The Discussion Board (DB) is part of the core of online learning. Classroom discussion in an online environment requires the active participation of students and the instructor to create robust interaction and dialogue. Every student is expected to create an original response to the open-ended DB question as well as engage in dialogue by responding to posts created by others throughout the week. At the end of each unit, DB participation will be assessed based on both level of engagement and the quality of the contribution to the discussion.

At a minimum, each student will be expected to post an original and thoughtful response to the DB question and contribute to the weekly dialogue by responding to at least two other posts from students. The first contribution must be posted before midnight (Central Time) on Wednesday of each week. Two additional responses are required after Wednesday of each week. Students are highly encouraged to engage on the Discussion Board early and often, as that is the primary way the university tracks class attendance and participation.

The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.

Assignment Details

If the neighborhood or area that one lives in is closely related to one’s likelihood of being involved in crime, it would seem that the neighborhood environment is directly correlated with crime. However, there are many citizens who live in high-crime and impoverished areas and refrain from committing crimes.

Please post an answer to the questions below. Support your answers with academic or real-life criminal justice examples to accentuate your point. Also, you must provide at least 2 feedback posts (35 paragraphs each) to 2 of your classmates. The questions are as follows:

• Provide your opinion about the rates of violence (murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery) in the United States, and compare them to at least 2 other industrialized countries (such as Canada, England, or Germany).

oIf you find that the rates are much higher or much lower, why do you think this is true?

• Discuss some of the difficulties you have experienced when comparing crime rates across countries.

• Describe some of the social and economic factors that differentiate the United States from other countries.

oWhich of these do you think has influenced the rates of violence the most? Why?

• Discuss some of the potential reasons for the United States’ high violence rate in comparison to other industrialized countries.

• Discuss which criminological theories (such as, but not limited to, social deviance, classical theory, differential association, positivism, social structure, and control theory) may be used to explain the United States’ high rate of violence.

• In your opinion, why do you think some individuals within low-crime neighborhoods commit crimes while many in high-crime areas refrain from crime?

oDoes this suggest that the environment has little impact on an individual’s criminal behavior? Explain.