Social Ecology Vs. Differential Association Essays - Criminology

Social Ecology Vs. Differential Association Shannon R. Nemechek, Soc 355 Which is a better theory of crime Social ecology or differential association? While both have good concepts I feel that both are somewhat flawed in their concepts of crime. But for the purposes of this paper I will chose differential association as the better predictor and concept for criminal behavior as a whole. Social ecology says that most criminal behavior is centered around those areas that are central to a neighborhood. So if a neighborhood is one of great social and economical pressures then crime is more prevalent in that area as this is true it is not true of all residents of that area. I feel some of the views of the social ecologists are somewhat racially bias. Although most criminals are young poor urban black males this does not mean that all that all young poor urban black males are criminal. Although, it is true that neighborhoods do have a great influence on young criminal behavior in my view criminal behavior itself is multi causational. Although, it is true that crime seems to decrease when you look at crime in the central part of a city and travel out from there I submit that criminal behavior may not be as different as one might think. I submit that although most criminals are young poor urban black males that those in rural setting are prone to an equal amount of criminal behavior but the police tend to look the other way instead focusing in on those who are in their view more apt to commit crime. Not only do neighborhoods help to influence and not deter criminal behavior they also are influenced from other sources such as family, friends, schools etc. This is the view of most sociologists that adhere to the view of differential association. These views are also somewhat flawed but are a much better predictor of criminal behavior than the latter. Differential association tends to look as criminal behavior as a learned behavior this I agree with in some aspects most behavior is learned from parents, friends and family but can also be caused from psychological factors and biological factors such as some personality disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and genetic irregularities such as XYY super males that are more prone to suffer from anti social personality disorder or psychopathy. But in essence differential association is clearly the better theory of criminal behavior than the latter theory of social ecology because differential association looks at what and who a perso n has around them, how often this influence is around and how significant the people are around them that helps to define who that person is if it be criminal or law abiding citizen. Sociology Essays

How Men Came to America essays

How Men Came to America essays There are many theories as to how the first of mankind came to America. The most probable theory is one that concerns the Bering Straight. The Bering Straight connects Siberia to Alaska. Around 13,000 yrs. ago, there was an ice age; since the water in the Bering Straight is shallow, all of it froze which created a land bridge. Coincidentally, large arrowheads were found inside a Mammoth skeleton in Clovis, New Mexico, which was also dated to be 13,000 yrs. old. This theory is simple and logical. There was a land bridge. Man crossed it while following big game and dispersed all over America within a thousand years. A few archeological sites have been found to have artifacts older than 13,000 years. Among these, is the Meadow Croft Rock Center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a site in Chili named Monte Verde and Cactus Hill, south of Richmond, Virginia. The dates of artifacts in these sites were determined by carbon dating. Although this is a precise way of telling how old an artifact is, there are things that can go wrong. For instance, In the Meadow Croft Rock Center, some argue that the ground had been contaminated by groundwater seepage, which could bring in older pieces of wood or plant next to spearheads. As for Cactus Hill, some archaeologists disagree as to weather the layering process is a valid indication of time. It is hard to believe that a few inches of sand could represent thousands of years of time, writes Michael Parfit, a writer for National Geographic. Concerning Monte Verde, many archaeologists readily attacked the the idea that the site held bones that are at least 1,000 yrs . older than those from Clovis, New Mexico. Stuart Fiedel, a consulting archaeologist and author, comments that the recording of artifacts wasnt exact enough to support the conclusions. Another archaeologist, C. Vance Haynes, has found from his own experience, how hard it is to tell the difference between, for example, charcoal...