So we watched this video in class today, and other than getting a nice Jersey Shore vibe at 8AM (have their 15 minutes run out yet?), it poses a valuable sociological question: what factors come into play when you decide whether or not to stop a theft in progress? We took today to analyze the problem and discuss all the variables that might cause people to step in or not: whether the victim was a hottie or nottie, whether the victim was normal or a wackadoo, whether the victim was social or stayed to herself. Other variables come into play as well, such as value of the stolen item, the age of the victim, and where the theft takes place. We're going to take some time in class tomorrow to discuss how we can test the hypotheses that you all wrote in class today and partake in some research design (which would probably please Emile Durkheim if he were still around today). One of the ways you can collect data is through a survey you create on a website called http://www.polleverywhere.com/. By using everyone's favorite piece of technology (the cellphone) you can place your poll directly on your Facebook page or blog and have your friends respond. I've attached my survey here for you guys to check out, and reply to if you want. There are many other ways to gather data, and we'll come up with them in class tomorrow, then the world is yours to sociologically mess with :)
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