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March 1, 2012

Criminal justice professors present at international conferences

Dr. Attapol Kuanliang and Dr. Robert Hanser from the University of Louisiana at Monroe Department of Criminal Justice recently presented at an international conference in Bangkok, Thailand, related to international research initiatives.

During the conference, Kuanliang, an assistant professor of criminal justice, presented a paper titled "What Children Say About Violence, Victimization and Punishment in the Nakhon Pathom Area," which was funded by the National Research University in Thailand.

This presentation discussed findings from research that Thai officials have targeted as being of interest and also demonstrates Kuanliang's continued recognition as a researcher of merit in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Hanser, associate professor and head of the ULM Department of Criminal Justice, presented a paper titled "Drug Treatment among Drug Abusers in Faith-Based Programs," where he discussed how faith-based programming can positively impact client motivation in drug treatment, resulting in longer commitment to recovery.

He also highlighted the potential for comparative research that examines faith-based interventions among a variety of religions, including Buddhist and Muslim faith-based programming.

His recommendations to design cross-national studies of religious interventions in addictions treatment were well received at the conference.

'"I enjoy presenting at these international conferences because it is a chance to take our own regional research and data and share it with others around the world," noted Hanser. "In the process, we learn quite a bit with such comparisons."

Previously, both professors attended the 16th World Congress International Society for Criminology conference in Kobe, Japan.

During this conference, Hanser served as chair for two academic panels that were hosted by the Asian Association of Police Studies, of which both Hanser and Kuanliang are members.

Kuanliang presented a paper titled "Crime Prevention on College Campuses," which showcased efforts at ULM and other universities to reduce crimes of victimization against students.

Hanser also presented two papers titled "Community Crime Prevention Initiatives and Criminal Investigations" and "The Use of Community Surveys to Optimize Partnerships in Crime Prevention Initiatives," which, taken together, highlight the importance of community involvement in crime prevention initiatives.

The papers have been combined and accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Sociology.

"Both of these conferences have resulted in research partnerships with other countries that address any number of issues in criminal justice and criminology," continued Hanser.

"The globalization of our field has created limitless opportunity for collaboration in our fields of study."

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