Midterm - Spring, 2004

For this midterm, you must answer two questions. Select ANY ONE (but only
one) from section I, and then select any one (but only one) from section
two.

Your answers must reflect information for text, WebBoard, current
events, and other sources that bear on your question.

Each question is worth 50 points each (for a total of 100). Answers
must be complete, about 750 words each, and returned NO LATER THAN Monday,
March 22. Hardcopy or email is fine, but if you email the answers,
send in plain text, NOT as a .doc or .wpd file.

SECTION I (select only one):

1.  You have been asked by a government agency to address this question:
"Are youth today more violent than 20 years ago?"  Explain:
  a) How you would "test" this
  b) Then, using text material and data from government or other
     reputable sources, answer the question 

2. What is a "juvenile delinquent" and how has the concept changed in the
past 100 years?

3.  Is there a link between a) race, b) sex and c) age and delinquency? 
    (Use text and other factual data)

SECTION II (select only one)

1. Compare and contrast any three theories, giving the strengths and
weaknesses of each. Which, over all, is best?

2. How have theories of delinquency changed over the past 100 years, and
what social factors have shaped those changes?

3. Are theories neutral, or do they contain an ideological element?

4. Read this news story. Then, select any two
theories and apply them to the story to explain how we might understand
the incident.

Return to JT's homepage