Those involved in urban neighborhood and community research with an applied focus will find in this volume a number of useful and practical examples of how to do it. . . . The modesty with which some of the results is presented is refreshing, and the candor with which the authors treat their shortcomings is commendable. Several authors make it quite clear that good research does not necessarily produce the best information for those working to improve the social fabric of urban communities. On the other hand, there is a certain amount of optimism in these essays for those who want to see their research produce positive results in the communities they study. . . . [The] essays are clear and the points are well made and carefully documented. An excellent source of information, research findings, and policy recommendations. Choice

For close to a century, the field of community criminology has examined the causes and consequences of community crime and delinquency rates. Nevertheless, there is still a lot we do not know about the dynamics behind these connections. In this book, Ralph Taylor argues that obstacles to deepening our understanding of community/crime links arise in part because most scholars have overlooked four fundamental concerns: how conceptual frames depend on the geographic units and/or temporal units used; how to establish the meaning of theoretically central ecological empirical indicators; and how to think about the causes and consequences of non-random selection dynamics.

The volume organizes these four conceptual challenges using a common meta-analytic framework. The framework pinpoints critical features of and gaps in current theories about communities and crime, connects these concerns to current debates in both criminology and the philosophy of social science, and sketches the types of theory testing needed in the future if we are to grow our understanding of the causes and consequences of community crime rates. Taylor explains that a common meta-theoretical frame provides a grammar for thinking critically about current theories and simultaneously allows presenting these four topics and their connections in a unified manner. The volume provides an orientation to current and past scholarship in this area by describing three distinct but related community crime sequences involving delinquents, adult offenders, and victims. These sequences highlight community justice dynamics thereby raising questions about frequently used crime indicators in this area of research. A groundbreaking work melding past scholarly practices in criminology with the field's current needs, Community Criminology is an essential work for criminologists.

This book introduces the foundations of multilevel models, using Monopoly(R) rent data, from the classic board game, and the statistical program Stata(R). Widespread experience with the game means many readers have a head start on understanding these models. The small-data set, 132 rent values for 22 properties clustered by the four sides of the playing board, combines with extensive graphical displays of data and results so all readers can see core multilevel ideas in action at a granular level. Two chapters on standard statistical models, one-way analysis of variance and multiple regression, help readers see how multilevel models rely on but also extend these monolevel ideas. Chapters present three basic multilevel models for cross-sectional analyses - analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, and random coefficients regression - and one basic developmental model for longitudinal analyses. Troubleshooting guidance, combined with close examination of data patterns, and careful inspection of model parameters, all help readers better grasp what model results mean, when model results should or should not be trusted, and how model results link back to core theoretical questions. Consequently, readers will develop a sense of best practices for building and diagnosing their own multilevel models. Those who complete the volume can readily apply what they have learned to more complex datasets and models and adapt available online Stata do files to those projects. Any social scientist working with data clustered in time, in space, or in both, and seeking to learn more about how to use, interpret, or teach these models, will find the book useful.

Territorial functioning refers to an interlocked system of sentiments, cognitions, and behaviors that are highly place-specific, and socially and culturally determined and maintaining. In this book, Ralph Taylor explores the consequences of human territorial functioning for individuals, small groups, and the ecological systems in which they operate. His exploration is illuminated by his evolutionary perspective, and grounded in empirical studies by social scientists and in theoretical work on the evolution of social and spatial behaviors. He systematically reviews the related research and theory, and indicates the importance of territorial functioning to current social and environmental problems. Contrary to popular wisdom, he argues that territorial functioning is relevant only to limited locations, such as street blocks, and not to neighborhoods or nation states, and that it reduces conflicts and helps maintain settings and groups. His theoretically focused examination of all that has been discovered about human territorial functioning will interest a wide variety of environmental psychologists and designers, urban sociologists, social psychologists, planners, and ethologists, and their students.