Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Institutional-Anomie, Political Corruption, And Homicide Rates, Jerry K. Daday, Lisa M. Broidy, Dale Willits

Sociology Faculty Presentations

Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional-anomie theory (IAT) has advanced our understanding of cross-national variation in homicide rates. Empirical tests of IAT have primarily examined how non-economic institutions alleviate or mitigate the mal-effects of economic inequality and economic deprivation. As economic institutions gain strength and dominance, non-economic institutions tend to weaken and are forced to accommodate the market. This creates an elevated state of institutional anomie that is conducive to higher violent crime rates. Most cross-national quantitative tests of IAT have examined the comparative strength of economic and social support institutions (especially social welfare) and find support for the theory. However, prior …

Alternatives Routes To Permanency: Is Adoption Always The Best Option, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

A presentation that asks if current adoption practices are optimally in the best interests of children and families they serve and offers family preserving options such as permanent legal guardianship or simple adoption in which the child rceeives the care he or she needs but doe snot involuntarily give up all ties to his or her family, genetics, and heredity.

Legend Tripping As Field Research: Investigating The Connection Of “Satanic Tourism” To Juvenile Delinquency, Gordon A. Crews, Virginia Adame, Rochelle Andrews, Kofi Boye-Doe, Juna Green, Shawn Kirby, Ori Onazi, Jill Schalansky, Cale Urban, Justin Zabokrtsky

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

Gary Alan Fine and Jeffrey Victor (1994) defined “legend trips” as inherently delinquent juvenile activities at geographic sites associated with some tragic event, rumored to be supernatural or related to the occult. “Satanic tourism” is a type of legend trip characterized by juvenile involvement in pseudo-Satanic/occult behavior, such as drawing pentagrams, writing epithets, and burning candles. A juvenile may visit a geographic location such as an abandoned church, historic graveyard, or reputedly “haunted” site, and engage in mischievous, destructive, or “ritualistic” behaviors as “rites of passage.” These activities, which often are relatively harmless and conducted primarily for juvenile thrills, may …

Sustainable Tourism Indicators: Issues And Challenges In The Development Of A Sustainable Tourism Management Model, Kevin Griffin

Conference papers

While it is generally agreed that sustainability is the only long term path for tourism the question of how it should be measured (or attained) remains a challenge. Based on a 2 year EPA funded project this paper traces the development of indicators for sustainable tourism and discusses how they would be of considerable benefit to both government agencies and tourist interests, in the determination of management objectives for an area. It outlines a model of sustainable tourism indicators which was developed and suggests how this model could be adopted by tourism managers.

The objectives of the paper are to …

Hong Kong Happiness Index 2007 香港快樂指數 2007, Lok Sang Ho

Hong Kong Happiness Index 香港快樂指數調查

A survey on Hong Kong Happiness Index conducted by Lingnan University's Centre for Public Studies (CPPS) shows that Hong Kong people in 2007 are less happy than they were in 2006.

The survey has recorded a 4.8% decrease in the overall happiness index from 70.6 in 2006 to 67.2 in 2007. The declining happiness index goes against the general expectation that happiness index will increase under ongoing economic recovery.