Tag: criminology

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Houston Matters Weekend for October 1, 2016

Posted on · NASA has quietly been taking crews of four on 713-day missions to explore an asteroid. Ok…well, not exactly. Actually, the asteroid is more like a simulated one located firmly on the ground inside a hangar at Johnson Space Center. Instead of real astronauts, the crews are made up of volunteers. And, instead of 700-day missions, they’re […]

Houston Matters

What Criminology Students Have to Learn from Studying Crime Novels

Posted on · A new class at the University of St. Thomas this fall will focus on the genre of the crime novel. What makes it unusual? It’s required for criminology students. To learn what criminology students have to learn from crime fiction, Michael Hagerty talked with English professor Dr. Connie Michalos, who says real crime tends to […]

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Pre-K Funding, Labels, and Restaurant Weeks: Wednesday’s show (August 3, 2016)

Posted on · Back in 2015, lawmakers set aside some $130 million over two years for some pre-K programs in the state. But did House Bill 4 go far enough? The Austin-based think tank the Center for Public Policy Priorities recently suggested that, while research shows positive results for state-supported pre-K programs, Texas regularly receives low marks for […]

Houston Matters

Convict Cowboys: The Untold History of the Texas Prison Rodeo

Posted on · In 1931, officials at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville started a rodeo for inmates. Intended simply as entertainment for prisoners and employees, it eventually grew to become the largest sporting event in the state of Texas, drawing crowds as large as a hundred thousand in some years. A new book called Convict Cowboys: The […]

Houston Matters

Why Are Murder Rates Up in 2015?

Posted on · Back in March, following a stretch of several murders in just over a day, a sergeant with the Houston Police Department’s homicide division told the Houston Chronicle he was expecting “a heavy summer” for homicides. That comment prompted the Houston Matters team to wonder how much murder rates correspond to the seasons here – are […]