This dissertation discusses corruption within the Nigeria Police Force as a moral decay facing the institution. It provides an overview of the historical background and establishment of the Nigeria Police Force as an institution charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property, and maintaining peace and order in the country. The dissertation identifies various forms of police misconduct, such as bribery and extortion, mass arrests and detention, illegal bail charges and corruption within the leadership of the police. This deviant behavior has undermined the integrity of the force, with the result that public perception of the police force is negative and national security and development is undermined. Despite numerous anti-corruption strategies that have been devised to curb police misconduct, it remains difficult to reduce corruption within the force. This dissertation argues that implementing documented strategies in the workplace requires a deeper moral consciousness of their civic duties on the part of the police. This would promote the common good and increase the effectiveness of community policing. To support this view, the dissertation critically analyses the inadequacies in the anti-corruption strategies from an ethical perspective, and reveals the contending ethical implications facing the strategies. In search for solution to curb police corruption, the dissertation proposes incorporating in policing certain virtues embedded in the Afrocentric ethic of Omoluabi, such as good character, respect, diligence and communalism. This approach could provide insights to complement the existing anti-corruption mechanisms that aim to reduce police misconduct. In conclusion, the dissertation argues that embracing values in traditional African culture could contribute to the ongoing search for ways to combat police corruption. Therefore, there is a need to look into admirable values gleaned from an African indigenous understanding of morality, in order to address the ethical issues facing the police force in Nigeria. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

Thesis advisor: Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon / The purpose of this study on university handling of Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) was to understand the experiences of Title IX Coordinators as key administrators in this work. CSA continues to be a pervasive problem, and the dialogue on campuses and externally is highly contentious. Guidance from the federal government, combined with a recent surge in lawsuits against universities, have created a precarious legal context for CSA that is exceedingly difficult for universities to manage. How institutions handle the array of moving parts with CSA is largely absent from the current literature. This study interviewed university Title IX Coordinators, who are responsible for overseeing the institutional response to CSA and therefore are uniquely positioned to offer insight into how universities are handling the problem and the internal and external factors that are playing a role. Sixteen interviews were conducted of Title IX Coordinators responsible for overseeing student CSA matters at NCAA Division I institutions. The research questions guiding this study included: (a) how do Title IX Coordinators handle and carry out their responsibilities related to CSA; what shapes the ways in which Title IX Coordinators handle their responsibilities related to CSA, and (b) how does university culture influence Title IX Coordinators’ work related to CSA? The theory that emerged from the data indicates that Title IX Coordinators have an array of complexities to navigate in their CSA work, stemming from an interplay of both internal and external pressures and factors, that can lead to a range of outcomes that are most often negative. Using grounded theory methodological procedures, a theory and visual model were generated to explain the interactions among the following components: Title IX Coordinator values and priorities; processes involved in CSA work; university culture and structure; collaboration with and management of university partners; the legal landscape and external context; and case outcomes and Title IX Coordinator impact. The theory has implications for policy, for Title IX Coordinators and universities, and for future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Este trabalho se propõe a estudar se a abrangência da legitimidade de atuação atribuída pela Constituição Federal à Defensoria Pública pode ser entendida de forma a albergar a possibilidade de defesa judicial da moralidade administrativa. A relevância deste estudo se revela na repercussão social da discussão. É dizer, considerando a corrupção como um dos maiores entraves ao desenvolvimento social, então a eficiência no controle da moralidade administrativa está diretamente ligada à eficiência na própria redução da desigualdade social, que, por sua vez, é o fundamento maior da atuação da Defensoria Pública. Seria lícito, nesta perspectiva, impedir o ajuizamento de Ação de Improbidade pela Defensoria? Enfrenta-se o questionamento à luz da perspectiva de que a instituição tem a responsabilidade de defesa dos direitos individuais e transindividuais dos necessitados, entendidos estes como qualquer sujeito em situação de vulnerabilidade (a despeito de sua particular condição econômica). Entendeu-se por bem dividir o estudo em quatro partes, cada uma das quais correspondendo a um dos conceitos chaves delimitados pelo próprio título. Ou seja, primeiro se estuda a Defensoria Pública, logo após é feito um exame sobre o controle jurisdicional da Administração Pública; em terceiro lugar, é feita uma análise dos aspectos relevantes do conceito da moralidade administrativa, para, só então, em último lugar, adentrar especificamente a questão do problema efetivamente proposto. Nesta oportunidade, pretendeu-se enfrentar cada um dos argumentos costumeiramente levantados por aqueles que respondem negativamente à questão proposta. Considerados os pressupostos mencionados, concluiu-se pela legitimidade da Defensoria Pública para a tutela jurisdicional da moralidade administrativa. Destarte, caso seja constatado que a Ação de Improbidade é a melhor solução para o caso concreto, não existe razão jurídica que justifique a obstaculização desta via processual à Defensoria Pública. / This paper aims to examine whether the scope of action of legitimacy conferred by the Constitution to the Public Defense can be understood in order to accommodate the possibility of legal defense of administrative morality. The relevance of this study is revealed in the social repercussions of the discussion. That is, considering corruption as one of the greatest barriers to social development, then the efficient control of administrative morality is directly linked to efficiency in specific reduction of social inequality, which, in turn, is the largest foundation of the work of the Public Defense. Would it be reasonable, in this perspective, prevent the filing of Misconduct Action by the Public Defense? Such questioning is faced in the light of the view that the institution has the responsibility to defend both and transindividual rights of the needy, which are understood as any subject in a vulnerable situation (despite their particular economic condition). It was understood to be appropriate to divide the study into four parts, each of which corresponding to one of the key concepts defined by their own title. That is, firstly the Public Defense is studied, afterwards an examination is made on the judicial control of the Public Administration; thirdly, an analysis of the relevant aspects of the concept of administrative morality is made, only then, finally, specifically touch upon the issue of the effectively proposed problem. This time, it was intended to address every argument customarily raised by those who respond negatively to the question posed. Considering the aforementioned assumptions, we concluded the legitimacy of the Public Defense for the judicial protection of administrative morality. Thus, should it be found that the misconduct of action is the best solution to the present case, there is no legal reason to justify hindering this procedural means to the Public Defense

O Ministério Público, desde o período imediatamente anterior à Constituição da República de 1988, recebeu novas funções que não faziam parte da clássica titularidade da ação penal pública. Juntamente com essa novel plêiade de funções, atribuiu-se também à instituição novas ferramentas para a consecução de suas finalidades, marcadamente ligadas à tutela e à defesa de interesses metaindividuais. O manejo desses instrumentos no âmbito do próprio Ministério Público possibilita, em grande medida, a resolução concertada de conflitos, contornando a morosidade e a onerosidade do sistema judicial. Essas atividades, que possuem natureza jurídica de função administrativa, apresentam muitas zonas de discricionariedade, que, mal interpretada e manejada, pode desbordar em arbitrariedade disfarçada de independência funcional. Com isso, filtros e balizas ao exercício dessas atividades protojudiciais do Ministério Público são sugeridos, bem como se demonstram alguns mecanismos de controle que poderão ser utilizados, de maneira anterior ou posterior, para o exercício, pelo Ministério Público, de suas funções administrativas finalísticas na tutela e na defesa de interesses de massa. / The Public Prosecution, since immediately before the promulgation of the 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution, was endowed with new functions which went beyond its thitherto classic duty of solely acting in public criminal prosecutions. Along with its newly established goals, related to the defense of the so-called meta-individual interests. The use such tools by the Public Prosecution largely enables a concerted resolution of conflicts, by dodging the notorious dilatoriness and high costs of the judicial system. Nevertheless, because the juridical nature of these activities is that of administrative function, they might be tainted by an undesired degree of discretion. Therefore, a poor interpretation or manipulation of such activities might result in arbitrariness, dissembled as functional independence. For this reason, this paper suggests that filters and beacons be established to guide and limit these extrajudicial activities of the Public Prosecution. The paper also presents some control mechanisms, to be wielded either prior or prospective to the actual acting of the Public Prosecution when aiming at defending the people\'s interests by mean of its administrative functions.

Littérature sur l'évaluation sociale a principalement analysé la dyade “audience-candidat”,laissant La recherche sur les évaluations sociales s’est principalement focalisé sur la dyade “audiencecandidat”,sans s’intéresser à la façon dont l’audience principale (par exemple un agent exerçant uncontrôle social) influence l’évaluation d’une autre audience. Cette thèse explore la question desévaluations sociales dans un contexte d’audiences multiples. Elle se focalise sur les comportementsorganisationnels condamnables – une important forme d’évaluation sociale, pourtant en partieignorée par la recherche – et pose la question suivante : “Pourquoi une audience change-t-elle sonévaluation après un comportement organisationnel condamnable?”. Les trois essais s’intéressent àune différente forme d’audience (ou d’évaluation) : les individus (plaintes), les investisseurs (prix del’action) et les médias (évaluation de la presse écrite). Deux contextes novateurs et données uniquesont été utilisés : l’auto régulation du secteur de la publicité en Grande-Bretagne, et Calciopoli, lescandale qui a affecté la Série A en Italie en 2006. Les résultats montrent qu’en cas de comportementorganisationnel condamnable, l’évaluation des agents de contrôle social influence l’évaluation d’autreaudience, mais cet effet n’est pas mécanique. Trois modérateurs sont identifiés : l’ambiguïté de lanorme, la proéminence de l’évènement, et à quel point les transgresseurs sont des acteurs locaux. Enrésumé, cette thèse montre que les normes sociales sont mieux comprises dans un cadre triadique :“candidat – agent de contrôle social – autre audience”. Les normes sociales ne sont pas exogènes,mais sont crées de manière endogène par les actions des candidats et les évaluations de deuxaudiences au moins. / Literature on social evaluations has mainly analyzed the “audience-candidate” dyad,leaving underexplored the way the evaluation of a main audience (e.g. a social-control agent)influences the evaluation of another audience. This dissertation looks at social evaluations in amultiple-audience context. It focuses on organizational social misconduct - an important, yetunderstudied social evaluation - and it investigates “Why does an audience change its evaluationfollowing organizational social misconduct?”. Each of the three essays focuses on a differentaudience (evaluation): people (people’s complaints), investors (share price) and the media(newspapers’ evaluation). Two novel settings and unique databases were used: advertising selfregulationin the UK and Calciopoli, the scandal that affected the Italian Serie A in 2006. Resultsshow that in case of organizational social misconduct, the evaluation of a social control agent doesinfluence the evaluation of another audience, however this effect is not mechanical. Three primarymoderators emerge from the three essays: the ambiguity of the norm, the saliency of the event, andlocalness of the transgressors. In summary, this dissertation shows that social norms are betterunderstood in a triadic framework: “candidate – social-control agent – another audience”. Socialnorms are not set exogenously, but are endogenously created by the actions of the candidates andthe evaluations of (at least) two audiences.

A continual problem in the adjudication of crime in the United States is the continued occurrence of erroneous convictions and acquittals. This problem impacts the victims of crimes as they endure emotional and mental distress of additional investigations and new trials. Defendants are impacted by errors in verdicts because of the loss of freedom while being factually innocent. These errors may occur because jurors may not be knowledgeable of their role, right and responsibilities. Without regard to the judge's minimum instruction, the jury is not provided direction on the purpose and limitations of their roles. Guided by the social cognitive theory, this correlational study examined the incorrect verdicts by jurors in 2 Georgia counties in order to evaluate whether pretrial training has an impact on the incidence of verdict error. An experimental design was used to evaluate the impact of juror training on the occurrence of erroneous convictions and acquittals. The study included 156 participants who were registered voters from Lowndes and Lanier County, Georgia. The variables training, verdict errors, and juror misconduct were analyzed using t test, Pearson correlation analysis, Levene's Test of Equality of Variances, and Chi square analysis. The findings indicated a significant inverse relationship between the administration of pre-trial training and the occurrence of verdict error. The results suggest a relationship between the occurrence of juror misconduct and erroneous convictions, which is consistent with impact of behavior on decision making as posited by SCT. The implications for positive social change include recommendations to Lowndes and Lanier County court administrators to consider routine pretrial training that includes information about the role of the juror in criminal trials.

A fair, unbiased jury that follows the courts instructions is a crucial aspect of the American criminal justice system, mandated by both the California and United States Constitution. When jurors violate judicial instructions, it can jeopardize the impartiality of a case. Despite this, little research has been completed on what individual differences are indicative of greater willingness to commit jury misconduct. Misconduct can occur when jurors fail to follow judicial instructions in circumstances that a reasonable person may be tempted to disobey. This study explores potential individual differences that correlate with a greater likelihood of excusing and even committing juror misconduct under specific circumstances. Participants (N = 148) in an online survey read one of six vignettes relating to a mock court case. These vignettes either presented clear or confusing information, and included one of three types of juror misconduct witness [googled a term, talked to their spouse about the case, or went to the crime scene]. Neither the severity of the juror misconduct nor the clarity of expert testimony significantly affected participant’s perceptions of the behavior. However, participants Right Wing Authoritarianism and Belief in a Just World scores did affect their likelihood of reporting the juror misconduct as well as influenced their report of whether they would engage in these behaviors.

Despite convincing evidence of the polygraph instrument's lack of scientific validity and reliability in assessing deceptiveness in individuals, public-sector organizations in the United States continue to use the polygraph examination as a pre-employment screening tool. In addition to its lack of acceptance in the scientific community, little is known about the effectiveness of polygraph examinations, given as part of pre-employment screening, in predicting future misconduct in law enforcement officers. Two theoretical frameworks, Baumgartner and Jones' punctuated equilibrium model of policy change and Alvesson and Spicer's theory of functional stupidity, provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between use of the pre-employment polygraph and officers' perceptions of police misconduct, which is a suspected precursor to actual future misconduct. Survey data were acquired through a convenience sample of 190 Ohio police officers. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Findings revealed no statistically significant relationship between the pre-employment polygraph examination and officers' perceptions of police misconduct. The findings of this study begin to erode conventional thought that there are only positive aspects of the pre-employment polygraph. Law enforcement leaders and public policy makers such as police chiefs, county sheriffs, and local government administrators may benefit from this study. As a potential for positive social change, this study provides public policy makers with empirical data, as opposed to reliance on conventional wisdom and anecdotal evidence, for informed decision making about use of the pre-employment polygraph in public-sector hiring.

Background In Sweden, 20% of female patients have reported lifetime experiences of abuse in any health care setting. Corresponding prevalence among male patients is estimated to be 8%. Many patients report that they currently suffer from these experiences. Few empirical studies have been conducted to understand what contributes to the occurrence of abuse in health care. Objectives To understand what factors contribute to female patients’ experiences of abuse in health care. Design Constructivist grounded theory approach. Settings Women's clinic at a county hospital in the south of Sweden. Participants Twelve female patients who all had reported experiences of abuse in health care in an earlier questionnaire study. Methods In-depth interviews. Results The analysis resulted in the core category, the patient loses power struggles, building on four categories: the patient's vulnerability, the patient's competence, staff's use of domination techniques, and structural limitations. Participants described how their sensitivity and dependency could make them vulnerable to staff's domination techniques. The participants’ claim for power and the protection of their autonomy, through their competence as patients, could catalyze power struggles. Conclusions Central to the participants’ stories was that their experiences of abuse in health care were preceded by lost power struggles, mainly through staff's use of domination techniques. For staff it could be important to become aware of the existence and consequences of such domination techniques. The results indicate a need for a clinical climate in which patients are allowed to use their competence. / <p>Funding Agencies|Swedish Research Council|2009-2380|</p>

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy