Daniel E. Hall

College students' views on gay and lesbian issues: does education make a difference.

Abstract Many in academia believe that higher education leads to an increase in tolerance towards individuals who are different. There are some empirical findings to supportthis premise; however, the impact of higher education on acceptance of homosexuality hasnot been adequately explored. Gays and lesbians in society face many negative attitudes.Based upon the survey results of 364 students at a Midwestern university, juniors and seniors had statistically significant more positive attitudes towards gays and lesbians thandid freshmen and sophomores. Even in multi-variate analysis, upper-level students had more positive views on many of the attitudinal measures.

Suing cops and corrections officers

Adding to the existing research on criminal justice officers’ attitudes towards and experiences with civil liability, this study compared the attitudes and experiences of law enforcement officers and correctional officers. Logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the affects of rank, education, experience and criminal justice occupation on officers’ attitudes towards and experiences with civil liability. Statistically significant differences by occupation, years of service, rank, and education were found. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.

Litigation Views among Jail Staff: An Exploratory and Descriptive Study

The staff at a county jail in Florida were surveyed concerning their attitudes, experiences, and perceptions about civil liability. Few of the jail staff surveyed reported that they had ever been sued, and the vast majority of those who had been sued were supervisors. The likelihood of being sued increased with tenure. Slightly less than half of the jail staff believed that they had been adequately educated in civil liability or that their department would support them if they were sued in the performance of their duties. The survey found that half of the jail staff supported civil liability against public employees and agencies who harm or violate the civil Eights of citizens. Most jail staff did not believe that threats of civil suits hindered their job performance. The studys findings have implications for jail administrations, particularly in terms of the need for staff training on civil liability, and support the need for additional research on jail staff as well as for comparative research on jail staff and police attitudes toward civil liability.