Columbia, New York County Case Study

SOCI 352: County Case Study Due: Uploaded to Blackboard by 12:45PM Tuesday, November 10th! NO late papers will be accepted! NO exceptions! You may, however, turn your paper in early. Topic For this paper, you must choose a completely or mostly rural county within the United States as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. You will analyze various components/aspects of the county as outlined below. The purpose of this paper is for you to provide a rural community report. Within the paper, be sure to devote at least the amount of space specified when addressing each of the following sections: History: In this section, you will introduce your chosen county. Be sure to provide the state within which your county is located. You will then provide a history of your county. Be sure to include information on how the county was founded or formed. You can also include any interesting facts or information unique to that county (for example, how the county received its name). (½ page – 12 full lines of text) County Characteristics: Based on your research, provide detailed information on the composition of the county population. Be sure to include information on each of the following:  Population: What is the total population for this county? What percent of the county is rural? How has the population changed over the last decade (increased, decreased, stable)? What is the residential stability/instability of the county? What is the largest town within the county and what is that town’s population?  Demographics: What are the age, race, ethnicity, and gender characteristics of the county? What is the ancestry of the county (what lineage do residents report)? Report percentages where appropriate, not raw numbers.  Other Characteristics: What is the religious background/affiliation of the county? What is the educational attainment of the county? What is the economic background of the county (percent in poverty, median income, unemployment rate, labor force participation, etc.)? What are the primary occupational industries in the county? Report percentages where appropriate, not raw numbers. This entire section should be 1 full page (24 full lines of text). County Police Agency: Describe the police agency present in the county. Be sure to include where (name of the city or town) it is located in the county, how the head of department is chosen (elected or appointed), the number of officers in the department, the types of any specialized units (gang, special victims, etc.), and any other relevant information regarding the agency. (½ page – 12 full lines of text) County Crime Rates: Report the most recent county crime rates for each of the Part I UCR Index crimes (see notes). How have the crime rates changed over the last decade? You can compare generally (meaning you do not need to do direct comparisons of each crime). How does your county compare to the overall crime rates in metro counties and non-metro counties? (1 full page – 24 full lines of text) Theoretical Explanation: Choose one (1) criminological theory covered in class to explain the presence or absence of crime in your county. Discuss the theory in detail using class notes and/or scholarly research. Explain the theory as though your reader has no criminological background. Once complete, apply the theory to your county by determining which (if any) of the primary theoretical components are present in the county and how this would impact the county’s crime rates. You must provide specific information from the county that supports your application of the theory. DO NOT discuss more than one theory. (1 page – 24 full lines of text) Conclusion: Wrap up your paper with a brief conclusion of at least 6 full lines of text summarizing your county research. Was there anything that stood out? Did you find your county unique or interesting in any way? Was there more you would have liked to know about the county? This paper should be written as you would write any research paper in that you should not write the questions being answered within the paper. This should be a coherent paper that naturally flows as you move from one section to the next. You can use subheadings to help organize your paper, but they do not count toward your length requirements. You should also address each section in the order presented above. Keep in mind the line counts for each section are minimum requirements. You can (and will likely) write more for some sections. Required References and In-Text Citations This paper will be based mostly on outside research. To complete this paper, you must use at least 5 references. One of these references must be a peer-reviewed journal article. The remaining references can be news articles or other valid sources (Wikipedia is not a valid source). You may also use your class notes, though they do not count toward the reference requirement. All references must be provided on a reference page. Additionally, any information from outside sources (including class notes) must be acknowledged through the use of in-text citations. Citations are to be placed at the end of the sentence containing the outside information. You must provide BOTH in-text citations and a reference page. Failure to do so is plagiarism. Papers with evidence of plagiarism will be given a zero (0) and turned in to the Provost’s Office for academic dishonesty. You must use ASA formatting for your in-text citations and reference page. Paper Format 12 pt. Times New Roman font Double-spaced Left-aligned 1” margins on all sides; .5” indentations at the start of each new paragraph Title page with your name, date, and the title of your paper Reference page Excluding the title and reference pages, your paper should be at least 4 pages. Your paper can exceed this minimum, but cannot be more than 6 pages. NOTE: If your paper is not AT LEAST 4 PAGES (with proper formatting), you will receive an AUTOMATIC ZERO! Your title page and reference page DO NOT COUNT toward the page requirement. If you cannot put in the effort to complete the paper, I will not put in the effort to grade it.