Hassan Tajalli

The racial animus model argues that public support for punitive sentencing of criminal offenders is shaped by threat perceptions associated with cultural minority groups. This study applies the racial animus model to examine support for the punitive sentencing of criminal offenders in the United States and Australia. It also examines whether racial animus mediates the possible difference in punitive attitudes between each country toward different crime types. Online survey data were obtained in the US and Australia to assess racial animus and punitive attitudes using six different crime scenarios. Results indicate that (a) individuals with higher levels of racial animus demonstrate greater levels of punitiveness; (b) Australians have higher levels of racial animus as compared to their US counterparts; and (c) racial animus mediates the difference of punitive attitudes between the two countries. Overall, punitive attitudes and racial animus vary cross-culturally, with Australians demonstrating more racial animus. Our mediation model provides evidence for the importance of racial animus in the cross-cultural demand for the punishment of criminal offenders.

This study tests theories of social learning and strain to explain non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU) among Latino college students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Logistic regression analyses indicate social learning and negative stressors help explain such usage, while refined models suggest that Latinos use of NMPD is primarily intended to improve academic performance. The study raises important questions about the unique challenges facing Latino college students and the role NMPDU may play in HSIs.

This article examines the impact of college students’ religious commitments on 4 important outcomes: (1) academic ethic; (2) academic performance; (3) academic honesty; and (4) personal stress. An original data set drawn from a survey of college students attending a large university in the Southwest United States offers suggestive insights that address these issues. The authors find that religious involvement is associated with a strong academic ethic but does not appear to predict students’ academic performance, honesty, or personal stress.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the uncharted territory of disciplinary actions taken against educators for their misconducts. The study examines demographics of the educators who have committed various types of offenses to find out whether results are different than the findings in the criminal justice literature. Methods: The data used in this study include all 582 educators who were disciplined for misconduct in the 2012–2013 school year in Texas. Various descriptive and significance tests were used to answer the hypotheses of this study. Results: Some of the findings correspond with the findings of the criminal justice literature while others do not. Young, male, and black educators are more likely to offend. Contrary to the literature on “student discipline” and “criminal justice,” minority educators are not treated more harshly when they are disciplined. There are some offenses committed more often by younger, male, and those educators who have held their credentials for a shorter amount of time. Conclusion: The results have raised many questions similar to the ones studied in the field of criminal justice. A new body of research needs to address questions such as discrimination and the constitutional rights of the accused and the victims.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the Texas “Closing the Gaps by 2015” plan to increase Hispanic enrollment into and graduation from institutions of higher education. This study uses Interrupted Time Series with Comparison Group to analyze 26 years of student cohorts in Texas universities. Controlling for historical enrollment and graduation growth as well as population growth, the results show that Hispanic college enrollment significantly increased as a result of the plan, but graduation did not. Several recommendations are offered for those states that wish to emulate Texas policies of increasing college enrollment and graduation of Hispanics.

The Routine Activities Theory suggests that when there is the presence of a motivated offender, a suitable target, and the absence of a capable guardian, crime has the opportunity to occur. Large sporting events accompanied by massive tourists bring these ingredients of crime together. The purpose of this study is to find out whether the crime rates spike in the host cities during the high tourist month of the Super Bowl. Twenty-four months of crime rates on eight types of crimes were obtained for every American city that has hosted the Super Bowl. Panel Data Analysis is used to test the Hypotheses of this study. The findings do not show a spike in crime rates during the month of Super Bowl for any of the crimes examined in this study. It is in the economic interests of all stakeholders to provide a safe and secure venue free of crimes for sports tourists.

This paper introduces an original data set that provides insight into how Ukrainian and US college students would punish criminal offenders. Students on four campuses in Ukraine and four in the United States completed surveys that help us better understand these differences. In general, Ukrainian students are more likely than American students to be crime victims than are American students and they are consistently more fearful of being victimised. Ukrainian students are more punitive than American students for some types of crimes (e.g., drug possession) while Americans are more punitive on other crimes (e.g., burglary).

Purpose: Common knowledge seem to suggest that international studies (IS) programs are at the forefront of helping their students better understand the world beyond United States borders. The purpose of this study is to test the proposition that IS students have a greater global awareness than other college students. Method: Hanvey’s (1976) five dimensions of global perspective were operationalized into 45 specific questions. A questionnaire consisting of these questions and a few demographics were circulated among students of 10 universities in the United States. A statistical method of Differences-in-Differences was used to compare the global perspective of IS students with other college students. Results: Controlling for different initial levels of awareness between freshmen/sophomore of IS students and students of two control groups, the findings do not support the hypothesis that IS programs have enhanced the global awareness of their students. The findings suggest that increases in global awareness of senior IS students are due to their initial predisposition and the process of maturation rather than their course of study. Comments: The null findings of this study suggest a scholarly and professional discussion on the future direction of IS programs is needed.