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  Being a Prison Chaplain in a Godless Country: An Exploration of the Czech Correctional Chaplaincy

  Andrea Beláňová, Tereza Trejbalova, and Bridget Kelley

  Prison chaplaincy, along with religiosity in the criminal justice system, are widely researched in the US (e.g.,Maruna, Wilson, & Curran, 2006; Sundt & Cullen, 1998). The Czech Republic remains one of the most secular countries in the world; about 72% of the population does not identify with any religion or church (Pew Research Center, 2017). The religious landscape in the country lead to prison chaplains being a largely unexplored population, existing in the tension between a total institution and their church. Due to the lack of research concerning this population in the Czech republic, this study aims to examine the position and identify the role of a prison chaplain in the context of Czech prisons.

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  The Importance of Social Network Analysis in Regards to Sexual Violence

  Robin Mendoza

  Sexual violence is a PUBLIC HEALTH and PUBLIC SAFETY issue that has grown with far reaching applications.

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  Fans Gone Wild: An Interdisciplinary Review of Spectator Violence

  Ryan Radmall

  Spectator violence refers to physical violence that occurs at special events within entertainment venues. This phenomenon can be problematic for event attendees, promoters, and security at these events.

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  Exploring the Women’s Needs and Risks Assessment (WRNA) in the Czech Republic

  Tereza Trejbalova and Emily J. Salisbury

  The focus of practitioners and academics alike has been shifting towards gender-responsive treatment of justice-involved women. One instrument that accounts for the realities of justice-involved women is the Women’s Needs and Risks Assessment (WRNA). In order to inquire about its validity outside the US, this tool was piloted in the Czech Republic in 2016 with 148 women prisoners. The study examined whether the WRNA is valid in the Czech Republic, and how well it predicts the disciplinary infractions of incarcerated women with different cultural backgrounds. Results suggest external validity of the WRNA as several of the gender-neutral (e.g., antisocial friends) and gender-responsive factors (e.g., prior victimization/trauma) that are predictive of American women prisoners’ institutional infractions are also predictive of Czech women prisoners’ infractions. To reduce women’s incarceration rates and to disrupt the intergenerational transmission of crime, we must address women’s criminogenic needs, going beyond traditional male-based risk assessment.

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  A Narrative Criticism of Online Anti-Vaccine Stories of VaxTruth

  Stephanie Willes

  Using narrative methods, this professional paper provides a rhetorical criticism of an anti-vaccine community called, VaxTruth. This analysis will aid in understanding why anti-vaccine narratives are so persuasive and what they offer people who join anti-vaccine communities. To explore this phenomenon I first look at the affordances of the Internet, how it encourages participation, which spreads misinformation, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories. Understanding how actions through the Internet become rhetorical acts, I turn to rhetorical theories of counterpublics and exigences, which also aids in finding the outcomes of anti-vaccine discourses. Current findings show meta-narratives of government conspiracy theories that break away into micro-narratives of individual experiences. Anti-vaccine storytelling online provides Internet users with both a sense of fear and hope. Fear that parents will be responsible for the death or injury to their child if they do chose to vaccinate; hope that being a part of the anti-vaccine community and sharing their stories will persuade parents not to vaccinate, thus saving as many children they can.

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  The Connections Between Government Structure and Direct Democracy

  Michael Joseph Biesiada

  The purpose of this prospectus is to examine county-level contextual factors that impact direct democracy mechanisms and voter turnout. The prospectus contains two essays that build upon each other with fitting theoretical frameworks. The first essay investigates the impact of contextual factors on a county government’s decision to permit citizen initiatives. This essay applies new institutionalism theory to understand the current connections between government structure and direct democracy mechanisms within U.S. counties. County governments play a vital role in American democracy, yet little is known about why some counties permit direct democracy mechanisms while others do not. I address a gap in the literature that focuses on policy outcomes that can vary at the county-level due to election laws. Election laws that permit direct democracy mechanisms often benefit voters by initiating or repealing legislation that more closely reflects the citizenry. Given the dearth of research on direct democracy mechanisms at the county-level, I examine the 1) citizen initiative, 2) legislative referendum, 3) popular referendum, and 4) provision for recall. To investigate counties that permit direct democracy mechanisms, I focus on contextual factors that include form of government, socioeconomics, and demographics. I apply a series of cross-sectional logit regressions by using micro-level county data from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) 2014 County Government Survey, American Community Survey (ACS), U.S. Census Bureau, and CDFI fund. Subsequently, I use the models to detect and explain variations of direct democracy that exist in the 3,031 county governments surveyed with populations between 10,000 and 500,000.

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  Is it Still Impossible to be Black and American

  Darrian Carroll

  Rhetorical ideographic criticism of Bill Clinton's speeches.

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  Media Portrayals of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Content Analysis of Julia from Sesame Street using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS2) and Stigmatizing Frames

  Sallyann Ficarrotta

  Previous research has shown media portrayals of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as grossly exaggerated and inaccurate. Julia is not depicted as having high-functioning autism, but most of the exaggerated portrayals depicted in movies and television are of a person on that end of the spectrum. The current study, a quantitative content analysis of Julia from Sesame Street, draws from framing theory (specifically stigmatizing cues) and utilizes the professional assessment tool, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS2). The tool was used to rate the severity of Julia’s autism symptomology. Less socially stigmatizing cues were found in this media content than were found in previous research, implying that Julia was stigmatized less than others. Julia’s CARS2 scores placed her in the average autism symptomology group, implying that Julia’s ASD symptoms are not exaggerated like other television shows have portrayed those characters with autism.

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  Victimization: Its Impact on Masculinity and Criminal Offending

  Shon M. Reed and Alexis Kennedy

  Male victims are an underrepresented group within society. Prior research has indicated that male vic,ms may feel a diminished sense of their own masculinity. Criminology has iden,fied that masculinity does play a role in some men’s decisions to engage in criminal behavior (Messerschmidt, 1993, 2016). It seems logical that these two concepts would be related. Utlizing self­‐reported data from 135 college males, the current study analyzes the rela,onship between childhood vic,miza,on, masculinity beliefs, and the decision to engage in criminal/delinquent behavior.

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  Assessing Bias in Regression Estimates Using Monte Carlo Simulations: Examples in Criminal Justice Research

  Matthew P. West, Melissa Rorie, and Mark A. Cohen

  Can we trust published results? Problems with bias in reported results: “Do social scientists even know anything?” Failed replications (“repligate”). Inaccurate inferences about important relationships (Type I and Type II errors). Inaccurate power analyses for future studies. To avoid these problems, researchers need tools to rigorously evaluate statistical models. The Monte Carlo method is one tool that can be used to evaluate bias in model estimates