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If You Want to Get Away with Indecent Exposure, Do it Online
No full textIf a person exposes his or her genitals to a minor in private or in public, that person would be guilty of indecent exposure. But if a person exposes his or her genitals to a minor over video chat, no harm, no foul. Similarly, if a person exposes his or her genitals to a minor via text message, there are no repercussions. Why is it that the same act—when done through a screen—functions like a loophole to a crime? The reason for this “loophole” is because of a misunderstanding of the crime of indecent exposure. The crime was developed, not as a protection from molestation or sexual assault, but against the unconsented and offensive viewing of another’s genitals. The crime was then extended to protect children as society recognized the importance of safeguarding children from adult sexual behavior. Looking back to the policy reasons for why this crime was developed and seeing the harm that the law was trying to avoid, it is clear that the same harm exists both in person and online. But when the law was developed, the Internet was not a “thing.” The language of indecent exposure statutes reflects the old common law that did not anticipate the existence or pervasiveness of Internet access. But technology marches on, and with it comes an entirely new arena for the law to struggle with.
There are two hurdles to jump through with these statutes: (1) “physical presence” or “public place” and (2) whether exposure through a screen is actually “exposure.” Some states have a “physical presence” or “presence” requirement, meaning that exposure must happen in the “physical presence” of another person. This makes sense—because a person should not be held criminally liable for another person hearing about an exposure through the grapevine. The “physical presence” terminology does not exclude a technological “physical presence” though. In fact, some courts have interpreted the presence requirement as consistent with exposure via online platforms because the same act targets a specific person, whether online or in person. Other statutes use the “public place” language instead of the “physical presence” language. However, even though “public place” seems to indicate that the exposure must occur in a public place, courts have long interpreted the language to mean any place in which the defendant knows or should know another person would see him exposing himself. Thus, “physical presence” and “public place” mean the same thing, and both have the same “presence” problem.
The second hurdle is the exposure itself. Lawyers have argued that exposure through a screen is not really “exposure” because a victim only sees the “likeness” of another’s genitals and not their actual genitals. However, the policy reasons behind the criminalization of indecent exposure support the extension of the crime to online platforms. In 1550, these statutory requirements made sense because a person could not video chat and expose his genitals through a phone. In the modern age of the Internet, though, people have easy access to communicate with each other. With more access to others, there tends to be more harm done. That same harm that early legislators were worried about is happening today—only now through a screen. And even though early legislators may not have anticipated the ability to expose oneself over video chat, it cannot be an acceptable answer that the same act with the same intent and the same outcome is a crime in person but not through a device.
With these concerns in mind, some states have interpreted their existing laws to include online platforms, while a few have even crafted new laws specifically for online exposure. Some of these attempts to craft new statutes have been invalidated due to constitutional concerns such as free speech. Other statutes have survived constitutional scrutiny and serve as examples for other states. There are three options for states to attack this issue: extend the interpretation of current statutes to include online platforms, adopt an existing state statute across the board, or craft a new statute. Throughout this Comment, I will explore all three options with the end goal of finding a solution that is both effective in terms of protecting children and constitutional
The Pass-Through Entity Tax Workaround: A Comprehensive Overview
No full textThe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted a 323 billion in deductions. It was also projected that during the duration of the cap, New York taxpayers alone would pay approximately $121 billion more in federal taxes, and the state revenue would greatly suffer. In response to the cap , and as a result of its impact, states established certain workarounds, the most popular being the pass-through entity tax. Under a pass-through entity tax regime, the state levies tax on the pass-through entity, and the individual excludes the taxed income on their state return or receives a credit for the taxes paid by the entity. First and foremost, this workaround immediately changes how pass-through entities are taxed. Instead of treating them as conduits of profit and loss—conforming to federal tax treatment and the way the entities have historically been taxed—the states have mixed the theories of taxation and have applied the entity view of taxation at the state level while the businesses are still taxed in accordance with the aggregate view on the federal level. Thirty-six states have enacted some variation of the workaround. This has complicated the filing and record-keeping for businesses. Also, each state law has nuances and differences. This makes tax compliance and record-keeping extremely complicated for businesses, especially with a mix of resident and non-resident owners. All things considered, the pass-through entity tax regimes generally apply different theories of business to the same income between federal taxation and state taxation. The laws disconnect the principles of profits and losses being taxed at the same level to which they are allocated, whether at the entity level or the individual level. They circumvent the goal of the TCJA to simplify the tax code, instead making it much more complex for pass-through entities and their owners. Finally, because the pass-through entity taxes circumvent the SALT cap, it also causes a reduction in federal tax revenue. For these reasons, Congress should enact a provision to require the income tax paid by a passthrough entity for which the owners receive some benefit (either an exclusion or credit) to be separately stated on the entity’s return and subject to the SALT cap on the individual return. This will prevent the loss in federal revenue and will dissuade businesses from electing to be taxed at the entity level, thereby preserving the simpler filing and record-keeping that existed prior to the pass-through entity tax workaround
A Phenomenological Study of the Personal and Professional Experiences of U.S. Police Leaders Who Led Their Agency Through a Line-of-Duty Death
No full textThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the personal and professional experiences of police leaders from across the United States who led their agencies through line-of-duty deaths (LODD). The social constructivist worldview guided this study as Creswell and Poth (2025) suggest that it captures complicated and multifaceted subjective meanings of individuals. Transformational leadership theory was the lens through which this research was conducted. Police leaders are faced with personnel, political, societal, and generational challenges following the events of Ferguson, George Floyd, the COVID-19 pandemic. This is on top of the already stressful and traumatic work police officers face daily. How does one lead effectively with these existing challenges when the earth-shattering event of a line-of-duty death occurs at their agency? Findings of this research reflect the voices of leaders who navigated the unimaginable, likening the experience to that of the loss of child. It was the most horrific event the leaders ever faced and pressed them to accept support and guidance because they could not navigate the LODD alone. Pre-established relationships with subordinates, peers, and other leaders proved necessary for survival, as did their relationship with God in many cases. An LODD will occur, and denial of the possibility will leave a leader ill-equipped in the most critical hour when their strength is needed most. Findings of this research provide a deeper understanding of the psychological impacts of an LODD on a police leader and the challenges they faced in the most complex leadership event of their careers
Espionage, Civil Liberties, and the Secret War of the American Revolution
No full textThis dissertation attempts to analyze the line between a government that can create security for its constituents, while also protecting their rights. It is an attempt to understand this schism by looking at the American Revolution and the role of spying in all of it. It aims to establish the role of spying in this narrative by first looking at the role of espionage in the ranks of the British government. The research attempts to look at how spying affected the American Revolution, how colonists lost their civil liberties because of spying, and the how spying played a future role in the United States. This was done by analyzing primary source documents such as public archives, diaries, and mostly letters. Secondary sources largely included online articles and academic books. The culmination in this research revealed that spying greatly influenced the decisions each military made, while also leading to a loss of rights for the colonists. Colonists largely lost their rights through the quartering of troops, the burning of private property, and established checkpoints. Finally, the research shows that espionage became interwoven into the fabric of the United States by the federal government neglecting civil liberties for the sake of maintaining safety. In conclusion, this dissertation looks to establish how certain levels of safety cannot be maintained without trampling civil rights through the monitoring and enforcement of a government’s citizens
A Phenomenological Study of the Mental Health Needs of High School Youth in a Rural Community Post COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textThe purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe former high school students’ experiences with mental health struggles while in high school during the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural Texas Public Independent School District. Mental illness increased among youth during the prolonged pandemic period of time and many of the pervasive mental health concerns have not been addressed effectively in the aftermath. As a result, a growing number of concerns pertaining to the mental health wellbeing of K-12 children continues to be on the rise. Thus, it is of utmost importance to learn more about the experiences of our youth and their mental health challenges and what better source than to hear it directly from them. In doing so, we will be taking positive steps in implementing an effective prevention model focused on mental health healing and recovery
School Social Workers in Practice: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study on Understanding Role Navigation and Providing Mental Health Support in Educational Settings
No full textThis transcendental phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of school social workers as they navigated their professional roles in supporting student mental health within educational settings. Grounded in Organizational Role Theory and Ecological Systems Theory, the study explored the meanings participants assigned to their roles, the challenges they encountered, and factors that supported or hindered their work. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 11 licensed and unlicensed school social workers employed in the South Florida Tri-County area. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using epoché, horizontalization, and thematic clustering. Findings revealed four interrelated themes: navigating roles and professional identity, building relationships and collaboration, systemic barriers and institutional constraints, and meaning, resilience, and commitment to the work. Participants described ongoing role ambiguity and systemic challenges while sustaining a strong commitment to student mental health. The essence of the phenomenon reflected navigating role ambiguity while maintaining commitment to student mental health within complex school systems. Findings have implications for role clarity, professional preparation, leadership, and collaborative school-based mental health practices
Childhood Emotional Abuse and Effects on Adult Behavioral Health, Motivation, and Resilience
No full textChildhood emotional abuse (CEA) is a frequently overlooked form of maltreatment that disrupts attachment formation and increases vulnerability to depression, anxiety, and other internalizing symptoms in adulthood. Because the harm is relational and often invisible, its long-term effects can persist without recognition. This study examined how CEA related to adult internalizing behaviors, resilience, and motivation, and whether resilience and motivation moderated these relationships. Attachment theory guided the framework for understanding how early emotional deprivation shapes later functioning.
A quantitative correlational design was used with 249 adults who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form (CTQ-SF), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ). Analyses included descriptive statistics, correlations, regressions, and moderation testing.
Findings showed that higher CEA scores predicted increased internalizing symptoms. CEA was negatively associated with resilience and autonomous motivation, indicating reduced adaptive coping among survivors. Resilience and motivation each partially buffered the impact of CEA on internalizing behaviors. These results highlight the need for interventions that strengthen resilience, support autonomous motivation, and address attachment-based disruptions in adults affected by emotional abuse
A Case Study of the Formation and Implementation of Development Plan in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria
No full textThe purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the formation and implementation of development plans by public administrators in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. This study will seek to understand the underlying factors affecting the success of these plans and proffer strategies for improving their effectiveness and sustainability. The theoretical framework of this research study is grounded in modernization theory, globalization theory, and transformational leadership theory. This study will conduct a comparative examination of other states in Nigeria with comparable populations and metrics. To gather data for the study, the researcher will convene with 20 current or former public administrators and citizens of Akwa Ibom State in their preferred locations and public spaces. The researcher will collect data through interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. Will record interviews on tape and on a cell phone to ensure the accuracy of data transcription. The researcher will analyze all data using a \u27data analysis spiral\u27 (Creswell & Poth, 2018), which involves organizing and managing data, reading and noting emerging themes, describing and classifying codes into themes, developing and evaluating interpretation, and representing and visualizing the data
The Development and Maturity of Borderline Personality Disorder in Modern Times
No full textBorderline personality disorder (BPD) is a dynamic condition that significantly varies between afflicted individuals, with a diverse variety of contributing factors in terms of symptom manifestation. Better comprehending BPD is essential in generalizing the contributing, etiological factors of the condition to broad demographics. Unfortunately, the existing research has failed to accomplish this goal, usually only studying how the condition and its symptoms manifest in Caucasian females. This study focused on closing this gap by discovering links between broader demographics within the context of etiology, comorbidities, and spiritual affiliation. This quantitative study involved collecting etiology, symptom, comorbidity, and spirituality data from 182 participants with BPD from five ethnicities (Caucasian, Black or African American, Hispanic, Asian or Indian, and Native American) and both genders (male and female). Equal samples of participants across the indicated demographics provided enough data to analyze with a chi-square test. The uncovered patterns present between these variables better explain how BPD affects various cultures and communities The correlations identified in this study included relationships between ethnicity and etiological risk factors, between gender and comorbid conditions, and between spiritual involvement and BPD symptom severity. These findings offer vital data for understanding which symptoms most strongly influence the condition and overall awareness. Furthermore, the research provides derivative studies with a foundation for generating clearer direction for improving BPD treatment programs