Browsing by Subject "crime"
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Item COST-CUTTING AT THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE: WHAT IMPACT HAS DECLINING CIRCULATION HAD UPON CRIME COVERAGE?(2012-04-19) Smith, Kese; Olson, Beth; Vardeman, Jennifer; Curtis, RussellThis study investigated the effect declining circulation at the Houston Chronicle had upon local news coverage- especially crime coverage. In 1995, it became the sole daily metro newspaper in Houston. In the ensuing years it has seen a steady erosion of paid circulation and its publishers responded, as have many newspapers in the United States, by making a series of cost-cutting moves including closing news bureaus and laying off long-time editorial staff. Story content for the years 1996 (the first full year in which the Houston Chronicle became the sole daily) and 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 was examined using content analysis. Particular attention was paid to crime stories as the crime beat is an entry-level reporter position, one which pays less and requires less experience than other specialized beats. Cultivation theory postulates an increase in crime coverage, which is cheap and plentiful, can lead the public to view the world as a more dangerous place than statistics indicate. Two constructed weeks per year were examined. Layoffs at the Houston Chronicle coincided with a 40 percent decrease in local stories. During that same period, stories produced by wire services or other newspapers increased, indicating they replaced some, but not all, of the shortage of local stories. Crime stories accounted for a greater percentage of local stories, although not significantly. They were eight percent of local stories in 1996 rising to a high of 10 percent in 2009. However crime stories became significantly longer over that same v period of time, suggesting crime became a greater staple in filling the newspaper's newshole. Consistent with other literature, violent crime accounted for the clear majority of all crimes reported. Crime stories were also individually coded to determine to what extent details were included which would allow a reader to determine the randomness of the crime and be extension his/her own possible risk. Such variables did not go down as expected, and in some years were even higher than in 1996. This study suggests the Houston Chronicle has responded to declining circulation by cutting staff and local content. Crime coverage has helped fill the remaining local content, but not to the extent expected. Moreover, details which allow readers to gauge their personal risk were present in greater amounts than anticipated.Item Testing Social Bond Theory on Hispanic YouthAlvarez, Carla; San Miguel, Claudia EHirschi's social bond theory plays a substantial role in the explanation of juvenile delinquency. While social bond theory appears to play an important role in explaining delinquency among Non- Hispanic Whites, research on Hispanic populations is limited. The purpose of this study is to test the validity of social bond theory within the context of delinquency among a sample of Hispanic youth. In this research, self-administered surveys were given to 169 middle school students at United Independent School District (UISD) in Laredo, Texas. Assault, school delinquency, and public disturbance were used as measures of delinquency. Multiple regression analyses were employed to determine the significance of social bond theory in regards to Hispanic youth. Results indicated that for total delinquency, only attachment to parents demonstrated significance. For school delinquency, only school commitment was significant. However, delinquent friends, a control variable, demonstrated consistent statistical significance among all delinquency measures. Findings extend prior research on social bond theory and Hispanic delinquency but suggest that it is premature to conclude that social bond theory can account entirely for Hispanic delinquency. Further research should consider differential association and social learning theories, in addition to assimilation and generational status when testing delinquency among Hispanics.Item The Residential Segregation of Latino Immigrants in the U.S.: Exposure to Crime and the Effects of Place of Destination(2014-09-03) Romero, FabianEven though spuriously, there is plenty of evidence that links race and ethnicity with street crime at the individual and aggregate levels. Typically, higher levels of disadvantage are linked to higher crime levels. However, despite the average low socioeconomic status of Latinos, the low crime proneness?particularly?of first-generation Latino immigrants has been well established in the literature with plenty of quantifiable evidence. This phenomenon has been called the Latino Criminological Paradox, or the Latino Paradox of Crime. In this dissertation, I use crime data from the National Neighborhood Crime Study 2000 (NNCS) and demographic data from 2000 Census? Summary File 3 (SF3) to assess whether a ?paradox? exists. Then, I analyze the extent of this so-called ?paradox? in terms of exposure to crime for Latino and non-Latino groups in traditional and non-traditional Latino immigrant destinations. I conclude my dissertation with Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Ordered Logistic Regression analyses to assess the effect that different variables have on crime rates and over-exposure to crime in 64 metropolitan areas. This research shows that a Latino Criminological Paradox exists regardless of the type of destination in which immigrants settle. Even when Latino immigrants are residentially segregated to a similar extent than that of Black populations, immigrants are exposed to less crime in their neighborhoods. This research also shows that Latino immigrants experience some upward social mobility (in terms of residential attainment) after a period of 10 years of residence in the United States. In addition, I found no evidence to suggest that this ?paradox? is more noticeable in traditional Latino immigrant destination than in non-traditional destinations, nor that residential attainment varies by type of destination. One of the major contributions of this research is that it focuses on the residential segregation of Latino immigrants and its correlation with exposure to crime. Unlike previous literature, this research does not focus on criminal victimization or offending. In addition, this research analyzes data from 91 cities across the country, something that?to my understanding?has not been done before.