Week 4

We will go over the book and Domestic violence this week. We should be back on schedule by next week. Grades will take a little longer for the reaction papers that you turned in, but will be on schedule for your blog post.

Week 3

Since the flu virus found me last week, I had to do some shifting of our schedule. We were unable to discuss how we collect data and the correlates. In addition, you already saw the video that I was going to show you this week.

Therefore, this week we will discuss how we collect data on crime and violence including the issues with how we collect our data. We will also talk about correlates of violence. You were required to read the first part of Hard Lives Mean Streets (chapters 1-5). We will briefly discuss these chapters and address any questions or concerns regarding them. We will then begin discussing domestic violence and intimate partner violence. Most likely, we will continue the discussion of DV and IPV in week four.

Don't forget that your Blog 1 is due before midnight on January 27.

You also have a reaction paper for Hard Lives Mean Streets due before class on Monday, January 28. This needs to be submitted to turnitin.com by noon. Your syllabus has directions concerning how to log in.

Blog 1 Directions

This is the first week you have a blog assignment. The blog assignment is on intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence (DV). I would like you to find at least one article/news story from your state that was assigned to you. (You can find your state by logging on to webcourses.) Give an overview of this case (including outcomes/convictions) and information regarding the victim and offender.

 In addition, I would like you to answer the following questions/complete the following tasks:

1. Go to: 
1. http://www.womenslaw.org/laws_state.php?state_code=AL 
2. On the left hand side, select your state. 
3. Read the state law overview
4. After selecting your state and reading the overview, on the left hand side, select crimes.
5. Your state may or may not have IPV or DV listed.
1. If it does have it listed, write a short paragraph describing the law.
1. Ex: is it felony or misdemeanor, what makes it a felony or misdemeanor, how is it defined (heterosexual, homosexual, married, cohabitation, etc), who does it protect (children, relatives, pets). Just give an overview.
2. If it does not have it listed, follow these directions:
1. Go to google and type in your state and domestic violence/domestic abuse/intimate partner violence law
1. ex: Florida domestic violence law
2. Again, give an overview
1. Ex: is it felony or misdemeanor, what makes it a felony or misdemeanor, how is it defined (heterosexual, homosexual, married, cohabitation, etc), who does it protect (children, relatives, pets). Just give an overview.
2. Often times, leaving an abusive relationship is dangerous.
1. research how individuals can get help in your state.
1. Write a short paragraph discussing what they can do
1. Ex: help line, shelters, legal actions, etc.
2. Remember to post links to the the places you find.
3. Media aspect
1. A lot of Public Service Announcements, songs, movies, documents, books, etc. have been  created concerning DV and IPV
1. find two media documentations (this does not need to come from your state)
1. Tell us what they are (including links)

Week 2

We will finish discussing theories this week. We will then turned to how data on violence is collected, as well as the prevalence of violence. We will discuss correlates of crime and risk factors.

You will need to complete discussion one by Sunday (this can be found on webcourses).

In addition, you should have the state you will be posting about in your blogs. You also should have told me which two books you will write reaction papers for. In addition, you should be reading Hard Lives,Mean Streets: Violence in the Lives of Homeless Women as we will be discussing the first five chapters next week.

Week one

This week we will be discussing general concepts and theories of violence. We will delve into definitions and ideas of what actually constitutes violence. We will decide if all violence is related and if so...how is it all related? We will discuss offenders and victims and the relationship between them. We will begin to talk about theories including Sociological, Criminological, Psychological, and Biological (theories). We will decide which ones, if any, work best...or if we should use a combination approach.

Although your assignment is to post every other week. You may post/comment whenever you would like. Your opinions are welcome in your own posts. I will try to answer all questions I see. Just be sure that you are definitely blogging every other week concerning your assignment!

Happy Blogging!

Public Posts

Please remember that these blogs are public. You may end up with "followers" that you do not know and are not in our class. This isn't a bad thing, you may actually find that blogging to others about your knowledge and findings is rather entertaining. That being said, let's make sure everything that we (as a class) post here have proper citations and links to original sources. If you pull anything from anywhere (pictures, songs, lyrics, poems, articles, stories, statistics, etc.) you must include a citation. Please use APA format. We can discuss this in class, but our library has some helpful links.

Welcome to Patterns of Violence in Society (POVIS)!

Welcome to the spring semester 2013. I am glad you decided to take Patterns of Violence in Society. The idea of this blog is to help stay current with crime trends around the United States. Every other week you will be required to pull together information from the state you are assigned and post it on your blog. This will help with discussions in class and with your knowledge concerning crime in general. Please remember to add me as an author.

Each week I will post some updates on here. Within these updates you may find questions that you will need to answer in your blog post. You can answer these questions by writing a response or finding information to link to on your blog. Please refer to your schedule for deadlines.

I hope you all have a wonderful semester!