Thesis (doctoral)--Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg. / "Diese Arbeit ist gleichzeitig -- um eine Übersetzung des Iranischen Strafgesetzbuchs bereichert -- als Heft 3 der Rechtsvergleichende Untersuchungen zur gesamten Strafrechtswissenschaft (Verlag L. Röhrscheid-Bonn) erschienen." Lebenslauf. "Schrifttums-Verzeichnis": p. x.

Proefschrift--Leiden. / Includes text and translation of sections 152-156 of the Penal Code of the Manchu Dynasty. "List of law terms": p. [75]-79. "Stellingen": p. [5-7] at end. Includes bibliographical references (p. 2-3).

Despite considerable evidence that certain life-course transitions can play a significant role in helping some offenders abandon crime, several fundamental issues remain unresolved. In this dissertation, I examine the links between crime and two life-course transitions related to the development of families in adulthood: cohabitation and marriage. Using data from the National Youth Survey (NYS), I investigate the extent to which both types of relationships can contribute to desistance. I then evaluate the major theoretical mechanisms through which marriage is most likely to promote behavioral change. Finally, I examine the degree to which these relationships foster desistance for both men and women. Results indicate that marriage has the capacity to promote desistance, whereas cohabitation does not, and that the effects of marriage on crime are conditional on both the social orientation of the spouse and the quality of the marital relationship. These and other results are mostly consistent with social control and social learning theories of crime and desistance. In addition, the results of the analyses indicate that the effects of marriage on crime are similar among men and women. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2007. / March 29, 2007. / Marriage, Desistance, Crime / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas G. Blomberg, Professor Directing Dissertation; James D. Orcutt, Outside Committee Member; Carter Hay, Committee Member.

The extraordinary breadth of the current home foreclosure crisis has made it a regularly discussed topic across the United States. Few cities can claim they have been unaffected by it as 94 of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas experienced an increase in home foreclosures in 2008. Such a rise in home foreclosure has left many curious about consequences that may appear in the wake of the largest crisis of this kind in American history. The purpose of this project is to better understand some of the potential criminal consequences of home foreclosure. In an attempt to answer this question, this study poses two primary research questions. The first: does a change in home foreclosures in a given neighborhood lead to an increase in crime in said neighborhood? And, in an effort to better understand the relationship between home foreclosures and crime, what other variables condition the influence of home foreclosures on crime, if any? Past theory and research suggest social disorganization and disorder theories to be the most appropriate to address this phenomenon. The merits of strain theories are discussed and the concept of suburban insulation is introduced. Finally, this study offers a preliminary look at how home foreclosures are influencing crime in Houston, Texas communities. Home foreclosure, crime, and other demographic data from Houston during the years 2005-2008 were compiled. Results from analyses employing dynamic panel models with an Arellano-Bond estimator indicate that changes in rates of home foreclosure over time do have a significant positive relationship with changes in the rates of total crime. Nonetheless, this influence is substantively minor. Lastly, higher levels of urbanization and economic disadvantage negatively impacted the influence of home foreclosures on crime. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2011. / March 14, 2011. / Social Disorganization, Neighborhood Crime, Home Foreclosure / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric Baumer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stacey Sirmans, University Representative; Brian Stults, Committee Member.

Women currently comprise the fastest growing population of those being sentenced to prison. Many criminologists contend that increases in the population of incarcerated women are due, not to changes in criminal involvement, but to changes in criminal justice policies. In particular, it is argued that the move away from indeterminate sentencing towards more determinate models has served to equalize the punishment of men and women, thereby leading to more pronounced increases in incarceration for women compared to men. The present study examines the impact of the statewide adoption of determinate sentencing legislation in Florida on the likelihood of incarceration, sentence length, as well as time served for female offenders. The analysis indicates that women do receive chivalrous treatment under both indeterminate and determinate sentencing structures in Florida. Interestingly, the evidence presented here suggests that this chivalrous treatment actually strengthens under determinate sentencing schemes when compared to indeterminate sentencing schemes. / A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2004. / September 2, 2004. / Determinate Sentencing, Sex and Sentencing / Includes bibliographical references. / Theodore G. Chiricos, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joyce L. Carbonell, Outside Committee Member; Thomas G. Blomberg, Committee Member.

This dissertation contributes to an emerging literature in criminology on sentencing and contextual effects, first by unpacking the direct and conditioning effects of social context on sentencing decisions, and then by examining whether changes in social context, as well as state-level social context, influence sentencing. To this end, I draw on the minority threat perspective to develop hypotheses about contextual effects. Specifically, I use the minority threat perspective to develop hypotheses about how different dimensions of county-level minority threat affect courtroom decision-making differently, as well as interactively with individual offenders' race and ethnicity. I also use this perspective to develop hypotheses about the ways in which changes in social context may affect sentencing decisions. In theorizing how changes may affect sentencing severity, I also draw on the social threat perspective. Finally, I examine state-level social context and its effect, directly and interactively with county-level social context and individual offenders' race and ethnicity, on sentencing severity. Data for this dissertation come from the State Court Processing Statistics for 1998, 2000, and 2002, which include 17,440 convicted felons in 60 urban counties across 23 states. The data are unique in that they include cases from a range of counties and states, offer extensive information on the processing of defendants, provide important demographic information—especially race and ethnicity—and information about defendants' previous contact with the criminal justice system. In addition, because the counties sampled represent courts that process a large proportion of arrestees in the U.S., findings from this dissertation should have a greater generalizability than prior studies that only focus on one state. To develop various measures of social context at county and state levels, I extract data from the U.S. Census of Bureau, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the National Center for State Courts. Given the nature of the research questions and data, I use multilevel modeling techniques to test the hypotheses. Ultimately, the goal of this dissertation is to contribute to criminological and criminal justice research, as well as to policy discussions, by examining whether the influence of social context on criminal sentencing is more nuanced than what prior research has established and by advancing the development of theoretical accounts of sentencing. The findings highlight the significance of social context—racial and ethnic context in particular—and its nuanced effect on sentencing severity. I conclude this dissertation by discussing the implications of the findings for theory, research, and policy. I also discuss future lines of research that I intend to pursue. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2008. / April 1, 2008. / Minority Thtreat, Social Context, Sentencing, Race and Ethnicity / Includes bibliographical references. / Daniel P. Mears, Professor Directing Dissertation; Xufeng Niu, Outside Committee Member; Carter Hay, Committee Member; Michael D. Reisig, Committee Member.

The American criminal justice system is more punitive than any other industrialized country in the world. Various policies designed to "get tough" on criminals have been proliferating. While these punitive policies and practices have been used, the American public has also seemed to be more supportive of these harsh measures for dealing with suspected and convicted criminals. The public has often perceived that crime is a problem largely attributable to blacks. The idea for this research originated from the fact that many have conjectured a relationship between public punitiveness and the racial typification of crime. No one had yet produced empirical support for this claim. Using national survey data I collected in the spring of 2002, I explore the possibility that perceptions of crime as a predominantly black phenomenon are related to more punitive attitudes about criminal justice, while controlling for other potential influences on punitiveness. Further, I assess whether viewing television crime news and crime dramas increase the likelihood of stereotyping blacks as criminals. Finally, I test for the presence of an indirect relationship between media consumption and punitive attitudes through the racial typification of crime. Findings support the initial hypothesis of this research. Those who typify blacks as criminals are significantly more punitive in their criminal justice policy preferences than those who do not share similar racial perceptions. The relationship appears to be especially relevant for whites, and particularly for whites who are non-Southerners, less racially prejudiced, less concerned about crime, perceive crime to be less violent, and conservative. Results indicate that watching more local television news increases the black typification of crime for minorities, while whites typify crime as a black phenomenon more when they pay closer attention to television crime news. In addition, the present analyses show that media consumption is not indirectly associated with punitive attitudes through the racial typification of crime. Overall, this research shows how the relationship between the racial typification of crime and punitiveness both augments and possibly expands aspects of the social threat and social control relationship postulated by Blalock (1967), Liska (1992), and others. / A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2004. / May 14, 2004. / Race, Racial Threat, Social Threat, Punitive Attitudes, Criminal Stereotype, Media / Includes bibliographical references. / Ted Chiricos, Professor Directing Dissertation; Irene Padavic, Outside Committee Member; Gary Kleck, Committee Member.

With the "get-tough" stance of the past three decades shaping the landscape of U.S. penal policy, the rate of female incarceration has increased at a rate higher than that for males since the early 1980s (Pollock, 2002). At the turn of the 21st century, 60% of women admitted to prison, compared to 41% of male offenders, were incarcerated for drug-related offenses (Chesney-Lind, 2002; Pollock, 2002). Given this, an understanding of what causes females to relapse and/or recidivate is critical in the development and implementation of appropriate correctional substance abuse treatment. Interest in the efficacy of correctional substance abuse treatment programming has resurfaced after a period of years in which the doctrine of "nothing works" in offender rehabilitation was accepted. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of substance abuse treatment programs operative for female inmates in the state of Florida released between 1995-2001. Consistent with previous research, the analyses produced mixed findings. Specifically, while institutionally-based programming did not reduce recidivism, community based programming was effective three years post-release from programming. Further evaluation (both process and outcome studies) and investment in treatment resources that can address the specific needs of females and provide a continuum of care are provided as recommendations for future research and practice. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2010. / April 6, 2009. / Rehabilitation, Female Inmates, Drug Treatment / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas G. Blomberg, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joyce L. Carbonell, Outside Committee Member; William D. Bales, Committee Member.

Attrition and Time-To Degree issues remain poorly understood in academia, and almost completely unexplored in criminology and criminal justice. Loss rates of fifty percent or more are common in the social sciences, while the success rates for criminal justice are unknown for most schools. This study attempts to investigate completion levels at the Florida State University (FSU) College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, using descriptive and inferential techniques, survival analysis, and questionnaires. Problems with data collection impeded analysis of even basic statistical operations, resulting in the exclusion of some independent variables due to unavailability of readily obtainable information. Both the Master's and Ph.D. programs had similar attrition rates, nearly two-thirds of students completing the programs. The M.A. program was around two years, and the terminal level alone was a little over six years. Recommendations concerning data handling and retention for the College and for FSU follow, along with suggestions for national initiatives to address some of the problematic situations concerning lack of national recognition for criminology and criminal justice. / A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2007. / October 5, 2007. / Internet Surveys, Graduate Programs, Time-to-Degree, Attrition, Survival Analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / William Doerner, Professor Directing Dissertation; Catherine Black, Outside Committee Member; Cecil Greek, Committee Member; Thomas Blomberg, Committee Member.

The research explores whether perceptions of environmental threat influence support for environmental controls. To fulfill this purpose, the research builds on social threat and social control theory, which initially emphasized the putative threat of minorities as a factor that can influence mechanisms of social control. I argue the relevance of threat for social control can be more broadly understood and that social threats can have a variety of origins. Indeed, there are a number of threats that may be posed by various environmentally sensitive factors such as hazardous waste disposal, industrial pollution, and chemical spills. Using national survey data collected in the spring of 2002, I assess whether perceptions of environmental threats and environmental crime salience are related to support for social control. Since it is plausible that respondents can experience different dimensions of environmental threat, I examine three variations—threats perceived at the general or global level, threats that impact individual health and safety, and the proximity of environmental threats. I also consider two separate types of social control. The first examines support for criminal justice controls, while the second explores support for conservation/policy oriented forms of control. The research findings indicate that perceptions of environmental threat significantly increase support for environmental controls. More specifically, it appears that when environmental threats are proximate and personal, individuals are consistently more willing to endorse the use of punitive criminal justice controls. Conversely, people are not willing to support the use of punitive sanctions for general environmental threats that have no immediate or direct impact on them. In that context, conservation controls are consistently viewed as the appropriate form of control. The salience of environmental crime is also a consistent predictor of conservation and punitive controls. / 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, 2006. / June 26, 2006. / Environment, Social Control, Social Threat, Environmental Crime, Crime Salience / Includes bibliographical references. / Ted Chiricos, Professor Directing Dissertation; Robert Deyle, Outside Committee Member; Gary Kleck, Committee Member.