Math faculty Mary Wood co-presented with her husband Charlie Wood at the International Leadership Association Conference in Brussels, Belgium, October 12-15, 2017.
The presentation focused on regression analysis to try to explain vast differences in murder rates across the United States. Over 100 variables were tested for possible correlation with murder rates. The Woods included variables from broad categories: demographic, population/area/density data, many education, economic status, lifestyle and cultural indicators, family structure, religion, drug and alcohol usage, crime data, gun ownership, laws, and political affiliations.
In their research, the Woods found that the strongest correlation with murder was with single parent homes. Murder rises consistently as the percentage of single parent homes rises. Economic variables such as poverty rates or income gap played a minor role.