(HKU)Mphil的proposal成功范文一

1、Research Proposal (2): Qualitative orientationCrystal Loh Wai Ying; M. Phil Proposal; Dept. of Sociology, HKU.(I) Proposed Title(II) In troducti on(III) Brief Literature ReviewEnvironmen tal Variables and CrimeRati onal ChoiceCrime Preve nti on Through En vir onment Desig n (CPTED)(IV) MethodologyPa

2、rticipa nt Observati onIn dividual In terviewsCommu nity Observati onAn alysis of Official/Uno fficial Statistic(V) Proposed Research Time-Table(VI) Refere nces(I) Proposed TitleThe Relatio nship betwee n Juven ile Deli nquencyand Environmen tal Variables in New Town, Tue n Mun(II) In troducti onThe

3、 problem of juve nile deli nquency in Tue n Muns new tow n has become more and more alarmi ng in recent years. Accord ing to recent police statistics, the figure of 662 recorded juve nile arrests in Tuen Mun was the highest among all police districts in the territory in the first half of 1996. Such

4、figures raise public concern about the occurrence of juvenile delinquency in the con text of pla nned hous ing in the new tow ns. A nu mber of questi ons arise, such as: Why does Tuen Mun suffer more Juven ile Deli nquency tha n other places? ; Is the environment of Tuen Mun more favorable for Juven

5、ile Delinquency than other places? and How far do the en viro nmen tal features in flue nce the cha nces of deli nquency occurri ng? . Hence, the followi ng hypothesis will be exam ined in my proposed study:The environment of Tuen Muns new tow n in vites and provides more opport un ities for juve ni

6、les to commit deli nquency tha n other new tow ns and urba n areas of HK.I will compare juvenile delinquency in Tuen Muns new town with two other areas in order to make the study more in teresti ng. The first area, also a new tow n, is Tseung Kwan O, which has similar environmental features to Tuen

7、Mun. The second area, Kowloon City, is an urban district and has differe nt characteristics to Tuen Mun.I will employ the environmental perspective in my study in order to attempt to explain the nature of juvenile delinquency. In addition, the related situational crime prevention approach which focu

8、ses on the rational choice of offenders will also be critically used to supplement an un dersta nding of the factors in volved in juve nile deli nquency.The follow ing proposal prese nts the What and How of my study. Using the en vir onmen tal approach to study juvenile delinquency is a novel attemp

9、t in Hong Kong; therefore, I will rely on the ideas and methods developed in the west by, for example, Newman(1972), the Bran tin gham(1990) and Clarke and Felso n(1993).(III) Brief Literature ReviewEn viro nmen tal Variables and CrimeThe work of the pre-world war II Chicago researchers Shaw and Mca

10、y made a major con tributi on to crim ino logy by develop ing the Ecological approach to the un dersta nding of the in teract ion betwee n society and environment in crime causati on. They theorized about social relati ons, urba n social structure and their relati on ship with crime. Their study Juv

11、en ile Deli nquency and Urba n Areas(1942) showed that high crime areas usually straddled the in dustrial zone which was characterized by very high rates of reside ntial turnover and low rates of home own ership. Shaw and McKay expla ined this phe nomenon by the theory of social disorga ni zati on.

12、In short, they argued that differences in delinquency rates between areas was correlated with environmental variables like hous ing con diti ons, demographic stability and eth ni c/social status.Later, a geographer Davids on (1981) tried to give a full expla nati on for the relati on ship betwee n e

13、nvironmental variables and crime. He classified environment into two categories- physical en viro nment and social en viro nment. Physical environment referred to the structure and desig n of an area. For example, parks, leisure groun ds, street patter ns, commercial complexes and cen ters are the b

14、asic components of the physical environment. Social environment referred to a set of con texts which form the basis for social in teract ion outside the home such as school, recreati on and n eighborhood. Davids ons study suggested how both the social and physical environment provide opport un ities

15、 for deli nquency.The latest studies about physical environment and crime by Taylor and Harrell (1996) show how physical features like hous ing desig n or block layout, la nd use, territorial features, and physical deterioration relate to crime risk. My study will attempt to define and examine the p

16、attern of such environmental variables in Tuen Mun, Tseung Kwan O and Kowloon City. Differences in the kinds of environmental factors found in the three study areas may provide hypothetically an explanation for differences in juvenile crime in Hong Kong.Rati onal ChoiceClarke (1983, 1993) has applie

17、d the rational choice perspective to a range of crimes. His studies examined how offenders think about a crime situation and how they choose the most suitable environment and opportunity to operate in or target to select. It suggests that the environmental features of a place will probably affect a

18、potential offenders perceptions about a possible crime site, their evaluations of the likelihood of success and the availability and visibility of guardians. (Clarke, 1983, 1993, Felson, 1994, Taylor and Harrell, 1996) Therefore, my study will explore how juvenile offenders perceive such environment

19、al variables and test whether they commit deli nquency in a rati onal fashi on.A study by Beavon (1984, cited in Fels on ,1994) dem on strated this rati onal choice assumpti on by showing that a shop located in an area with more converging streets suffered more crime than those located elsewhere. Be

20、cause the street junctions and intersections made the offender feel that it was more convenient to access, escape and hide. With this kind of example in mind, my study seeks to find out how similar sorts of environmen tal features in Tuen Mun in flue nce juve nile deli nquents to make this type of r

21、ati onal choice.Crime Preve nti on Through Environment Desig n (CPTED)CPTED studies provide nu merous detailed descripti on and expla nati ons of the relati on ship between crime and place with a view to minimize crime. For example, Jane Jacobs(1961) found a greater tendency for crime to occur in la

22、rge publicly accessible areas created by the n ewer forms of urban planning. She pointed out that the new forms of design broke down many of the traditional controls on criminal behavior, for example, the ability of residents to watch the street and the presence of people using the street both night

23、 and day. She suggested that the lack of natural guardianship in the environment promoted crime. A decade later Oscar Newman (1972, 1980) contributed a seminal work on crime prevention and environment, using such concepts as defensible space, natural surveillance, and community of interest. Concerni

24、ng the relati on ship betwee n the prevale nce or abse nce of guardia nship or surveilla nce and crime occurre nce, my study will exam ine whether the en viro nment of Tue n Muns new tow n provides insufficient natural guardianship compared to Kowloon City which leads to a high delinquency rate.Ano

25、ther major work on environmen tal crim ino logy by Pat and Paul Brantin gham (1990) further developed the con cept of CPTED. The Bran ti nghams suggested that rout ine activity such as the way the pote ntial offen ders live, work or go to school, and en gage in leisure could in flue nce the offender

26、s to search for crime targets. For example, places near McDonalds restaurants and 7-eleve n stores where youths like to gather after school may suffer more property crime tha n other places. Hence, the Bran ti nghams suggested that schools should be kept away from shopp ing malls and convenien ce-st

27、ores so youths do not con gregate at these places after school or at lunch time. Such a cha nge of space or place could reduce some deli nquency such as shoplift ing. My research follow ing the Bran ti nghams suggesti on will exam ine and compare what sorts of places and why they are prone to high j

28、uvenile crime in Tuen Mun.(IV) MethodologyIn order to test the hypothesis of the study and exam ine the main questi ons raised, the follow ing methodology will be employed.Participa nt Observati onParticipa nt observati on with a group of juve nile deli nquents or marginal youths in Tuen Mun will be

29、 carried out. The aim is to collect more qualitative information about their life style and behaviour. Through cautious participation and observation of the juvenile delinquents daily and rout ine activities, I hope to find out how their deli nquent patter ns have bee n in flue need by en viro nmen

30、tal factors. I propose to associate myself with Tue n Muns juve nile deli nquents through the help of the district outreaching social work team. I will ask them to introduce me to their clie nts and rely on a sno wball effect to approach more subjects. This means mak ing friends with one or more cli

31、ents and then asking him/her to introduce their friends to me.In dividual In terviewsIn dividual in terviews by a way of structured questi onn aire will also be used to collect in formatio n about the juve nile deli nquen ts percepti on of the environment. The in terview is especially importa nt for

32、 exam ining questi ons like What kind of environment could en courage juve niles to make the rati onal choice to commit deli nquen cy?. I will also attempt to in terview police officers and security guards about the effectiveness of both natural and official guardianship in these com mun ities.Commu

33、 nity Observati onTo collect in formatio n about the physical features of Tue n Mun, Tseung Kwan O and Kowlo onCity, systematic observations will be carried out. Through several community surveys of the physical sett in gs, I will measure the prevale nee or abse nee of en viro nmen tal features sugg

34、ested by CPTED as significant to crime control. By comparing the physical environment of the three studied areas the differe nt en viro nmen tal in flue nces on the opport un ity for juve nile deli nquency can be gauged.An alysis of Official/Uno fficial StatisticIn order to gain a fuller picture of

35、the situation of juvenile delinquency in Tuen Mun, Tseung Kwan O and Kowloon City, a comprehensive analysis of the official statistics will also be un dertake n. Besides official data, other sources of statistical data produced by age ncies such as District Social Service Center or Youth Committee a

36、nd Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (Crime Victim Survey) will also be used. I will pay especial attention to information about the locati on of juve nile deli nquency and the types of deli nquency committed in particular places.(V) Proposed Research Time-TableSept 1996-Apr 1997 : - Litera

37、ture review-Official con tact with the outreachi ng social work team, RHKPF and other age ncies- Commun ity surveys of the three areas-Desig n the questi onn aires- Collecti on of official and uno fficial statisticMay 1997-Jun 1997 :-Statistical an alysis of crime and place- Fi nd the targets- Commu

38、 nity observati on (Tue n Mun)Jul 1997-Sept 1997 : - Field Work-1st sessi on Participa nt Observati on of Tuen Muns JDOct 1997-Nov 1997 : - Field Work-Community observati on (Kowlo on City and Tseung Kwan O)- In terview the police officersand security guardsDec 1997-Feb 1998 : - Field Work-2nd sessi on Participa nt Observati on of Tuen Muns JDMar 1998-Apr 1998 :-Analysis of the data obtained from the field workMay 1998-Aug 1998 :-Write the Thesis(VI) Refere nces1. Beav on, D.J.(1984) Crime and En viro nmen tal Opport un ity