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    Criminology, Law, Deviance and Punishment

    Criminology, deviance and punishment are all multidisciplinary fields of society that are contributed to by sociologists.

    Sociologists typically look at these fields through a positivist lens, using empirical data to highlight societal factors that influence criminology and deviance.

    Different theories view deviance in extremely different ways. Some theorists see deviance as a necessary and normal part of society, allowing us to have an understanding of what our norms are by demonstrating ‘what not to do.’ Other theorists point to different factors that influence deviance. Some theories highlight social strain, frustration in attaining goals, socio-economic reasons and labelling as contributing to deviance.

    There has been a trend in North America recently to begin identifying ‘root causes’ of crime in order to prevent this type of behavior in the future. The last decade has seen an influx in particular types of crime including gang violence, mass shootings and sexual assaults. Sociologists contribute hugely in identifying societal factors that predispose certain social groups to certain types of crime. This understanding is necessary if there is any hope in preventing both violent and nonviolent crime.

    Punishment is another hot button topic in North America right now. What are the positive and negative consequences of America’s ‘tough on crime’ policies? Why does society no longer punish people for things that used to be punishable? What processes need to happen in order for something to become more or less worthy of punishment?

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    Theories of Social Behavior

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    Comparing Job Descriptions

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    neoclassical criminology theories

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    Classical and Neoclassical Criminological Theories

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    Issues in Working with Children, Adolescents, and their Families

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    Issues that impact youth in school

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    Compare and contrast Packer's models of the criminal justice system with Feeley's models of the criminal justice system approach. What are the details of each type of their systems? How does each one work towards the common goal of combining all components of criminal justice into a working system for the public?

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    Adolescent Delinquency: Major Problem

    1) Describe adolescents delinquencya major problem often experienced by adolescents. 2) What are its likely causes of adolescents delinquency? 3) How is the problem typically treated? 4) Identify alternative treatments that could be more effective.

    Sociopsychological perspective versus human ecology perspestive

    How come the human ecology perspective would not offer a better solution to the Fabian story and also under what circumstance would the human ecology work as a better solution for the Fabian' story? Read Fabian's story Fabian, age 42, lived in a modest home on Main Street in Butterbrickle, a small Midwestern village at t

    Social Change: Crime Is the End Result

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    Routine Activities and Biosocial perspectives

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    Routine Activities Theory

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    The Practice of Racial Profiling

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    Chemical castration

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    Merton's Concept of Anomie

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    Stereotypes and Educating Individuals

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    Social Structure Theory

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    Choice Theory and Deterrence theory

    Compare and contrast the Choice Theory and the Deterrence Theory. Describe how rational thought affects the choices that individuals make before they commit a crime. Do you feel that one theory is more accurate than the other? Explain