A Culturally-Informed Examination of Risk Factors for Crime among Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples represent 4.5% of the Canadian adult population, but 26.3% of new admissions to federal prison. There is a similar overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand (with conviction or incarceration rates ranging from three to ten times higher than non-Indigenous people). Although the culture and experiences of Indigenous groups vary widely between (and within) these countries, these countries all face similar challenges in terms of promoting reconciliation and learning how to maximize the fairness and effectiveness of a European-imposed criminal justice system not necessarily suited to Indigenous histories, culture, language, and conceptions of justice.I propose exploring risk factors for crime among 300 Indigenous individuals. Specifically, I have developed a culturally-informed questionnaire whose questions will focus on issues unique/disproportionate to Indigenous experiences.With 300 participants, I hope to obtain at least 100 participants in our two target groups: with and without a criminal record (additional participants will boost sample size for subtypes of criminal behaviour, such as violent crime). Participants will be primarily recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Analyses will explore correlates of criminal involvement among Indigenous populations, with a particular focus on culturally-informed risk factors.The methodology and recruitment strategy for this study will involve considerable attention to decolonizing methodologies, consultation with Indigenous scholars and stakeholders, and data collection practices that will demonstrate respect, reconciliation, and potential for transformation in our relationships with Indigenous Peoples. Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Maaike Helmus, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser Universit

Willingness to Prepare for Disasters among Individuals with Disabilities: An Essential Component for Building Disaster Resiliency

This study focuses on exploring the factors influencing individuals’ preparedness for disasters. Drawing upon the protection motivation theory (PMT) and the prototype willingness model (PWM), a conceptual framework was proposed to investigate the determinants of willingness to prepare for disasters and its impact on disaster preparedness. Data was collected through an online survey, involving 377 participants with disabilities and medical special needs residing in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). The collected data was analyzed using generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) to examine the associations among the selected study variables. The findings indicate that both coping appraisal and threat appraisal significantly influence individuals’ willingness to prepare for disasters, which, in turn, has a notable impact on disaster preparedness. Recognizing the significance of disaster preparedness in building resilience and effectively responding to and recovering from disasters, it is crucial to acknowledge the importance of the willingness component in these efforts to cope effectively with future extreme events

Web Based Candidate Assessment System

Devplex Technologies Limited is a privately owned company based in Galway Ireland. They have been operating for over two years and currently undertake contract projects for the travel and financial industries. The projects are varied and a wide range of skills are necessary. Devplex Technologies are currently undergoing expansion and intend to hire a number of new employees with varying levels of experience. Devplex Technologies also employ a high number of contractors, with varying skills and contract periods range from one month to twenty four months. The current technical leaders are all very busy with project work. The human resource manager actively advertises positions on both the internet and local newspapers which results in a large number of responses. It is difficult to sort through all the applicants as a high level of technical knowledge is required to vet them. When the human resource (HR) manager selects a number of potential candidates from the vetted curriculum vitas, phone interviews are conducted. The HR manger pools questions which have been submitted from employees who have experience in the relevant technologies. The HR manager has to decide if the candidate\u27s answers are satisfactory for the questions. The most successful candidates are then requested to attend a formal interview. Once a candidate presents for interview they are requested to take a short 10 minute written exam where they are asked to answer five questions relevant to the position they are applying for. Regardless of the outcome of the exam the candidate then proceeds to a formal interview where two or more employees from Devplex Technology interview the candidate and take note of their findings. Once the candidate has left the interview, the HR manager and interviewers meet to discuss the exam and interview and decide if the candidate should be brought for a second interview. If the candidate\u27s second interview is successful the candidate is hired. Devplex Technology interviews a high number of unsuccessful candidates resulting in wasted time and effort. Sometimes employees who are not technically strong enough can be erroneously hired. Devplex Technology wishes to reduce this workload and hire more suitable people by implementing an enterprise based candidate assessment system. The system should allow the remote assessment of potential candidates. It should also allow the HR manager to easily retrieve questions and answers on a selected topic. The system should test the candidates only on subjects which apply to the role they are hired for, the questions should progressively get harder as the candidate gets more questions correct, this will allow for a truly strong candidate achieve the highest score. The overall aim of the system is to reduce workload and help find the best possible candidate for Devplex Technologies

An Exploratory Study on the Association between Community Resilience and Disaster Preparedness in the Rio Grande Valley

(1) Background: Severe weather events have impacted over 100 million Americans in the past two years, highlighting the importance of individual disaster preparedness in building community resilience. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing individuals’ perceived disaster resiliency and preparedness in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. (2) Methods: Data were collected from 846 respondents using the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) Assessment Survey instrument. The study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the association between disaster preparedness and community resilience. (3) Results: The findings of the study revealed a significant association between disaster preparedness and perceived community resilience. (4) Conclusions: The study’s findings provide an assessment of the community strengths (assets) in the Rio Grande Valley, which can be utilized to develop initiatives and programs aimed at enhancing community resilience and individual disaster preparedness. These findings contribute significantly to the theoretical understanding of the interplay between community resilience and individual preparedness for disasters

Managerial networking of public and private sector: a study of Thai executives

This research proposes a perspective of managerial networking based on an integration of resource dependence theory and social exchange theory. In order to test applicability of the proposed framework, the study conceptualizes five critical elements of managerial networking, namely motives, activities, relational development, relational strength, and performance due to networking that explain the managerial networking mechanism. All statistical analyses revealed that motives for managerial networking, networking exchange activities, networking relational development and networking relational strength are positively and significantly associated with performance contributed to individual and organizational levels due to their managerial networking. In addition, it was found that the conceptual framework’s explanatory power was similar in two different sub-groups of sample

Public Exposure to U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants Induced Disasters

This study explores the potential risks associated with the 65 U.S.-based commercial nuclear power plants and the distribution of those risks among the populations of both their respective host communities and of the communities located in outlying areas. First, it starts by examining the racial/ethnic composition of the host community populations, as well as the disparities in socioeconomic status that exist, if any, between the host communities and communities located in outlying areas. Second, it utilizes two independent-sample T tests to identify any differences in the sociodemographic compositions of the two areas. Third, it explores regional demographic trends by looking at the percent change in demographic variables in the host communities and communities located in outlying areas in 1990–2000 and 2000–2010. Findings reveal that during the past two decades more people were exposed to the risks as population living in the host communities increased

Glass Co. Hiring Case

Taylor Smith, Human Resources Manager at Glass Co., a small software company, faces the decision of which candidate to hire for a role in the company. Taylor has narrowed it to three candidates, each with clear advantages and disadvantages. Taylor is facing pressure from the CEO, Board of Directors, and other managers on which candidate to choose. Unfortunately, this pressure is pulling him in different directions. Taylor initially thought he knew which candidate was best, but now is left unsure and faces an ethical dilemma to solve within only a few days