In this thesis project, the phenomenon of news media representation of punitivism has been researched through a methodology of a socio-semiotic discourse analysis framed within a theoretical structure of Durkheimianism and news value components. Articles concerning MetroXpress’ representation of criminal deviance and punishment were located through a buzzwords search within the newspaper’s online data archives. The search granted a total of 702 word-occurrences appearing in 216 separate news articles. The discourse analysis seperated these articles into the five sub-discourses of “Blurbs”, “Verdicts”, “Spectacle”, “Single Agent Focus” and “Cultural Context”. The distribution of articles pertaining to specific sub-discourses were distributed such that the highest concentration of articles was present in the “Blurbs” discourse, closely followed by “Verdicts”, placing “Single Agent Focus” and “Spectacle” in the middle, while the “Cultural Context” discourse was made up of the fewest articles. The methodology granted insight into functional punishment and MetroXpress’ representation of criminal deviance, revealing the newspaper’s discourse to be one of situated timeliness which positively promoted judicial-systemic activity. Presenting an anti-Durkheimian conception of deviance in relation to its supposed manifestation in any society, the newspaper presents the phenomenon as defeatable by the judicial system. In this regard, MetroXpress has positioned itself as the mouthpiece of the justice system, in such a manner that they function as a legitimizing force for the punitive system. Beyond the hierarchy of eliteness which permeates the discourse, a normalization of the conception of criminal deviants as dysfunctional obstacles who prohibit organic social cohesiveness is another facet of the discourse. Consequently, a primary focal point within the narratives center on the functional relationship between the deviant individual, systemic representatives and their relation to social cohesiveness.

The development of ideas on deinstitutionalization of mental patients has a much longer history in the United States than is commonly acknowledged. Evidence of intense discussion on the rights of the mentally disturbed, curative as opposed to control measures in their treatment, and the drawbacks of congregating the afflicted in large institutions can be found as early as the middle of the 19th century. This discussion was provoked by dissemination of knowledge about the oldest community care program of all: the colony of mental patients in Gheel, Belgium. Based on document analysis of publications in the American Journal of Insanity from 1844 to 1921, this study attempts to trace how this discussion resulted in the first wave of deinstitutionalization in the American mental health care system, and the successful implementation of the alternative of hospital treatment. My study further documents how the development of this program was inhibited by the need of psychiatry to attain professional legitimation. In its struggle to acquire public respect and occupational authority, the profession focused on somatic explanations of disease that could justify categorization of psychiatry as a branch of medical science. While this claim was not decisively supported by laboratory findings, or the ability to cure patients, psychiatry put forward genetic explanations of mental disorder. This took the profession to the extreme of the eugenics movement, and eventually positioned it as an institution of social control instead of medical authority. Having thus failed to achieve the ultimate professional legitimation in the medical field, psychiatry was exposed to a new wave of criticism in the 1960s, which led to the second wave of deinstitutionalization. History repeated itself with the same outcome. In the absence of overall support within psychiatric circles, and a lack of appreciation of family care as a viable alternative to hospital treatment among social scientists, deinstitutionalization could not but fail again. The contribution of the study lies in the areas of deinstitutionalization, professionalization of expert labor, and the social construction of mental illness and deviance.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to reveal the typical life style of a representative sample of fifty male opiate addicts participating in the Oregon Methadone Treatment Program. An important goal of the research was to assess the reliability of information gathered from patients compared to data obtained from an equal number of informants. A highly structured questionnaire was designed to elicit specific responses in order to calculate the degree of concordance between patients and informants to identical items. The findings depicted the modal life style of the subjects as more socially conventional, more responsible, and less antisocial. Although only 20% of the patients occasionally used heroin, it was common for them to rely on alcohol or marijuana. The results showed a pattern of high agreement between patients and informants in the information they provided suggesting that the data were reliable. It is judged that the self- report of methadone patients should be given considerable credence when information is gathered in a context of trust and confidentiality. The investigators conclude that the Oregon Methadone Treatment Program deserves the full support of the community as one with significant dividends to the patients and to the state.

The rather novel phenomenon of cybergrooming, or the solicitation of minors for sex via the Internet, has yet to be fully explored. This is a problem because such predatory behavior can lead to psychological and/or physical abuse of minors. The present study seeks to fill this knowledge by performing a qualitative, grounded theory analysis of naturally-occurring cybergrooming discourse. Data were drawn from the website of the online watchdog group, Perverted Justice. The first 20 lines of talk transmitted by the adults in these chat conversations were sampled from 100 transcripts published by Perverted Justice.Multi-step coding, facilitated by the qualitative analysis software Atlas.ti, revealed 11 themes of social action that discursively emerged in at least 25% of said transcripts: (1) conversational openings; (2) initial solicitation of age, sex and/or location; (3) specific questions regarding 'child's' life; (4) follow-up topicalization of 'child's' location; (5) seeking visual images of 'child;' (6) complimenting 'child's' appearance; (7) soliciting topic for discussion; (8) explicitly sexual statements; (9) soliciting 'child's' age preference for sex/romance; (10) arranging further contact; and (11) disclosing personal activities. These themes are then explored in their own context, in relation to each other, and as elements of the broad behavioral framework of cybergrooming.

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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.