Demographic and Mental-Health-Related Indicators of Drug Court Program Success

Prior research has found that successful completion of drug court programs is linked to mental health factors and various demographics. Butzin et al (2002) relay that “factors associated with program completion included race, education, and frequency of drug use.” Other factors such as employment and prior drug use histories are also attributed to success outcomes of participants in drug courts (Roll et al. 2005). Little is known, however, on the characteristics and influences of these factors in relation to smaller rural drug courts, which often consist of small numbers of participants from which to collect data. To provide partial answers to these questions of program outcome characteristics among rural participants, this study examined rudimentary demographics of a small Rural Family Drug Court in the Southeastern United States. This study consisted of 39 participants, and utilized a mix of survey and archival data. Mental health and substance abuse dynamics among the SRFDC participants will be discussed for their potential to impact progression through the program (Portes and Landolt 2000, White 2009). The findings suggest a robust mental health component in progression through the program, with little variation of demographic correlations to mental health. Implications for future research are discussed

House or Home: Comparing Reasons for Living Tiny

Little academic literature exists as to why people want to live in tiny houses (Ford & Gomez‐Lanier, 2017; Mangold, Willoughby, Hing, Collins, & Zschau, Forthcoming). Even less is known about who the people are that want to reside in tiny houses all year as opposed to those that want them for different reasons (e.g. second home, investment opportunity etc.). To provide a first insight into this issue, surveys were conducted at four regional tiny house festivals and posted in tiny house internet groups resulting in a total 446 responses. The questionnaire tapped into a range of different constructs such as financial considerations, interest in community, importance to individual identity, and means of creative expression. Using a partially matched sample (n=212), the data was analyzed in IBM SPSS v24.0 using parametric and non-parametric tests (e.g. T-Tests and Mann-Whitney U tests). The findings suggest that individuals who are interested in tiny houses as a primary residence (TH Primary Group) differ from those interested in tiny houses for other reasons (TH Non-Primary Group). Those in the TH Primary Group are more likely to (1) reject notions of consumerist culture, (2) have lower levels of income, (3) see tiny houses as more central to their identity and thus (4) are more likely to be willing to spend more on a tiny house. Implications of these findings will be discussed. Key words: Tiny house, motivations, community, alternative lifestyle, consumerist culture Ford, J., & Gomez‐Lanier, L. (2017). Are tiny homes here to stay? A review of literature on the tiny house movement. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 45(4), 394-405. Mangold, S., Willoughby, C., Hing, D., Collins, C., & Zschau, T. (Forthcoming). Why Live Tiny? A New Multi-dimensional Model. Sociological Spectrum

11. Why Live Tiny? A New Multi-dimensional Model

Over the past decade, living in tiny houses has become increasingly popular among Americans of all ages. While the lifestyle has received much attention through reality TV shows, blogs, and on social media sites recently (Ford & Gomez‐Lanier, 2017), little or no systematic research exists on what motivates individuals wanting to live “tiny”. To provide first insights into this new phenomenon, 30 people at varying stages of their tiny house journeys were interviewed. Audio recordings of the interviews (average interview: 67 mins) were transcribed and then analyzed in NVivo v11.0 using a blend of inductive and deductive coding strategies. Based on emerging themes, the authors develop a new multi-dimensional model of tiny living that centers around five core motivators of the Good Life: pursuit of autonomy, new experiences, sense of security, meaningful relationships, and value-consistent lifestyle. They conclude with a discussion on how prior strains and other structural forces can mediate this existential quest for the Good Life. Key words: Tiny house, lifestyle, downsizing, good life, alternative lifestyle, minimalism Ford, J., & Gomez‐Lanier, L. (2017). Are tiny homes here to stay? A review of literature on the tiny house movement. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 45(4), 394-405

Hate Crime in the News: The Media’s Role in Agenda Setting

Examining the extant literature on hate crimes shows that there has been an evolutionary process of Hate Crime legislation (HC). Similar to other social movements such as civil rights, the hate crime movement also had various waves which eventually lead to the passage of legislation. By and large, however, HC research has focused on victims and offenders of hate crimes as well as motivations of bias. Moreover, less research has been done on the media’s portrayal and coverage of HC. Since the media is a noted influencer in social issues (Culotta, 2002; Quisenberry, 2001), we sought to answer how the news media are reporting incidences of hate crimes – particularly LGBTQ+- and compare them with official crime statistics reported by law enforcement agencies. In order to answer these questions, our research utilized a qualitative content analysis using QSR NVivo 12.0 to identify potential themes and trends which may be overlooked in simple quantitative methods. Our dataset comes from the Hate Crime Index ("ProPublica," 2018), for the month of June 2018. Official FBI data is also utilized for comparison, spanning from 2012 to 2016. Our results suggest that the media reports HC within an overall internal Agenda Setting Orientation. During analysis, two main themes were identified that show the (i) media report both the failures and challenges of law enforcement in dealing with HC issue and, (ii) that media highlights various best practices some agencies engage in. Limitations and future research directions are discussed

Stronger Together: Tiny-housers’ Views of Community

Over the last decade, tiny homes (generally described as homes smaller than 500 ft2) have grown in popularity thanks to recent representation in the media (Ford and Gomez‐Lanier 2017). An increasing number of people have begun to adopt this reimagined way of living, and some tiny-housers have sought to live near other tiny-housers, forming tiny house communities (Kilman 2016, Mangold et al. Forthcoming). Little systematic research focusing on the tiny-housers views of community exists. To provide initial insights, 30 interviews were conducted with people at various stages in their tiny house journeys. The 30 interviews were transcribed and analyzed in Nvivo 11. Preliminary findings suggest that many of these tiny-housers want to redefine the normative American concept of community by rejecting sub-urban frameworks and borrowing elements from both strong place and interest-based community models. They seek to accomplish this vision through one or more of the following: (i) increased community participation, (ii) shared spaces and resources, and (iii) development of significant relationships with neighbors rooted in mutual support and frequent interaction. While participants strive for this type of community, they also insist upon a clear recognition of personal space and boundaries. Participants also express an interest in having diverse communities, yet desire to maintain many common interests and goals. These community elements are not entirely unique to the tiny house movement. The small space, however, both encourages and facilitates this kind of community participation. Key words: Tiny house, lifestyle, downsizing, good life, alternative lifestyle, minimalism Ford, Jasmine and Lilia Gomez‐Lanier. 2017. Are Tiny Homes Here to Stay? A Review of Literature on the Tiny House Movement. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 45(4):394-405. Kilman, Charlie. 2016. Small House, Big Impact: The Effect of Tiny Houses on Community and Environment. Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies 2. Mangold, Severin, Chelsey Willoughby, Devin Hing, Codey Collins and Toralf Zschau. Forthcoming. Why Live Tiny? A New Multi-Dimensional Model. Sociological Spectrum

GNU Radio

GNU Radio is a free & open-source software development toolkit that provides signal processing blocks to implement software radios. It can be used with readily-available, low-cost external RF hardware to create software-defined radios, or without hardware in a simulation-like environment. It is widely used in hobbyist, academic, and commercial environments to support both wireless communications research and real-world radio systems