Why would Kansas geography students focus The 7 Deadly Sins?
In their own words here (mp3)
The PhD students produced 7 Deadly Sins maps of the US and Nevada. They seemed to focus on Nevada for some reason. You can look at all the maps here
Here's the only Youtube example I could find, produced by someone with an attitude towards single parenting not shared by this diarist:
Who would have guessed that Kansas State geographers would map out the "evil" hot spots within the USA?
For what purpose?
And most importantly, based on WHAT information?
And why are the most conservative areas the hottest?
You can click here for the Short Version of the Basis for determining each of the 7 Deadly Sins hot spots.
I prefer the students own words:
Methods
1. Sloth was calculated using the total expenditures on arts, entertainment and recreational activities compared to employment per capita. Data was obtained through the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Economic Census: Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Report.
2. Greed was calculated using the total per capita income compared to the number of inhabitants below the poverty line per capita, with data obtained through the U.S. Census Bureau.
3. Envy was calculated using the total number of thefts (Robbery, Burglary, Larceny and Motor Vehicle Thefts) per capita based on data obtain through the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Uniform Crime Report and the National Atlas.
4. Gluttony was calculated using the total number of limited-service eating places per capita and is based on data obtained through the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2002 Economic Census: Food Services and Drinking Places Report.
5. Wrath was calculated using the total number of violent crimes (Murder, Assault and Rape) committed per capita, and is based on data obtained through the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Uniform Crime Report and the National Atlas.
6. Lust was calculated using to the total number of per capita sexually transmitted diseases (HIV, Aids, Syphilis, Chlamydia, and Gonorrhea) based on data obtained through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
7. Pride was calculated as the aggregation of the previous six sins.
If you review their references, you will find that with little exception, the report in the form of geography maps is quite dated and even Catholic.
CONCLUSION:
I accidently found these maps while researching crimes against women information in an effort to see if poverty and rape were related. Needless to say, I was shocked when the Wrath Map appeared and my interest piqued, so I peeked into the report.
And, in light of information many of us here are aware of thanks to dogemperor and the increased anger and militarization of citizens, I don't find these maps helpful in way. In fact, I have concern the maps could be used by some improperly.
That said, it doesn't take a PhD grad to conclude, after reviewing the foundation references used to gather information to produce these maps, that there is little to nothing valid about the maps, with the exception of crime rates.
Here is the opening statement of the 7 Deadly Sins report:
Capital vices, cardinal sins, or more commonly, the seven deadly sins, have been discussed and debated since at least the 4th century, when Evagrius Ponticus, a Roman born monk who relished praise from his peers (vanity), and married women (lust), first wrote of the eight evil thoughts from which all sinful behavior was based.
These evil thoughts; gluttony, fornication, avarice, sorry, anger, discouragement, vainglory, and pride, were later revised in the 6th century by Pope Gregory I to constitute the seven deadly sins; Luxuria (Lust), Gula (Gluttony), Avaritia (Greed), Acedia (Sloth), Ira (Wrath), Invidia (Envy), and Superbia (Pride).
From the 14th century onwards, the notoriety of the deadly sins in popular culture has grown, most notably in Dante Alighieri’s, 14th century masterpiece, the Divine Comedy.
This obsession (gluttony) is seen today within the modern arts, music, television, film, comic books and most recently, video games.
The authors undertook the task of statistically representing the seven deadly sins throughout the U.S. and Nevada to determine what, if any, spatial coincidence occurred.
Each of the deadly sins was given separate treatment based on sociologic and economic characteristics, while pride, the “greatest” and “root” of all sins, was determined to be the aggregation of each sin.
This work represents one of two separate but related works that are meant to be enjoyed consecutively (gluttony).
No other report was found. I think the two are the US and the Nevada reportings.
How does your area look? Sinful?