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Browsing by Author "Hawdon, James E."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 75
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    Actual Versus Perceived Risk of Victimization and Handgun Ownership
    Elpi, Clara Maria (Virginia Tech, 2011-05-05)
    This study tested the hypotheses that perceived risk of victimization had a stronger effect than actual exposure to victimization risk on handgun ownership and that this relationship was stronger for women than men. Perceived and actual risks of victimization have been discussed with respect to handgun ownership, but a general consensus in the literature was lacking and recent empirical research was scarce. Crime rates and respondents' social characteristics were used as proxy measures for victimization risk, while fear of crime measured perceived risk of victimization. Three sets of models were estimated, the first with a pooled sample of men and women, the second and third on samples separated by gender. Binary logistic regression was utilized to compare the predictive power of these two major correlates of handgun ownership and observe how their effects varied by gender. Data were drawn from the National Opinion for Research Center's (NORC) Cumulative General Social Surveys (GSS) for the years 1986 through 2008. Predictors of victimization risk, especially gender and regional crime rate, had strong effects on handgun possession, while perceived risk had no effect on handgun possession. Results also demonstrated that while women were more likely to fear crime, they were not necessarily more or less likely than men to obtain handguns in response to that fear.
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    Applying differential association theory to online hate groups: a theoretical statement
    Hawdon, James E. (Social and Economic Research Association of the Turku Universities, 2012)
    In this paper, I will consider how social media can nurture and encourage mass murder within a framework of one of the most prominent and widely supported criminological theories: differential association. I will briefly discuss the presence of hate groups on the web, and then I will review how the core principles of differential association are met and potentially amplified through social media. I then provide an example of the interconnectedness of hate groups, and conclude with a call for future research.
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    Banishment in Public Housing: Testing an Evolution of Broken Windows
    Torres, Jose; Aokarian, Jacob; Hawdon, James E. (2016-11-09)
    Banishment policies grant police the authority to formally ban individuals from entering public housing and arrest them for trespassing if they violate the ban. Despite its widespread use and the social consequences resulting from it, an empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of banishment has not been performed. Understanding banishment enforcement is an evolution of broken windows policing, this study explores how effective bans are at reducing crime in public housing. We analyze crime data, spanning the years 2001–2012, from six public housing communities and 13 surrounding communities in one southeastern U.S. city. Using Arellano-Bond dynamic panel models, we investigate whether or not issuing bans predicts reductions in property and violent crimes as well as increases in drug and trespass arrests in public housing. We find that this brand of broken windows policing does reduce crime, albeit relatively small reductions and only for property crime, while resulting in an increase in trespass arrests. Given our findings that these policies have only a modest impact on property crime, yet produce relatively larger increases in arrests for minor offenses in communities of color, and ultimately have no significant impact on violent crime, it will be important for police, communities, and policy makers to discuss whether the returns are worth the potential costs.
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    Campus Climate, Racial Threat, and the Model Minority Stereotype: Asian Americans on a College Campus Following Sensational Crimes
    Ball, Daisy Barbara (Virginia Tech, 2017-03-01)
    This study measures the campus climate for Asian Americans on a college campus before and after tragic events, and places it in the context of what is known about the social location of Asian American students nationally. Using a multi-method approach, including in-depth interviews supplemented by data from content analyses and surveys, it addresses perceptions of Asian American students about themselves and the campus climate. In doing so it addresses the more general question of minority stereotyping and strategies taken by minority groups to compensate for such stereotypes. Findings from this study suggest that the campus climate for Asian American undergraduates appears to be welcoming, and respondents do not report stress emanating from their 'model minority' status. Instead, they embrace and offer full-support for the 'model minority' stereotype.
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    Case Study of Tekoa Institute: Illustration of Nonviolent Communication Training's Effect on Conflict Resolution
    Nash, Andrea Lynn (Virginia Tech, 2007-04-05)
    The purpose of this study involved illustrating how Nonviolent Communicationsm (NVC) training affected conflict resolution in a case study of Tekoa Boys Institute, a juvenile residence and school institution. Resolution was defined as "the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict, by providing each side's needs, and adequately addressing their interests so that they are satisfied with the outcome" (Dictonary.LaborLawTalk.com 2006). The following predictions concerning this research are: 1) At the Tekoa Boys Institute, the NVC trained residential staff's involvement in nonviolent resolution will increase more from the pretest to the two year posttest than the no-NVC trained residential staff. 2) At the Tekoa Boys Institute, the NVC trained residential staff's involvement in violent resolution will decrease more from the pretest to the two year posttest than the no-NVC trained residential staff. 3) At the Tekoa Boys Institute, the NVC trained residential staff's involvement in instigating conflicts will decrease more in the two year posttest when compared to pretest than those residential staff not trained in NVC. Results were found confirming the first two predictions in this sample with a statistical significance at the .05 level. As for the third prediction, no to little effect was found in this sample.
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    Change in Family Structure and Rates of Violent Juvenile Delinquency
    Fry, Jeannie A. (Virginia Tech, 2010-05-17)
    This paper addresses the question: Have the changes in family structure in the U.S. become a catalyst for juvenile delinquency? For this research, I use existing statistics for my three independent variables: divorce rates, rate of working mothers with children under age 18, percent female-headed households. My dependent variable, juvenile violent crime rates, is measured using data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. My control variables consist of the following: percent of population aged 15-25, unemployment rate, incarceration rates, drug rates, rates of gun ownership, police employment, percent of those with weekly religious service attendance, percent of persons who have a "great deal" of confidence in the Executive branch of the United States, and percent of people who can trust others. I examine Gottfredson and Hirschi's self-control theory (1990) as a possible theoretical explanation of the correlation between changes in family structure and juvenile delinquency. Previous research has shown with less supervision, monitoring and punishing the child, low self-control results leading to delinquency. My population includes all individuals in these statistics. I use a time series analysis, spanning from 1980 to 2006, to show the changes in rates over time and the correlations between family variables and juvenile delinquency.
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    Changes in Online Illegal Drug Buying during COVID-19: Assessing Effects due to a Changing Market or Changes in Strain using a Longitudinal Sample Design
    Hawdon, James E.; Parti, Katalin; Dearden, Thomas E. (Springer Nature, 2022-11-11)
    This research uses longitudinal data to investigate if illegal online drug purchases changed over time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if these changes were primarily driven by users adjusting to market conditions or by a heightened level of pandemic-induced strain that could drive a greater demand for drugs. Data were collected across four waves between fall 2019 and fall 2021 using an online survey. Data showed an increase in reported online drug purchases across the waves, but the online drug purchases remained consistent for the first year of the pandemic, but increased by approximately 44% between the fall 2020 and fall 2021 when over 13 percent of the sample admitted to buying illegal drugs online. Strain was also related to buying illegal drugs online as those respondents who made illegal online purchased had an average of 5.2 strain events in the past 12 months compared to only 2.4 events among those who did not report purchasing illegal drugs online. However, the influence of strain on online purchases remained consistent across time. These results suggest that the increase in online drug purchases was primarily driven by users adapting to changing market conditions rather than the cumulative strains associated with the pandemic producing a greater effect on purchases. Policy implications are also discussed.
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    CIVIIC: Cybercrime in Virginia: Impacts on Industry and Citizens Final Report
    Gainey, Randy; Vandecar-Burdin, Tancy; Albanese, Jay; Dearden, Thomas E.; Hawdon, James E.; Parti, Katalin (CoVA CCI, 2023-01-01)
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    Community Solidarity and Well-Being after the Virginia Tech Shootings
    Aitcheson, Lindsey Reed (Virginia Tech, 2011-05-06)
    In the aftermath of the rampage at Virginia Tech, the community experienced a surge of social solidarity. Using a longitudinal study of 478 students, this thesis examines the impact of attitudinal solidarity on well-being nine months after the shootings. In particular, this study focuses on the interaction effects of sex and solidarity on later well-being, providing a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding the connections between these factors. Quantitative analysis, conducted using linear regression with interaction variables, found that social solidarity four months after the shootings positively and significantly predicted well-being nine months after the shootings. The predictive power, however, was stratified by sex; women experienced diminished benefits of solidarity relative to their male counterparts. The literature suggests that this disparity may be attributed to additional social burdens placed on women after traumatic stressors. Other negative predictors of well-being include knowing victims and conversations with the media in the week after the attacks, This research has the potential to shed light on effective methods of responding to community-level trauma and may provide guidance to future policy-makers in when faced with these challenging situations.
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    Controlling "What You're Supposed to Do in College": An Examination of Social Control and Differential Association on Binge Drinking Behaviors
    Byrd, Kaitland Marie (Virginia Tech, 2013-06-01)
    This study examined the influence of social control and differential association on an individual\'s alcohol consumption.  It was hypothesized that the four bonds of social control: attachment, involvement, commitment, and belief will decrease the likelihood of engaging in excessive drinking behaviors (Hirschi 1969). Hawdon\'s (1996) revised version of involvement that accounts for differences in the visibility of activities will be used instead of the traditional idea of involvement. This study compared the drinking behavior of college and non-college students. It was also hypothesized that having peer groups that engage in excessive drinking behaviors will influence the amount of alcohol that an individuals consume, because they are attempting to remain a part of that peer group (Sutherland 1947). This study used the Add Health  data set to tests these hypotheses.
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    Coping isn't for the Faint of Heart: An Investigation into the Development of Coping Strategies for Incoming Police Recruits
    Clifton, Stacey Anne Moore (Virginia Tech, 2020-06-18)
    Policing in America has lost more officers to suicides than line of duty deaths over the past four years. As the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, the well-being of officers is critical as unhealthy police using poor coping strategies to handle their stress can lead to a multitude of negative consequences for the communities they serve, their departments, their fellow officers, and themselves. While the technology of policing is quickly advancing, the routine duties of officers remain stressful. This stress requires officers to use effective coping strategies to deal with it, but the traditional subculture of policing promotes maladaptive, rather than adaptive, coping strategies. To understand how the subculture influences police and the coping strategies they use, research must understand the socialization process of recruits entering the job. The current research seeks to understand how police recruits are socialized into the police subculture and how this affects the coping strategies they use to deal with the stressors they will confront on the job. The research analyzes how the network position of recruits influences their adoption of the police subculture and how this, in turn, affects their development of coping strategies. Recruits were surveyed three times during their academy training to examine the transitioning and socialization that occurs throughout the police academy. Results reveal that networks affect the adoption of the police subculture by recruits and this socialization process impacts the development of coping strategies by recruits. Findings highlight the need for future work to continue the longitudinal research approach to examine how the networks change once recruits complete their field training and probationary period.
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    Corporate Media Framing of Political Rhetoric: The Creation of a Moral Panic in the wake of September 11th 2001
    Mason, John Paul (Virginia Tech, 2009-09-04)
    The purpose of this study is to examine the rhetoric and subsequent media framing of President George W. Bush during the years following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and how such frames have been able to generate and sustain a national moral panic. While a number of scholars have explored the effect of presidential rhetoric in generating panic (53; Cohen 1972; Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994; Hawdon 2001; Kappeler and Kappeler 2004), none have evaluated the effect of media framing on such rhetoric. This study will use three major sources of data: (1) National Public Opinion Data from Gallup Poll, (2) daily USA Today news articles, and (3) rates of international terrorism from the U.S. State Department. Employing a content analysis of USA Today articles pertaining to terrorism, I will evaluate the relevant themes used by the corporate media to frame the Bush administration's rhetoric, and further analyze the relationship between such rhetoric and the collective conscience across the eight years of the Bush presidency, while controlling for rates of international terrorism.
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    A Cross-National Study of School Violence
    Agnich, Laura Elizabeth (Virginia Tech, 2011-05-11)
    This study examines the predictors of school violence cross-nationally, testing the applicability of criminological theories of adult violence to violence in the school setting. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), a method of multi-level linear analysis, of the 2007 Trends in International Math and Science Studies (TIMSS) data augmented with data from UN Human Development Reports, UN Demographic Yearbook, CIA World Factbook and the World Health Organization Mortality Database, I determine the predictors of school violence at the school and national levels to determine what variables account for cross-national variation in the level of school violence. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) takes into account the structure of nested data, and this study examines schools nested within nations. The relationships between school and national level inequalities, social disorganization, institutional anomie, social support, resource deprivation theories and school violence are tested. Violence is operationally defined as a continuum of aggression ranging from non-physical to physical (see Yu 2003), incorporating low-level as well as more serious forms of interpersonal violence. I find that measures of social disorganization, institutional anomie and resource deprivation at both the school and national levels predict higher levels of violence within schools. Surprisingly, homogeneity rather than heterogeneity is a significant predictor of physical bullying. In addition, math achievement and achievement score variation significantly predict the level of school violence cross-nationally. At the national level, placing too much emphasis on students' achievement on standardized tests may inadvertently create a culture conducive to school violence. Emphasizing a diverse range of ways to measure students' achievement other than standardized testing may reduce the likelihood that students experience strain and engage in violent behavior at school. This research is the first to use multi-level linear analysis to discern the school and national level predictors of school violence.
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    Cybercrime victimization among Virginia businesses: frequency, vulnerabilities, and consequences of cybervictimization
    Hawdon, James E.; Parti, Katalin; Dearden, Thomas E.; Vandecar-Burdin, Tancy; Albanese, Jay; Gainey, Randy (Taylor & Francis, 2023-09-04)
    The Commonwealth of Virginia, USA, is one of the most vulnerable states to cyberattacks and breaches. Analyzing data from 428 online surveys collected from Virginia businesses from multiple vendors and several unique resources, this study provides an in-depth view of the nature and extent of cybercrime victimization in Virginia, highlighting specific vulnerabilities, how the victimization occurred, the consequences of victimization, and if and to whom these breaches were reported. In addition, we describe the extent to which businesses perceive their vulnerabilities, the extent in which companies engage in behaviors that can potentially make them vulnerable, the policies and practices they have in place to reduce vulnerability, and their experiences with victimization. The results provide a quality baseline for understanding cybercrimes against businesses in Virginia.
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    Cybercrime, Differential Association, and Self-Control: Knowledge Transmission Through Online Social Learning
    Dearden, Thomas E.; Parti, Katalin (Springer, 2021-11-10)
    In an increasingly digital world, our social interactions are increasingly moving online. Differential association and social learning theories suggest that we learn both moral definitions and the how-to of crime from those we associate with. In this paper we examine whether online or offline social learning leads to more selfdisclosed forms of cyber-offending. Using a national online sample of 1,109 participants, we find both online and offline social learning are important correlates to cyber-offending. In addition, we predict that lower self-control will interact with social learning to further increase the likelihood of cyber-offending. Overall, we find that both social learning and self-control, individually and as an interaction, have a large effect-size in predicting cyber-offending.
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    Cybercrime: Victimization, Perpetration, and Techniques
    Hawdon, James E. (Springer, 2021-11-10)
    The creation of the World Wide Web revolutionized communication. At the turn of the 21st century, roughly 413 million people used the internet (Roser, Ritchie and Ortiz-Ospina 2015). A mere 21 years later, nearly 4.7 billion people, or about 60% of the world’s population, actively use the internet (We Are Social, & DataReportal, & Hootsuite, 2021). The pace of innovation in information technology, from the introduction of email in the 1960s to the rise of multiple social media platforms in the early 2000s to the rise of the Internet of Things (Iot) and 5g, has been astonishing. It is now almost inconceivable to imagine life without access to the internet. Yet the IT revolution, like all technological revolutions, has been a dual-edge sword. Indeed, the internet’s many benefits and drawbacks have been discussed in numerous forums, and these discussions will undoubtedly continue as long as we remain dependent on this technology. This special edition of the American Journal of Criminal Justice contributes to those discussions by considering one of the drawbacks: cybercime...
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    Defending Others Online: The Influence of Observing Formal and Informal Social Control on One's Willingness to Defend Cyberhate Victims
    Costello, Matthew; Hawdon, James E.; Reichelmann, Ashley V.; Oksanen, Atte; Blaya, Catherine; Llorent, Vicente J.; Räsänen, Pekka; Zych, Izabela (MDPI, 2023-08-02)
    This paper examines factors correlated with online self-help—an informal form of social control vis-à-vis intervention—upon witnessing a cyberhate attack. Using online surveys from 18- to 26-year-old respondents in the United States, we explore the roles of various types of online and offline formal and informal social control mechanisms on the enactment of self-help through the use of descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression. The results of the multivariate analyses indicate that online collective efficacy is positively related to self-help, as is having close ties to individuals and groups offline and online. Formal online social control, however, is not significantly related to engaging in self-help. Other findings demonstrate that personal encounters with cyberhate affect the likelihood that an individual will intervene when witnessing an attack, and that individuals with high levels of empathy are more likely to intervene to assist others. This work indicates that pro-social online behavior is contagious and can potentially foster online spaces in which harmful behaviors, such as propagating cyberhate, are not condoned.
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    Differentiating Insider and Outsider Cyberattacks on Businesses
    Dearden, Thomas E.; Parti, Katalin; Hawdon, James E.; Gainey, Randy; Vandecar-Burdin, Tancy; Albanese, Jay (Springer Nature, 2023-08-01)
    The use of information and communication technologies in business has opened several new ways for employees to commit cybercrimes against their employers. Utilizing opportunity theory, the current paper investigates the characteristics of businesses victimized by employee-committed cyberattacks and compares insider- and outsider-committed cybercrime in terms of the damage they cause to the business. We used online sampling to obtain information on 350 businesses in the Commonwealth of Virginia, revealing 29 outsider cases and 17 insider attacks that were clearly identified. We found that insider attacks were more costly, resulting in more damage than external attacks; the most frequent attack type was impersonating the organization online for insiders, and viruses, spyware, and malware for outsiders. Our data suggested restricting personal devices, making cybersecurity a priority, cybersecurity updates among management, and employee training do not significantly lessen the risk or mitigate the effects of insider attacks. We suggest that organizational security culture must be refined and strengthened to identify and prevent insider attacks successfully.
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    Do the Views of the Prosecutor's Offices Have an Impact on Whether Intimate Partner Violence Cases Go To Trial?
    Kershaw, Njeri (Virginia Tech, 2009-03-30)
    Each year there are approximately 589,000 nonfatal violent victimizations (e.g., aggravated assault, simple assault) committed by an intimate partner (US Dept. of Justice, 2003). Of that, roughly 85% of these violent victimizations were committed against females (US Dept. of Justice, 2003). Even with this large amount of violence against women, only about 33% of the perpetrators of those crimes are brought to trial in state courts (US Dept. of Justice, 2005). Even a cursory look at the literature indicates that extra-legal factors, including the personal views of the police, judges, and prosecutors, have an effect on which cases are brought to trial. Mandatory prosecution laws attempt to overcome these extra-legal factors. I will investigate if these laws succeed in reducing prosecutorial discretion and result in a greater percentage of domestic violence cases going to trial or if the views of the prosecutors' offices still determine which cases are brought to trial.
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    Drug Use in Middle School: Assessing Attitudinal and Behavioral Predictors
    Hawdon, James E. (Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Sociology Association, and Sociology Consortium of Oklahoma, 2004)
    Generally speaking, theories of adolescent drug use emphasize either attitudinal variables, such as self-esteem or self-control, or behavioral variables, such as interactions with delinquent peers. This research uses variables such as self-esteem, impulsiveness, parental attachment, commitment to education, and peer drug use to predict adolescent substance usc. The analysis is conducted on a sample of 312 middle-school children from South Carolina. Results indicate that while attitudinal variables are important for predicting use, behavioral variables are superior predictors of adolescent drug use. Involvement in non-drug related crimes, associating with drug-using peers, and involvement in a recreational routine activity pattern, all behavioral variables, were the best predictors of adolescent drug use. Attachment was the best attitudinal predictor of drug use. This research implies that dynamic models are needed to adequately explain the variation in adolescent drug usc, Researchers and theorists are reminded that recreational drug use among adolescents is often a behavior that conforms to sub-group norms and not simply behavior that deviates from the dominant culture's norms.