College --Undergrad Lower Division

  • As discussed, the murder rates for Blacks in the United States are substantially higher than those for Whites, with Latino murder rates falling in the middle. These differences have existed throughout the 20th and into the 21st century and, with few exceptions, are found in different sections of the United States. Although biological and genetic explanations for racial differences in crime rates, including murder, have been discredited and are no longer accepted by most criminologists, both cultural and structural theories are widespread in the literature on crime and violence. It is also important to remember that Latino is an ethnic rather than a racial classification. The point of this exercise is to examine differences in selected structural positions of Blacks, Whites and Latinos in the United States that may help explain long-standing differences in their murder rates.
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  • Everyday we have specific routines we engage in. Many of these routines are tailored to preventing us from becoming victims of crime. We do things like lock our doors, watch where we walk at night, or avoid walking alone. We take these actions because at some level we are afraid of the possibility of being a victim of crime. Although we may not consciously think about it, these routines may be influenced by a variety of factors. What factors might make some individuals more afraid than others?

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  • The textbook for this course discusses cross-cultural variations in household structure, as well as changes across time in household structure in the United States. The purpose of this exercise is to examine variations in household structure in the United States according to race and historical period. By the end of the exercise students should have a better appreciation of the fact that household structure in the U.S. is very fluid and that changes over time in household structure have not progressed uniformly for all race groups.
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  • In this module you will explore some of the impacts of this immigration by examining the characteristics of the foreign-born population, comparing these characteristics to those of the native born population. You will get a chance to explore where immigrants come from, how the composition of the immigrant population has changed, where immigrants settle, and what they do once they get here. Most importantly, you will have the opportunity to test some key hypotheses drawn from the most popular theory used to explain the incorporation of immigrants into the American social and economic mainstream.
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  • In this module you will have the opportunity to explore the frequency of different types of residential moves carried out by Americans. You will examine some of the basic determinants of residential mobility by looking at variations in different types of mobility by age, marital status, education, and housing tenure. Finally, you will have an opportunity to test hypotheses, drawn from a popular theoretical perspective, about racial differences in residential mobility.
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  • How are earnings determined? Why do some people earn more than others? Does a better job necessarily mean a better salary? In this module, students will attempt to answer these questions and many others by examining factors such as education and occupation in terms of the role they play in determining earnings. Students will also look at the earnings of whites and compare them to the earnings of blacks, Latinos, and Asians. Another consideration will center on the effect of gender. Finally, students will turn their attention to the age of workers in terms what role it plays in determing earnings. Aside from earnings, students will also take a brief look at poverty with respect to the effect race-ethnicity and family structure has on creating and sustaining it.
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  • This module is designed to illustrate the effects of selection bias on the observed relationship between premarital cohabitation and later divorce. It also serves as a review of key methodological concepts introduced in the first part of the course.
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  • This collection of datasets covers many application areas, but are all for time series analysis. The data are in text format.
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  • This module provides an activity were students will attempt to explain how each of the following variables is related to child poverty within the United States: Race, Age, Family Type, Family Size, and Immigrant Status.
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  • Research has shown that marital status and employment are correlates of desistance. That is, adolescents involved with crime were more likely to discontinue offending in adulthood if they were married and had a good job. Most of what criminologists know about the process of desistance from crime is based on a sample of adult males in the 1950's. There is no question that life in America has changed drastically in the past fifty years. Given the importance of examining historical change inherent in the life course perspective, it is important to determine how changes in the social structure over time impact individuals. Therefore, the goals of this data analysis exercise are to examine changes in marriage and employment over the last fifty years. The purposes are to identify the changes that have taken place, and to hypothesize how these changes may affect the process of desistance from crime today.
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