Geographical patterns of incendiary and accidental fires in Springfield,Massachusetts, 1980–1984

Arson is a serious crime occurring with increasing frequency in urban America today. To date, this crime remains poorly documented and seldom discussed in the literature, particularly from a geographical viewpoint. This study examined the spatial distribution and underlying factors associated with 440 arson and 732 accidental fires recorded in Springfield, Massachusetts, between 1980 and 1984. Based upon a series of dot and choropleth maps, there was evidence that both incendiary and accidental fires were clustered not only in specific Springfield neighborhoods but also along individual city streets. In an attempt to understand better the varying frequency of arson fires among the 36 census tracts in the Springfield study area, a multiple regression analysis was performed using census data reflecting a variety of social, economic, and housing characteristics. Two variables, representing housing vacancy and tenement-type housing, entered into the final regression equation. Together, these two variables accounted for 70.4% of the reported arson cases. A subsequent inspection of the regression residuals revealed a random geographical pattern, thereby precluding any simple explanation for the remaining unexplained arson. Other factors such as insurance, building ownership, and length of occupancy were thought to warrant examination in future research.     

Criminal justice education in the United States: A profile

Various commissions from the Wickersham (1931) to the National Advisory Commission on Higher Education for Police (1978) have called for the upgrading of police educational levels. Junior colleges, colleges and universities have responded by creating a plethora of educational programs. However, currently, little is known about the nature, form, or practice of criminal justice education in the United States. In attempting to fill this void, data from the Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) are presented concerning the number of students, criminal justice majors, and degrees awarded as well as institutional control, location, and type. These previously unpublished data are presented in a primary form (frequency distributions and cross-tabulations) to allow the reader to draw conclusions about the nature and scope of criminal justice education. Brief interpretations, however, are provided.     

When politics becomes play

The ways in which political systems and their members respond to social strains are little understood. When citizens are confronted by unfathomable problems or intense pressures, they often seek to suspend serious activities or escape rigid and alienating roles in order to attain psychological release, mutual involvement, and insights about their lives. Release, involvement, and insight are consequences of a universal human activity called play. People play in order to make room for personal expression in rigid social structures. People play in order to create and maintain the bounds necessary for community. People play in order to generate the novelty, perspective, and invention necessary for social and political change.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1977 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., September 1977.     

Health care report cards: implications for vulnerable patient groups and the organizations providing them care

Standardized public reporting on the quality of health care (report cards) offers an opportunity to empower purchasers and consumers so that they can make choices that can result in better health care for less money. However, not all population subgroups are equally well served by the publication of such data. In particular, vulnerable patient groups such as the poor, the less educated, the chronically sick, and members of ethnic or linguistic minorities may find issues of importance to them largely neglected. In addition, the way that report card data are collected, analyzed, and presented may further marginalize the experiences of these groups who in any case are already underserved by the health system. This observation also has important implications for health care providers who serve primarily large numbers of vulnerable patients. The differential impacts of report card data on vulnerable patient groups (and their providers) need to be addressed by researchers and policy makers if access issues are not to be damaged further by the providers' pursuit of quality and value.     

Archaeology, science and forensic anthropology: a tribute to Dr T. Dale Stewart

The name, T. Dale Stewart is synonymous with physical anthropology. To many members of the physical anthropology section, particularly those born in the latter half of this century, he is perhaps best known for his 1979 Essentials of Forensic Anthropology. Without a doubt, much of the foundation of this discipline rests upon his teachings and influence. Few knew him in the capacity that William M. Bass did, as T. Dale Stewart was a member of Bass doctoral committee. Bass was greatly influenced during the time he spent working with Dr. Stewart in the 1950's and the instruction and guidance Stewart instilled in Bass has and will continue to be passed on to subsequent generations. Research was Dale Stewart's main emphasis and he succeeded in demonstrating the value of investigation and how results were crucial in explaining many of the processes manifest on skeletal material. Clearly his hypothesis-based approach became essential to skeletal biology and numerous procedures and methods employed in the field are synonymous with the teachings of Dr. T. Dale Stewart. By reflecting on several recently completed interdisciplinary research projects, the far-reaching impact of his knowledge and instruction can be demonstrated.