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Psychological Fitness for Duty Evaluations For Law Enforcement Officers
Get PDFLaw enforcement officers primarily respond to situations that put them face-to-face with different facets of human suffering. Whether the call for service is a homicide or other type of physical assault, the accidental death of an adult or child, the illegal intrusion into someone’s home for theft, or an armed confrontation that victimized a person, a police officer’s main citizen interactions occur during times that seem helpless and bleak. There is a constant exposure to violence and trauma as well as the inherent risk of injury and death personally experienced by police officers while serving and protecting the public. These daily stressors, which are compounded by the pressures and anxiety experienced in officers’ personal lives, can significantly affect the mental well-being of law enforcement officers. The purpose of a psychological fitness for duty examination is to determine if an employee can work safely and effectively as a police officer. Police agencies hold a legal obligation to ensure that their commissioned police officers are mentally and emotionally suited to carry out their duties. Agencies that intentionally overlook indicators that an officer is displaying signs of mental distress can be held civilly liable when failure to act results in negative actions on the part of the officer. Those liabilities can be mitigated by ordering the officer to undergo a fitness for duty evaluation (Fischler et al, 2011).LEMI
Navigating the Shadows of Truth: Unraveling False Confessions and Interrogation Techniques
Get PDFConfessions possess the unique power of capturing the attention of the public, judicial system, and law enforcement due to their influence on criminal cases. However, this potent form of evidence is not immune to distortion and debate. The issue of false confessions has historical roots, with coerced admissions resulting from practices like torture and duress. While modern interrogation techniques aim for legality, research reveals that false confessions persist even within legally acceptable methods. Studies indicate that up to 25% of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases are attributed to false confessions (Drizin & Leo, 2005). Suspect-related factors such as youth, intellectual capacity, and social skills, along with method-related variables involving psychological pressure, contribute to this phenomenon. A prominent method, the Reid Technique, garners both support and criticism, with concerns about its potential to elicit false confessions. Extensive research suggests that the technique's psychological manipulation strategies can lead to unreliable admissions, particularly among vulnerable individuals. Yet, this issue requires a holistic perspective, including examining interviewer-related variables. Detecting deception remains challenging, even for professionals and false confessions can stem from personality factors rather than disabilities alone. Although the Reid Technique might not be solely culpable, its limitations necessitate exploring alternative methods that prioritize truth-seeking. Recommendations include adopting the PEACE approach, a non-accusatory information-gathering method, to improve communication and trust between law enforcement and civilians. By addressing the root causes of false confessions, the criminal justice system can ensure accuracy and fairness in its outcomes.LEMI
Infant Abduction from Healthcare Facilities: Prevalence, Explanation, and Risk Mitigation
Get PDFHospitals and healthcare facilities employ a combination of technology and staff training to mitigate external threats to patient safety and well-being. One of these threats is infant abduction—a rare but salient concern for hospital staff charged with the protection of vulnerable patients. Though only 140 such events have occurred in the U.S. over the past six decades, there remains a need for vigilance and the implementation of security protocols that are effective but not unduly burdensome on patients and families. Moreover, while hospitals presently use a wide range of processes and techniques to help prevent infant abductions, these facilities must frequently revisit these procedures and consider implementing new and innovative technologies to update their risk-mitigation measures and crisis response plans. Abduction simulations can help hospitals identify vulnerabilities, particularly those that are unknown to staff and can be exploited through the manipulation of human factors. This report provides a summary of (1) the literature on the prevalence and characteristics of infant abductions from healthcare facilities, (2) the theory and research from criminology on the factors associated with infant abduction, and (3) some best practices proposed by experts to help inform healthcare professionals, patients, and policymakers in Texas and nationwide
Assessing and Developing Cultural Competence in One Texas School
No full textDiversity within schools can enrich education. However, without systemic
cultural competence, numerical diversity may undermine educational goals when student needs are not met in appropriate ways. Because student experience and engagement drive educational effectiveness, student perceptions of school climate can provide necessary feedback to evaluate cultural competence development strategies. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand the relationship between school racial/ethnic climate and a year-long staff cultural competence training program.
In the quantitative portion of the study, 135 paired pre- and post-training student responses to Likert-scale questions were analyzed. The preexisting data set, capturing student perceptions across the 2023-2024 school year, also contained open-ended questions that were coded and themed in the qualitative portion of the study. Additionally, three semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff members from underrepresented populations on campus to better understand the lived experience of all groups during this training phase.
Quantitative analysis revealed student perceptions were statistically significantly higher regarding teachers actively addressing insensitive racial comments and statistically significantly lower for student perception of teacher respect for their race/ethnicity, following the teacher professional development year. Additionally, staff felt they were more culturally competent than students felt they were.
Analysis of the open-ended questions revealed that students and staff felt the
school was focused on the correct domains, Community and Conflict Resolution. Teacher consensus was around a Christ-centered diversity training program honoring to God’s created diversity that also included recognition of the role of relationships, and more diversity on campus. Students recognized school efforts to address racially insensitive comments and build a healthy, inclusive environment, but differed on their opinion of effectiveness
Five themes emerged from the interviews: confronting racial/ethnic issues,
diversity positive community, education and training, more diverse population needed, and relationships built on respect, understanding, and common ground. Participants shared their responsibility to represent their race/ethnicity well to invalidate stereotypes and recognized the role of relationships in promoting harmony across races/ethnicities.
This study provides insight into the experience of students and members of
underrepresented populations on a campus actively pursuing cultural competence that can be used to formulate strategies to further multicultural development
Understanding the Administrative Burdens Associated with the Texas State College Tuition Waiver for Foster Care Youth
No full textA college education affords a variety of personal, financial, health, and social
benefits to one’s life, such as higher earnings, increased job security, easier access to health insurance and other benefits, opportunities to pursue new passions, building of new social and professional networks, and higher life satisfaction (Kumok & Hahn, 2023; Pew Research Center, 2016). There is ample evidence that the price of obtaining a higher education in the United States has drastically increased in the last four decades (McGurran, 2022). Numerous federal and state financial aid programs are intended to increase college access, yet often they fall short of their goals by making it difficult for
students to access the benefits because of the burdensome rules embedded in them.
Through the lens of the administrative burden framework by Herd and Moynihan
(2018), this intrinsic case study examined the experience of six foster care students who applied for the Texas State College Tuition Waiver at a large community college in Southeast Texas. Data collection also included an interview with two administrators and physical and digital field observations. MAXQDA software was used to analyze the data which revealed four themes: Information Accessibility and Awareness, Application
Process and Documentation, Institutional Support Systems and Outreach, and Emotional and Administrative Impact. This study includes ten recommendations on increasing financial access and assistance for foster care youth, including modifying the use of the applytexas.org website, increasing cooperation between the state and the institution, promoting the creation of student organizations, housing a DFPS liaison at the institution,v
encouraging foster care students to participate in the decision making, providing adequate institutional training, and maximizing the use of the institution’s website. A discussion of future research is also included
Building Successful Business Partnerships with Career and Technical Education Programs through the Lens of a Selected School District in Texas: A Case Study
No full textThe purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences and perspectives of the implementation process of a career technical education program and business partnerships. Data collected included nine participants' experiences during the implementation process and current experiences with two local business partnerships. This in-depth study revealed advantages, challenges, and best practices in building business partnerships with an industrial engineering and robotics CTE program. Six major themes emerged from the study: communication, recruitment, hands-on experience, support and involvement, field trips, and post-secondary preparation. Communication was considered the most effective way to build successful business partnerships. For all participants, recruitment for students in CTE programs, quality teachers, and committed business partners made a positive impact on the success within the CTE program. Findings from this study provide recommendations for consistent communication and support from all parties while providing students with hands-on experience and cite visits to industry businesses. The business partnership’s primary focus is on post-secondary preparation and building students' confidence with hands-on skills and a competitive edge in the industry workforce. Additionally, this study offers
opportunities for future research such as more in-depth studies on different students’ CTE program experiences and identifying contributing factors of gender, demographics, or key stakeholders in maintaining business partnerships
Microbial Succession of the Microbiome of Cadaver Islands in Southeast Subtropical Texas
No full textMicrobes have been utilized in many different aspects of research and are
ubiquitous, as they are found almost everywhere. The use of microbiomes in forensics is
a newly emerging field, as the knowledge that microbes play in decomposition is still
being studied. This study aims to broaden that knowledge. The hypothesis presented in
this thesis is that within a year, the microbiome of three separate cadaver islands will
show to not be statistically different than that of a control soil plot. In other words, it is
hypothesized that it will take up to a year for the cadaver islands to reach a point in which
they cannot be told apart from the control soil. It is also hypothesized that the dominant
genus in the samples will be human associated bacteria such as Bacteroides. The basis for
these hypotheses were derived from similar studies that have previously been conducted.
To test these hypotheses, I took soil samples from cadaver islands and extracted the
bacterial DNA using a the DNeasy PowerSoil Pro kit and amplified the V4 region of the
16S rRNA and sequenced the DNA using Illumina MiSeq. Samples were then compared
to each other to determine the dominant taxa and where they differed. Initial comparisons showed that the genus Bacteroides was not found amongst the dominant taxa across any of the samples. Data analysis also showed that within the last weeks of the study, the microbiomes of the cadaver islands compared to that of the control soil were still not statistically similar
AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHER YEARS OF INEXPERIENCE AND STUDENT DISCIPLINE PLACEMENTS IN GRADES 9-12 AT TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUSES BY STUDENT ENROLLMENT SIZE
No full textPurpose
The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to analyze the relationship between the experience level of teachers on traditional high school campuses and student discipline placements into either ISS, OSS, or DAEP at three different levels of student enrollment consisting of students in Grades 9-12 across Texas. In the first study, teacher inexperience and student discipline placements on large-size high school campuses with an enrollment of more than 2,000 was examined. In the second study, teacher inexperience levels on traditional moderate-size high school campuses and student discipline placements with an enrollment between 1,000-1,999 students was addressed. In the third study, teacher inexperience and student discipline placements on traditional small-size high school campuses with an enrollment of less than 1,000 was analyzed. Teacher experience was categorized into two areas: those teachers with less than six years of experience and those teachers with six or more years of experience. The extent to which a relationship was present between teacher inexperience and student exclusionary discipline placements during the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school years was determined.
Method
In this multiyear analysis a non-experimental, quantitative, causal-comparative research design was used. Archival data were obtained using a Public Information
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Request from the Texas Education Agency for the 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018- 2019 school years.
Findings
The results of this multiyear analysis were mixed. Results were consistent for large-size campuses and small-size campuses in the first and third articles of this dissertation across all three school years. Statistically significant relationships were present between teacher inexperience and student exclusionary discipline assignments for large-size and small-size campuses. A statistically significant relationship was not present between teacher inexperience and the assignment of exclusionary discipline consequences on moderate-size campuses among all three school years. Statistically significant relationships existed between teacher inexperience and the assignment of out- of-school suspension and DAEP on moderate-size campuses. In all three articles, teacher inexperience and the average number of students assigned an exclusionary discipline consequence was related, albeit with small or moderate effect sizes. The largest percentage of experienced teachers was among small-size campuses, hovering around 70%. Experienced teachers among large-size and moderate-size campuses were around 65%
Human Trafficking
No full textThis paper critically examines the heinous crime of human trafficking, asserting that beyond its illegality, it represents a severe affront to humanity, precipitating a cascade of deleterious consequences, notably the abhorrent crime of sex slavery. The primary purpose of this scholarly endeavor is to construct a compelling argument, fortified by substantive evidence, that underscores the imperative for a committed and concerted global response to eradicate human trafficking. The paper systematically unfolds, commencing with an exploration of the illegality and inhumanity intrinsic to human trafficking, delving into its various manifestations, and culminating in a fervent call for unified international efforts to combat this grave violation of human rights. The law enforcement community should collaborate to eradicate human trafficking. By providing a comprehensive analysis, this paper seeks to shed light on the urgency of addressing human trafficking as a significant societal ill, emphasizing the necessity of preventative measures and the imperative to support the victims of this pervasive crime.LEMI
Community Engaged Courses: Can They Be Taught Digitally?
No full textAs the political climate continues to cast a critical eye on the cost and purpose of institutions of higher education, universities are moving toward a stronger commitment to working WITH the community FOR the public good. This trend can be seen in the increase in the number of university courses in which students apply what is learned to meet a societal need. These designed courses are called community engaged, community-based, or service-learning courses and most are taught face-to-face. But as universities expand to a world-wide student body, how are these types of courses taught digitally? How are “communities” defined and supported? How are instructors able to work WITH community partners when they may be located thousands of miles away? How can relationships be built virtually between student/organization and faculty/organization? What are best practices in managing students as they work with the organizations in a variety of local communities? These questions and more will be discussed by a panel of faculty and staff who have had years of experience creating and maintaining strong online community engaged courses. There will be lots of tips and materials offered throughout the presentation, but there will also be time for a spirited conversation with all attendees