Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This research investigatd the case-processing of juveniles within New York State’s Family Court. The research will describe observed case processing hearings that occurred over 18 months and will attempt to develop a paradigm that incorporates the effects courtroom workgroup factors on case-processing decisions.
The present research seeks to extend previous work regarding the courtroom workgroup that is based on the general proposition that analogous to other workgroups they will utilize strategies analogous to those used by other organizational decision-makers who must perform their job functions in light of incomplete information and uncertain outcomes. The current research is concerned with achieving a more complete understanding of the mechanisms by which the relationships between courtroom workgroup members influence case-processing decisions. The focal point of this research is the development of an amalgamated paradigm based on organization theory, Black’s Sociology of the Case, and attribution theory to ameliorate the understanding of the mechanisms case processing.
It is the intent of this analysis to be an exploratory study to determine, preliminarily, the process by which judges, the county attorneys (as the manifestation of the legal embodiment of the State), the juvenile defense bar and various other courtroom workgroup participants operate as an organized set of functionally interdependent actors in the New York juvenile justice system. This research will employ the case study approach to analyze the process by which dispositional decisions are made and focus on the nature of the informal interpersonal relationships among the courtroom workgroup.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Economic status has been shown to affect nearly every family process that has been examined in the literature but not all of the family processes have been shown to affect delinquency. Parental monitoring has been demonstrated to be affected by economic status and has been shown to affect the level of adolescent delinquency. Thus, it is expected that as economic status increases, parental monitoring is expected to increase. In turn, low parental monitoring is expected to be associated with higher delinquency. The central question this research is intended to answer is how economic status and parental monitoring are related to each other and if they are each able to predict adolescent delinquency. A single class parallel growth model with delinquency as a distal outcome was estimated using Mplus, version 3.0 (Muthén and Muthén, 1998-2003). The data used in this study are the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Youth Survey; a subset sample included 1744 adolescents. Monitoring was negatively, significantly related to delinquency. SES was found to be negatively but non-significantly related to delinquency and to maternal monitoring. In sum, there is no parallel growth between SES and maternal monitoring in this single class parallel model.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: In the fall of 2007 the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture presented a Marine Aquaculture Site Allocation Policy for the provinces east coast. How this new policy is administered may provide a significant opportunity for traditional fishers in this region to have a voice and participate in the co-management of coastal resources. Community stakeholders have been asked to help in the decision-making process of choosing three new aquaculture licenses locations from six selected sites. The proponents have already completed the initial EIA work for their preferred sites. Other interest groups have called for a complete ban for protected areas and for the protection of species habitats within the bay area in question. How will this new consultation policy work - how will competing stakeholder views be accommodated? As a participating community stakeholder the Fundy North Fishermen's Association (FNFA) will be a case study in examining this first attempt at New Brunswick’s new consultation process.

Publication Type: Individual Presentation
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: From Sarah Baartman (the Hottentot Venus), to Venus Williams, to the Rutgers’s Basketball team, to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Black women’s bodies are used to tell various stories. In this analysis, I consider how different readings of Black women’s bodies influence how she is represented in public policy discourses. My central purpose is to map cultural and political readings of the Black woman’s body to show how the web of domination, constructed around notions of exoticism and repulsion for example, inform not only our everyday discussions of the “functioning” and “purpose” of black women in society, but also our policy discussions. Using a narrative analysis I ask what is the function of these readings on Black women. My approach utilizes both a sociology of stories approach and a functional approach to determine how particular readings of the Black woman’s body influence policy formation, rendering them simultaneously visible and invisible, and the implications of such readings on the lives of Black women.

Publication Type: Extended Abstract
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study attempts to explore how people respond to political attack ads. Specifically, we have 2 objectives: 1) to explore how cognitive and emotional factors that underlie people’s evaluations of political candidates influence processing of political ads, and 2) correlate physiological indicators of emotional response with previously recorded continuous response measures of message evaluation, collected from a nationwide sample by a commercial research company. In this study, we will first measure viewers’ attitude accessibility about both candidates running for president in 2008, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. Then viewers will watch a series of ads that attack the opposing candidate. During viewing, we will measure four channels of psychophysiological response: heart rate, skin conductance, orbicularis oculi, and corrugator supercilii. The primary research questions are how do chronically accessible attitudes impact how political attack ads are cognitively and emotionally processed, and how do these responses inform continuous response data? The proposed study can contribute to a better understanding of how attitudes might dynamically shape cognitive/emotional processing of media messages.