CHDS Master’s Theses: December 2020 Graduation
by CHDS ·
The Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School graduates students with a Masters degree in Security Studies every March, September and December (with occasional June graduates). Find all 1000+ theses searchable at the Homeland Security Digital Library or browse the December 2020 theses below.
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Assimilation Through the Ballot: How Voting Facilitates Integration into American LifeFrom the thesis Abstract: “The United States has been colloquially considered a nation of immigrants. However, the subject of immigrant integration in the United States remains insufficiently explained. Prior research suggests an association between political participation and social integration within the American mainstream, but this relationship remains underexplored. This thesis investigates the relationship between political participation and integration, with particular reference to electoral participation and the act of voting. Drawing upon democratization literature, this thesis proposes a theory of integration through elections whereby electoral participation advances a newcomer’s integration into their new host society. Through evaluating this theory of integration through elections within a mixed-methods research design, the results confirm a relationship between electoral participation and integration and suggest that electoral participation may facilitate the integration process. The results further contain implications for future studies of integration and for immigration policy in the United States.”Knowlton, Nicholas D.
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Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action: How Can Law Enforcement Enhance the Recruitment of Women?From the thesis Abstract: “Women entered the law enforcement profession over 100 years ago, and while they now account for over 50 percent of the U.S. population, they represent a meager 12 percent of the 800,000 sworn police officers serving in the country. As law enforcement agencies struggle to find enough officers to fill staffing shortages, women remain an under-recruited resource. This thesis aims to answer the question of how law enforcement can enhance the recruitment of women. A comparative analysis approach was used to compare and contrast Australia’s and Canada’s policing, recruitment practices, and maternity benefits to those of the United States. These two allied countries were chosen for comparison as they share similar democratic frameworks to the United States yet have significantly higher percentages of women serving as police officers. Findings from the analysis suggest that the strategies used in Australia and Canada have a significant impact and could be implemented in the United States to enhance women’s recruitment. U.S. law enforcement leaders must strive to move the numerically underrepresented women from token status and work to create a profession rife with diversity and inclusion. Findings suggest that law enforcement should change the focus of recruitment from the physical strength of a candidate to problem-solving capabilities, interpersonal strengths, and communication skills.”Newman, Michelle L.
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Study of Musicology and Social Discourse in Mid-Twentieth-Century AmericaFrom the thesis Abstract: “Social scientists and philosophers generally agree that music pervades most cultures and helps form people’s identities and worldviews. This thesis examines music associated with mid-twentieth-century discourse movements in the United States to establish musicological patterns and analyze their relationship to social discourse. Documented historical accounts and music-chart ratings across movements were used to determine the popularity and historical significance of songs. The present study finds that mid-twentieth-century popular music reflected and amplified belief systems held during the era and reciprocally affected social action. This work identifies how music interacted with the counterculture movement, the civil rights movement, and the anti-Vietnam War movement, and reveals an intimate and multifaceted relationship with music across multiple subgenres. This exploration of the youth-powered mid-twentieth-century music industry shows how larger-than-life performers emerged and exerted tremendous influence on young people, thus developing youth identities and fueling youth activism during the era. Ultimately, this thesis suggests that music can help practitioners who are responsible for resolving social imbalances and maintaining peace to explain the belief systems and motivations of people involved in discourse, especially for those such as the youth of most cultures, whose personal identity and worldview formation are commonly in flux during the coming-of-age process.”Briggs, James B.
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Electronic Border Searches After ‘Riley’From the thesis Abstract: “This thesis discusses the implications of the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Riley v. California for the search of electronic devices at the border, termed ‘electronic border searches.’ It explores the degree to which such searches continue to be constitutionally permissible and contrasts Riley’s categorical rule protecting electronic devices in the interior with the general search power granted the government at the border. Following an examination of the divergences among lower courts in applying Riley, it finds Riley has limited application to the conduct of electronic border searches and that they continue to be constitutionally permissible. This thesis also explores how the reasonableness of such searches can be maintained despite evolving technology and privacy perceptions. By examining other legislative and constitutional rules, it derives an approach for electronic border searches where powerful government interests and privacy concerns collide. The result is a view of electronic devices at the border as hybrid property–as both containers and novel ‘effects.’ Accordingly, this thesis advocates a hybrid-scope-limited approach that tethers suspicion-less electronic border searches to the original rationale for the border search doctrine. It presents a bifurcated framework leading to a two-tiered, hybrid-scope-limited rule where distinct levels of intrusion into electronic devices at the border are tied to differential levels of suspicion.”Bode, Aaron
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Avoiding the Cassandra Complex: Improving Warnings and Notifications for People with Functional and Access NeedsFrom the thesis Abstract: “How can emergency alerts be modified to more effectively serve people with functional and access needs? This thesis employed a qualitative analysis of three U.S. and two international case studies of disasters, applying the findings to the value proposition framework, which considers the warning requirements of people with disabilities or other access needs as well as what inclusive warning and notifications systems would look like. This framework drove eight recommendations that stakeholders can use to improve such systems. Alert originators and professional associations should enhance inclusive planning and education and implement broader use of diverse warning systems for public safety and the public. They should also leverage assistive technologies and community relationships. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, respectively, should incentivize inclusive warning programs through grant funding and fund technology research for resilient warning infrastructure.”Miller, Sean D.
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It Starts at Home: Internal Actions Police Agencies Can Take to Improve StaffingFrom the thesis Abstract: “The shortage of police officers in the United States has become a crisis. Many officers leave the force after only a few years, and police departments struggle to find qualified applicants to fill rapidly increasing openings. This thesis asks what police leaders can do to solve their staffing problems. The research looks to the armed forces’ recruitment methodology and the private sector’s use of analytics to address strategic problems, and analyzes two police departments that have been able to reduce the number of open positions through an integrated approach to recruiting, retention, and force management. The research finds that traditional methods are no longer effective; modern recruiting requires departments to adapt to new and changing environments and generations. Recruitment advertising must be honest and targeted to the right audience, and must use the most appropriate medium for the message. To promote retention, police leaders must go beyond offering competitive compensation; equally as important, they must consider how they engage with and connect to their employees. Further, successful force management requires leaders to determine which positions must truly be filled by sworn officers and which can be filled by appropriately skilled civilians. To address staffing challenges, police leaders must start with retention and force management to determine what and who they need, and then enhance their recruiting efforts to complete the triad and fill their open spots.”Haynes, Mark L.
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Refugee Radicalization in the United States: Scope of Threat and Steps Toward MitigationFrom the thesis Abstract: “The rhetoric of the Trump administration has fomented a belief among the U.S. public that refugees are a source of terrorism and a growing threat to the security of American citizens. This rhetoric has been reinforced by executive orders, regulations, and policies that have severely restricted the number of refugees admitted to the United States since 2017 and subjected those who enter to enhanced screening and vetting in an attempt to mitigate this perceived threat. This thesis assesses the actual scope of threat posed to the security of the United States by resettled refugees. Looking at quantitative data for attempted and perpetrated attacks by refugees in the United States, this thesis concludes that the threat posed to the U.S. homeland by resettled refugees is so minimal as to be statistically insignificant. Analyzing well-known examples of resettled refugees who have been radicalized to terrorism abroad, this thesis also concludes that the true risk of radicalization lies in the failed integration of these refugees into American society. Preventing the ostracism of refugees through policy changes to the refugee admissions program may serve to mitigate this risk and cure the misperceived fear of refugees among the public.”Rosich, Nicole M.
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Assumption and Adaptation in Emergency Response: Evaluating the Strategic Approach of the National Incident Management SystemFrom the thesis Abstract: “The National Incident Management System (NIMS) guidance strategy influences local public safety organizations and jurisdictions with emergency response obligations to develop and adopt all-hazards emergency response plans to prepare for critical incidents and natural disasters. Plan developers use assumption-based planning to imagine disaster scenarios and cultivate response options, but there are inherent problems with using such an approach for emergency preparedness. This thesis reviews the literature regarding NIMS strategy for incident response, assumption-based and adaptive planning processes, complexity and decision-making, and response implementation to determine whether a shift in policy could benefit local responders. It also covers four response case after-action reports to determine whether pre-incident plans were beneficial to responders and if jurisdictions had sufficient resources to respond to their incidents. The review illustrates that assumption-based planning is not the best tool for developing new plans but is better suited to review existing procedures or as a training tool for responders. This thesis shows that pre-selected and trained incident management teams provide superior preparedness for response and, when combined with a decision-making framework, are a dynamic, efficient tool. This thesis recommends changing the national strategy to influence local authorities in the development and implementation of coordinated local incident response teams.”Chapman, Charles W.
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Cybercrime Response Capabilities and Capacity: An Evaluation of Local Law Enforcement’s Response to a Complex ProblemFrom the thesis Abstract: “Local law enforcement is expected to respond to cybercrimes by having the appropriate level of capabilities and capacity for highly technical and complex investigative activities. Having the specialized resources necessary to have this type of investigative capabilities and capacity presents significant challenges for local law enforcement agencies regardless of size. Small and midsize agencies face even greater challenges based on a lack of necessary resources, ranging from trained personnel to funding. Adding to the list challenges is a lack of standardization, policies, and protocols to provide guidance to agencies looking for strategies to address the need for cybercrime investigative capabilities and capacity. This thesis examined different models being used by local law enforcement agencies of all sizes to address the need for cybercrime investigative capabilities and capacity and lumped them into three models: internal resources, conventional task forces, and hybrid task forces. Using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis, the three models were examined. The findings revealed commonalities and differences between the models, highlighting potential pros and cons for each. Recommendations were made for local law enforcement decision makers to consider when developing policies and protocols around their need for cybercrime investigative capabilities and capacity.”Monaghan, Ryan M.
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Peer Support in Law EnforcementFrom the thesis Abstract: “Peer support programs have been around U.S. police departments for many years, but little research has been conducted as to whether these programs are effective. To this end, the present research aims to establish whether peer support works in the sense of enhancing recruitment, retention, and overall officer well-being within the field of law enforcement. This project gathered information in the form of a survey from medium-sized municipal police agencies in the western United States, as well as in-person interviews. The overwhelming consensus is the need to ‘normalize’ seeking mental health help within police organizations amid any officer’s personal stress, organizational stress, and cumulative stress. Additionally, peer support programs provide a level of assistance that may allow agencies to retain officers, especially women, who value such programs more highly, according to the results. Ultimately, this project finds that officers cannot help others if they do not first have help themselves; peer support programs are a way to provide the help officers need for success at work and at home.”Scherer, Cathy J.
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Improving the U.S. Immigration System: Lessons Learned from the Diversity Visa, Family, and Merit-Based Immigration ProgramsFrom the thesis Abstract: “The U.S. immigration system is the subject of an ongoing debate regarding necessary reforms to protect American national security and benefit all Americans economically. This thesis asks two questions: (1) How should the current U.S. immigration system be improved to address existing economic and national security concerns presented by legal immigration?, and (2) What elements from existing U.S. legal immigration programs, as well as from Canada’s and Australia’s legal immigration programs, can the United States incorporate in its revamped immigration policies? This thesis conducted a comparative analysis of the U.S. diversity immigrant visa and family-based immigration programs and existing merit-based immigration systems in Canada and Australia. The inquiry identified which of the aforementioned immigration programs have had a positive effect on their respective countries’ economies, based on levels of education and unemployment rates, and which immigration policies have resulted in fewer terrorist attacks by immigrants who come to each country, via relevant noted programs. This thesis found that although the U.S. diversity immigrant and family-based immigration programs are not perfect, they serve an important purpose and can be improved. This thesis recommends, among other things, introducing points-based human capital criteria into family-based immigration and instituting a five-year review of the U.S. immigration system.”Bierman, Vlada
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Standardization of Specialization: Regional Task Force Swat Team Response to Critical IncidentsFrom the thesis Abstract: “Critical incidents that involve multiple responding Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams frequently result in interoperability, command-and-control, and familiarity challenges for all involved. Time and time again, after-action reports have shown that these challenge points are not easy to overcome, and this is a key problem because those with advanced knowledge of effective tactics in handling complex and rapidly changing incidents often contribute to these evaluations. Given the scale, scope, and complexity of modern mass-casualty or critical incidents, how do SWAT team structures dealing with interoperability, training, familiarity, and command and control need to change for SWAT response to remain viable? This thesis used the case study method of structured, focused comparison for two complex critical incidents involving SWAT units, drawing commonalities from among those incidents and juxtaposing them against a task force-based approach. These key commonalities were then discussed in depth, and several recommendations were made for strategic planners around the country to consider. The ultimate goal of this thesis was to provide a foundational guideline for homeland security leaders to change how SWAT teams are structured when responding to critical incidents from manmade threats in the United States.”George, Jonathan A.
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Blip on the Radar: School Safety Synergy Through Early Warning and Information SharingFrom the thesis Abstract: “The traditional response to school violence by legislators and school districts has been mostly reactive. Scholars and existing research in the field of school safety and security recommend a critical safety and security initiative that is proactive and works to prevent violence by identifying concerns early on through behavioral threat assessment practices. This thesis applied a multi-step qualitative and comparative policy analysis framework that evaluated existing opportunities to increase the safety and security posture of schools. This study evaluated strengths and weaknesses in school safety and security by drawing lessons from past incidents of school violence in the United States, assembling contributing factors to inaction, comparing another country’s holistic approach to targeted violence, and evaluating gaps in existing school safety legislation. This thesis used scholarly research to make school safety and security recommendations at the federal, state, and local levels–for legislators, public safety professionals, school district leadership, and particularly, school safety and security professionals in Texas. This thesis found that for behavioral threat assessment and management to be an effective violence prevention strategy, school officials and legislators ought to develop programs and implement training and measurement tools that focus on efficacy rather than compliance or broad measures that consequentially affect children who do not pose a threat.”Dias, Bruno S.
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‘Danger Close’: The Need for a Nationwide Deconfliction and Notification System for All Law Enforcement AgenciesFrom the thesis Abstract: “To prevent friendly fire incidents and avoid duplication of effort, law enforcement agencies in the United States use multiple deconfliction systems to register investigative targets and notify outside units and agencies of proactive undercover operations. This research reveals that investigators are confused about which of the main systems to use in certain areas and that the use of multiple systems prevents investigators from gathering data on friendly fire incidents and restricts collaboration between agencies that are targeting the same criminals. Having one central deconfliction system for use by federal, state, local, and tribal authorities would make law enforcement officers’ jobs safer and would facilitate information sharing among the different units and agencies, leading to greater collaboration and more successful outcomes.”Nyhus, Brian A.
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Road Map to Successful Immigrant Integration for Local LeadersFrom the thesis Abstract: “The United States has struggled to define and implement effective integration for immigrants because the immigration and integration systems are unwieldy and confusing. This thesis analyzes case studies at the national and local levels to determine what elements constitute effective integration policy. A rubric was created using the International Organization of Migration’s definition of integration and the European Union’s guiding principles to analyze and grade each case study. The rubric helped to rate the following elements: employment, education, and equal access to services; respect for cultures; and communication and participation. Each case study received scores for these elements on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing complete integration of immigrants in the host country. This thesis finds that the integration process never ends; the more stakeholders who engage in the integration process, the better; and re-evaluating programs and policies after a certain period is crucial. These findings support the following recommendations for local leaders in the United States: 1) create an integration curriculum for new immigrants and continue the integration program even after the course’s completion, 2) engage with as many stakeholders as early and as often as possible, and 3) understand that integration policy is continuous and requires constant improvement to ensure integration in the community.”O’Malley, Robert
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Tainted Love, Crab Pickers, and Opportunities for Fraud: A Comparative Analysis of Deterrence Mechanisms in USCISFrom the thesis Abstract: “The marriage immigration benefits programs and the H-2B visa program for temporary nonagricultural workers are programs that, amid fraud or abuse, could lead to nefarious actors gaining access to the United States and posing a threat to homeland security. This thesis explores the strengths and weaknesses of fraud deterrence processes in these visa programs, seeking to understand how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can better combat abuse and prevent national security risks. The purpose of this qualitative research was to compare these two programs and explore strengths and weaknesses of their deterrence mechanisms through the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS). This thesis reviews and compares the legal frameworks of these visa programs, their fraud and security risk detection and prevention mechanisms, various reports issued by government agencies, media reports, and case studies through interviews with FDNS officers at USCIS. This thesis finds that the H-2B visa program has better fraud and national security risk detection and prevention mechanisms than the marriage programs have and provides recommendations for improvements in the following distinct core areas: legal framework, notification requirements and site visits, and interagency collaboration. The results of this thesis are meaningful for academics and practitioners because they provide real-world policy recommendations to improve deterrence mechanisms at USCIS FDNS.”Perdomo, Mildred
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Fire Service Intelligence: Informed Strategies, Operations, and TacticsFrom the thesis Abstract: “Fire service agencies struggle to receive and use relevant, agency-specific intelligence, which hampers their ability to prevent attacks, protect the community, mitigate an attack’s impact, respond safely, and recover from such events. This thesis presents the intelligence requirements necessary to support the fire service and specifies how the fire service can use intelligence to guide strategic policy development, operational planning, and tactical decision-making. It employed a qualitative gap analysis, using a 15- question survey of fire service personnel, to compare the current state of the fire service intelligence apparatus with a desired future state. This thesis also used case analysis to identify current intelligence products to understand how well they support strategic, operational, and tactical decisions. This thesis identifies intelligence gaps from a broader fire-service audience and offers a holistic set of recommendations, thus contributing to intelligence research. The gaps involve collaborating with law enforcement on intelligence, establishing intelligence requirements to better support the fire service, handling sensitive information, and using finished intelligence for decision-making. This thesis recommends identifying and distributing intelligence requirements to the fire service, developing training and policy guidance on intelligence handling, and creating a joint intelligence guide.”Phillips, Derrick D.
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What We Have Here is a Failure to Tourniquet: Increasing the Efficacy of Hemorrhage Control TrainingFrom the thesis Abstract: “Bleeding to death is the primary avertable cause of death for victims who have suffered trauma–like a gunshot wound. Emergency medical services response times of less than five minutes yield the best outcomes for shooting victims, but the average response time is six to eight minutes; help may be even farther away in an ongoing shooting incident or mass shooting event. In emergency incidents, bystanders with some training and some gear–in this case, tourniquets–may provide life-saving aid to victims of traumatic injury until medical personnel can take over. Precedents for involving, equipping, and empowering the public in public safety, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillators, and Narcan/Naloxone, have been established. This thesis explores these programs. Several important takeaways from this review can be applied to any immediate responder program. First, priority must be given to providing training in the most widely accessible manner to reach the most people. Second, if specialized equipment is necessary, it must be easy-to-use and readily accessible, and should include instructions. While training is an important first step, building in natural points of contact for trainers and trainees, like requiring recertification, can increase the trainees’ retention of and ability to apply those lessons learned.”Werner, William C.
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Mapping the Manosphere: A Social Network Analysis of the Manosphere on RedditFrom the thesis Abstract: “The manosphere network is a dispersed collection of online spaces that proliferate an anti-feminist ideology that in some cases has been associated with violence. This thesis aims to observe the manosphere network structure as it exists on Reddit by using a mixed method research design of digital ethnography and social network analysis (SNA). This research identified a unifying anti-feminist framework and found that informal social divisions within the network faded over time, which indicates that both moderate and extreme manosphere subgroups are now sharing common online spaces. It also found that platform algorithms helped with network resilience by acting as gatekeepers of information that suggested related content and shielded unrelated content to users that helped to grow the network in size and interconnectivity.”Fitzgerald, Kelly C.
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Sleeping Beauty’s Secret: Identity Transformation in Female Suicide TerroristsFrom the thesis Abstract: “Women have been active participants in terrorism throughout modern history; yet the existing body of literature dedicated to dissecting and understanding the motivations of foreign suicide terrorists largely omits gender as an expression of discourse. This thesis uses a case study method to investigate how identity formation and transformation increases vulnerability to radicalization in women who become suicide terrorists. Social identity theory is applied to two suicide terrorist groups with named female subgroups to look for patterns of dynamics in the women’s social relationships and social and individual identities that indicate how identity transformation influences radicalization. Noted differences in social roles and gender-based in-group expectations between men and women were found to be significant for both groups and contribute to uniquely complex identity formation in the women. Themes of internal conflict from competing influences and shame that threatens in-group connection are common to the women in both groups, and appear to be linked to increased vulnerability to suggestion and engagement in desperate behavior designed to preserve or restore value. The case study analysis shows sufficient cause to indicate further study of radicalization along gender lines is worthwhile, as it may improve early identification of women who are most vulnerable to radicalization and inform counter-recruiting measures for women, both domestically and abroad.”Lynn, Judith W.
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Stretched Too Thin: The Impact of Homelessness on U.S. Law EnforcementFrom the thesis Abstract: “As homelessness in the United States continues to impact local communities, law enforcement organizations situated at the forefront of the crisis are struggling to respond effectively. This thesis presents the findings of a nationwide survey of U.S. law enforcement personnel, which reveals that homelessness has a drastic effect on law enforcement organizations, and their attempts to respond appropriately cause many agencies to divert invaluable resources away from traditional law enforcement and homeland security efforts. The thesis delivers several recommendations and concludes that law enforcement leaders today must reconsider their role and acknowledge that other entities–nongovernmental, governmental, or a combination thereof–may be better suited to lead the effort to combat homelessness.”Fisher, Charles
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Muted Voices: Toward an Understanding of the U.S. Asylum Program at the Southwest BorderFrom the thesis Abstract: “The often-dismissed people who live, work, and pass through the Mexico-U.S. border can offer new insight into the U.S. asylum program crisis. This thesis develops a concept called muted voices that can help identify, access, and hear the subjective stories of displaced people, border patrol agents, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers. These individuals go through a similar journey of trauma and stress in their interactions with U.S. bureaucratic systems–systems made even more cumbersome by executive orders and procedural changes from a presidential administration hell-bent on restricting the U.S. asylum program. The fictional narratives and historical background presented in this thesis illuminate the everyday realities, struggles, and complexities along the border as well as the geopolitical, historical, and economic conditions that have culminated in the current crisis. The accounts of a displaced youth fleeing his home, a border patrol agent implementing the praxis of bordering, ordering, and othering, and a refugee officer interpreting asylum procedures reveal how policies shape lives and help to situate implications and recommendations for homeland security.”Chen, Jaime
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Subversive Influence: Vulnerabilities of the United States and Its Elections to Russian Interference CampaignsFrom the thesis Abstract: “The United States and its allies have been subjected to clandestine interference campaigns led by theRussian government for nearly a century. The targets and mechanisms of subversive Kremlin influence have varied over the decades, but themes such as seeking to tamper with electoral processes have seen refinement and renewed vigor in the 21st century. From the inception of the Soviet Union to the era of Vladimir Putin, this thesis investigates the targets and mechanisms of subversive Russian influence–with particular focus on election meddling–to identify the greatest U.S. vulnerabilities to such interference campaigns. We determined that the Kremlin possesses a wide variety of well-honed tools such as disinformation, cyberattacks, and forgeries that allow it to apply stress to democratic systems and exploit rival nations’ internal divisions, and that it has had success in deploying such tools in a number of Western democratic elections since 2014. We find that significant damage to the credibility of elections and the U.S. government is a viable vulnerability for Russian interference campaigns, and that mounting defensive measures against and mitigation thereof must be a top priority for U.S. national and homeland security entities.”McMasters, Daniel H.
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Thin Blue Line: Improving Job Satisfaction to Increase Retention in Law EnforcementFrom the thesis Abstract: “This research analyzes current levels of job satisfaction and desires to leave employment in law enforcement to determine the relationship between satisfaction and intentions to quit. Current law enforcement officers in the United States responded to survey statements regarding satisfaction and intentions to leave their current agencies related to seven areas: pay, opportunities, co-workers, immediate supervisors, work conditions, work and family conflict, and public perception on a five-point Likert scale. In the 930 responses, respondents indicated overall satisfaction with their work and the intention to stay with their agencies. The most satisfied officers work for the county, are in agencies with 100-500 officers, or have 1-5 years of experience. Officers who work for a county or in agencies with 100-500 officers have reported being the least likely to leave their agencies. These results contradict previous research that claims officers in agencies with 100-500 officers were the least satisfied. These results also differ from previous research that indicates immediate supervisors play a significant role in job satisfaction and by finding that while significant differences did not exist in job satisfaction for gender overall, significant differences did exist for specific facets of satisfaction and intentions to quit. This research study contributes to the current knowledge on job satisfaction by supporting a correlation between job satisfaction and intentions to quit.” Excel spreadsheet supplemental data can be found here: https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=850293Barnett, Lisa M.
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‘We Need a Bomb Tech … ‘ Integrating the Bomb Squad with SwatFrom the thesis Abstract: “Special weapon and tactics (SWAT) teams and public safety bomb squads (PSBSs) need to better collaborate to effectively and efficiently respond to the joint hazards that the United States faces. After-action reports, as in the case of the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Littleton, Colorado, and the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, highlight the need for PSBS to address integration and better collaboration with SWAT teams before an actual critical incident. Such collaboration between SWAT and PSBS might seem easy in theory, but challenges exist. Evaluating those challenges through the lens of trust, this thesis finds that cultivating trust between the two different disciplines requires socialization and frequent joint hazard training. Such barriers as independence of training and frequency of common missions, unit organization, and culture can inhibit SWAT and PSBS from collaborating, developing trust, and discovering collective weaknesses before a critical incident occurs. The ultimate goal, in practical terms, is the formation of cross-functional teams (CFTs). This thesis concludes by giving specific examples of boundary-spanning activities for SWAT and PSBS to foster the CFT approach, so that a better collaborative effort can emerge, thereby encouraging trust between SWAT and PSBS that will be beneficial in a critical joint hazard incident.”Klok, Richard L., Jr.
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Foreign-Born Human Trafficking–A Dark Spectre Haunting America: An Examination of the Sex and Labor Trafficking LandscapeFrom the thesis Abstract: “This research examined how the inclusion of human trafficking as a crime subject to state mandatory reporting requirements would enhance local and state law enforcement efforts to identify, document, and investigate the crimes of foreign-born human trafficking. This thesis documented the impact of state mandatory reporting laws on police responses to domestic violence and child abuse crimes through an examination of relevant legislation and statutes, scholarly works, data collection frameworks, case studies, and statistical findings. It subsequently found that state-level mandatory reporting laws related to domestic violence and child abuse enhanced law enforcement’s ability to identify such crimes through improved data collection and analysis. Based on these findings, the incorporation of trafficking crimes into states’ existing mandatory reporting frameworks will likely improve law enforcement efforts to create comprehensive data collection and sharing platforms necessary for evidence-based policy development and evaluation of anti-human trafficking strategies. However, amending mandatory reporting laws should be held in abeyance until such time that due consideration can be given to ethical concerns and the potential victim impact of such changes.”Haunsperger, Natasha B.
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