Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Tale Of Two Gentrifications: Reconceptualizing Gentrification Using Third Places, Demolition And Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Kylil R. Martin

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

A growing body of research points out that communities in the most need of assistance are often the ones established by racially biased processes and have not been invested in for generations – with little to no attention ever positively directed toward these spaces. Instead, because of policies and tactics used to label areas as problematic and divest from them, public actors are reluctant to consider the lived-lives, both good and bad, of the residents of these communities when discussing needed changes. Criminologists have long been interested in neighborhood change and its relationship with crime. There has also been theoretical …

Blood Lead Levels In Minority Children: A Case Of Environmental Racism, Erick Rivera

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Racial minorities in the United States have suffered from being disadvantaged. Among these disadvantages is environmental racism. This includes minority communities being ‘sacrifice zones’ for toxic waste and being exposed to lead poisoning. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in blood levels between white children and children of color. This research will follow a bivariate model for the first research question, “Do youth of color (under the age of 18) have higher BLLs than white children?” The bivariate model will look at the relationship between ethno-racial group and BLLs. Specifically, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be …

Perceptions Of Social Control In Disadvantaged Neighborhoods And Adolescent Drug And Alcohol Use: Are They Related?, Kanita Shiquia Sumner

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using data collected from the Evaluation of the Children at Risk Program (CAR) in Austin, Texas, Bridgeport, Tennessee, Savannah, Georgia, and Seattle, Washington (Harrell et al 1999), this study focused on problem behaviors in disadvantaged neighborhoods , specifically, drug and alcohol use, among at-risk youth. The purpose of this study was to determine if parochial and public levels of social controls in disadvantaged neighborhoods decrease the likelihood of adolescents using drug and alcohol. It was found that the parochial level of social control in disadvantaged neighborhoods was highly correlated with adolescent's alcohol and drug use; however, the public level was …

The Normative Structures Guiding Surfers' Perceptions About The Environment: An Exploratory Analysis Of Environmental Behavior And Environmental Concern, Jeffrey G. Toussaint

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship among surfers and their behaviors and concerns towards the environment. The sample included 94 respondents to a survey posted through the Eastern Surf Association (ESA) website. This study proposed that respondents who reported that surfing was their primary outdoor recreational activity would have more environmental behavior and environmental concern than respondents who did not have surfing as their primary outdoor recreational activity. Demographic and other causal factors, were used to assess the effects on the level of a surfer's environmental behavior and concern. From these hypotheses, several other relationships are …

Selected Factors That Influenced A State's Collapse: A Historical Analysis Of The Case Of Sierra Leone, I. Betty Williams Conteh

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Throughout the 1990s the United Nations Human Development Index, an annual report that measures human development, depicted Sierra Leone as one of, if not the poorest nation on the planet. In 2001, the same report depicted 162 countries in terms of human development and Sierra Leone ranked 162. This Sub-Saharan nation experienced a total collapse of its state and society beginning in 1990. The United Nations and the rest of the international community are only now beginning to work towards putting Sierra Leone together again.

This study investigate factors that led to the collapse of Sierra Leone--factors such as …

Fear Of Crime In Rural America: Fear Along Virginia's Eastern Shore, David Steven Simon

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using 1996 Survey data collected from residents along Virginia's Eastern Shore, this study addresses fear of crime in rural communities. Most prior research has focused on fear of crime in urban communities or has reported a relatively low fear of crime in rural communities. However, some recent analyses have indicated unusually high fear in small towns experiencing rapid population growth and economic changes. Heightened fear of crime has been observed even where there has been no apparent increase in criminal victimization experiences. This study addresses fear of crime and its relation to perceived risk of victimization, density of acquaintanceship, community …