DOCSLIB.ORG

Narratives of Faculty Sensemaking During Campus-Carry Policy Enactment

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Narratives of Faculty Sensemaking During Campus-Carry Policy Enactment FROM “THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS” TO PRACTICE: NARRATIVES OF FACULTY SENSEMAKING DURING CAMPUS-CARRY POLICY ENACTMENT By Nathaniel W. Cradit A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education – Doctor of Philosophy 2017 ABSTRACT FROM “THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS” TO PRACTICE: NARRATIVES OF FACULTY SENSEMAKING DURING CAMPUS-CARRY POLICY ENACTMENT By Nathaniel W. Cradit The 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech is one part of a decades-long increase in the frequency of gun violence on U.S. college and university campuses (Drysdale, Modzeleski, & Simons, 2010; Ferraro, 2015). The events at Virginia Tech also served as a catalyst for the spread of so-called “campus-carry” laws, or acts of state policy which permit concealed firearms on postsecondary campuses (Aronowitz & Vaughn, 2013; Birnbaum, 2013; Grayson & Meilman, 2013). Despite opposition from the higher education sector, and evidence demonstrating that increasing the number of firearms in a public space increases the likelihood of future gun violence (e.g., Ayres & Donohue, 2003, 2009; Cummings et al., 1997; Duggan, 2001; Helland & Tabarrok, 2004; National Research Council, 2005), Texas became the eighth state to enact campus carry on August 1, 2016. As a relatively new policy area, limited empirical data exist regarding the effects of campus carry on higher education. This study’s purpose was to identify whether the new campus-carry law in Texas had any educative influence upon the postsecondary learning environment by examining the ways faculty made sense of the new law before and during its enactment. Data were collected during the final three weeks of the fall, 2016 term at one university to explore whether and how the first semester of legal concealed weapons influenced faculty teaching and research decisions. Thirteen participants took part in narrative interviews, which were complemented by field observations and artifact analysis to more fully depict faculty life on a potentially armed campus for the reader. Findings included evidence of changes occurring to faculty teaching decisions and faculty-student interaction behaviors on two sensemaking dimensions: a conscious-active response and a subconscious-reactive response. A new conceptual model of faculty sensemaking in response to controversial state policy is included to depict the complex, nuanced process observed in the study. Through the campus-carry sensemaking response, this study provides what is believed to be the first known evidence to suggest campus-carry policy may influence faculty teaching and student interaction in ways that could be detrimental to student success and faculty academic freedom for those in the study. Implications for future researchers, policymakers, faculty, institutional leaders, and student affairs and administrative staff are also discussed. Copyright by NATHANIEL W. CRADIT 2017 For my mother. (She would have loved this.) v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I went to college because my mom worked at my undergraduate institution, and as a result, I received free tuition. Actually, I first went to college (or so I have been told) around age three, visiting her colleagues with her one day in the Computer Room at Central Michigan University. It was never anything less than assumed that I would go to college, and specifically that college, because of her union-bargained tuition waiver. Today, on the other side of my formal postsecondary experience and finishing a terminal degree studying higher education, I understand the effect this familial expectation – I simply would go to college – had upon my personal belief that I could go to college. So, I begin by thanking my parents for instilling that belief in me, and for providing the foundation at every step of the way to realize it. The days working on math homework at the kitchen table with Mom, and writing stories on the word processor with Dad, seem to have paid off. I acknowledge the support of the rest of my family as well. They always made it okay for me to be the nerd of the group, and they have understood when I missed family events for school over the last few years. Special thanks to Sue & Jim Allen for coming to every school thing ever, for helping make a master’s degree attainable a few years ago, and for furthering the expectations I would keep pursuing academic work. When I started this degree program, I could not have anticipated the level of support and opportunity I would receive from MSU HALE faculty. In particular, Drs. Matthew Wawrzynski and Patricia Marin offered years of teaching and research experiences that prepared me to be a better teacher, scholar, and even world traveler in a couple instances. Thank you both for taking an interest in me, and for providing these opportunities to work closely with you. They were integral to my doctoral experience and to my growing belief in myself as a scholar. I offer thanks vi to my committee, Drs. Roger Baldwin, Patricia Marin, and Terah Venzant Chambers, for their helpful guidance along the way which made this a stronger study. I particularly thank my advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Marilyn Amey, for four years of tremendous understanding, support, and advocacy, for having my back time and again, for letting me complete degree requirements a little out of order, for knowing exactly how and when to bolster my confidence as it waned over the years, and for providing outstanding editing, especially for overly long and complex sentences – much like this six-line monstrosity which I promise will be my last. I also offer my appreciation to the Department of Educational Administration and the College of Education for multiple instances of financial support, including providing the funding to conduct this study. I am so thankful for HALE cohort colleagues who became great friends over the years: Voula Erfourth, Marc Hunsaker, Yeukai Mlambo, and Sapna Naik. I became a better scholar by trying to emulate the example of each of you. Marc, in particular, provided editing and conceptual suggestions throughout this process which challenged and strengthened this document. I am deeply grateful to the 13 colleagues at the institution where this study took place for trusting me with their stories. I hope you are pleased with the ways your contributions to this project helped depict the overall image of faculty life during a campus-carry transition. Thanks especially to the person at that institution who made special efforts to support this project through both participant introductions and kind Texas hospitality. Lastly, I thank my partner Ali for…just everything. Time and again, I have found myself being so fortunate to have someone like you by my side for this. It would not have happened without the absolute unwavering support, kindness, and understanding for which I always knew I could look to you. Thanks for proving that as the years go by, everything really is perfectly aligned. We did it. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Contemporary Overview 1 Public Policy Response 3 Implications for Faculty and the Academy 4 Purpose of the Study 5 Research Questions 7 Site Selection 7 Definitions 8 Significance of the Study 11 Chapter 2: Review of Literature 14 Campus Violence 14 Pre-2007 era. 15 Virginia Tech shooting. 16 Incidents since Virginia Tech. 18 Public Policy Responses 19 Gun lobby influence. 21 Texas SB 11. 23 Traditional Dimensions of Faculty Work 25 Teaching and research. 25 Academic freedom and tenure. 27 Influences upon faculty behavior and decision-making. 29 Theoretical Framework: Sensemaking 31 Chapter 3: Methodology 34 Narrative Study Design 35 Data Collection 37 Participant selection. 38 Interview procedures. 39 Transforming Stories into Data 42 Analysis processes. 43 Data (re-)presentation. 44 Confidentiality 45 Delimiters 46 Trustworthiness 46 Researcher Positionality, Reflexivity, and Wellness 48 Conclusion 50 viii Chapter 4: Considering Place and Time 52 Metropolitan University: “We Get Stuff Done and We Do It Without Drama” 55 Life Beyond Davis Street: "[Greenoak] is a Funny Place" 58 “Texas is a Weird Space” 61 Place in Time 65 Legislative process. 66 MU institutional processes. 68 Revisiting Susan’s Faculty Office 71 Chapter 5: “Nothing Has Changed”/“It Changes Everything” 74 Identifying Dual Sensemaking Response Groups 74 “Nothing’s Changed:” A Subconscious-Reactive Response 76 Seeking external cues. 76 Identifying insulating factors. 79 “…But my students are…” 80 “It’s a more rural phenomenon.” 82 “I’m avoiding that thought in my own head.” 86 Continued feelings of disempowerment. 89 “I haven’t changed what I do, but…” 94 “It Changes Everything:” A Conscious-Active Response 99 Sensemaking through prior personal experience. 100 “It can’t help but have an effect.” 106 Re-empowerment, defiance, and sensegiving. 113 Shared Experiences Across Both Groups 118 Background characteristics act as a filter. 118 The role of institutional processes. 119 Core philosophical beliefs. 123 The role of time and anticipatory concerns. 126 Change occurs for both groups. 129 Chapter 6: Restorying Through Composite Narratives 133 Pauline: “The Box is a Little Smaller” 134 Kim: “I Just Choose Not to Think About it…It Doesn’t Affect Me. ” 154 Chapter 7: Interpretations, Discussion, & Implications 170 A New Conceptual Model for Faculty Campus-Carry Policy Sensemaking 170 Revisiting the Literature 174 Policy enactment and the policy object. 174 Sensemaking, emotion,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E632 HON
    E632 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks April 16, 2008 But in the gathering that I attended the next A PROCLAMATION HONORING Seung-Hui Cho’s information been handled day on campus, I saw a remarkable trans- COACH LINDA HOBART FOR properly he would have been prevented from formation. I saw a community touched by the COACHING THE TUSCARAWAS purchasing the weapons used in the shooting. deaths of 32 people—students and professors COUNTY ROCKETS SPECIAL Responding to pressure from these citizen ad- all—turned into a friendship community unlike OLYMPICS BASKETBALL TEAM vocates, Congress passed the NICS Improve- anywhere else. And then the world began TO WINNING THE OHIO DIVISION ments Act, a law providing funding to States to sharing its hopes that the Almighty would IV STATE BASKETBALL CHAM- insure that mental health records are added transmit healing to each and every person PIONSHIP efficiently to the national background check touched in some way by the heartbreak that system. had befallen Virginia Tech. HON. ZACHARY T. SPACE This week, I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday with a survivor of the Virginia Tech One cannot help but reach out to our fellow OF OHIO massacre. Her name is Lily Habtu. Lily was man at times such as those like April 16, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES shot in the jaw and arm during the violent 2007. The magnitude with which the globe Wednesday, April 16, 2008 melee. She described how the events of that embraced Virginia Tech in its ultimate time of Mr. SPACE. Madam Speaker: day have forever changed her life.
    [Show full text]
  • Mass Shootings and Social Media Discourses of Sympathy and Policy
    Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Whose Lives Matter? Mass Shootings and Social Media Discourses of Sympathy and Policy, 2012–2014 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article-abstract/24/4/182/5489530 by guest on 07 August 2019 Yini Zhang1, Dhavan Shah1, Jordan Foley1, Aman Abhishek1, Josephine Lukito1, Jiyoun Suk1, Sang Jung Kim1, Zhongkai Sun2, Jon Pevehouse3, and Christine Garlough4 1 School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA 2 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA 3 Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA 4 Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA This study focuses on the outpouring of sympathy in response to mass shootings and the contesta- tion over gun policy on Twitter from 2012 to 2014 and relates these discourses to features of mass shooting events. We use two approaches to Twitter text analysis—hashtag grouping and super- vised machine learning (ML)—to triangulate an understanding of intensity and duration of “thoughts and prayers,” gun control, and gun rights discourses. We conduct parallel time series analyses to predict their temporal patterns in response to features of mass shootings. Our analyses reveal that while the total number of victims and child deaths consistently predicted public griev- ing and calls for gun control, public shootings consistently predicted the defense of gun rights. Further, the race of victims and perpetrators affected the levels of public mourning and policy debates, with the loss of black lives and the violence inflicted by white shooters generating less sympathy and policy discourses.
    [Show full text]
  • Auditing the Cost of the Virginia Tech Massacre How Much We Pay When Killers Kill
    THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/M ASSOCIATED THE AR Y AL Y ta FF ER Auditing the Cost of the Virginia Tech Massacre How Much We Pay When Killers Kill Anthony Green and Donna Cooper April 2012 WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.ORG Auditing the Cost of the Virginia Tech Massacre How Much We Pay When Killers Kill Anthony Green and Donna Cooper April 2012 Remembering those we lost The Center for American Progress opens this report with our thoughts and prayers for the 32 men and women who died on April 16, 2007, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. We light a candle in their memory. Let the loss of those indispensable lives allow us to examine ways to prevent similar tragedies. — Center for American Progress Contents 1 Introduction and summary 4 Determining the cost of the Virginia Tech massacre 7 Virginia Tech’s costs 14 Commonwealth of Virginia’s costs 16 U.S. government costs 17 Health care costs 19 What can we learn from spree killings? 24 Analysis of the background check system that failed Virginia Tech 29 Policy recommendations 36 The way forward 38 About the authors and acknowledgements 39 Appendix A: Mental history of Seung-Hui Cho 45 Appendix B: Brief descriptions of spree killings, 1984–2012 48 Endnotes Introduction and summary Five years ago, on April 16, 2007, an English major at Virginia Tech University named Seung-Hui Cho gunned down and killed 32 people, wounded another 17, and then committed suicide as the police closed in on him on that cold, bloody Monday. Since then, 12 more spree killings have claimed the lives of another 90 random victims and wounded another 92 people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time when deranged and well-armed killers suddenly burst upon their daily lives.
    [Show full text]
  • Bishops United Urges Assault Weapons Ban, Prayers of Lamentation
    Dear Diocesan Family - I am posting below the statement from the group Bishops United Against Gun Violence, which we issued this past Friday regarding the horrific school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "Bishops United" is an association of approximately 70 bishops in The Episcopal Church and I am a charter member of that group. It is clear that a statement along the lines of what we have released in the wake of past mass shootings is no longer satisfactory or sufficient. Such tragedies as these must never be permitted to lapse into what could easily be seen as routine. This is why we are calling for specific action steps. Please give this statement your every consideration and your deepest prayers as our nation tries to come to terms with the awful reality of gun violence besetting our society during these times. Of course, we welcome your circulating this statement as widely as possible. With the very courageous - and most impressive - response from the students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we may be turning a corner with respect to the public's response to this particular shooting. We can certainly hope and pray, but it is my hope that we will do much more than that. Surely there are some concrete steps that can be debated and passed by the U.S. Congress. And perhaps these action steps will make something of a difference. The status quo with respect to guns in our society and culture must not be allowed to stand! Faithfully yours, Bishops United Urges Assault Weapons Ban, Prayers of Lamentation The heart of our nation has been broken yet again by another mass shooting at an American school.
    [Show full text]
  • Thoughts and Prayers” Reverend Bill Gause Overbrook Presbyterian Church 19Th Sunday in Ordinary Time August 11, 2019
    “Thoughts and Prayers” Reverend Bill Gause Overbrook Presbyterian Church 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time August 11, 2019 Introduction: Today I might make somebody mad. That’s not my intention. Some people say they don’t want to hear politics from the pulpit. But what we call “politics” is really just the way we deal with real problems in our community like hunger, and health care and justice for all through a system of government. Issues that are “political” are really issues of life, and Jesus dealt with those kinds of issues, too. So just because elected officials have politicized an issue, doesn’t mean Jesus wasn’t concerned about it too. I say this because last week while I stood here talking to you about Mary and Martha and about making time to sit at the feet of the master to learn from Jesus, news was breaking of a mass shooting in Dayton; this just hours after news came of a mass shooting in El Paso Texas. We need to talk about that. We need to turn to Jesus for guidance. There is no better time than while sitting in the presence of God to do that. Today I might make somebody mad. But that is not my intention. I hope if I do, you will take the time to talk with me about it. First Scripture Reading: Isaiah 2:2-4 2In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.
    [Show full text]
  • Smokes Angelloaded 3205 Tweets
    Smokes_Angel loaded 3205 tweets Hide Replies Hide Retweets Change User • RT @Bay_St_Wiseguy: @therealroseanne @LizCrokin @rtoberl @jerrypane13 @JackPosobiec @popstherock33 @jimEastridge1 @Smokes_Angel @DrMartyFox… Nov 26, 2017 • RT @Ventuckyspaz: @AnonScan Wanted to mention that this video was created by: https://t.co/RA5tiUxvSp It would be cool to send him a messag… Nov 26, 2017 • @JulianAssange @laurilove Fact: If this crime took place in the US against another foreign country that person woul… https://t.co/5NBSipQH05 Nov 26, 2017 • @JulianAssange @laurilove https://t.co/DiwLK6QeJG Nov 26, 2017 • @JulianAssange @laurilove https://t.co/uFbN88xnT1 Nov 26, 2017 • RT @JulianAssange: Mann: My UK partner @laurilove could be saving the world from cyber attacks but instead he faces a 99-year prison senten… Nov 26, 2017 • RT @FreeLauriLove: Dont let the injustice of the DOJ crucify our geeks, stand up and speak out for a #FreeLauri & a #TrialAtHome https://t.… Nov 26, 2017 • RT @FreeLauriLove: If a US citizen hacks a UK computer he is tried in the US why then is the US extraditing #FreeLauri ? #TrialAtHome http… Nov 26, 2017 • @oriolanix @OriolOrfila @JulianAssange You are welcome Nov 26, 2017 • 365 videos of Spanish violence against Catalonia https://t.co/42pBk3WUDc Nov 26, 2017 • @r2sCat I got it already as Julian posted it and a friend from Catalonia shared with me. You are welcome Nov 26, 2017 • @JulianAssange #FreeAssangeNow https://t.co/ikXYZl2qyN Nov 26, 2017 • @JulianAssange There was a time the Middle East was beautiful. Extremists
    [Show full text]
  • Thoughts and Prayers -- Do They Crowd out Charity Donations?*
    Thoughts and Prayers -- Do They Crowd out Charity Donations?* Linda Thunströma Abstract For centuries, scholars have examined what motivates prosocial behavior. In the U.S., prosocial behavior is routinely accompanied by thoughts and prayers. Yet, the impact on prosocial behavior of such gestures is unknown. We examine how thoughts and prayers affect charity donations to victims of a major public risk -- natural disasters. Our analytical framework suggests both thoughts and prayers increase empathy for those receiving such gestures, which may positively impact donations. However, we also find that prayers on behalf of others are regarded as helpful to recipients – we identify them as a moral action -- which can generate a counter-veiling substitution effect on donations. On net, our framework suggests prayers crowd out donations to natural disaster victims, while thoughts do not. We test these predictions in three incentivized experiments with Red Cross donations to hurricane victims. Consistent with our model, our main experiment finds prayers reduce donations, while thoughts do not. Two follow- up experiments find results are robust to alternative hurricane locations but may be sensitive to other frames -- we find no impact of thoughts or prayers on donations when donations are capped at small amounts. Nevertheless, our results provide the novel insight that prayers may have important effects on material aid in the wake of public catastrophes (in two out of three experiments they crowd out donations), which highlights the importance of research on the impact of prayers on prosocial behavior. Keywords: thoughts; prayers; natural disasters; prosocial behavior; charity donations; moral actions *The author thanks Ben Gilbert, Stephen Newbold, Shiri Noy, Jason F.
    [Show full text]
  • R. Sterling Haring, DO, MPH Education
    Name: R. Sterling Haring, DO, MPH Education: • Brigham Young University (Provo, UT), BA (Russian) 2009 • Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), MPH (Health Policy) 2014 • Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (Bradenton, FL), DO 2015 • Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD), DrPH (Health Policy) 2020 (anticipated) Nonclinical training: • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA), Epidemiology trainee, 2015 • Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA), Fellowship (Public Health Policy), 2016 • University of Italian Switzerland (Lugano, CH), Fellowship (Comms/quality), 2017 Clinical training: • Vanderbilt University Medical Ctr (Nashville, TN), Internal Medicine Internship, 2018 • Vanderbilt University Medical Ctr (Nashville, TN), PM&R Residency, 2021 (anticipated) Licensure and Certification: • Evidence-Based Medicine Certified, 2019, Spine Intervention Society • DEA/ DATA 2000 X-waiver, 2019, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry • Certified in Public Health (CPH), 2014, National Board of Public Health Examiners • Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS), 2010, Florida Certification Board Academic Appointments: • Fellow, Harvard Medical School, 2015-2016 • Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health, 2015-2016 • Fellow, University of Italian Switzerland, 2016-2017 • Senior analyst, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 2017 Hospital Appointments • Research Fellow, Dept of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 2015-2016 • Resident, Dept of Internal Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Ctr, 2017-2018 • Resident, Dept of
    [Show full text]
  • Student Advocate Toolkit
    STUDENT ADVOCATE www.CeaseFirePA.org [email protected] TOOLKIT 215.923.3151 TOOLKIT TAKING A STAND CONTENTS: • Gun Violence in CeaseFirePA is a statewide organization Schools working with mayors, police chiefs, faith leaders, • Major Events community organizations, and individual • Statistics Pennsylvanians to take a stand against gun violence. Through outreach, education, coalition • How to be an building, and advocacy, we work to reduce gun Advocate violence and gun tragedies in our communities, • Solutions stop the flow of illegal guns onto our streets, and • Message keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. • Audience If you think you have the right to safety in your • Advocacy in school and “Thoughts and Prayers” aren’t enough Action for you, we are here to help you advocate for yourself and bring about change and legislation • Issues that will keep you safe. • Bills to support • Bills to oppose Thoughts& Prayers Legislation and Change 1 STUDENT ADVOCATE TOOLKIT TAKING A STAND AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE Gun Violence in Schools The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is one of nearly 300 school shootings in the US since 2013. The history of gun violence in schools dates back to at least 1966, with the five deadliest attacks detailed below: Timeline Aug. 1, 1966: A student and former Marine sharpshooter climbed University of Texas, to the top a tower on campus. He killed 14 people Austin, Texas and wounded 31 more. Before the attack on campus, he killed his wife and mother. April 20, 1999: Columbine High Two students killed 12 of their peers and a teacher.
    [Show full text]
  • Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and The
    Copyright © 2019 by Rachel Maddow All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. crownpublishing.com CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Maddow, Rachel, author. Title: Blowout / Rachel Maddow. Description: First edition. | New York : Crown, [2019] | Includes index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019026915 (print) | LCCN 2019026916 (ebook) | ISBN 9780525575474 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780525575498 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Gas industry—Corrupt practices. | Gas industry—Corrupt practices—Russia. | Gas companies—Corrupt practices. | Tillerson, Rex, 1952—Ethics. Classification: LCC HD9581.A2 M33 2019 (print) | LCC HD9581.A2 (ebook) | DDC 338.2/7285— dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2019026915 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/ 2019026916 ISBN 9780525575474 Ebook ISBN 9780525575498 Cover design: Michael Morris Cover images: Gregor Schuster/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images (statue); Antagain/iStock/Getty Images (fire); Michael Morris (oil) v5.4 ep Cover Title Page Copyright Introduction: In a Surrealist Landscape Chapter One: Splendor and Fragrance Chapter Two: The Genie Chapter Three: Stolen Goods Chapter Four: Charlie Hustle Chapter Five: Thunder Up! Chapter Six: Rex Shrugged Chapter Seven: A Risk Management Problem Chapter Eight: Poster Boy Chapter Nine: Practical Realities Chapter Ten: Who Does That? Chapter Eleven: The Other
    [Show full text]
  • Methodological Appendix I – XII for “Whose Lives
    Methodological Appendix I – XII for “Whose Lives Matter? Mass Shootings and Social Media Discourses of Sympathy and Policy, 2012- 2014.” Yini Zhang, Dhavan Shah, Jordan Foley, Aman Abhishek, Josephine Lukito, Jiyoun Suk, Sang Jung Kim, Zhongkai Sun, Jon Pevehouse, and Christine Garlough. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Appendix I We collected the event data from three distinct sources. The MSA is collected based on online news media sources. The GVA database is based on a combination of online news sources, police media outlets, and police blotters. The USA Today database is based on the Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) from the FBI. While no individual event dataset claims to be exhaustive, they represent three diverse levels of source selection (news media, local police reports, and FBI- reported data) and each have their own form of source validation. When coding for race, coders first reviewed event source data for a police report or news organization that explicitly identified the race of the victim. Phenotypical attributes were only used in combination this kind of contextual information. If there is any ambiguity, coders deferred to marking as race unknown. In rare cases where multiple shooters were present (N = 3), both shooters were of the same race. Appendix II Two steps were taken to collect the relevant data. First, general search strings—“gun,” “shooter,” “shooting,” “firearm,” “second amendment,” “2nd amendment”, “nra”—were used to capture relevant content comprehensively. The search strings yielded 75,271,571 tweets. The second step reduced noise in the harvested dataset. Two coders were assigned to produce an exclusion list containing words and phrases marking irrelevant tweets.
    [Show full text]
  • The President's Role in Advancing Criminal Justice Reform
    VOLUME 130 JANUARY 2017 NUMBER 3 © 2017 by The Harvard Law Review Association COMMENTARY THE PRESIDENT’S ROLE IN ADVANCING CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM Barack Obama CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 812 I. THE URGENT NEED FOR REFORM ................................................................................. 816 II. REFORMING THE FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ....................................... 823 A. Achieving Reforms to Federal Charging and Sentencing Practices ........................... 824 1. Charging Policies and “Smart on Crime” ................................................................ 824 2. Sentencing Reform Legislation .................................................................................. 826 B. Advancing Federal Prison Reforms ................................................................................ 830 C. Focusing on Reentry ......................................................................................................... 833 D. Reinvigorating Clemency ................................................................................................. 835 III. TOOLS AND ACTIONS TO DRIVE STATE AND LOCAL REFORMS ............................. 838 A. Advancing Policing Reform ............................................................................................. 840 B. Eliminating the Criminalization of Poverty .................................................................
    [Show full text]