The Sanction Enhancement Group, pilot tested in the Division of Housing at the University of Florida, was a structured group experience for residence hall students. The group's experience reflected a major goal of the judicial system within the Division of Housing--education through redirecting behavior. The group members were students whose…

This grounded theory study of how Title I middle school administrators determine students' punishments was developed using interviews with 27 Florida administrators from schools allowing corporal punishment. Administrators' choices were shaped by their upbringings, their experiences as parents, their job requirements, the expectations of students'…

The purpose of this study was to identify statewide trends in school approaches to student discipline and examine the associations between punitive discipline practices and student, school, and local education agency (LEA) characteristics. In addition, we compared punitive disciplinary practices for schools and LEAs that do and do not allow…

The purpose of this study was to examine college students' perceptions of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and identify contributing factors that influence perceptions and reactions to students with ASD. Participants included 1,185 college students who responded to a survey in class or online. Trends in responses suggested that…

In "The Culture of Control: Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society," David Garland linked contemporary crime control policies and welfare reforms to a cultural formation that he termed the "crime complex of late modernity." According to Garland, once established, the crime complex exerts a contemporaneous effect on…

Nonlethal strangulation of intimate partners has substantial direct health effects and is associated with an increased risk of later lethal violence by a partner or ex-intimate partner but can be difficult to prosecute under felony assault statutes. After review of state laws regarding assault, the authors identified 10 states with specific…

This study examined the impact of training early childhood teachers in an emotional intelligence and classroom management program titled Conscious Discipline[R]. The researchers conducted eight one-day workshops monthly from September through April to an initial group of more than 200 participants. To assess attitudinal changes teachers answered a…

Previous research has demonstrated that judicial instructions on the law are not well understood by jurors tasked with applying the law to the facts of a case. The past research has also shown that jurors are often confused by the instructions used in the sentencing phase of a capital trial. The current research tested the effectiveness of a…

This qualitative study conducted in urban Miami, Florida, explored the essence of juvenile delinquency and recidivism: its causes, its relations to communities, the roles of families, and the myriad roles of residential treatment programs at rehabilitating young offenders. Data were collected from nine young adult participants who had satisfied…

The discipline of discipline is the cornerstone upon which educators should build the other disciplines. Teaching responsibility for one's actions must stand beside the teaching of writing, reading, and arithmetic. Discipline cannot be mastered when stifled with negative reward systems and punishment. This paper describes a comprehensive…

With 600 organizations in 45 states, teen courts are becoming viable alternative to processing first-time youthful offenders through the juvenile justice system. Teen courts may be run by schools, juvenile courts and probation departments, law enforcement agencies, or youth welfare organizations. Successful school-related courts are profiled. (MLH)

This paper describes a program that was developed and implemented to define better the incidents used by a rural school district to report school violence to the state. The program was also designed to decrease the use of out-of-school suspension by 90 school administrators in this Florida district. Some of the strategies used for the program…

Reactions to the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and debate over the president's replacement nomination, Judge John Roberts, Jr., of the D.C. Circuit, dominated this summer's Supreme Court recess. Subsequently, after Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005, President Bush nominated Roberts for the chief justice…

A prediction derived from cognitive dissonance theory is that children devalue an attractive but forbidden toy when mild rather than severe threat deters them from playing with it. One study found the opposite effect for lower socioeconomic class children, i.e., a harsh verbal threat produced more devaluation than a mild threat. Since the latter…

This document presents the results of a study on the socio-economic and educational status of blacks in Florida. Data are presented in the following areas: (1) black family demographics; (2) employment status and income; (3) test standards, performance and student tracking; (4) high school promotion, dropout and graduation rates; (5) special…