This critical review focuses on the "Code of the Highway" (COTS) written by Elijah Anderson, an American sociologist. Key themes present in the book will be critically examined in terms of engagement and evaluation in the form of violence. Anderson is one of the nation's leading urban ethnographers and cultural theorists. An ethnographic research study is often a long study used to produce qualitative research. The researcher becomes fully immersed in the lives, cultures, customs and habits within a particular study situation for the ethnographic study. The research was conducted in the field for four years in inner-city ghetto areas and in some areas of Philadelphia, USA. COTS is a follow-up ethnographic work to Elijah Anderson's previous book: 'Streetwise: Race, Class and Change in an Urban Community' (1990). This book was based on two urban communities: one black and poor, the other mixed-race and upper-middle class. His goal was interpersonal violence, particularly towards youth from poor neighborhoods. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayCOFTS focuses on the nature of public life in the inner-city ghetto, particularly public organization. Anderson examines the importance of recognizing and respecting "a code" that citizens adopt when living in their neighborhood. Being "street wise" is a code of civility and a code of conduct that is used for general behavior and daily communications within their communities. It examines what various cities in different countries experience for current people from different socio-economic backgrounds. The author shows the social problems that large communities face, such as poverty, teenage pregnancy, drugs and violence, as well as economic problems, seeking levels of "respect" through universal understanding of the "Highway Code", also known as "rules of life". the earth'. Anderson (1999) separates the “decent” and “street” from predominantly distressed/stressed and violent neighborhoods for the purpose of survival. It also explores how different socio-economic statuses lead to various forms of violence. Anderson (1999) highlights that violence occurs depending on the environment and the difference is explained in the context between those "decent" and "street". The author described "decent" families who raise their children to be goal-oriented with the goal of "building a good life" and "being content with what they have" and encouraged them to pursue roots of education (Anderson, 1999:38). "Decent" people, especially men from inner-city backgrounds, find it easier to "code switch" as their middle-class values ​​allow them to survive within the inner ghetto area. For example, a decent student will hide his books under his jacket while walking to appear "street", as this is not respected in the "street". The “decent” often fear the meaning of COTS while the “street families” (SF) likely invest their values ​​in the code. For this reason, 'SF' often lacks a sense of value towards family and community and consideration for other people. It may therefore increase the likelihood that children will adopt the same values. Anderson describes the 'street' as characterized by 'a fundamental lack of social sophistication and commitment to the norms of civility', often referred to as 'ignorance' (Anderson, 1999: 50). This means that those who come from the "street" understand to resort to violence only in case of small disagreements. The American Sociological Association (ASA) hashighlighted the issue that “individual and group perceptions of violence and its severity are shaped by social change and cultural and social norms about what constitutes unacceptable behavior” (Levine & Rosich 1996: 3). Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1982) ) drew observations on homicide patterns in Philadelphia, from the 'Residence of Juvenile Delinquents in ChicagoA study (Shaw and McKay, 1969) concluded that some areas consider violence more acceptable than others considering the combined complexity of the definition of "violence." , the author predominantly links violence to aggressive behavior in relation to the "ignorance" of "street" families. Albert Banduras' (1977) social learning theory links to Anderson's point that violence does occurs depending on the environment. The theory derives from the conclusions of the "Bobo doll" experiment (Bandora et al., 1961), the study of aggression through the limitation of the aggressive model. The conclusion that the interactions we have with others help shape one's attitudes when interacting with family, friends, teachers and co-workers (Ferguson CJ, 2010). The relationship between the ability to “code switch” and the different set of values ​​between “street” and “decent” shows that the environment can support or oppose violent behavior. Alternatively, a study examining the influence of genetics and evolution on acts of extreme violence and criminality (Ferguson & Beaver, 2009) concludes that the research explains the link with genetic polymorphism to be linked to the genetic risk found in the individual and the conditions of the environment can trigger an increase in extreme violence. The author focuses primarily on COTS and the occurrence of violence in relation to the environment, however he does not address biological theories that can also cause violence. Anderson discusses the different gender roles in relation to violence and COTS within the inner-city ghetto area. . He identified that the “deindustrialization” of Philadelphia has caused devastating effects regarding employment in this area. This problem has led to issues such as teenage pregnancy, welfare dependency and has served as a gateway to the black economy. Crimes such as prostitution, drug dealing, and welfare scams were used to earn money by both men and women. For example, welfare recipient mothers were closely linked to the drug trade, acting as "support staff". This is done by allowing their boyfriends or male relatives to use their homes as “crack houses” or “drug depots” in exchange for money or favors (Anderson, 1999:111). “The Campaign for Respect” (chapter 4) highlights that a person may become “violent or aggressive” to gain “respect” in the inner-city ghetto area and demonstrate their “manliness.” COTS highlights that if one is not a “real man,” he is belittled as a person (Anderson, 1999). Masculine behaviors such as being active, dominant, strong, and intellectual are described as associated with male gender and biological sex. The limitations that inner-city youth can achieve have been blocked and their "survival" instinct has led them to "seek alternative ways to play their masculine roles in their communities" (Newburn, 1995). This supports the authors' reasoning as to why young men gravitate towards the "underground economy" to live up to their masculine roles and "survive". In contrast, feminine characteristics such as being emotional, caring, weak, and submissive are associated with female gender and biological sex. Anderson (1999) focuses on gender roles within the internal ghetto according to iCOTS, but focuses primarily on the male experience of violence in inner cities. Another ethnographic study, “Working 'the Code': On Girls, Gender, and Inner-City Violence” (Jones, 2008) demonstrates that inner-city girls and women face violence just as much as boys and men. The results of the study concluded similarly to Anderson (1999) that men take on a certain level of seriousness and the cause increases anxiety among young men predominantly due to the emphasis of "manliness" on the street. Alternative findings showed the use of potentially life-threatening measures to demonstrate their “virility.” While the young adolescent girls interviewed in this study typically used violence to end disputes rather than using violence to define disputes, the characteristics of being a woman. The theory of 'chivalry' is society's belief in seeing women as 'caring mothers', therefore, when a woman violates their feminine characteristics, i.e. by being aggressive or violent. Violent women are seen as “potentially evil,” so the evil women theory reaffirms the idea that women deserve protection. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ,2015) shows a 6% increase in female convictions along with the increase due to the invasion of TV license fees and the MoJ (2017), showed that on 27/01/2017 there were '3946 women and 81,240 in prison." The remaining 77,292 inmates in prison were men, this justifies why Anderson (1999) focused on the male gender in relation to violence, however the statistics also support Jones (2008) that women also get involved in violent disputes. Robert Merton's (1938) stress theory defined goals of a given society and how the society responds to socially accepted goals. Merton (1938) believed that those who respected the rules of a given society were “conformists” and those who did not were “innovators” – criminals (Ferguson CJ, 2010). The low unemployment rate in the "streets" area of ​​Philadelphia's inner city has led citizens within the society to resort to the underground market and commit crimes such as prostitution, drug dealing, and welfare scams for money. Anderson fails to address other motivations for violence, such as serial killers with the motive of sexual pleasure by torturing victims. Similarly, Merton's (1938) theory has been criticized for not providing a clear explanation of violence since violence is not always defined by a society's goals. COTS highlights that blacks are discriminated against for law-abiding jobs, so this pushes them to resort to illegal jobs. activities such as drug dealing to "survive". Anderson (1999) highlighted the study on employers' hiring strategies, racial prejudices of inner-city workers conducted in Chicago (Kirschenman et al, 1991). They found that many employers greatly preferred white women and immigrants to blacks (Anderson, 1999: 113). The mainstream media glamorises drug dealing and violent behavior through a combination of rap music videos and films and the author believes this encourages young people from this background to participate in the 'lucrative' trade. (Anderson,1999:112). The 'Drug Code' and 'COTS' adopt similar values, therefore the likelihood of violence increases as drug dealing occurs mainly in ghetto areas of urban centres. For example, business disputes are usually resolved on the spot, and angry emotions can easily lead to shooting a person without remorse. The trade is an easily accessible element of the illegal market and has become the.379-386.