Reducing Firearm-Related Violence on College Campuses—Police Chiefs' Perceptions and Practices

Abstract

Context: Firearms are used in the majority of college aged suicides and homicides. With recent efforts by various gun lobbying groups to have firearms more accessible to college students on campuses, there is the potential for more firearm-related morbidity and mortality. Objective: This study assessed university police chiefs’ perceptions and practices concerning selected issues of firearm violence and its reduction on college campuses. Participants: The Directory of the International Association for College Law Enforcement Administrators was used to identify a national random sample of campus police chiefs (n = 600). The respondents were predominantly males (89%), 40 to 59 years of age (71%), Caucasian (85%), and worked for 21or more years in law enforcement (75%). Methods: In the fall of 2008, a 2-wave mailing procedure was used to ensure an adequate response rate to a valid and reliable questionnaire. Results: A total of 417 (70%) questionnaires were returned. A firearm incident had occurred in the past year on 25% of campuses and on 35% of campuses within the past 5 years. The majority of campuses (57%) had a plan in place for longer than a year to deal with an “active shooter” on campus. Virtually all (97%) of the campuses had a policy in place that prohibited firearms on campus. The primary barrier (46%) to a highly visible campus plan for preventing firearms violence was the perception that firearms violence was not a problem on their campus. Conclusions: A greater awareness of the importance of a highly visible campus firearm policy and its potential for reducing firearm trauma on college campuses is needed.     

Fantasy,Reality and Response

While some educators assert that classroom simulations assist students in learning history, others posit that simulations can trivialize the past for students. In this article the authors argue there are many myths about simulations and that simulations are a defensible teaching activity if teachers enact them to encourage students’ interest in historical topics and challenge them to think critically and develop empathy for people who lived in the past. The authors draw on their research in two middle level teachers’ classes and the research of others to explore six myths about simulations. They also offer recommendations for teachers interested in creating educative simulations.     

Comparisons among regression estimators under the generalized mean square error criterion

It is not always prossible to establish a preference ordering among regression estimators in terms of the generalized mean square error criterion. In the paper, we determine when it is feasible to use this criteion to couduct comparisons among ordinary least squares, principal components, ridge regression, and shrunken least squares estimators.     

Examining the equivalence of fidelity over two generations of KEEP implementation: A preliminary analysis

Problem

In order to obtain and maintain positive outcomes garnered from evidence-based practice (EBP) models, it is necessary to implement them effectively in “real world” settings, to continually monitor intervention fidelity to prevent drift, and to train new staff due to turnover. The fidelity monitoring processes that are commonly employed in research settings are labor intensive and probably unrealistic to employ in community agencies given the additional burden and cost that they represent over and above the cost of implementing the EBP. Efficient strategies for implementing fidelity monitoring and staff training procedures within the inner context of agency settings are needed to promote agency self-sufficiency and program sustainability.

Method

A cascading implementation model was used whereby agencies who achieved proficiency in KEEP, an EBP designed to prevent placement disruptions in foster and kinship child welfare homes, were trained to take on fidelity management roles to improve the likelihood of program sustainability. Agency staff were trained to self-monitor fidelity and to train internal staff to achieve model fidelity. A web-based system for conducting fidelity assessments and for onsite/internal and remote program quality monitoring was utilized.

Results

Scores on fidelity ratings from streamed observations of intervention sessions showed no differences for foster parents treated by first generation interventionists trained by model developers compared to a second generation of interventionists trained by the first generation.

Conclusion and relevance to child welfare

Development of the local intra-agency capacity to manage quality intervention delivery is an important feature of successful EBP implementation. Use of the cascading implementation model appears to support the development of methods for effective monitoring of fidelity of the KEEP intervention, for training new staff, and ultimately for the development of internal methods for maintaining program sustainability and effectiveness.     

Impact of Social Work Education on Student Attitudes and Behavior concerning Oppression

Although human service professionals increasingly are the victims of violence, no data exist on the prevalence of violence in the undergraduate field setting, and only one study has addressed the incidence of violence at the graduate level. To fill this gap in the research, the authors surveyed 121 social work students and 96 field instructors at the undergraduate and graduate levels to identify safety issues, compare incidents of violence, and to examine agency policies on violence prevention and management. Findings revealed that undergraduate and graduate students experienced verbal abuse, as well as physical violence. Field instructors were verbally abused or threatened by clients, but did not report any verbal abuse by students; they also reported physical assaults by clients and paraprofessionals. Students reported that, although they received some classroom instruction on safety issues in practice, agencies used as practicum sites often did not have policies on violence or did not inform students of those policies. The authors suggest that curriculum materials on violence and safety issues be integrated into the curriculum or included in field placement seminars. They also recommend that the Council on Social Work Education mandate the inclusion of such content.     

Boys Abused in a Community Setting: An Analysis of Gender,Relationship, and Delayed Prosecutions in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT

Previous research on gender differences and delay of disclosure of child sexual abuse is inconclusive; some research has found that male victims are more likely to delay disclosure than female victims, while other studies have found no gender difference. The present archival study investigated this inconsistency by examining factors that interact with delay. Judicial outcomes of child sexual abuse cases were coded (N = 4237) for variables related to the offense, the complainant-accused relationship, and court proceedings. Males and females differed with respect to delay only when the relationship between the complainant and the accused was established in the community (e.g., sports coach) or was a stranger to the child. When the accused was a parent, other relative, or a non-relative connected to the child through the family, there was no difference in delay between males and females. Further, males were more vulnerable in the community, as evidenced by a higher proportion of accused community members with male than female complainants, even though males represented fewer than 25% of cases in the database. These findings may help explain inconsistencies in gender differences in delayed disclosure. Implications regarding education about child sexual abuse are discussed, with a focus on male victims.     

Virginity Definitions and Meaning Among the LGBT Community

The literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) virginity is almost nonexistent. Thus this exploratory study was completed to understand virginity in the LGBT community. The research questions asked members of two LGBT student groups to define virginity, discuss its meaning, and share experiences. Data were collected from two focus groups and six individual follow-up interviews and were analyzed. Results indicate that there is a range of virginity definitions, there is little discussion of the topic, and that “coming out” is a more important rite of passage than virginity among these LGBT community members. Future research needs are discussed.     

The Three Malinches: betrayal and the death of an urban popular movement

I examine the death of an urban popular movement in Guadalajara, Mexico, through the experiences of three women who were active in the movement's local-level leadership. Betrayal emerges as a central theme in their accounts. Gender and betrayal have provided a longstanding subtext in Mexico's political history. La Malinche, who was the indigenous translator and lover of the conquistador Hernando Cortés, epitomizes this historical trope. She is to this day disparaged by Mexicans as a sell-out, a betrayer of the nation. In much the same way, the women whose stories inform this account of the death of a social movement are Malinches, readily cast by themselves and others, including First World academicians, as sell-outs.Yet contemporary feminist revisionings of La Malinche explore the ways in which she was also betrayed. Exploring the manylayered relationship between gender and betrayal can contribute to understanding not only the demise of an urban popular movement, but also the larger political and theoretical economies in which scholars and activists are differently involved,positioned, and connected.