A theoretical model was sought that would convincingly treat in a single, overarching framework the phenomena of change, crime, political violence and suicide. Of especial interest was "bottom-up" change and "naive" crime and violence in the Western world. / In addition to the familiar concept of relative deprivation, three broad concepts were introduced to facilitate the attempt at synthesis and integration. They were "relative discrepancy," "differential resistance" and "differential risk." Altogether, the four concepts were shown to be related to sets of Western sociocultural trends identified at the outset of the exposition as long suspected of having a causal connection with change, crime and violence. / A major achievement of the present work appears to be this demonstration that the previously identified relationships between certain sociocultural trends and the dependent variables are also congruent with the four intervening variables employed in the construction of the framework of the model. / Subsequently, a formal model was advanced, consisting of nine propositions. It is an attempt to explain change potential and aggression potential as they relate to one another and to basic sociocultural trends and components in the Western context. The structure of the propositional model was then examined, revealing several homomorphisms and, most importantly, isomorphism with decision-making theory. / Finally, a brief comparison of the "RD-DR model" with existing theoretical models in the disciplines attendant to change, crime and violence was presented. An exemplar of empirical research was also briefly noted to guide those wishing to test the present model. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: A, page: 0319. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1976.

Before a defendant's guilt has been established, Thai law directs the police, prosecutors, and courts to make pretrial release decisions that ensure both society's safety and the defendant's appearance at future proceedings. It also provides decision makers with criteria and options for delivering the pretrial release service. This research examines how Thai officials actually interpret and implement the legislative directives regarding bail. Specifically, it examines the operation of bail by the police, prosecutors, and courts in Nakornsawan and Lumpang provinces and the factors most important for them in making bail decisions. / Data collection from both provinces includes (a) interviews with key actors in the bail process; (b) observations of how they operate bail; and (c) examinations of official files of arrestees in 1983. Multiple regression and discriminant analysis are used to analyze the official data. / The study shows that bail is used not only for statutory reasons, but also for other purposes, such as coercing defendants to cooperate with the informal case processing technique. It also shows that officials use the seriousness of the defendant's crime as the most important criterion for selecting bail candidates and setting the amount of bail as it is readily available in every case and thus is easy to obtain and verify. Before giving pretrial liberty, officials also require every defendant to post financial bail. / The practice of money bail discriminates against the poor who are the majority of arrestees. It also violates the right to bail of those poor who pose the least bail risk, but are unable to afford financial bail. As a result, the bondsman becomes an important factor in helping most defendants post bail and obtain their freedom. / The study suggests that factors related to the likelihood of the defendant's appearance at future proceedings, as advocated by the Vera Institute, instead of the defendant's offense, should receive greater consideration in bail decisions. In addition, money bail should be used as the last resort to prevent a defendant's disappearance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1892. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The primary purpose of this research was to determine if the criminal is aware that his actions hurt others. Criminological research has largely overlooked this basic question. This study addressed this deficiency by manipulating empathy as an independent variable in order to assess its role in criminal behavior. / The sample consisted of 4,075 adolescent high school students in a major urban area. The sample was randomly selected and stratified by race, sex, school, and grade. The concept of cognitive empathy was used, which focuses on the individual's awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs and feelings of others. A self-report survey was used for criminal behavior, thus providing a measure of undetected as well as detected criminality. / Findings indicate that criminals are significantly lower in empathy than non-criminals and that empathy is negatively related to criminal behavior. Also, it was determined that among criminal offenders, those who do have empathic dispositions are more likely to engage in property rather than violent offenses. An equally important discovery was that high empathy will compensate for low socialization and restrict criminality. In other words, it appears that even among those not inclined to obey the laws, a strong empathic disposition causes the individual to first consider the effects of his actions on others, and modify his behavior accordingly. This finding is especially compelling since research has demonstrated that empathy can be learned. An unexpected discovery was the significant relationships found among empathy, nurturing, socialization, and criminal behavior, suggesting that the family environment plays a key role. Other findings concern the various characteristics of empathy, as well as the effect on certain correlates of criminal behavior when empathy is controlled. / Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications and several reommendations are made for future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: A, page: 1890. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

This dissertation is a systematic qualitative examination of the ways plea bargaining has been researched. It provides a thorough description and discussion of the various theoretical and methodological approaches used to examine plea bargaining. Five basic themes are discussed; they are: plea bargaining reform, prosecutorial discretion, defendants' attitude, courtroom workgroups, and the public's perception of plea bargaining. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-12, Section: A, page: 3201. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The present study analyzes behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) data from a fourteen week Field Training Officer (FTO) program for 131 probationary police officers and correlates these evaluations with pre-employment CPI and MMPI test scores. Multiple regression findings reveal that the CPI and MMPI account for a small percentage of the variance. In other words, one cannot use psychological test scores to predict how well probationary officers will perform during the training period. An ancillary issue is whether rater and ratee sex and race influence the evaluation process. Close examination of the training scores indicates that rater characteristics do not alter ratee scores. In general, the results are consistent with earlier studies based upon subjective and objective performance measures, which indicates a need to refine the psychological component of the police selection process. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1585. / Major Professor: William G. Doerner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

An empirical study of twenty judges of the criminal courts of the first instance of the Dominican Republic conducted during 1982-1984 explored judicial selection, social backgrounds, professional preparation, sentencing philosophy, and professional concerns. / Every four years, following national elections, judicial candidates are screened by a bipartisan Senate sub-committee using legally defined educational and experiential requirements and other norms. Recommended candidates are ratified by the Senate. Judges claimed no prior political party activism. They enjoyed considerable independence in some areas but remained subject to transfer. Professional discipline rested with the Supreme Court but was rarely exercised. / The majority of judges were middle-aged, middle class men and women who had graduated from university following the 1965 intervention. This upheaval resulted in an open admissions policy at the only public university, paving the way for highly motivated, secondary school graduates of modest means to qualify for university education, and precipitated the founding of several private law schools. Judges chose their university based on economic circumstances and proximity. They followed a traditional law curriculum which did not afford diverse, specialized career tracks. They had no training prior to assuming judicial duties, received no administrative guidance, and had no feedback on legal decisions. Professional affiliations were weak leaving judges isolated from colleagues and reliant upon their own resources and motivation. / Judges said their sentencing philosophy developed from diverse sources and varied from crime to crime. They claimed their sentences recognized aggravating and mitigating factors. Genuine sentencing alternatives were non-existent, lengthy incarceration prior to trial being the norm, practically forcing incarceration as the penalty. / Judges were concerned about the independence, integrity, image, competence, and efficiency of the judiciary and affiliated personnel, citizen cooperation, the growth and nature of crime, civil damage claims in criminal cases, their career potential and personal safety. / These judges were quite similar to judges in other Latin American countries in terms of background and preparation. Their professional concerns and restraints coincided with the circumstances of the judges similarly situated worldwide. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1582. / Major Professor: C. Ray Jeffery. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

This study extends the use of the organizational perspective in judicial process research by introducing an analytic model for assessing the effect of variations in courtroom workgroup structure and characteristics on felony case processing and sentencing decisions. The research model allowed for a two-dimensional rotation/substitution of workgroup members. Quantitative case processing and sentencing data for each of the twelve workgroups in the study were analyzed in terms of the qualitative organizational variables which characterized each group. It was found that: (1) workgroups with a constant prosecutor-defense attorney nucleus produced the most quantitatively consistent decisions; (2) a workgroup's acceptance level of informal work norms and the quality of interpersonal communications were strongly associated with the level of adversariness in case processing, while sentencing was not affected by variations in these qualities; and, (3) traditional case and defendant related variables had a conjoint affect on decision-making, the strength of the association varying positively with the level of adversariness used by the workgroup. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0584. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Two samples of residents were selected from a Florida work release center. Each group of eight residents differed in their membership with respect to the Megargee MMPI-based inmate classification system. One group was made up entirely of the type considered to be without significant pathology and similar to a noncriminal "normal" population. The other group consisted of two types of residents which prior research had described as impulsive. The "impulsive" label was a function of psychological testing, observation, and background considerations which were an integral part of the original development of the typology. / The experimental portion of the research involved a paradigm in which latencies for both reaction time and a late component (P300) of the auditory evoked potential were measured under two conditions designed to assess the subject's ability to shift his cognitive and behavioral strategy. Prior electrophysiological research had indicated that normal subjects can readily make a strategy shift when asked to go from a "be fast" to a "be accurate" experimental situation. A common-sense assumption is that impulsives think "faster" and thus would fail to shift to a strategy requiring longer cognitive processing. The research design examined that assumption. / A difference score index of the P300/RT relationship revealed a significant shift in cognitive strategy for the Normal Group but not the Impulsive Group. Other findings include the possibility of order of presentation effects and a trend for the impulsives to exhibit longer P300 latencies and shorter RTs. The conclusion discusses the possible future of such research in criminology. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0583. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Prior research on arbitrariness in capital sentencing suggests that impermissible factors still influence jury decisions of life or death even under sentencing guidelines approved by the Court. Unfortunately, there is almost no direct evidence on the question of arbitrariness and standards in capital sentencing from research designed to see how such sentencing decisions are actually made. This study attempts to extend our understanding of the process of penalty decision making through an analysis of interviews conducted with 117 capital jurors in the state of Florida who participated in both the guilt and penalty phases of a capital homicide trial between 1988 and 1991. The findings of this analysis suggest that statutory aggravating and mitigating factors had little influence on jurors' penalty decisions. Instead, jurors appeared to be influenced by legally proscribed considerations and tended to attach aggravating labels to factors which should appropriately be used in mitigation of a death sentence. The data generally portray a troubling picture of the operation of Florida's current capital penalty statutes and indicate that Florida's new statute has failed to eliminate the arbitrariness in the sentencing of capital defendants. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-04, Section: A, page: 1503. / Major Professor: Gordon P. Waldo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

A growing practice in contemporary local level law enforcement is the use of police officers as undercover narcotics agents. Often officers from several separate agencies are banded together, creating a multijurisdictional task force responsible for drug enforcement within a designated geographic area. Currently, little is known about the effects this type of assignment has on street level patrol officers. In this exploratory study, the impact of local deepcover narcotics work on its personnel is probed. The perceptions, norms, and attitudes most commonly experienced by this type of drug agent provide the focus of this study. Observations, unstructured interviews, and formal interviews are used to gain insight into this unique profession, giving the reader the "narcs' eye view" of the world. Three core categories emerged during research: "the job," "the work," and group solidarity. "The job" encompasses the types of people that drug officers must deal with as part of their daily duties. Unlike the uniform officers' dichotomous classification of people into either "us" or "them," narcotics agents create a trichotomy of "them," "us," and, most importantly, "we." The second core category, "the work" refers to narcotics enforcement in action, and covers actual procedural considerations and problems experienced by agents. Their views and preferences regarding everything from buy-busts and raids to reapplying for narcotics assignment are presented. The third category, group solidarity, forms the foundation of narcotics agents' working life. Due to inherent changes in job function, deepcover drug officers experience a higher need for group loyalty and allegiance than do uniform officers. Isolation, interdependence, and high stress converge in a unique pattern that demands increasing reliance on and trust in fellow agents. The quality and depth of team interaction / is an integral part of agents' job satisfaction, ultimately contributing to their ability to perform the long-term covert assignment. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-12, Section: A, page: 4000. / Major Professor: Thomas Blomberg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.