ALL CLASSES: final grades

All grades are posted.

ALL CLASSES: Class Status and Final Exams

For the 215 and 421 classes:

There is no class Friday. You have the SSP projects due on Monday and a review for the exam will be given. Exams are as follows:

215 at 10:00 - exam on Mon, 04/30 at 9:30
421 at 11:00 - exam on Wed, 05/02 at 9:30
421 at 12:00 - exam on Fri, 04/27 at 12:30

For students in 340:

Your projects are due on Friday [there is class]. For interest, take a look at last year's student websites here.

Your exam is on Mon, 04/30 at 12:30. You will hand in the take-home portion of the exam [also posted on BB if you missed it] and take the in-class portion. Bring a blue scantron.

ALL CLASSES: Friday

There will be no class this coming Friday, April 6. Please use this time to work on your final projects.

Attention 215 class: Your SKCS project is due on Monday. Be prepared.

CRJS 215: 25 point 'Extra' assignment

Attention:

For the "Extra" 25 points required in the class, you are to complete an online tutorial from the book companion site. After following the link, select Chapter 13, then click 'Tutorial Quiz' from the left frame. Do not email me the results, as they have set up so nicely. Instead, print the page with your results (just the first page with your score is fine) and turn it in to me by April 2, 2007.

CRJS 215: Idle Teens Project Due Date

The Idle Teens Project will now be due on Wednesday (instead of Monday). Hope these few extra days makes for extra great papers!

Spring 2007 Books

A few people are starting to email me asking which books are being used for the upcoming semester. For those that wish to know in advance, here's the list:

CRJS 215
Criminology-The Core, 2nd Edition by Larry Siegel. Wadsworth Publishing. 0-53462937-7

CJRS 421
Sociology of Deviant Behavior, 12th Edition by Marshall B. Clinard and Robert F. Meier. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 0534619479

SOC 340
The Sociology of Gender, Second Edition by Laura Kramer. Roxbury Publishers. ISBN: 1-931719-13-6 and
Without A Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Middle Class by Michelle Tea. Seal Press. ISBN: 1-580-05103-0

ALL CLASSES: Remaining Dates

No class will be held Tuesday, November 21. This day is to be used to finish up your projects/presentations that are due on Tuesday, November 28. I can't wait to see the splendor you will bring!

Thursday, December 7 is our last class. Learning Exercises (215/316) are due that day. The exam schedule is posted.

Also, for the SOC 340 Class:

Your final will be handed out on Tuesday, November 28. Thursday, November 30, we will discuss Without A Net. Be sure to have read it. Tuesday, December 5 will be the Peer Review session so bring a draft to class. On Thursday, December 7, your final exams are due. For those of you who prefer to wait until the craziness of exam week, email me your papers by Monday, December 11. Be sure to put "SOC 340" in the subject line.

CRJS 215: capital punishment news and links

N.C. Study Finds Many People on Death Row Had Substandard Representation

Brother of cult victim sees justice

Death Penalty Information Center has the report: ABA Report Finds Serious Problems in Florida's Capital Punishment System

Death Penalty as seen by cartoonists

CRJS 215: midterm exams

The CRJS 215 classes will have their midterms as follows:

Tues/Thurs 11:00 class - Tuesday, Oct. 24

Thursday 4:20 class - Thursday, Oct. 26

Fall 2006 final exam schedule

CRJS 215 - 11:00 class - 12/12 at 12:30
CRJS 215 - evening class - 12/14 at 3:45

SOC/CRJS 316 - 12/14 at 9:30

SOC 340 - 12/14 at 12:30

CRJS 215: test review extra

Probation and Parole (conditions, characteristics)
Intermediate Sanctions (IS, SI, HA, EM, BC)
Jails and Prisons (how many, crowding, privatization, pains, unintended consequences)
War on Drugs (types, drugs and crime, $, legalization, decriminalization)
Serial Killers (definitions, profile, triad, females, typologies)
The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison (promoting justice)

CRJS 215: Remember to read the Reiman book!

quote from Attorney General John Ashcroft:

"Corrupt corporate executives are no better than common thieves when they betray their employees and steal from their investors."

CRJS 215: Links of Interest

Per our class discussion on the higher education act [restricting federal aid to students convicted of a drug crime], you may find this interesting.

I will also direct you to my article on disenfranchisement, for those that may be interested to learn more on the topic.

ALL CLASSES

For those who are planning, there will be no class on two upcoming Fridays: March 24 and April 7.

March 24 is during the Women and Justice Lecture Series at ODU. For those classes who have Learning Exercises to do, you can use any of the events for the 'Attend' option. The 316 class has projects due on Monday, March 27 and could use this time to work in groups.

April 7. The 215 class has projects due on Monday, April 10 and could use this time to work in groups.

ALL CLASSES: Midterms

Midterms will be held as follows:

CJ/SOC 316 - Feb. 20 (M)
CRJS 222 - Feb. 27 (M)
CRJS 215 - March 3 (F)

All classes will need a blue scantron, a pencil, and paper for the exam.

* CRJS 222: remember that you must turn in chapter questions by March 3.

CRJS 215: Links of Interest

Per our discussion in class today, here are some links I thought might interest you:

Investigation continues into shooting of ODU player

Student arrested in shooting of ODU athlete

I couldn’t find any news info on the other crimes discussed in class. But I did find these interesting sites:

ODU’s Silent Witness Form and the ODU Police Dept. Website. I was particularly interested in this incident report.

And this one has been a favorite of mine: mapping sex offenders.

ALL CLASSES

There will not be class on Wednesday, February 1. Work on your assignments (215 and 316 classes have projects due on Friday the 3th).

CRJS 215: Course Notes

Here are class notes/overheads (for the entire semester, as a 44 page Word document). These notes are to serve as an outline or guide to the topic at hand. These are not be used as a replacement for coming to class. These notes will not be enough to pass the exams.

Spring 2006 final exam schedule

CRJS 215 - April 28 at 12:30

CRJS 222 - 11:00 class - May 1 at 9:30
CRJS 222 - 2:00 class - May 4 at 12:30

SOC/CRJS 316 - April 28 at 9:30

CRJS 215: Idle Teens Project

This project requires the student to access the 2005 KIDS COUNT Data Book via the internet: http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/index.jsp. This is a comprehensive database that allows you to generate custom reports for a geographic area or to compare geographic areas on a topic.

Use the Kids Count Data Book Online and examine how "percent of teens not attending school and not working (ages 16-19)" varies across the states. You can view this data as a chart, map, or graph. Think of this variable as a measure of teen idleness, since these teenagers are neither working nor going to school. Link: http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/compare_results.jsp?i=120

1. Which region or regions of the country have a higher rate of teen idleness? How much variation is there in the rate of teen idleness? Which state has the lowest (best) rate of teen idleness, and what is the percent in that state? Which state has the highest (worst) rate of teen idleness, and what is the percent in that state?

2. How does the data for the year 2004 compare with 2001? Use a line graph to examine teen idleness over time. Choose the United States, Virginia, and one other state for your line graph. Consider choosing one of the worst of best-ranked states as a comparison. Choose "percent teens not attending school/working" as your indicator.

3. Describe the overall national trend. Was there an increase, decrease, or did it stay the same. Put another way, nationally are we experiencing more or less teen idleness?

4. Describe the trend for Virginia and the other state chosen. Do these state trends differ from the national trend? Describe any similarities and differences.

5. Merton's strain theory of deviance suggests that deviance occurs when legitimate or institutionalized means (getting a good education and job) of achieving cultural goals (becoming wealthy or achieving high status) are blocked. We might expect that teens not attending school or working might experience strain.
Look up data on juvenile crime for the same (or similar) years to compare with your teen idleness data. One source you could use is arrest statistics from the OJJDP: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/ezaucr/default.asp. You do not have to use this source, but you must document the source you use.

What do you find out? What does it mean for Strain Theory? Can other theories explain the relationship? Is another theory more/less applicable?