Part 1:
The various ways of measuring juvenile delinquency comprise of official data, self-report data, and victim data. Official statistics contain data from the FBI and the UCR. Official data comprise of incidences that have been reported and recorded by the police, arrests of persons, and consequent subjection to the judicial system. UCR expresses data in three ways; crime rate per 100000 people, percentage changes between years of computation, and the number of incidences reported to the police in raw figures. Criticism around official statistics highlights involuntary data collection, citizen willingness to inform police of crimes, and variation in reported data which does not imply changing trends of criminal behavior. Victimization reports and self-reports are essential ways of measuring juvenile delinquency because they uncover concealed information around misconduct and often complement each other (“Measuring Delinquency”). Criticism for the self-reports highlights the possibility of memory and distortion challenges, as well as inaccuracies in recording the incidences of delinquency.
Part II:
This URL link, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mccain-bin-laden-photo/ provides an excellent example of fake news. This information is available at Snopes.com and includes a doctored photograph that purports the close association of terrorist Osama Bin Laden and former presidential candidate John McCain. This piece of information raises suspicion because it emerges shortly after the death of former Arizona’s senator in August 2018. The picture has been used widely on conspiracy forums and social media sites to tarnish the legacy of the deceased lawmaker (Evon). The increase in fake news can be associated with the unlimited access and growth of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, among others that allow anyone to post and share information globally. Complications around the development of social media include unverified sources of information, which leads to falsified details (“How To Spot Real And Fake News – Critically Appraising Information”). However, people can adopt several strategies to help separate fiction from truth. Developing a critical mind enables one to challenge the authenticity of specific information; alternatively, people can consider investigating the news source and who else is sharing the story. However, it requires on to be extra keen as promoters of fake news often create alternative pages that resemble reliable mother websites.
Part III:
Plagiarism has been a long-standing concern for most teachers. Plagiarism in online classes is even more common where students plagiarize other learners’ works and assignments. Plagiarism occurs when learners’ copy and paste information from internet sources without the appropriate citation. It mainly occurs when students share information with other learners or purchase assignments from online sources (Scotto). Reducing the incidences of learners’ plagiarizing assignment, institutions can introduce plagiarism policies. A plagiarism policy is useful in that it creates awareness among learners, and provides the learner to raise concerns based on their responses to the instructors as well as faculties. Reviewing citations is also crucial in preventing plagiarism.
Response to Violence and Media
Part 1
Increasing national crime rate during the 1990s led to the change of public opinion of the perpetrators of criminal activities. Juvenile offenders were branded vicious super predators, which painted juveniles as increasingly unpredictable and the juvenile penal system inadequate. This trend caused the lawmakers to review the crime prevention and intervention approaches on state and federal levels. Juvenile offenders became subject to more punitive punishment as opposed to previous approaches to rehabilitation. Teenage crime rates recorded the highest percentage ever in 1996 and have since been fluctuating. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency identifies that there was a general decline in juvenile offenders since 1996 all way to 2016. Violent crimes that comprise robbery, rape, aggravated assault, and murder have recorded significant drops. However, in 2016, the involvement of juveniles in violent crime slightly increased. Non-violent crime and property crime offenses rates indicate a similar trend over the same period (Services)
Part 2
Albert Bandura proposes the theory of social learning and mostly agrees with behaviorist learning theorists of classical conditioning and operant conditioning; he introduces new concepts of mediating processes that occur between stimulus and responses (Mcleod). Further, he presents the idea that behavior is learned from the environment through observational learning. Children learn by observing the people around them and the way they behave. The proliferation of digital media and increased access can have powerful influences in developing value systems and shaping the behavior of children who spent three to four hours on average glued to the screen. Unfortunately, much of the televised contents display violence, which may cause children to be insensitive to violence. Gradually, children begin to accept abuse as a way of resolving conflict as illustrated on television programs. Children tend to associate with certain film characters and may influence the behavioral, emotional and learning developments negatively.
Works Cited
Evon, Dan. “FACT CHECK: Does This Photograph Show John Mccain With Osama Bin Laden?”. Snopes.Com, 2019, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mccain-bin-laden-photo/. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
“How To Spot Real And Fake News – Critically Appraising Information.” Mindtools.Com, 2019, https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/fake-news.htm. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
Mcleod, Saul. “Albert Bandura | Social Learning Theory | Simply Psychology.” Simplypsychology.Org, 2016, https://www.simplypsychology.org/bandura.html. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
“Measuring Delinquency.” Www3.Dbu.Edu, https://www3.dbu.edu/jeanhumphreys/juvenile/2measuring.htm. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
Scotto, Jaclyn `. “Identifying & Preventing Plagiarism In Online Learning | Study.Com.” Study.Com, 2019, https://study.com/academy/lesson/identifying-preventing-plagiarism-in-online-learning.html. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.
Services, MST. “Trends In Juvenile Crime”. Info.Mstservices.Com, 2018, http://info.mstservices.com/blog/trends-in-juvenile-crime. Accessed 3 Apr 2019.