Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Robert Putnam’s well-received book Bowling Alone (2000) described an important social transformation that took place in the United States in the late twentieth century. Using a variety of indicators, Putnam documented a widespread disengagement from public and civic life among Americans, a trend that he attributed in large part to the growth of televised entertainment. The thesis of this study is that Putnam was correct about the disengagement of Americans, but that he overlooked a critical cause. Using data from a variety of sources, the analysis demonstrates a close connection between fear of crime and social disengagement, and shows that Americans’ retreat to the home followed large increases in official crime rates and public fear of crime in the United States. The ties to crime are also evident in the growth of gated communities, parental restrictions on children, the rise of the home security industry, and in numerous other ways. Although television clearly facilitated the social isolation of Americans, it appears that television came on the scene at just the time the public was prepared to adopt it.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: TASER devices, which project two small probes that transmit an electrical impulse which results in an immediate loss of the person’s neuromuscular control and ability to perform coordinated action for several seconds, are touted by some as a safe, non-lethal weapon for law enforcement. TASER International provides information about “its everyday lifesaving value in law enforcement and our communities.” Other reports, however, highlight TASER-related deaths and accusations of inappropriate use of the devices by law enforcement. The current paper examines public perception on the appropriate use of TASERS in a case that is based off an actual incident. A student of Iranian descent was stunned at least four times by officers from the University of California Police Department in the UCLA library after refusing to leave the library when he failed to produce a student ID during a routine check at 11:30 pm. The student did not cooperate with police and encouraged other students to join in his resistance. Subjects were asked to decide if the police acted in accordance with policy or whether the student involved was entitled to civil damages. Results are discussed in accordance with legal guidelines on police use of force.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This presentation examines school-related violence and safety in Safe Schools/Healthy Students sites, including change and associations with implementation. Separate analyses were conducted for high schools, middle schools and, where data were available, elementary schools. Outcomes include student bullying/fighting victimization, witnessing bullying/fighting, witnessing knife/gun violence; and involvement in fighting; students feelings of safety at school or going to or from school; teacher reports of bullying/fighting in the classroom and of being verbally abused, threatened, or physically attacked by students; and principal reports of rates of serious violent infractions and physical attacks, and severity of bullying problems and problem behaviors toward teachers. Differences in perceptions of reporters (students, teachers, and principals) are noted. The presentation also reports on characteristics of implementation associated with school differences in outcomes. Measures of implementation—based on surveys of principals and violence prevention coordinators—assess numerous aspects of violence prevention, including comprehensiveness of violence prevention curricula, staff professional development, parent training, partnering with external agencies, student exposure to prevention services, comprehensiveness of school rules, monitoring of buildings and grounds, use of surveillance and communication devices, use of school resource officers and other security staff, and school-based consequences for violence-related infractions.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: To fit some data to models during tests, it is occasionally necessary to adjust the data to fit the requirements of a reasonable solution concept. Sometimes this produces changes that alter important properties of the matrices. In some cases, this has desirable consequences and losses are minimal. In others, losses exceed benefits. How can we distinguish between the two? We discuss ways to achieve what we seek, while minimizing changes that unsought effects. We restrict the argument to special kinds of matrices. Advice is somewhat counter-intuitive: Subtract a tiny amount from a large eigenvalue that is relatively widely separated in size from thge other eigenvalues.Matrices

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Toba Bataks of North Sumatra, Indonesia have fascinated outsiders for centuries. Long known to both locals and westerners only as xenophobic cannibals fiercely protective of the enormous Lake Toba and their homeland that surrounded it, most Toba Bataks converted to Christianity early in the 20th century. By the late 1960s, those Bataks living near the lakeshore found themselves hosting an increasing number of western tourists who were eager to explore their secluded lands and to experience their lively culture. The stable tourist-based economy and culture that had emerged over the years, and that had evolved able to weather global financial fluctuations and changes in tourist tastes, was the focus of my initial ethnographic research in 1994-1995. This paper, based on observations made in 2003, discusses some of the changes in tourism in Indonesia since the mid-1990s, as Indonesia encountered political and economic destabilization and tourism-directed terrorism. I examine how the demise of tourism has affected the culture of Toba Bataks living in and near the tourist centers. In addition, I briefly examine the character of contemporary tourism in Jakarta and Bali, and address how perceived threats of terrorist activities in those areas prompted local people to advise me to return to the land of the once-fierce Bataks for safety. Ultimately, this paper examines how these transformations have prompted Indonesian citizens to reconceptualize their nation and have destabilized tourist-based economies in hinterland areas.