Browsing by Subject "Criminology"
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Item A school of criminology for the University of Texas(1966) Haldeman, E. D. Jr.The study of criminology in the United States is at this time in a slowly progressing field of study as is evident by the ever increasing crime rate in America. It becomes evident that there is a need for an expression of active study of criminology ~other than a theory or book which seems to simply delay the need for education in this field. It is my purpose to expose the need through an architectural expression. It seems that unless man has something other than words to place his confidence in, he is not willing to take the initiative tp press forward for the betterment of mankind. I wish to thank Leon Radzinowicz, Director of the School of Criminology, Cambridge, England, for his assistance and advice.Item Deviance as an antecedent and consequence of early transitions to adulthood: mediating effects and moderating conditions(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Halim, ShaheenDrawing from concepts in criminological literature and sociological life-course perspective literature, data from adolescent and young adult measurements collected as part of a longitudinal panel study conducted on a cohort from Harris County, Texas, were used to estimate Structural Equation Models, testing the unmediated and mediated relationships between adolescent deviance, early timing of transitions to adult roles, and adult deviance. First, a simplified three latent variable model was estimated using the full sample (N= 3,379) to examine direct associations among adolescent deviance, early transitions to adulthood, and adult deviance while controlling for prior involvement in deviant behavior in adolescence. An expanded seven latent variable model was then estimated adding mechanisms in adolescence through which the relationships previously observed in the simplified model are mediated. Lastly, both the simplified and expanded models were estimated on eight subgroups in the sample to examine whether the relationships observed for the full sample are moderated by gender, race/ethnicity, paternal level of education, and expectations for future failure in conventional adolescent roles. For the full sample, the simplified model produced significant direct relationshipsbetween adolescent deviance and early transitions to adulthood, and between early transitions to adulthood and adult deviance. When this simplified model was estimated on the eight subgroups, the first relationship remained stable for each of the eight moderating subgroups, while the second relationship did not. When several intervening variables were added between adolescent deviance and early transitions to adulthood in the expanded model, the parameters added to the model using the intervening variables formed a chain of significant direct relationships fully mediating the relationship between adolescent deviance and early transitions to adulthood for the full sample. This chain of significant direct relationships remained stable for five of the eight subgroups, and the three subgroups that did not experience full mediation underwent great attenuation of the relationship. These intervening variables offer avenues for altering the trajectory of behavior seen in the simplified model.Item "I Never Thought It Would Happen Here": White Privilege and Assumptions of Safety(2014-05-03) Varela, Kay SCriminology and media scholars over the last two decades convincingly argue that crime is one of the major social problems of this era. Racialized constructions of safety and space, however, continue to be the dominant paradigm through which crime is viewed and the hypervigilance of people of color legitimized. I argue that depictions of white communities as pure, homogenous, and calm spaces permit and facilitate whites? tendency to link danger and violence to people of color, which not only reinforces existing stereotypes that associate people of color with the dangerous side of the safety continuum, but also harks back to a history when white space was violently protected and its isolation legally sanctioned. Using 155 newspaper articles taken from four Chicago area newspapers from January 2008 to January 2013 (The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Defender, La Raza Chicago, and The Daily Herald), I conduct a structurally contextualized critical discourse analysis and engage several different categories of frames, particularly in three areas: 1) neighborhood contextualization; 2) safety concern of the article; and 3) how the incident being reported on is described and understood in terms of locality. My analysis highlights the white supremacist logic found and upheld in newspaper discourse; a discourse that focuses on white normative standards of safety while also structuring the way in which people and communities of color experience safety. As such, my analysis indicates demonstrates discourse surrounding safety and crime indicate an often unnoticed privilege?the privilege of being able to presume safety?that is denied to people and communities of color and almost guaranteed to whites and white communities.Item An Investigation of Completion Status of a Cognitive Behavioral Intervention in a Population of Offenders on Probation(2007-08-08) Gonzalez, Paul Lee; Evans, H.M.An alternative to traditional punishment and incarceration has been to place individuals who commit crimes under the supervision of a community agency for a specific period of time. These probation sentences are instituted for the purpose of reducing the cost to the state of incarcerating offenders while maintaining deterrence against new offenses. Since the goal of such agencies is to reduce both costs and new offenses by convicted criminals, they are constantly searching for ways to do both. Toward this end, certain programs, based on cognitive behavioral interventions, have been developed for use in these populations. One such program, Thinking for a Change, is used in the Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. A prior investigation of the Thinking for a Change program matched program completers to a control group and found the program to be effective at increasing interpersonal and problem solving skills, as well as reducing recidivism. As a follow up investigation, the current study looked at differences between offenders who complete the program and those who drop out. A sample group of probationers were selected from referrals made over a period of four years in order to determine what outcomes can be expected from a typical program participant. Demographic variables, initial risk assessment, program completion, severity of initial and subsequent offenses, probation revocation, and recidivism data was collected and analyzed to determine differences between program completers and dropouts as well as which variables were predictive of success in completing the program and completing probation without revocation. Findings suggest that demographic variables and initial risk assessment predicted program completion, completion of probation without revocation, and recidivism. In addition, program dropouts had higher rates of recidivism and more probation revocations than those who complete the program. Additional research is needed on the relationship between program completion and psychological variables associated with personal, social and economic stressors. Potential studies should focus on the use of newer, improved risk assessment measures and ways to implement cognitive behavioral programs in order to increase access to probationers and reduce dropouts.Item The use of space syntax methodology in predicting the distribution of crime in urban environments(1997-08) Fanek, Mamoun F.The deteriorating quality of life in urban settings is one of the most pressing concerns facing several disciplines, especially architecture and planning, politics, sociology, geography, and economics. A range of urban problems is blamed for the decline of the quality of life in our cities which includes an increase of criminal incidence in core urban settings. In fact, crime is often considered the predominant urban problem.