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I need assistance with a paper1 Social Disorganization Theory’s Greatest Challenge: Linking Structural Characteristics to Crime in Socially Disorganized Communities Charis E. Kubrin and James C. Wo The Handbook of Criminological Theory, First Edition. Edited by Alex R. Piquero. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [pp. 121 – 136] Why do some neighborhoods have higher crime rates than others? What is it about certain communities that consistently generate high crime rates? These are the central questions of interest for social disorganization theory, a macro‐level perspective concerned with explaining the spatial distribution of crime across areas. Social disorganization theory has emerged as the critical framework for understanding the relationship between community characteristics and crime in urban areas. According to the theory, certain neighborhood characteristics – most notably poverty, residential instability, and racial heterogeneity – can lead to social disorganization. Social disorganization, in turn, can cause crime. In this chapter, we first describe social disorganization theory, laying out the theory’s key principles and propositions. We then discuss one of the most serious and enduring challenges confronting the theory – identifying and empirically verifying the social interactional mechanisms that link structural characteristics of communities, such as poverty and residential instability, to heightened crime rates in socially disorganized communities. And finally, we present some promising new directions for the theory by discussing several theoretical concepts that may be useful for scholars interested in identifying and measuring the theory’s interactional mechanisms; these include social capital, collective efficacy, and social networks. We conclude the chapter with some remarks about one additional important theoretical direction for social disorganization theory: incorporating the role of neighborhood subculture in explanations of crime and delinquency. The origins of social disorganization theory date back to the early 1900s. In 1929, two researchers from the University of Chicago, Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay, began a series of studies using official records which showed that in the city of Chicago, rates of delinquency, criminality, and commitment to correctional institutions varied markedly by area. In particular, rates were highest in slums near the city center and diminished as distance from the center of the city increased, except in areas of industry and commerce just outside of the central district, which had some of the highest rates. Shaw and McKay also found that rates of crime and delinquency exhibited a remarkable consistent patterning over many decades; in particular, the spatial pattern of rates revealed significant long‐term stability even though the nationality structure of the population in the inner‐city areas changed greatly over time. ShaNa CJ – 643-50-4228 THEORIES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY FALL 2022 University of Louisville - Department of Criminal Justice Dr. Viviana Andreescu Office: 212B Brigman Hall; Email:[email protected] Office hours: By appointment (to schedule an online meeting or a phone conversation, please contact me via email) Course Description This is a core graduate-level course in Criminal Justice. The course examines the major theories of crime and delinquency, the psychological and sociological factors related to criminal behavior, and the role of theory in preventing and controlling crime. The relationship between social institutions and antisocial behavior will be also discussed in this class. Course Objectives & Educational Goals · To help students gain an advanced understanding of the major crime and delinquency theories, critical aspects included · To discuss the policy implications of different criminological theories · To increase the students’ level of proficiency in written and verbal communication when applying major theories of crime and delinquency to real life situations · To provide students with a set of skills that would enable them to examine, analyze, and explain different aspects of criminal behavior · To increase the students’ ability to critically assess published materials focusing on crime and delinquency · To encourage students to think comprehensively about the solution of social problems, crime and delinquency included · To provide knowledge that students can use in other courses in the curriculum and in their professional practice Required Readings: Books: Miller, J.M., Schreck, C., Tewksbury, R. & Barnes, J.C. (2015). Criminological Theory: A Brief Introduction. Fourth Edition. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Journal articles and book chapters*: Andreescu, V. (2019a). Gender differences and patterns of arrest across two generations of Cuban immigrants in United States. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 17(2), pp. 133-168. DOI: 10.1080/15377938.2019.1593910. Andreescu, V. (2019b). Family, school, and peer influences on alcohol abstinence and use among American Indian and white female adolescents. Deviant Behavior, 40(1), 56-73. DOI:10.1080/01639625.2017.1411032 Andreescu, V. & Vito, G. F. (2021) Strain, negative emotions and turnover intentions among American police managers. Policing: An International Journal (online first), pp. 1-15. DOI: 10.1108/PIJPSM-01-2021-0014 Barnes, J. C., Boutwell, B. B., & Beaver, K. M. (2016). Contemporary biosocial criminology: A systematic review of the literature, 2000-2012. In A. R. Piquero (Ed.), The handbook of criminological theory (pp. 75-99). Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Kaminski, R.J. (2008). Assessing the county-level covariates of police homicides. Homicide Studies, 12(4),,350-380. Kubrin, C. E. & Wo, J. C. (2016). Social disorganization theory’s greates