C.C. Thomas
Assessing sex offenders; problems and pitfalls.
Campbell, a family therapist and forensic psychologist, reviews the scientific evidence related to sex offenders in general and in particular, to assessing the recidivism risk of sex offenders. The author contends that, despite the limited, peer-reviewed data related to recidivism risk of sex offenders, many psychologists insist that they can accurately identify risk, and he identifies numerous instances of the misuse and abuse of scientific data. Chapters cover sexually violent person commitment statutes, guided clinical risk assessments, actuarial assessment of recidivism risk, computing classification accuracy, diagnostic classification, treating sex offenders, and ethical considerations. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Disciplines, disasters, and emergency management; the convergence and divergence of concepts, issues and trends from the research literature.
Editor McEntire is affiliated with the U. of North Texas' Department of Public Administration, and several contributors are also affiliated with that institution in a variety of fields including geography, anthropology, aging, and economic development; other contributors from (mostly) US academic institutions and government agencies represent the fields of sociology, criminology, emergency health services, counseling, emergency communications, and urban planning. All are united by a serious professional interest in preparing for disasters. The 24 contributed chapters stride toward an inter-disciplinary effort, which the editor distinguishes in the initial chapter from "multidisciplinary," because the goal is to integrate various perspectives into a coherent approach. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
English syntax; an outline for teachers of English language learners, 3d ed.
Hargis (education, health and human sciences; U. of Tennessee, Knoxville) presents an updated and expanded text for teachers of children learning English as a second language which details explicit knowledge of the syntactic system and the order in which it is learned. The bulk of the text covers the syntactic structures; also included are chapters on structures that are essential to teaching math and science in the elementary school, assessment, and instruction methodologies. Also included is a chapter containing language samples that are analyzed to illustrate the scope of the challenges to teaching English as a second language. Specific revisions from the second to the third edition are not stated. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Gangs and law enforcement; a guide for dealing with gang-related violence.
Combining statistics and experience from the field, Schmidt and O'Reilly, both affiliated with the FBI Cincinnati Citizens' Academy, provide a primer for anyone who needs to learn the customs and codes of the gang world. Chapters cover gangs as a school and community concern, answering community questions about gang issues, the social structure of gangs, law enforcement partnerships against gangs, graffiti, gangs and prisons, community and municipal responses, gang-related sentencing options, and organizing an anti-gang effort. An appendix contains a sample proposal for gang training, with a syllabus, handouts, and quizzes, some based on b&w photos of graffiti. The readership for the book includes police officers, social workers, prison officials, community leaders, and parents of children at risk. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Police suicide; epidemic in blue, 2d ed.
In this work for police officers, administrators, and academic researchers, Violanti, a 23-year police veteran and now an academic researcher in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at State University of New York-Buffalo, clarifies issues related to police suicide, stressing the first step in preventing suicide is to recognize the problem. He discusses classic studies in suicide, the accuracy and validity of statistics on police suicide rates, the impact of retirement, and the plight of survivors of police suicide. Also discussed is the relationship between suicide and police officers' reluctance to seek professional help. The author makes suggestions for prevention, looking at intervention programs and suicide awareness training. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
