination of variables used to construct the scales. Finally, correlation analysis was used to better understand which areas of airline security might be targeted by policymakers to enhance existing structures and practices. Results revealed statistically significant differences in the perceptions of pilot security concerns and the focus of current U.S. aviation security policy.

The purpose of this study was to examine prescription drug abuse among the adolescent population and analyze factors that may contribute to or influence adolescent drug abuse. This study examined 3 waves of a secondary data set from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) entitled the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The data from these surveys are nationally representative and include data on several types of drug use and mental health conditions. Results from the current study indicate that there were significant relationships among age, gender, race, previous alcohol use, school enrollment, general health, mental health treatment, and the use of prescription drugs in the adolescent populations. Future research should be conducted to investigate the severity of the impact adolescent prescription drug abuse will have on society and to investigate possible solutions to this problem.

Social disorganization and social control are two seemingly competing theories attempting to explain crime and delinquency. In this study, social control and social disorganization are measured in a sample of college students via self-report surveys using questions derived from Hirschi's social control questionnaire and a previously employed social disorganization measure. Factor and reliability analyses were examined to validate each of these key constructs. Zero-order correlations, regression analyses, and path analysis were then used to test the key propositions of these theories. These tests provide full and qualified support for these theories. Implications for future research and criminal justice policy are discussed in light of these findings.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influences such as age at current offense, gender, race, previous convictions, and the seriousness of crimes that contributed to the decisions received by juveniles in adult court. This study examined a secondary data set from the United States Department of Justice entitled Juvenile Defendants in Criminal Courts (JDCC): Survey of 40 Counties in the United States, 1998. The cases from these 40 jurisdictions represented all filings during one month in 75 of the most populous counties. The current study found significant differences among race, prior criminal history, current offense severity, and juveniles adjudicated in adult court. Future research should therefore continue to examine the impact of juveniles adjudicated in adult court to better inform the debate surrounding the potential dangers associated with juvenile offending and adult criminal sanctions.

This thesis examined police practices of the North Carolina Highway Patrol concerning the occurrence of racial profiling. The sample data consisted of motorists stopped in North Carolina by the Highway Patrol between January 1, 2000 and July 31, 2000 (N = 332, 861). The findings suggested that race was a likely factor in pretextual stops. The results also indicate that racial profiling was occurring more in the western region than the eastern region of North Carolina. Theoretical reasons are offered in support of these findings.

Research testing the relationship between adolescent religiosity and delinquent behavior is inconclusive. Some studies show a significant negative relationship while others indicate no relationship. Stark (1996) asserts that the relationship between religiosity and delinquency is a function of community religiosity as opposed to personal religiosity. Thus, in areas of high religiosity, there will be a strong relationship, while areas of low religiosity will show no relationship. This study looks at the relationship between religiosity and delinquency of LDS youth in four different religious ecologies: Utah County (high religious ecology), the East coast (moderate religious ecology), the Pacific Northwest (low religious ecology), and Great Britain (very low religious ecology). Structural Equation Modeling of the data indicates that the relationship between religiosity and delinquency is strong regardless of religious ecology. Thus, the religious ecology hypothesis is not supported.

Foster care case managers are responsible for the wellbeing of foster youth in the foster care system. Teens (ages 13-17) in foster care are most vulnerable to serious risks, such as sex trafficking. Such risks have been heightened by the advent of internet-based technologies that connect foster youth with unsafe others at unprecedented frequency and speed. This thesis examines how case managers tackle the challenge of online safety as it relates to adolescents in the foster care system in the United States. I conducted 32 semi-structured interviews with case managers who worked with foster teens (ages 13-17) within the past 5 years. After each interview, I transcribed the recording and conducted qualitative data analysis to identify emerging themes. I found that foster teens face numerous online risks with sexual-related risks (e.g., sex trafficking) and contact-related risks (e.g., unsolicited contact) being most prominent. However, case workers may not be prepared to address all of these challenges because of lack of online safety training and support from foster parents. Also, case workers are overburdened with many responsibilities that make online safety a secondary priority. This thesis identifies the gaps in which case managers are trained and highlights the need for more support to handle online safety challenges. Therefore, this thesis recommends that the foster care system must place a higher priority in establishing support groups and collaborative training among foster parents, case workers, and foster children to fully manage foster youth online safety.