What does it mean to say that a community is “socially disorganized”? How might Social Disorganizatio Theory help to explain the occurrence of street violence in today’s inner-city communities? Be sure to use the empirical literature to support your argument.

This assignment is worth 50 points toward your final grade. Your responses must be posted to Blackboard no later than October 11 at 11:59 pm. To receive the full 50 points, your response must be a minimum of three but no more than five pages, double-spaced, typed, numbered, using a 12 point font, and one-inch margins. Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in a one-letter grade deduction per infraction. The total page count does not include your name, the reiterating of the question, nor the reference page. This paper must follow the APA (American Psychological Associations, fifth edition) format, and it must not exceed five pages. You must place you name either on a separate title page or on the top left hand corner of the paper. In addition you must include a reference page and cite (where appropriate) within the text. In general, the paper is expected to focus on the core issues contained in the readings assigned for this topic. Each question is worth 15 points.

1. Describe social disorganization theory. Be sure to include a discussion of how Park’s Concentric Zone Theory influenced the development of Shaw & McKay’s Social Disorganization Theory?

2. What does it mean to say that a community is “socially disorganized”? How might Social Disorganizatio Theory help to explain the occurrence of street violence in today’s inner-city communities? Be sure to use the empirical literature to support your argument.

3. After reading the Chapters 5-8 of Garbarino’s Listening to Killers, choose one of the individuals interviewed. Use social disorganization to explain your subject’s behavior. Be sure to use the literature to support your argument.

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