VIOLENCE IN AMERICA
FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
SPRING 2013
BELOW YOU WILL FIND THE REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR OUR FINAL EXAM
To prepare, I recommend that you draft answers to each study question, using the materials, lectures,
links, and readings assigned since the midterm exam. I am interested in your critical analysis, but be sure
to demonstrate that you have read the materials assigned, including the lectures, materials posted on
website, and films viewed in class. As you look at the questions I list below, you will notice that your
answers require two things: (1) knowledge of the facts needed to answer the question, and (2) critical
thinking skills.
1. Consider the case and circumstances surrounding the sexual assault case against Jerry Sandusky.
After reviewing the report on educator sexual misconduct and review of the film on victim 1,
explain the classic behavior on the part of the perpetrator with his victims. What were the
major findings in the Freeh Report and what responsibility did each of the major players,
(administrators) bear for what happened?
2. Name and explain each of the 4 criminal justice approaches to prevent criminal violence. Which
do you prefer and why?
3. Give at least 4 examples of the myths and explain the corresponding facts regarding sex
offenders.
4. Name and describe the 4 types of workplace violence both in your textbook and the workplace
violence report, which type is most deadly and which one is most frequent in the workplace?
Which is responsible for the term “going postal” and what does that mean?
5. According to Reidel and Welsh, give an example of one of their explanations for school violence
(individual, institutional, and community) and explain fully discussing the corresponding
criminological theory.
6. Explain the Routine Activities Theory and then apply it to one of the violence topics from this
part of the semester and explain why it could be responsible for that type of violence.
7. Fully explain what a hate crime is and name and explain the three major types of hate crime
laws. What are the goals of HCSA?
8. Explain the following theories as they relate to hate crime: Group Conflict Theory, Strain Theory
and Social Learning Theory. Which do you prefer and why?
9. Review the chapter “Killer Cults” from, Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream. Cults are not
always necessarily bad, what is the definition of a cult? What are the characteristics that make a
cult dangerous? Keeping this in mind, explain how one of the following situations unfolded, and
describe what made the cult dangerous. The Manson Family, The Branch Davidians, The
People’s Temple, Fundamentalists Latter Day Saints.
10. Reviewing the Guide for Preventing and Responding to School Violence and your textbook
(chapter 10) explain if and how any of the following school shootings could have been
prevented. Columbine, Virginia Tech, or Northern Illinois University or Sandy Hook Elementary
School.
11. According to Reidel and Welsh there are four types of intervention for domestic violence. Name
the four types and give examples of each. Which one or combination do you believe to be most
effective and why?
12. What are the three broad categories of responses to prison violence and disorder discussed in
the journal article “Myths and Realities of Prison Violence A review of the Evidence”? What do
you think would be most effective?
13. Explain what happened to Jaycee Dugard and the failures of parole and probation agencies
supervising Phillip Garrido.
14. Compare and contrast the Oklahoma City bombing with the most recent bombing of the Boston
Marathon. How are perpetrators Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols similar to Tamerlan and
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev similar and how do they differ? Explain what we know about their
motivations for the bombings.