View All Items

Title: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORENSIC EXPOSURE AND FORENSIC KNOWLEDGE.
Creator: Alves, Giovanna M, Hancock, Peter A., University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: It has been shown that popular crime television series can have an impact in the behavior and perception of viewers. Forensic evidence, or evidence that is gathered through scientific methods, is often central to the plot of these shows. Exposure to forensic evidence in these shows has impacted the legal system by changing perceptions and opinions towards evidence presented in courtrooms, a consequence termed the CSI effect. A subset of the CSI effect named the Police Chief's Effect refers to...
Show moreIt has been shown that popular crime television series can have an impact in the behavior and perception of viewers. Forensic evidence, or evidence that is gathered through scientific methods, is often central to the plot of these shows. Exposure to forensic evidence in these shows has impacted the legal system by changing perceptions and opinions towards evidence presented in courtrooms, a consequence termed the CSI effect. A subset of the CSI effect named the Police Chief's Effect refers to the ability of criminals to learn about forensic evidence from these shows. Although understudied, the Police Chief's effect has the potential to increase the difficulty of criminal investigations if criminals are better able to plan their actions and conceal evidence. The intent of this thesis is to explore a relationship between forensic techniques portrayed in television and the forensic knowledge an individual obtains from it. Previous studies have looked at the Police Chief's effect in the context of a non-violent crime, even though most of the television shows highlight crime of a violent nature. The present study evaluates the ability of participants to consider forensic evidence when planning a murder, taking into account their crime show viewing history. The results revealed that the overall number of crime shows, percentage of those episodes and involvement in the shows was not associated with forensic evidence. However, a moderate correlation was found between the number of crime shows watched and forensic evidence in female participants.
Show less
Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFH2000507, ucf:45666
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000507

Title: LEFT IN THE DARK: UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF SAFETY ON CAMPUS.
Creator: Krauss, Amber, Donley, Amy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The last few years a struggle of feeling safe has become more of an issue with all the tragedies that have taken place on college campuses throughout the years. Tragedies like Columbine then Virginia Tech and most recently the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut. This research focuses on student's perception of safety and the issues with violence on campus. The question is how the students, faculty, and staff will react if an incident like this occurs on the University of Central...
Show moreThe last few years a struggle of feeling safe has become more of an issue with all the tragedies that have taken place on college campuses throughout the years. Tragedies like Columbine then Virginia Tech and most recently the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut. This research focuses on student's perception of safety and the issues with violence on campus. The question is how the students, faculty, and staff will react if an incident like this occurs on the University of Central Florida campus. The intent of this thesis was to explore the student body of UCF students and their perception of safety on campus. Students were questioned on previous victimization and campus related crime. Findings suggest that women overall are more fearful on campus compared to men. Sadly, only about 5.6 percent of my sample knew about the Clery Act. This act states all public schools must post all crimes committed on or near campus on a public website. This was questioned with a simple yes or no answer. By conducting this study I hope to find a better understanding on how UCF student's view safety on campus.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004364, ucf:44975
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004364

Title: Italian-American Ethnic Concentration, Informal Social Control, and Urban Violent Crime: A Defended Neighborhoods Approach.
Creator: Marshall, Hollianne, Corzine, Harold, Huff-Corzine, Lin, Jasinski, Jana, Jarvis, John, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study examines the impact of white ethnic concentration on robbery and homicide in Chicago and New York City. As one of the first to disaggregate white ethnic populations, this study has the expectation that Italian-American concentration will have a stronger influence on robbery and homicide than any other white ethnic concentrations. This study is founded on prior qualitative research suggesting that the reputation of Italian-Americans influences the behavior of outsiders in their...
Show moreThis study examines the impact of white ethnic concentration on robbery and homicide in Chicago and New York City. As one of the first to disaggregate white ethnic populations, this study has the expectation that Italian-American concentration will have a stronger influence on robbery and homicide than any other white ethnic concentrations. This study is founded on prior qualitative research suggesting that the reputation of Italian-Americans influences the behavior of outsiders in their communities. The data show there is a significant and negative relationship between Italian-American concentration and the violent crimes robbery and homicide. This relationship only exists for white ethnic concentration with robbery. These patterns occur across both cities at three different aggregate levels. The results indicate that there may be particular characteristics about Italian-American ethnic concentrations which have dampening effects on the frequency of homicide and robbery in their communities; it is speculated that a reputation for Mafia involvement is one of the protective factors.
Show less
Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004407, ucf:49404
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004407

Title: THE CRIME OF COMING HOME: BRITISH CONVICTS RETURNING FROM TRANSPORTATION IN LONDON, 1720-1780.
Creator: Teixeira, Christopher, Beiler, Rosalind, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis examines convicts who were tried for the crime of Ã‚Â"returning from transportationÃ‚Â" at LondonÃ‚Â's Old Bailey courthouse between 1720 and 1780. While there is plenty of historical scholarship on the tens of thousands of people who endured penal transportation to the American colonies, relatively little attention has been paid to convicts who migrated illegally back to Britain or those who avoided banishment altogether....
Show moreThis thesis examines convicts who were tried for the crime of Ã‚Â"returning from transportationÃ‚Â" at LondonÃ‚Â's Old Bailey courthouse between 1720 and 1780. While there is plenty of historical scholarship on the tens of thousands of people who endured penal transportation to the American colonies, relatively little attention has been paid to convicts who migrated illegally back to Britain or those who avoided banishment altogether. By examining these convicts, we can gain a better understanding of how transportation worked, how convicts managed to return to Britain, and most importantly, what happened to them there. This thesis argues that convicts resisted transportation by either avoiding it or returning from banishment after obtaining their freedom. However, regardless of how they arrived back in Britain, many failed to reintegrate successfully back into British society, which led to their apprehension and trial. I claim that most convicts avoided the death penalty upon returning and that this encouraged more convicts to resist transportation and return home. The thesis examines the court cases of 132 convicts charged with returning from transportation at the Old Bailey and examines this migration home through the eyes of those who experienced it. First, the thesis focuses on convicts in Britain and demonstrates how negative perceptions of transportation encouraged them to resist banishment. The thesis then highlights how convicts obtained their freedom in the colonies, which gave them the opportunity to return illegally. Finally, the thesis shows that returned felons tried to reintegrate into society by relocating to new cities, leading quiet honest lives, or by returning to a life of crime.
Show less
Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003105, ucf:48297
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003105

Title: CORRELATES AND CAUSES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS: A CRIMINAL EVENTS ANALYSIS.
Creator: Covington, Michele, Corzine, Jay, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Violence against police officers is a major problem in America. Previous studies on violence and police officers have usually focused on violence by police officers, not violence against police officers. This study is the first of its kind as it examines violence against police officers from a comprehensive, criminal events perspective with detailed use of force/officer violence data collected by the Orlando Police Department. Individual officer characteristics, individual offender...
Show moreViolence against police officers is a major problem in America. Previous studies on violence and police officers have usually focused on violence by police officers, not violence against police officers. This study is the first of its kind as it examines violence against police officers from a comprehensive, criminal events perspective with detailed use of force/officer violence data collected by the Orlando Police Department. Individual officer characteristics, individual offender characteristics, situational variables, and geographical factors are considered. Logistic regression results indicate that use of force incidents are more likely to involve battery against one or more police officers when multiple officers are involved, when offenders are female, when offenders are of larger size (measured by weight), and when offenders are known to have recently consumed alcohol before the incident. Spatial analysis results indicate that there is significant clustering of batteries against police officers within the City of Orlando, and that the areas where police battery is predominant are very similar to areas where alcohol-related businesses are prevalent, and theoretically, more alcohol is consumed. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Show less
Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003200, ucf:48581
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003200

Title: Media Coverage and the Ferguson Unrest.
Creator: Wyatt, Brittanni, Gay, David, Corzine, Harold, Jasinski, Jana, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The media aids in bringing to light many social issues across the nation each and every day. Historically, police force on African Americans can be seen amongst many media outlets. However, with technological advances the media has flourished which makes it possible for the media to supply coverage of police force on African Americans more now than ever before. This exploratory analysis aimed to uncover ways in which the media has framed the individuals involved in the shooting of Michael...
Show moreThe media aids in bringing to light many social issues across the nation each and every day. Historically, police force on African Americans can be seen amongst many media outlets. However, with technological advances the media has flourished which makes it possible for the media to supply coverage of police force on African Americans more now than ever before. This exploratory analysis aimed to uncover ways in which the media has framed the individuals involved in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. Articles from four media outlets were used in this analysis. Data was collected from the articles that specifically focused on terms and phrases used to describe the deceased and the officer involved as well as the altercation between the two individuals involved. Results of the analysis show that specific words to identify and describe the deceased and officer involved were used at a much higher rate in national news outlets as opposed to a local news out-let from Missouri. These results are specifically discussed as well as limitations and ideas for further research on the data that was collected and use.?
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0006019, ucf:51001
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006019

Title: Operation murder.
Creator: Goldstein, Anatole, Maximilian Hurwitz
Date Issued: 1949
Identifier: 369645, CFDT369645, ucf:5458
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/369645

Title: CRIMINAL MOBILITY OF ROBBERY OFFENDERS.
Creator: Drealan, Joe, Watkins, R. Cory, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The current paper addresses the mobility and willingness to travel of robbery offenders. A five-sector robbery typology was constructed, consisting of: personal robbery, commercial robbery, carjacking robbery, home-invasion robbery, and robbery by sudden snatching. Defining mobility as the straight-line distance between the offender's home residence and the location of the robbery offense, the extent of criminal mobility for each type of robbery offense was analyzed. Using geographical...
Show moreThe current paper addresses the mobility and willingness to travel of robbery offenders. A five-sector robbery typology was constructed, consisting of: personal robbery, commercial robbery, carjacking robbery, home-invasion robbery, and robbery by sudden snatching. Defining mobility as the straight-line distance between the offender's home residence and the location of the robbery offense, the extent of criminal mobility for each type of robbery offense was analyzed. Using geographical information system (GIS) technologies and, more specifically, geocoding software programs, the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the offender's home and offense's location was determined. It was found that a subset of robbery offenders exhibit relatively high mobility across all five robbery types. However, distinct mobility patterns also emerged between the different types of robbery offenses. Policy and research implications from these findings are discussed.
Show less
Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001588, ucf:47113
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001588

Title: DOES KNOWLEDGE PREDICT FEAR: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF MASS SCHOOL SHOOTINGS AND STUDENTS FEAR OF CRIME ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS.
Creator: Rosenbaum, Emily, Donley , Amy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: On April 16, 2007, 32 students and faculty were killed on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus, making this incident the deadliest mass school shooting in United States history. Other school shootings, such as the infamous Columbine High School shootings and the more recent Northern Illinois State shootings, have become popular topics in today's social media (Kaminski et al, 2010; Reese 2009). Due to these events, schools and universities have become interested in...
Show moreOn April 16, 2007, 32 students and faculty were killed on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus, making this incident the deadliest mass school shooting in United States history. Other school shootings, such as the infamous Columbine High School shootings and the more recent Northern Illinois State shootings, have become popular topics in today's social media (Kaminski et al, 2010; Reese 2009). Due to these events, schools and universities have become interested in the safety of their students as well as the students overall feelings towards crime while on their campus. New research studies have taken an interest in students' overall fear of crime and how this fear is impacted by variables including sex of the student and the time of day (Kaminski et al. 2010; Murray 2001). Though these studies have found who is more fearful of crime and which types of crime are feared most among their samples, these studies and others do not take into account whether the student is aware of shooting incidents that have occurred on college campuses around the country. The current study addresses this gap. The purpose of this study is to measure whether a University of Central Florida student's knowledge of mass school shootings influences their own levels of fear regarding crime and criminal victimization. Using an anonymous online survey, data from students at the University of Central Florida was collected and analyzed. The survey used quiz style questioning to gauge a students' overall knowledge on mass school shootings. Other questions such as demographics fear of various types of crime, and fear of different locations on campus were also asked. This research addresses which areas of the University of Central Florida that students fear most (such as the Parking Garages), whether a student who lives in off campus housing is more fearful then a student who lives on campus, and whether having more knowledge of mass school shootings cause more fear of crime in students then those with less knowledge, and do students with more knowledge feel that they will be victimized more. This research hopes to help the University of Central Florida's Counseling center and well as the UCF Police Department to help understand students fears and needs to help create a safer learning environment and help those students in need in addition to adding to the overall literature on fear of crime.
Show less
Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFH0004380, ucf:44989
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004380

Title: DEFENDED NEIGHBORHOODS AND ORGANIZED CRIME: DOES ORGANIZED CRIME LOWER STREET CRIME?.
Creator: Marshall, Hollianne, Corzine, Jay, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The literature suggests that neighborhoods with organized criminal networks would have lower crime rates than other neighborhoods or communities, because of the social control their organization exerts on residents and visitors. The strictly organized Italian-American Mafia seems to have characteristics that would translate throughout the neighborhood: People will not participate in overt illegal behaviors because they do not know who is watching, and the fear of what the Mafia might do keeps...
Show moreThe literature suggests that neighborhoods with organized criminal networks would have lower crime rates than other neighborhoods or communities, because of the social control their organization exerts on residents and visitors. The strictly organized Italian-American Mafia seems to have characteristics that would translate throughout the neighborhood: People will not participate in overt illegal behaviors because they do not know who is watching, and the fear of what the Mafia might do keeps residents and visitors to the neighborhood relatively well-behaved. Using crime statistics from the NYPD and census data for neighborhood characteristics, four linear regressions were calculated. The results indicate that low socioeconomic status is the main factor explaining neighborhood crime rate variations in New York City. The percent of the population under 18 and density were also listed as influential factors for some variables. The percent of foreign-born Italians was noted as significant in the correlation models, though it is not yet clear what this might truly indicate. The proxy variable for Mafia presence was not significant, and this can either be due to inaccuracies of the measurement of the variable or a true decrease in the influence of Mafia presence after the string of RICO arrests in the 1980s and 1990s. The results imply that Mafia presence does not influence neighborhood social control, but they do reinforce social disorganization theory. The foundation of this theory is neighborhood stability; the more unstable a neighborhood is, the more susceptible the neighborhood is to crime and dysfunction. Factors like low socioeconomic status and density influence neighborhood stability. Future research should attempt to have more accurate representations of Mafia presence and neighborhood characteristics.
Show less
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002751, ucf:48112
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002751

Title: THE CONTEXTUAL IMPACT OF INCOME INEQUALITY ON SOCIAL CAPITAL AND ADVERSE SOCIAL OUTCOMES.
Creator: Schiff, Jeannie, Wan, Thomas, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: An interdisciplinary approach to policy and governance recognizes that many social welfare problems are interrelated, and policy-makers have long recognized a need to address the root causes of these problems. There is much evidence that income inequality is one of these root causes but research suggesting the effect of income inequality is mediated by social capital has complicated the relationship, as have theories of causality that take different approaches. This study takes an ecological...
Show moreAn interdisciplinary approach to policy and governance recognizes that many social welfare problems are interrelated, and policy-makers have long recognized a need to address the root causes of these problems. There is much evidence that income inequality is one of these root causes but research suggesting the effect of income inequality is mediated by social capital has complicated the relationship, as have theories of causality that take different approaches. This study takes an ecological approach to these issues to test the relationship between income inequality, social capital and selected adverse outcomes proposed by the relative income hypothesis. The relative income hypothesis posits that the impact of income inequality on adverse outcomes is mediated by social capital. The study used a retrospective cross-sectional design to analyze county-level data for the year 2000 with a structural equation model composed of three constructs: income inequality, modeled by four common measures; a social capital construct based on a model developed by Rupasingha, Goetz and Freshwater (2006); and an adverse outcomes construct designed as a parsimonious measure of social outcomes in four public affairs disciplinary areas. The test of the path presumed by the relative income hypothesis revealed both a direct effect of income inequality and indirect effect of inequality through social capital. However, the direct effect of income inequality on outcomes was significantly larger than the indirect effect, indicating the relationship is moderated, rather than mediated, by social capital. Since the impact of social capital on the selected adverse outcomes was relatively small, and the final model failed to achieve statistical significance, the relative income hypothesis that income inequality exerts its primary effect on outcomes through social capital was rejected.
Show less
Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003205, ucf:48574
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003205

Title: THE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: PERCEIVED DETERRENT EFFECT ON CAMPUS CRIME.
Creator: Rhinehart, David, Watkins, R. Cory, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of the deterrent effect of School Resource Officers on crimes that may occur on school campuses and the factors that may influence those perceptions. The first school resource officer (SRO) program was implemented in 1953 and gained popularity in the 1990s. This study (conducted in 2008) reveals that the majority of students perceive that school resource officers are a deterrent to specific crimes and the overall crime rate on...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of the deterrent effect of School Resource Officers on crimes that may occur on school campuses and the factors that may influence those perceptions. The first school resource officer (SRO) program was implemented in 1953 and gained popularity in the 1990s. This study (conducted in 2008) reveals that the majority of students perceive that school resource officers are a deterrent to specific crimes and the overall crime rate on school campuses. The results of the survey indicated that the crimes of rape (74.1%), homicide (73.7%), aggravated assault or threat with a weapon (70.5%), sexual assault (67.0%), robbery (64.9%), and weapon possession (68.4%) had the highest percentage of students who responded agree (strongly agree or agree) that the school resource officer was a perceived deterrent to those crimes on the school campus. The incident with the lowest perceived deterrent effect was truancy with 48.9% of the students responding with strongly agree or agree. Based on a multivariate analysis, this study found that the factors that influenced the students' perceptions of the School Resource Officer as a deterrent to crime were students' age, class standing, school attended, exposure to a SRO, friends' crime history, and family crime history. The students' race, past crimes, income level, and gender were not statistically significant for any of the dependent variables. The examination of the ordinal logistic regression showed the percentage of variance the model explained was low. Based on this research with the limitations presented, the SRO is perceived as a deterrent to crime on school campuses. The deterrent effect was not stronger in any one demographic group. Peer pressure was one factor that was an influence in the majority of studied crimes.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003765, ucf:48718
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003765

Title: The Russian Connection: How Russia Became a Leader in the World's Human Trafficking Market.
Creator: De Mauro, Anthony, Mousseau, Demet, Dolan, Thomas, Boutton, Andrew, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis assesses how the history of the USSR and its collapse affected the human trafficking market. By conducting a historical analysis of the Soviet Union, key aspects of Soviet society were determined that allowed for the human trafficking market to establish and operate extremely lucratively; a focus on some of the established factors of human trafficking including corruption, law enforcement, the economy, organized crime, and the dissolution of the Soviet government. While this...
Show moreThis thesis assesses how the history of the USSR and its collapse affected the human trafficking market. By conducting a historical analysis of the Soviet Union, key aspects of Soviet society were determined that allowed for the human trafficking market to establish and operate extremely lucratively; a focus on some of the established factors of human trafficking including corruption, law enforcement, the economy, organized crime, and the dissolution of the Soviet government. While this thesis highlights the historical factors of Russian human trafficking, this thesis does not determine why human trafficking exists beyond the surface exploitation that human trafficking consists of. This thesis also does not explore or explain why Russian human trafficking continues to exist for nearly twenty-five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This thesis does conclude that the history of the Soviet Union is almost tailor made for the purposes of human trafficking, with the combination of organized crime, an economy that constantly struggled, a government that was full of corruption and focused on too many endeavors, and a population that faced starvations, a lack of material goods, and political persecution all contributed to Russia having a large supply (population) of victims to be potentially exploited.
Show less
Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006450, ucf:51444
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006450

Title: The Darkside of Stereotypes: The Effects of Crime in the Media on Racial Identity and Emotions.
Creator: Campbell, Shantel, Rubenking, Bridget, Kinnally, William, Neuberger, Lindsay, Signorielli, Nancy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigated how the image of Black criminality in the media affects the racial identity and emotions of Blacks. It also examined how the image of White criminality affects the racial identity and emotions of Whites as a point of comparison. These effects were studied through the lens of self-categorization theory and inter-group emotions theory. SCT posits that a person's biases are a result of how relevant their social identity is to their self-concept. IET posits that the...
Show moreThis study investigated how the image of Black criminality in the media affects the racial identity and emotions of Blacks. It also examined how the image of White criminality affects the racial identity and emotions of Whites as a point of comparison. These effects were studied through the lens of self-categorization theory and inter-group emotions theory. SCT posits that a person's biases are a result of how relevant their social identity is to their self-concept. IET posits that the emotions a person feels are derived from the social group they belong to.This study analyzed 369 responses from participants who were presented with Twitter news pages that presented all Black crime stories, all White crime stories, or negative (no race) stories. Findings showed that both Blacks and Whites decreased self-categorization with their race after viewing same-race criminality news stories. It also found that emotions were affected by content of the newsfeed. Lastly, the study found significant differences in self-categorization based on level of identification.
Show less
Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005769, ucf:50111
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005769

Title: The crime of genocide. A United Nations convention is aimed at preventing destruction of groups and at punishing those responsible.
Creator: United Nations Office of Public Information
Date Issued: 1959
Identifier: 2660297, CFDT2660297, ucf:4991
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2660297

Title: The Response of American Police Agencies to Digital Evidence.
Creator: Yesilyurt, Hamdi, Wan, Thomas, Potter, Roberto, Applegate, Brandon, Lang, Sheau-Dong, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Little is known about the variation in digital forensics practice in the United States as adopted by large local police agencies. This study investigated how environmental constraints, contextual factors, organizational complexity, and organizational control relate to the adoption of digital forensics practice. This study integrated 3 theoretical perspectives in organizational studies to guide the analysis of the relations: institutional theory, contingency theory, and adoption-of-innovation...
Show moreLittle is known about the variation in digital forensics practice in the United States as adopted by large local police agencies. This study investigated how environmental constraints, contextual factors, organizational complexity, and organizational control relate to the adoption of digital forensics practice. This study integrated 3 theoretical perspectives in organizational studies to guide the analysis of the relations: institutional theory, contingency theory, and adoption-of-innovation theory. Institutional theory was used to analyze the impact of environmental constraints on the adoption of innovation, and contingency theory was used to examine the impacts of organizational control on the adoption of innovation. Adoption of innovation theory was employed to describe the degree to which digital forensics practice has been adopted by large municipal police agencies having 100 or more sworn police officers.The data set was assembled primarily by using Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) 2003 and 1999. Dr. Edward Maguire`s survey was used to obtain 1 variable. The joining up of the data set to construct the sample resulted in 345 large local police agencies. The descriptive results on the degree of adoption of digital forensics practice indicate that 37.7% of large local police agencies have dedicated personnel to address digital evidence, 32.8% of police agencies address digital evidence but do not have dedicated personnel, and only 24.3% of police agencies have a specialized unit with full-time personnel to address digital evidence. About 5% of local police agencies do nothing to address digital evidence in any circumstance. These descriptive statistics indicate that digital evidence is a matter of concern for most large local police agencies and that they respond to varying degrees to digital evidence at the organizational level. Agencies that have not adopted digital forensics practice are in the minority. The structural equation model was used to test the hypothesized relations, easing the rigorous analysis of relations between latent constructs and several indicator variables. Environmental constraints have the largest impact on the adoption of innovation, exerting a positive influence. No statistically significant relation was found between organizational control and adoption of digital forensic practice. Contextual factors (task scope and personnel size) positively influence the adoption of digital forensics. Structural control factors, including administrative weight and formalization, have no significant influence on the adoption of innovation. The conclusions of the study are as follows. Police agencies adopt digital forensics practice primarily by relying on environmental constraints. Police agencies exposed to higher environmental constraints are more frequently expected to adopt digital forensics practice. Because organizational control of police agencies is not significantly related to digital forensics practice adoption, police agencies do not take their organizational control extensively into consideration when they consider adopting digital forensics practice. The positive influence of task scope and size on digital forensics practice adoption was expected. The extent of task scope and the number of personnel indicate a higher capacity for police agencies to adopt digital forensics practice. Administrative weight and formalization do not influence the adoption of digital forensics practice. Therefore, structural control and coordination are not important for large local police agencies to adopt digital forensics practice.The results of the study indicate that the adoption of digital forensics practice is based primarily on environmental constraints. Therefore, more drastic impacts on digital forensics practice should be expected from local police agencies' environments than from internal organizational factors. Researchers investigating the influence of various factors on the adoption of digital forensics practice should further examine environmental variables. The unexpected results concerning the impact of administrative weight and formalization should be researched with broader considerations.
Show less
Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004181, ucf:49081
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004181

Title: Domestic Violence in Rural (&) Non-Rural Areas: A Study on the Influence of Population Density on Arrest Rates in the State of Florida.
Creator: Gonzalez Cruz, Kiara, Huff-Corzine, Lin, Reckdenwald, Amy, Corzine, Harold, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Domestic violence (DV) is a global issue that can affect anyone regardless of what role they play in a family household. It does not discriminate by education, age, religion, etc. DV includes any type of violence or abuse that occurs within a domestic setting. For the purposes of this study, this content primarily focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV) as the main form of DV and is used interchangeably throughout the text. This study examines the influence of population density on arrest...
Show moreDomestic violence (DV) is a global issue that can affect anyone regardless of what role they play in a family household. It does not discriminate by education, age, religion, etc. DV includes any type of violence or abuse that occurs within a domestic setting. For the purposes of this study, this content primarily focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV) as the main form of DV and is used interchangeably throughout the text. This study examines the influence of population density on arrest rates for DV and some factors behind the likelihood of arrests in urban and rural areas. The literature between both of these societies has demonstrated a clear difference in social behaviors that shape the response to DV (Websdale and Johnson 1998). Normative social influence theory suggests that people's influence may lead someone to conform in order to be liked or accepted by a group (Izuma 2017). This theory hypothesizes that the proportion of people living in rural per county will have fewer arrests for DV than the proportion of people living in non-rural areas because of the need for positive relationships that can lead to conformity (Izuma 2017). Furthermore, it is predicted that there are less arrests in rural areas because of the effects of informal social controls in these areas. Informal social controls can take place between police and citizens that may interact more personally through socialization. An example is when citizens take matters into their own hands, therefore prolonging the reporting of crimes to police. This study uses secondary data provided by sources such as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) website and Social Explorer. Broader implications of this research are that it could shed some light on the social dynamics that impact the outcome of crime in both densely populated and sparsely populated areas.
Show less
Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFE0007808, ucf:52366
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007808

Title: Managing Effective Collaboration among Law Enforcement, Intelligence Services, and Military Forces in Fight against Terrorism and Organized Crime.
Creator: Demirhan, Cihan, Kapucu, Naim, Hu, Qian, Feldheim, Mary Ann, Rivera, Fernando, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The fight against terrorism and organized crime require strong collaboration between public security organizations. Public security networks include several agencies that are not bound to each other with strong hierarchical ties. Because of a lack of the strong hierarchical structure, managing public networks is not similar to managing a single government agency. This study aims to examine the factors influencing network effectiveness in the public security sector. The main research questions...
Show moreThe fight against terrorism and organized crime require strong collaboration between public security organizations. Public security networks include several agencies that are not bound to each other with strong hierarchical ties. Because of a lack of the strong hierarchical structure, managing public networks is not similar to managing a single government agency. This study aims to examine the factors influencing network effectiveness in the public security sector. The main research questions of the study are: Which factors are important for effectiveness in public security networks? What is the role of inter-organizational trust among partner agencies? Which kind of leadership style will achieve the highest performance in public security networks? What is the relative importance of goal convergence and organizational culture in network effectiveness? How does the relationship between inter-organizational trust, leadership style, goal convergence and organizational culture impact network effectiveness? In order to find these relations, a self-reported survey was sent to 2,095 current and previous Turkish public security network managers. The study found that inter-organizational trust and goal convergence have a positive relationship with network effectiveness. Although facilitator leadership is found to be the most common leadership style in Turkish public security networks, it is found as inappropriate to achieve higher network effectiveness. According to the results, the co-producer network leadership is the most convenient leadership style in terms of network effectiveness. While the results of the descriptive statistics confirm that six specific features of organizational culture in public security sector have negative influence on network effectiveness, the hypothesis testing with the covariance structure model only support the negative impact of competition among partner organization. This study contributes to the literature on network effectiveness with particular proposals for the public security managers and practitioners.
Show less
Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005479, ucf:50350
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005479

Title: Tito's plot against Europe: The story of the Rajk conspiracy.
Creator: Kartun, Derek
Date Issued: 1950
Identifier: 1927051, CFDT1927051, ucf:4804
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/1927051

Title: Defense policy in the Minneapolis trial. 1. A criticism by Grandizo Munis. 2. An answer by James P. Cannon.
Creator: Munis, Grandizo, Cannon, James Patrick
Date Issued: 1942
Identifier: 2683644, CFDT2683644, ucf:5096
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2683644

crime (8)	+ -
Crime (7)	+ -
Organized Crime (3)	+ -
Trials (Political crimes and offenses) (3)	+ -
World War, 1939-1945 (3)	+ -

Atrocities (2)	+ -
Communism (2)	+ -
Criminals (2)	+ -
Decison (2)	+ -
Fear of Crime (2)	+ -
Florida (2)	+ -
Hate Crimes (2)	+ -
Political crimes and offenses (2)	+ -
Theft (2)	+ -
Tourism (2)	+ -
Tourist (2)	+ -
Travel (2)	+ -
UCF (2)	+ -
Violent Crime (2)	+ -
campus (2)	+ -
homicide (2)	+ -
media (2)	+ -
organized crime (2)	+ -
perception (2)	+ -
America (1)	+ -
Authority (1)	+ -
Baltimore (1)	+ -
Britain (1)	+ -
British (1)	+ -
CSI Effect (1)	+ -

ETD Collection (28)	+ -
PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements (10)	+ -
Honors Collection (6)	+ -

United States (3)	+ -
France (1)	+ -
Germany (1)	+ -
Hungary (1)	+ -
Moscow (1)	+ -

Nuremberg (1)	+ -
Russia (Federation) (1)	+ -
Soviet Union (1)	+ -

Search In

Pages

Pages

Sort Results By:

Narrow results by:

Topical Subject

Collection

Geographic Subject

Temporal Subject

Genre

Type of Resource

Language

Creator

Format

Owner