ABSTRACTThe purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role architecture plays in both causing and ameliorating cycles of crime and punishment. To accomplish this task, the study combines an investigation of historical prison typologies, with an investigation into the philosophical and ethical questions surrounding the practice of imprisonment itself, as well as in depth sociological and criminological studies of the ways in which crime and incarceration affect the health of communities over time. It then employs the tools and conclusions of these studies to investigate the change over time in a singe community in North Memphis, Tennessee from its roots as a thriving, multi-racial industrial hub to a community defined by endemic crime, poverty, and violence and, finally, to suggest a way to improve the health of the community through the prison system itself. The study concludes that the prison system as it currently exists must undergo a fundamental philosophical and physical change in order to actually meet the goals of reducing crime and improving community health for which it was intended. To that end, the thesis suggests a vision of an incarceration facility for a single community in North Memphis that uses architecture as a vehicle to instrumentalize the key emotion that defines imprisonment -- how to escape from it -- in order to reconcile prisoners back to the communities they have offended.

Numerous medical and environmental toxicology studies have established a link between lead (Pb) exposure, crime, and delinquency. In human environments, lead pollution- like crime- is unequally distributed, creating lead hot spots. In spite of this, studies of crime hotspots have routinely focused on traditional sociological predictors of crime, leaving environmental predictors of crime like lead and other neurotoxins relatively unaddressed. This study attends to this gap in the literature by asking a very straightforward research question: Is there a relationship between hotspots of lead and hotspots of crime? Furthermore, what is the nature and extent of this relationship? Lastly, is the distribution of lead across communities relative to race, class, and/or ethnicity? To explore these issues, a series of thirteen research hypotheses are derived based on findings from previous lead and crime studies. To test these research hypotheses, data was collected from the city of Chicago's Community Areas (n = 77) in Cook County, Illinois. Information from a range of secondary sources including the U.S. Census, Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago Police Department, and City of Chicago are merged and analyzed. Cross sectional and longitudinal assessments are conducted, and results from a series of negative binomial regressions, fixed effects negative binomial regressions, and correlations are presented. Findings suggest the association between lead and crime appeared particularly robust with respect to rates of violent index crime, but less so for rates of property index crime. Contrary to what prior research suggests, the association between lead and crime appears stronger for rates of arrests for adult index crimes than rates of arrests for juvenile index crime arrests. This study concludes by discussing theory and policy implications alongside recommendations for future study.

Using data from the Arizona public sex offender registry (SOR) and interview data from 30 registered sex offenders (RSOs), two probation officers, and one homeless shelter worker, this study addresses RSO housing experiences by placing RSOs at the center of the analysis. First, using a framework of social disorganization, I find RSOs are moderately segregated according to the index of dissimilarity, and tend to reside in areas characterized by lower than average median income and higher than average housing vacancies. The presence of RSOs is another indicator of social disorganization for these neighborhoods. Second, I identify issues faced by RSOs as they search for housing and the strategies they use to obtain housing. Commonly used strategies are being upfront and honest, using the assistance of friends and family members, and finding housing through private owners. Third, I assess the extent to which the RSO label operates to deter interactions or serves as the basis of harassment. Findings indicate that the RSO label can limit interactions between RSOs and others living near them. It also motivates avoidance particularly among those living in areas of low and moderate social disorganization. Many RSOs or their co-habitants have also experienced harassment due to the RSO label. These findings are problematic in terms of RSO reintegration. Lastly, I explore RSO assessments of the SOR. Many RSOs indicate concern over whether the SOR makes all RSOs appear the same. I offer a social process model in which I consider the process of labeling, stereotyping, and discrimination along with the potential for those who are stigmatized to seek out a basis to stigmatize others or distance themselves from others they perceive of as worthy of separation. I conclude by offering policy implications that are focused on the needs of communities and RSO reintegration issues.

This thesis investigated the role that local environmental factors play in influencing perceptions of crime and safety across three neighbourhoods within the Region of Peel, Ontario. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with local experts to examine their perceptions of crime and safety, and elements of the built and social environment that may influence these perceptions and identified dimensions of social capital that serve as pathways through which broader environmental determinants of crime and safety can become embedded at the local neighbourhood level. Findings of this research revealed that the perceived relationships between the social and built environment and crime are complex and that dimensions of social capital such as informal social ties serve as a mediator between the environment and perceptions about crime and how perceived and actual crime may be reduced by modifying elements of the built and social environment in order to strengthen local dimensions of social capital.

This thesis investigated the role that local environmental factors play in influencing perceptions of crime and safety across three neighbourhoods within the Region of Peel, Ontario. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with local experts to examine their perceptions of crime and safety, and elements of the built and social environment that may influence these perceptions and identified dimensions of social capital that serve as pathways through which broader environmental determinants of crime and safety can become embedded at the local neighbourhood level. Findings of this research revealed that the perceived relationships between the social and built environment and crime are complex and that dimensions of social capital such as informal social ties serve as a mediator between the environment and perceptions about crime and how perceived and actual crime may be reduced by modifying elements of the built and social environment in order to strengthen local dimensions of social capital.

O município de Chimoio tem registrado nos últimos anos um crescimento demográfico assinalável, resultante do processo de industrialização crescente. Na sequência deste crescimento demográfico, assiste-se, por um lado, uma rápida expansão urbana, caracterizada pelo surgimento brusco de novos bairros residenciais como forma de atender à demanda. Em contrapartida, verifica-se a presença quase constante de comportamentos violentos adversos ao tempo anterior a este crescimento, sobretudo nos seus bairros periféricos. A prática reiterada de casos criminais violentos com recurso a armas brancas (facão) e de fogo nestes municípios torna apreensiva aos poderes governativos e a sociedade civil pelo seu impacto na vida social e econômica, sugerindo debates em nível acadêmico e político no intuito de procurar conter a sua ocorrência. Neste contexto, propusemo-nos entender a distribuição social e espacial da violência criminal, suas motivações e sua relação com os processos de controle social formal e informal fazendo uma análise comparativa com o Brasil. Para analisar a evolução da criminalidade violenta neste município, optou-se pela pesquisa descritiva baseada nas abordagens qualitativa e quantitativa, bem como análise documental, entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação direta. / The municipality of Chimoio has registered in recent years a remarkable demographic growth, resulting from the growing industrialization process. On the one hand, as a result of this demographic growth, there is a rapid urban expansion characterized by the emergence of new residential neighborhoods as a way to meet the demand. On the other hand, there is an almost constant presence of violent behavior adverse to the time before this growth, especially in its peripheral neighborhoods. The repeated practice of violent criminal cases involving the use of firearms in these municipalities makes the government and civil society apprehensive, suggesting debates at academic and political levels in an attempt to contain their occurrence. In this context, we intend to understand the social and spatial distribution of criminal violence, its motivations, as well as its relation with the processes of formal and informal social control. In order to analyze the evolution of violent crime in these municipalities, a descriptive research oriented by qualitative and quantitative approaches was used, based on documentary analysis, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and direct observation.

O município de Chimoio tem registrado nos últimos anos um crescimento demográfico assinalável, resultante do processo de industrialização crescente. Na sequência deste crescimento demográfico, assiste-se, por um lado, uma rápida expansão urbana, caracterizada pelo surgimento brusco de novos bairros residenciais como forma de atender à demanda. Em contrapartida, verifica-se a presença quase constante de comportamentos violentos adversos ao tempo anterior a este crescimento, sobretudo nos seus bairros periféricos. A prática reiterada de casos criminais violentos com recurso a armas brancas (facão) e de fogo nestes municípios torna apreensiva aos poderes governativos e a sociedade civil pelo seu impacto na vida social e econômica, sugerindo debates em nível acadêmico e político no intuito de procurar conter a sua ocorrência. Neste contexto, propusemo-nos entender a distribuição social e espacial da violência criminal, suas motivações e sua relação com os processos de controle social formal e informal fazendo uma análise comparativa com o Brasil. Para analisar a evolução da criminalidade violenta neste município, optou-se pela pesquisa descritiva baseada nas abordagens qualitativa e quantitativa, bem como análise documental, entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação direta. / The municipality of Chimoio has registered in recent years a remarkable demographic growth, resulting from the growing industrialization process. On the one hand, as a result of this demographic growth, there is a rapid urban expansion characterized by the emergence of new residential neighborhoods as a way to meet the demand. On the other hand, there is an almost constant presence of violent behavior adverse to the time before this growth, especially in its peripheral neighborhoods. The repeated practice of violent criminal cases involving the use of firearms in these municipalities makes the government and civil society apprehensive, suggesting debates at academic and political levels in an attempt to contain their occurrence. In this context, we intend to understand the social and spatial distribution of criminal violence, its motivations, as well as its relation with the processes of formal and informal social control. In order to analyze the evolution of violent crime in these municipalities, a descriptive research oriented by qualitative and quantitative approaches was used, based on documentary analysis, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and direct observation.

As escolas de hoje possuem ainda forte herança da revolução industrial, com um viés assistencialista, visando “guardar” as crianças e prepará-las para o mercado de trabalho. No entanto, há escolas que buscam fugir deste modelo, encontrando em seu caminho fortes pressões homogeneizantes, seja de parâmetros curriculares de órgãos governamentais, de pressões mercadológicas e, até mesmo, dos pais de seus alunos. Mesmo existindo tais pressões, algumas escolas ainda desenvolvem a sua autonomia, encontrando práticas de gestão e educação próprias. Essa pesquisa busca olhar estas práticas – que demonstram aspectos de unicidade das escolas –, propondo-se a observar como emerge o novo em um ambiente marcado predominantemente por um pensamento tradicional, burocrático e empresarial. Para embasar esta análise, trazemos alguns elementos teóricos. Em primeiro lugar, discute-se o momento da educação no Brasil, questionando a lógica instrumental predominante a partir das visões de autores como Guerreiro Ramos, Tragtenberg e Prestes Motta. Em seguida, para analisar o surgimento de novas ações e práticas de gestão e educação, nos fizemos valer de autores que se pautam em uma abordagem processual, utilizando, portanto, o conceito de Campo Aberto de Robert Cooper (1976). O autor nos oferece a possibilidade de observar as organizações de forma mais compreensiva, em seus momentos de estrutura e processo, permitindo perceber como se dá a criação do novo. Como se resgatam coisas que estão em sua não forma, no latente, abstratas para o universo concreto, real, a circunstância literal. Isso se dá a partir das crises, rupturas, acasos, modelos abertos de mudança, como crescem e se desenvolvem os projetos de forma natural – da projeção à construção –, ou fazendo um caminho inverso Foi a partir desse subsídio teórico que esse estudo buscou três escolas brasileiras para conhecer e observar: Escola Waldorf Querência, em Porto Alegre – RS; Oga Mitá, no Rio de Janeiro – RJ; e Casa Escola, em Natal – RN. Para a análise de cada uma dessas escolas – que compuseram um estudo de casos múltiplos –, foram utilizados dados secundários a partir de pesquisa documental e dados primários coletados a partir de observação participante, diários de campo, entrevistas abertas e entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas em três períodos: novembro e dezembro de 2016 na Escola Waldorf Querência; fevereiro e março de 2017 na Oga Mitá; e maio de 2017 na Casa Escola. Através da análise dos dados coletados, com o auxílio do software Nvivo, observou-se que as escolas estudadas valorizam o aspecto humano da educação, respeitando a individualidade dos alunos, assim como o cuidado com os profissionais da escola e os familiares dos estudantes. As três escolas mostram-se bastante abertas ao diálogo e à participação – de diferentes formas e intensidades Observou-se, ainda, que as práticas desenvolvidas nestas escolas repercutem na comunidade escolar fazendo com que haja, muitas vezes, uma ressignificação de sua compreensão do que é escola, que passa a ser visto como algo mais amplo e prazeroso. Por fim, ao se analisarem como surgem as práticas inovadoras, percebeu-se que estas escolas não se prendem tanto às imagens prévias e aos padrões, mostrando abertura para a emergência de novas práticas através de momentos de ruptura, crises, acasos, mudanças abertas, dentre outros, em uma clara alternância entre períodos de maior propensão à estrutura e outros que se inclinam ao processo. Ao analisarmos os casos da Querência, Casa Escola e Oga Mitá, percebemos que os novos elementos, práticas e ações que caracterizam estas escolas e as tornam diferentes das instituições que seguem linhas tradicionais, emergem dada sua capacidade de abrir-se à mudança, mantendo espaços de resistência ao mesmo tempo em que equilibram pressões diversas para conformarem-se. / Schools today still possess a great heritage from the industrial revolution, with an assistentialist bias, aiming to “keep” the children and preparing them to the workplace. However, there are schools that aim to escape from such model, finding in their path a great deal of homogenizing pressure, from obligatory curriculums issued by the state, education market and even from parents of students. Even with such pressures, a few schools manage to develop some autonomy, creating their own personal practices of management and education. This research aims to investigate such practices – which demonstrate unique aspects of the schools –, observing how new practices emerge in an environment marked predominantly by a traditional, bureaucratic and business mindset. To base our analysis, we bring different theoretical elements. First, we discuss the moment of education in Brazil, questioning the predominant instrumental logic from the point of view of authors such as Guerreiro Ramos, Maurício Tragtenberg and Prestes Motta. Second, to analyze the emergence of new actions and practices in management and education, we make use of authors that use an approach based on process philosophy, mainly the Open Field concept from Robert Cooper (1976). Cooper offers us the possibility to observe organizations in a more comprehensive manner, in its moments of structure and process, allowing us to perceive the emergence of novel actions and practices; how to rescue things that are still potential, latent, abstract to the concrete, real universe. This happens through crisis, ruptures, chance, open models of change, which grow and develop the projects naturally – from projection to construction –, or making the inverse path. develop the projects naturally – from projection to construction –, or making the inverse path. It was from this theoretical subsidy that this study looked for three Brazilian schools to visit and observe: Querência Waldorf School, in Porto Alegre (RS), Oga Mitá, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), and Casa Escola, in Natal (RN). To analyze each school – as a multiple case study – secondary data was used from documental research and primary data was collected from participant observation, research diaries, and open and semi-structured interviews in the following periods: November and December 2016 at Waldorf Querência; February and March 2017 at Oga Mitá and May of 2017 at Casa Escola. Through analysis of collected data using Nvivo software, it was observed that these schools value the human aspect of education, respecting students’ individuality, and caring for their professionals and the family of the students. The three schools were shown to be very open to dialogue and participation – in different ways and intensities. It was observed, also, that the practices developed in these schools reverberate through the school community creating in many cases a change in the comprehension of what a school is, becoming something broader and more positive Finally, while analyzing how innovative practices emerge, it was perceived that this schools do not fixate excessively in past images and patterns, showing an opening to the emergence of new practices through moments of rupture, crisis, chances, planned open changes, among others, in a clear interchange between moments closer to a structure and others closer to process. When analyzing the cases of Querência, Casa Escola and Oga Mitá, we perceive that new elements, practices and actions that characterize these schools and make them different from more traditional institutions emerge from their capacity to remain open to change, keeping spaces of resistance at the same time in which they balance many pressures to conform.

As escolas de hoje possuem ainda forte herança da revolução industrial, com um viés assistencialista, visando “guardar” as crianças e prepará-las para o mercado de trabalho. No entanto, há escolas que buscam fugir deste modelo, encontrando em seu caminho fortes pressões homogeneizantes, seja de parâmetros curriculares de órgãos governamentais, de pressões mercadológicas e, até mesmo, dos pais de seus alunos. Mesmo existindo tais pressões, algumas escolas ainda desenvolvem a sua autonomia, encontrando práticas de gestão e educação próprias. Essa pesquisa busca olhar estas práticas – que demonstram aspectos de unicidade das escolas –, propondo-se a observar como emerge o novo em um ambiente marcado predominantemente por um pensamento tradicional, burocrático e empresarial. Para embasar esta análise, trazemos alguns elementos teóricos. Em primeiro lugar, discute-se o momento da educação no Brasil, questionando a lógica instrumental predominante a partir das visões de autores como Guerreiro Ramos, Tragtenberg e Prestes Motta. Em seguida, para analisar o surgimento de novas ações e práticas de gestão e educação, nos fizemos valer de autores que se pautam em uma abordagem processual, utilizando, portanto, o conceito de Campo Aberto de Robert Cooper (1976). O autor nos oferece a possibilidade de observar as organizações de forma mais compreensiva, em seus momentos de estrutura e processo, permitindo perceber como se dá a criação do novo. Como se resgatam coisas que estão em sua não forma, no latente, abstratas para o universo concreto, real, a circunstância literal. Isso se dá a partir das crises, rupturas, acasos, modelos abertos de mudança, como crescem e se desenvolvem os projetos de forma natural – da projeção à construção –, ou fazendo um caminho inverso Foi a partir desse subsídio teórico que esse estudo buscou três escolas brasileiras para conhecer e observar: Escola Waldorf Querência, em Porto Alegre – RS; Oga Mitá, no Rio de Janeiro – RJ; e Casa Escola, em Natal – RN. Para a análise de cada uma dessas escolas – que compuseram um estudo de casos múltiplos –, foram utilizados dados secundários a partir de pesquisa documental e dados primários coletados a partir de observação participante, diários de campo, entrevistas abertas e entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas em três períodos: novembro e dezembro de 2016 na Escola Waldorf Querência; fevereiro e março de 2017 na Oga Mitá; e maio de 2017 na Casa Escola. Através da análise dos dados coletados, com o auxílio do software Nvivo, observou-se que as escolas estudadas valorizam o aspecto humano da educação, respeitando a individualidade dos alunos, assim como o cuidado com os profissionais da escola e os familiares dos estudantes. As três escolas mostram-se bastante abertas ao diálogo e à participação – de diferentes formas e intensidades Observou-se, ainda, que as práticas desenvolvidas nestas escolas repercutem na comunidade escolar fazendo com que haja, muitas vezes, uma ressignificação de sua compreensão do que é escola, que passa a ser visto como algo mais amplo e prazeroso. Por fim, ao se analisarem como surgem as práticas inovadoras, percebeu-se que estas escolas não se prendem tanto às imagens prévias e aos padrões, mostrando abertura para a emergência de novas práticas através de momentos de ruptura, crises, acasos, mudanças abertas, dentre outros, em uma clara alternância entre períodos de maior propensão à estrutura e outros que se inclinam ao processo. Ao analisarmos os casos da Querência, Casa Escola e Oga Mitá, percebemos que os novos elementos, práticas e ações que caracterizam estas escolas e as tornam diferentes das instituições que seguem linhas tradicionais, emergem dada sua capacidade de abrir-se à mudança, mantendo espaços de resistência ao mesmo tempo em que equilibram pressões diversas para conformarem-se. / Schools today still possess a great heritage from the industrial revolution, with an assistentialist bias, aiming to “keep” the children and preparing them to the workplace. However, there are schools that aim to escape from such model, finding in their path a great deal of homogenizing pressure, from obligatory curriculums issued by the state, education market and even from parents of students. Even with such pressures, a few schools manage to develop some autonomy, creating their own personal practices of management and education. This research aims to investigate such practices – which demonstrate unique aspects of the schools –, observing how new practices emerge in an environment marked predominantly by a traditional, bureaucratic and business mindset. To base our analysis, we bring different theoretical elements. First, we discuss the moment of education in Brazil, questioning the predominant instrumental logic from the point of view of authors such as Guerreiro Ramos, Maurício Tragtenberg and Prestes Motta. Second, to analyze the emergence of new actions and practices in management and education, we make use of authors that use an approach based on process philosophy, mainly the Open Field concept from Robert Cooper (1976). Cooper offers us the possibility to observe organizations in a more comprehensive manner, in its moments of structure and process, allowing us to perceive the emergence of novel actions and practices; how to rescue things that are still potential, latent, abstract to the concrete, real universe. This happens through crisis, ruptures, chance, open models of change, which grow and develop the projects naturally – from projection to construction –, or making the inverse path. develop the projects naturally – from projection to construction –, or making the inverse path. It was from this theoretical subsidy that this study looked for three Brazilian schools to visit and observe: Querência Waldorf School, in Porto Alegre (RS), Oga Mitá, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), and Casa Escola, in Natal (RN). To analyze each school – as a multiple case study – secondary data was used from documental research and primary data was collected from participant observation, research diaries, and open and semi-structured interviews in the following periods: November and December 2016 at Waldorf Querência; February and March 2017 at Oga Mitá and May of 2017 at Casa Escola. Through analysis of collected data using Nvivo software, it was observed that these schools value the human aspect of education, respecting students’ individuality, and caring for their professionals and the family of the students. The three schools were shown to be very open to dialogue and participation – in different ways and intensities. It was observed, also, that the practices developed in these schools reverberate through the school community creating in many cases a change in the comprehension of what a school is, becoming something broader and more positive Finally, while analyzing how innovative practices emerge, it was perceived that this schools do not fixate excessively in past images and patterns, showing an opening to the emergence of new practices through moments of rupture, crisis, chances, planned open changes, among others, in a clear interchange between moments closer to a structure and others closer to process. When analyzing the cases of Querência, Casa Escola and Oga Mitá, we perceive that new elements, practices and actions that characterize these schools and make them different from more traditional institutions emerge from their capacity to remain open to change, keeping spaces of resistance at the same time in which they balance many pressures to conform.

abstract: Psychological distress occurs at disproportionate rates among minority groups and individuals with lower socioeconomic status. This dissertation focuses on the relationship between living in a disadvantaged neighborhood and distress among Latinos, the formal and informal organizations that mediate the direct and indirect relationship between disadvantage and distress in this population, and the differences of social stress processes based on aspects of Latino social status, linguistic acculturation status, and the percentage of residents in the neighborhood that identify as Latino. This dissertation focuses its investigation on Latinos living in Chicago, specifically asking: In a metropolitan city, can the presence of formal and informal community organizations protect Latinos living in disadvantage neighborhoods from experiencing psychological distress? The findings demonstrate an indirect association between disadvantage and distress though objective disorganization and perception of disorganization. Both the density of community centers and block watch had an indirect protective effect, mediating the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and distress, but did not decrease the indirect effect of disadvantage on distress through objective or perceptions of disorganization. The results of this dissertation suggest that changes to a neighborhood's environment may decrease population rates of distress in disadvantaged neighborhoods. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Social Work 2014