John M. Stahura

Changing Patterns of Suburban Racial Composition, 1970-1980:

The question addressed by this study is whether or not the increase in black suburbanization during the 1960s, and especially, during the 1970s, has affected the patterns of suburban racial change described for earlier decades. Patterns of suburban racial change during the 1970-1980 decade are examined for a sample of 1,114 American suburbs. It was found that during the 1970s, racial change in suburbs became more prevalent, with invasion-succession emerging as the dominant type of change in northern suburbs. In southern suburbs, invasion-succession and parallel-development (growing) patterns of racial change also occurred with greater relative frequency than in previous decades.

Assessment of Food Safety Risk: A Case Study in Marion County, Indiana

Abstract Food service operations vary in their exposure to food safety risks. The Marion County, Indiana Health Department employs a system of risk assessment in determining the frequency of annual restaurant inspections to obtain an optimal balance between public safety and a maximization of departmental resources. Risk assessment classification criteria currently stem from the Food and Drug Administration Food Code without consideration of restaurant type. The utility of the current system of risk assessment was examined to see if restaurant type should be considered in the process. The analysis revealed significant differences in the number of health inspection violations among restaurant types, supporting the studys proposal. Of note, full-service chain restaurants had more violations than full-service independent operations and cafeterias had a greater number of violations than all other restaurant types combined.

Mitigating social loafing in team-based learning

ABSTRACT Team-based learning (TBL) is becoming increasingly present in higher education hospitality classes. There are many advantages to TBL but instructors should be aware of social loafing, or withholding of individual effort, that is frequently associated with TBL. This paper explores the theoretical accounts of social loafing in a two-stage quasi-experimental study on three undergraduate sections of Organization and Management in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry (HTM 212). Methods of peer evaluation were used to control for the evaluation-potential thought to mitigate social loafing. Evidence was found that evaluation-potential does play a role in reducing social loafing but might be operationalized through fellow team members rather than the instructor, as the literature suggests.

A routine activities approach to suburban arson rates

Cohen and Felsons theory of “routine activities” is evaluated using 1980 arson rate data for 676 American suburbs. Influences of criminal motivation (percent poor, percent unemployed, percent black and percent youth), criminal opportunities (percent old housing, percent multiple housing and the number of commercial/industrial establishments), guardianship (police employment, police expenditure and female labor force participation) and ecological niche (employment concentration and median house value) on suburban arson rates for 1980 are estimated using maximum likelihood (LISREL) techniques. Consistent with the routine activities model, a multiplicative effect of the pre‐conditions for crime on crime rates are also estimated. Motivation, opportunities and guardianship were found to have direct and/or indirect additive effects on arson rates, thus supporting the “routine activities” model. A multiplicative effect of the preconditions of crime was also found.

Crime in the Suburbs A Structural Model

Structural models of suburban violent and property crime rates are developed, utilizing elements of both ecological and criminological theory. The analysis of the models is based on data for 645 suburbs for which official crime data were available. Major findings were: (1) the effects of age composition on crime rates were largely spurious; (2) the per centage of low-income population was a key variable in explaining both violent and property crime rates; (3) percentage of black population had both direct and indirect effects on violent crime rates but no effects on property crime rates; and (4) suburban physical characteristics (size, density, employment/residence ratio, and region) also exerted both direct and indirect effects on crime rates. Implications for the develop ment of ecological and criminological theory are discussed, as are some of the policy implications.

Suburban socioeconomic status change: a comparison of models 1950-1980

An evaluation of 3 models of suburban socioeconomic change--the life cycle persistence and stratification models--is made for post-World War II decades. The basic thesis is that as US metropolitan and fringe growth decline from the peak growth of the 1950s to the reduced growth of the 1970s decade-specific models of suburban change will reflect increasing status persistence. A 2nd thesis is that government plays a role in the status change process. 3 status measures are examined: 1) median income 2) percent white collar and 3) percent completing high school. All US suburbs greater than 10000 in population in 1950 1960 and 1970 are used in the sample. Results show that in every decade the life cycle persistence and stratification models of status change were all empirically supported to some degree. During the 1970s population growth disappeared as a determinant of status change. Functional scope is important in establishing the suburban stratification system: the effects of functional scope and leadership on status change are interpretable as the active role that a subrubs government plays in determining its initial position in the suburban stratification system.

Persistence of Suburban Violent Crime Rates: An Ecological Analysis

Abstract A lagged endogenous variable structural model of 1970 suburban violent crime rates is constructed and evaluated using a sample of 252 large suburbs for which 1960 and 1970 official crime data were available. It was found that suburban crime rates are persistent, that employment specialization and percent low income affect change in violent crime rates, and that suburban age, density, employment specialization, percent low income, percent Black, and region have substantial indirect effects on 1970 crime rates through earlier areal crime rates. Despite theoretical expectations, population growth and age composition exerted no significant direct or indirect effects on violent crime or changes in violent crime rates.

Empowering Individual Effort in Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning techniques have established themselves in higher education for their ability to foster skills relevant to todays business world and to enhance learning outcomes. However, group investigation can become dysfunctional if all individuals do not give full and equal effort, that is known as social loafing. Peer evaluation has been shown to mitigate social loafing but evidence found in this research study refutes these claims. Peer evaluation had no significant effect on social loafing. Instead, certain group-influences and empowerment strategies were shown to significantly reduce social loafing.

The Evolution of Suburban Functional Roles

The persistence of the socioeconomic characteristics of suburban (Farley, 1964) and census tract populations (Duncan and Duncan, 1957; Taeuber and Taeuber, 1965; Guest, 1974) is a confirmed empirical finding in ecological research. It is argued that socioeconomic characteristics persist, in spite of population turnover, since specific areas tend to attract migrants with characteristics quite similar to the resident populations. The physical properties of an area (e.g., types and volume of employment and housing opportunities available) tend to differentially select out suitable replacement populations for the area. Studies dealing with persistence assume that the physical properties of an area that select out replacement populations also persist. Given the results of previous research, the assumption is apparently warranted, but it still remains as an empirical question. Does the functional position of a suburb in a given metropolitan area change and, if so, what are some of the potential

Determinants of Suburban Job Change in Retailing, Wholesaling, Service and Manufacturing Industries: 1960–1972

Abstract The push-pull model of migration (Lee, 1966) is applied to suburban job change for a universe of 574 suburbs for which job data were available in both 1958 and 1972. Change in manufacturing, retailing, wholesaling, and service industries were related in multiple regression analyses to suburban age, density, median income, percent black, unemployment, distance to the central city, and census region. It was found that several suburban characteristics were related to job change, and suburban job concentrations were found to be highly persistent.