The Importance of Reflexivity in Program Development: A Case Study Involving Teaching Self-Defense to Middle School Girls in PE Class

This research used a self-defense program to explore how middle school girls could change their perspectives on the gendered roles of victim and protector within an empowered self-defense approach. Taking the dual role of researcher and self-defense instructor, I developed a program to influence changing information strips directed toward gender norms, behavior, and discourse. Reflexive thematic analysis was utilized due to its intersection of the researcher's experience, literature, and theory. The research consisted of 40 girls journaling and 23 girls completing a post-program survey. Findings suggested that reflexive body techniques through self-defense could potentially impact internalized gendered information strips.

Exploring Cold Case Homicide Survivors' Perceptions of and Relationships With Law Enforcement

Given the nature of unsolved homicide, a complicated dynamic exists between survivors of cold case homicides and law enforcement personnel. The current study utilizes interviews with 24 survivors to explore the perceptions associated with this relationship. Employing a grounded theory framework, we find several themes depicted within these narratives that guide survivors' overall perceptions of their relationship with law enforcement, including investigative and communication efforts. Results indicate that the survivors universally perceive original detectives were incompetent or ineffective in their original investigation, thus leading to the unsolved status of their case. Over time, secondary and current investigators were also perceived as unable to properly investigate, due to challenges such as insufficient evidence or simply not conducting a comprehensive examination of the case. Regardless of this negative view of police activity on the case, relationships were defined by the level and nature of communication survivors had with their detective. Families who felt listened to, included, and/or valued reported a positive relationship with police that allowed them to trust their case was in good hands. Participants who perceived communication to be secretive, misleading, or completely absent noted strained relationships and further disappointment. Survivors may adopt roles, such as investigator, spokesperson, or advocate, to help compensate for their perception that the case is not properly cared for by police. With regard to grief progress and health of cold case homicide survivors, it is possible treatment by law enforcement outweighs the significant of case resolution years after the homicide. Recommendations for more productive survivor/police interactions are included.

Framing in criminal investigation: How police officers (re)construct a crime

Failures in criminal investigation may lead to wrongful convictions. Insight in the criminal investigation process is needed to understand how these investigative failures may rise and how measures can contribute to the prevention of this kind of failures. Some of the main findings of an empirical study of the criminal investigation process in four cases of major investigations are presented here. This criminal investigation process is analyzed as a process of framing, using Goffman's framing (Goffman, 1975) and interaction theories (Goffman, 1990). It shows that in addition to framing, other substantive and social factors affect the criminal investigation.