Blog Response # 6

It has been especially difficult for me to work through Chapter 9 of Sampsons book for two reasons. The first is because I am still struggling to understand what exactly he is trying to say because of all the big words he uses. I have had to spend some time just looking for definitions for alot of the big words that he uses. It is especially difficult when there are a few of his big words that I have not been able to find a definition for, for example: the word Rawlsian, or Rawlsian position.  What does this mean? The second reason why this has been especially difficult for me is because I came down with a really bad cold since our last class and having a totally plugged up head certainly does not help the situation here. 

I have managed to determine that alot of this chapter is talking about how people, different neighborhoods and communities related to and associate with each other or even pay attention to one anothers needs when it come to the subject of race. This, unfortunately, tends to play a large role in how people associate with each other. A big key word here is Stereo typing.

(I am going to add more to my blog tomorrow. I am really sick so I need to go to bed. Thanks for understanding)

Blog Response #5

As I worked through chapter 5 in Sampson book, I had a difficult time trying to get a clear understanding of what Collective Efficacy means since I never been familiar with that terminology before. I was finally able to establish that Sampson defines Collective Efficacy as "social cohesion (the “collectivity” part of the concept) and shared expectations for control (the “efficacy” part of the concept)". 

I reviewed the case study that was done in Stockholm, entitled "Social Mechanisms of Community

Influences on Crime and Pathways in Criminality" by Per-Olofh Wikstrom and Robert J. Sampson. 

In this study, the focus was centered around crime and the factors or mechanisms that seem to influence people, in different classes of communities, to decide to commit crimes. This study reveals how collective efficacy is one of the mechanisms that play a big influencial role in this area because it empasizes how an individual's decision whether to commit a crime or not is greatly influenced by the behavioral environment that that they are exposed to. It points out that communities that tend to have a more negative, lower poverty class, poorer environments tend to have higher crime rates. 

Blog Response #4

I have found that Sampson's book can be quite challenging to read especially because of the style of writting and alot of big words that he tends to use, but I am doing my best.

I took me a little bit to understand exactly what he was referring to as he talked about order and disorder in neighborhoods and communities. He also talked about how the types and levels of disorder in a community varies by each person's individual perception of it.I agree that how disorder of a community is viewed is based on perception . There are are various classes and levels of neighborhoods. Sampson mentioned that the lower class, lower poverty level neighborhoods have been labeled as being more prone to crime, uncleanliness, abuse, etc.

In many places, especially areas in Las Vegas, where I am from, I am observed that this type of stereotyping of neighborhoods tends to prove to be true. 

Outside Article:

Alcohol Outlets as Attractors of Violence and Disorder: 

A Closer Look at the Neighborhood Environment

By Caterina Gouvis Roman, Shannon E. Reid, Avinash S. Bhati, Bogdan Tereshchenko 

For the National Institute of Justice 

http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411663_alcohol_outlets.pdf

In this study the focus was put on the consumption of alcohol as a contributor to disorder in many neighborhoods and communities. I definitely agree that, among many other factors, alcohol plays a large roll in the disorder of a neighborhood and community.

My emphisis areas are are VT and ART. Maybe through these disciplines, I could help promote activities, promote happiness by designing positive message posters. I could even design programs brochures and stuff to help promote cleaniness and order. I could even use my skills and talents to help others to discover there skills and talents. I would have to give a whole lot more thought to this but I know there are alot of other ways that I could use the disciplines of Art and visual technology to make a positive difference and help eleviate alot of the disorder in some neighborhoods and communities and, by so doing, be able to help improve the quality of life for those people living there.

Blog Response #3

Hello. the topic of decaying neighborhoods has always been a disturbing topic to me. When I lived in Las Vegas, I saw neighborhoods that were decaying, run down, somewhat abandoned and I knew alot of people who where faced with forclosure on their homes and property. It is scary and has always given me the feeling that, when it comes to homes, cars and other such property, that banks can be very cruel and heartless. I have I have seen alot of homes, and know alot of people with homes, that have been forclosed on by a bank and then, rather then maintaining the homes and putting them up for resale, they have just abandoned the homes and left them to rot away and be prime targets for vandalizm. Personally I think this is horrible and I think Sampson did a fine job of covering this topic. There are some many homeless people that could be living in these homes until the bank sells them or something, but the heartless banks don't see it that way.

I admire Willie 'J.R.' Flemming for is devotion and desire to go out and claim these abandoned and decaying properties so that he could fix them up and moved homeless people into them. My suggestion would be that the banks rent out the homes until they can sell them, that way vandalizm is prevented, the homes are still occupied, somewhat maintained, something that the banks don't seem to want to do, and not left to rot away.

Blog Response #2

I am originally from Las Vegas, NV and lived in or visited many different neighborhoods down there. As I read Chapter 1 - "Places" in Sampson's book, it made me reflect on my experiences as a child and teenager growing up in Las Vegas. I definitely would have never thought to study communities and Neighborhoods. I have always considered myself a people watcher and with the few different neighborhoods that I have lived in I have made some observations about the different neighborhoods and have found it very interesting that people of the same class, poverty level, ethnic background, etc seem to live in the same neighbor hood.

Now I have been able to observe the contrasts been a big city like Las Vegas. a small city community like St. George, and a very small farm town like Toquerville, which is where I currently live. It its interesting to see the type and variety of people that live in each area and the variety if community topics that these different areas are or are not exposed to.