Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 39-11, Section: A, page: 6982. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1978.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-07, Section: A, page: 4709. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-09, Section: A, page: 6258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 37-07, Section: A, page: 4640. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1976.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 38-12, Section: A, page: 7579. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1977.

Of the numerous studies dealing with the impact of executions on murder, most have reported no effect, a number have reported a counterdeterrent effect, and still others have reported a deterrent effect. This study hypothesizes that the reason for such inconclusive or conflicting findings is the simultaneous occurrence of all three effects: Among the audience of potential murderers, some will be more likely to kill, some will be less likely to kill, and others will be unaffected by the executions of convicted murderers. / Daily homicide data for the State of Florida for 1975-1987 were collected to study the impact of the first seventeen executions in the state following reinstatement of the death penalty. An index is developed, then applied to the homicides in the data file to divide them into three sub-files according to the likely impact of executions on their commission: Deterrable, Brutalizable, and Unaffected. Two types of time-series analysis are used to analyze the data: interrupted time series and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA). Daily and cumulative frequencies immediately prior to and following each execution are shown, t-tests are used to measure significance of the pre- and post-execution numbers, and BOGUS tests (using data for corresponding time periods one year prior to actual execution dates) are conducted to compare homicide patterns. Both the interrupted time series and the ARIMA procedure are applied to total homicides, and to each of the values of the trichotomized homicide variable. / Results indicate that (1) executions had no impact on homicides in general, (2) the level of execution publicity did not accurately predict the numbers nor patterns of homicides that followed, and (3) murders indexed deterrable and brutalizable did not move in the expected direction following executions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3733. / Major Professor: Gordon P. Waldo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

The focus of recent research in environmental criminology has been upon the physical and geographical nature of the crime site and how this "environment" might be altered to prevent future crimes. Most of these studies have examined property offenses such as burglary and vandalism. Few studies have focused solely upon the crime of robbery and its relationship with environmental factors. / The number of studies which have analyzed convenience store robbery from the "opportunity and target" perspective of crime prevention are extremely limited in both scope and application. They have either dealt with a single chain of convenience stores, have depended upon offender surveys or have been limited to a single municipality. / This study was designed to provide a more rigorous testing of the opportunity target model by examining the relationships between convenience store robberies and selected environmental factors on a statewide basis. The stores surveyed were taken from a random sample of all convenience stores operating within the State of Florida. / Data analyses were conducted at both the state and district levels using standard statistical techniques including: descriptive measures, crosstabulations, correlations, analysis of variance, multiple regression, discriminant analysis, and factor analysis. / The findings revealed that selection of convenience stores as robbery targets does not occur at random. Convenience stores with a low incidence of robberies differ significantly on a stated set of environmental variables from convenience stores with a higher incidence of robberies. The strength of the relationships within the research model was found to vary within the State of Florida with support for the model displaying substantially greater strength at the district level than at the state level. / The findings not only provide support for the "opportunity and target" perspective of crime prevention but also produced interesting insights regarding robbery prevention techniques for convenience stores. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1583. / Major Professor: Frederic L. Faust. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

In an attempt to assess the influence of demographic, employment, prior criminal history, probation sentence and probation adjustment variables on probation outcome, this study investigated probation terminations of 266 felony adult probationers whose cases had been terminated between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989 by completion of probation, revocation, or absconding. Probation outcome, the dependent variable was measured as success or failure. / Hypotheses, predicting significant relationships between key variables including race, sex, prior criminal history, marital status and employment status, were tested for statistical significance and strength. Chi-Square was used to determine the statistical significance; lambda and tau-b were used to show the strength of the relationships. All of the predicted relationships were in the right direction; with the exception of variables race and age, all of the relationships were statistically significant. / Small correlation coefficients indicated weak relationships between the dependent variable and the independent variables. / In the multivariate analysis, logit regression was used to determine the "best" predictors of probation outcome. Four models were estimated with the first model containing twelve variables. As each model was estimated, statistically insignificant variables were deleted. The final model contained the five variables which were statistically significant and cited as the "best" predictors of probation outcome. These variables included sex, work status, marital status, prior felonies, and conviction offense. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 1085. / Major Professor: Gordon Waldo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This study addressed the contradictory results obtained in previous research regarding the relationship between professionalism and police job performance. Earlier studies have used parochial definitions of police job performance, whereas the present research used the following comprehensive measures that have both historical and theoretical significance for police professionalism: (a) self-initiated activity, (b) control of conflict, (c) rule of law, (d) police-citizen relationship, (e) public safety and trust or commendation, (f) work attitude, (g) problem solving and decision making, and (h) task performance (non-stress and stress). / The study sample was 112 police officers who performed patrol duties from 1983 to 1986 at Panhandle Police Department, Florida. Professionalism was assessed by number of years of education and the occupational technique (training and incentive money) adopted by the department. Performance was measured by the rating of officers' performance by the supervisiors. / Pearson product moment correlation coefficients, and Mallow's Cp within the framework of BMDP 9R were computed for multiple regressions. / The research (a) failed to support the initial hypotheses that professionalism was related to self-initiated activity, control of conflict, rule of law, relationship with citizens, commendation, work attitude, problem solving and decision making, and task performance--non-stress and stress. (b) Professionalism is not associated with high performance ratings. These findings raise questions about the presumed impact of professionalism on law enforcement. / This research considered professionalism, as an area of sociological investigation, as primarily concerned with stratification of occupational groups, like policing, geared toward the improvement of performance. Thus, the exchange--structural and power perspectives were used as this study's theoretical framework. The theoretical models helped only in variable conceptualization, not explanation. / On the other hand, the significance of the study lies in its pioneering effort to utilize comprehensive measures to study police professionalism. The findings question the wisdom of equating professionalism and performance. Further refinement of theory and instrumentation for evaluating performance measured are recommended for futher study. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-07, Section: A, page: 1969. / Major Professor: Thomas G. Blomberg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-09, Section: A, page: 6258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.