{"id":7342,"date":"2012-09-21T15:47:12","date_gmt":"2012-09-21T19:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2013-02-05T11:12:42","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T15:12:42","slug":"utc-professor-studies-community-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2012\/09\/utc-professor-studies-community-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC professor studies community problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UTC Center for Applied Social Research (CASR) recently conducted research for the Chattanooga Gang Assessment, a comprehensive community assessment that provides the foundation for a full community approach to gang abatement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUTC\u2019s specific role through the CASR was to conduct the Student and School Component of the Assessment,\u201d according to Dr. Barbara Medley, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of CASR.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis Component included a survey of over 5,000 middle and high school students from 13 schools throughout the county, 800 Hamilton County Schools teachers, administrators, and staff, and nine focus groups with school personnel and parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

UTC\u2019s Center for Applied Social Research (CASR) partnered with the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies to conduct the assessment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision to be part of this project was directly tied to UTC\u2019s mission as an engaged metropolitan university, and in this capacity, its responsibility as an institution is to be responsive to critical community issues such as gangs,\u201d said Medley, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of CASR.<\/p>\n

The Gang Assessment Project was funded by the City of Chattanooga, with additional funding support to UTC from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

Medley described several of the most important recommendations to come from the School Component thus far:<\/p>\n