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November e-Newsletter available now

FEATURED RESEARCH

 
Terrorists act locally
Like traditional criminals, most terrorists in the United States act locally, with more than a third of terrorists having lived within 30 miles of their target location and nearly half conducting relevant pre-incident activities within the same radius, according to an analysis of the American Terrorism Study database funded through START. Full story…
 
Detecting deception: A primer for studying extremist interviews
A START research team published a synthesis of recent research across various disciplines regarding the identification of deception during interviews. It also discusses recommended tools and techniques to detect deception. Full story…
 


DISCUSSION POINT

Discussion Point: Beyond al-Qaida
Written by Bill Braniff, this START Discussion Point is a special first look at an article that will appear in an Institute for Economics and Peace publication as part of the release of the inaugural Global Terrorism Index. In this article, Braniff discusses the need to understand al-Qaida in context before formulating policy for a threat environment beyond al-Qaida. Full story…
 


START NEWS

 
State Department contracts START to provide terrorism data and analysis
The U.S. Department of State has contracted START to produce the statistical annex for the congressionally mandated report, “Country Reports on Terrorism 2012.” Using the GTD, START will systematically collect, catalogue and report statistical information on terrorist incidents occurring in 2012. Full story…
 
Two previous skeptics of online learning succeed in START’s virtual classroom
Two terrorism analysts thank the innovative format of START’s Graduate Certificate for allowing them to continue working fulltime while going back to school. Suzzette Abbasciano and Shuchi Wadhwa discuss how the program is shaping their professional pursuits. Full story…
 
Researcher Spotlight: Dennis Mileti and the sociology of disaster 
Director Emeritus of the Natural Hazards Center and START Researcher Dennis Mileti might have retired on paper, but he has yet to stop working. In this Q&A, he discusses his career and research and offers some life lessons. Full story…
 
New FAS study assesses global economic impact of actions taken against Iran
Earlier this month, the Federation of American Scientists released the results of a new study that assessed the global economic impact on a variety of conflict scenarios, sanctions and other alternative actions against Iran. START researchers contributed to the project. Full story…
 
Intern tackles competition and challenges head-on
Identifying terrorists by day and training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai by night might sound like a page from an action movie script, but throw in graduate coursework and a severe immune deficiency disorder and it’s a typical week for START intern Leanne Tagle, a student at American University. Full story…
 
START receives DHS Spirit of Excellence Award
The Department of Homeland Security recently awarded Gary LaFree and START the Spirit of Excellence Award for building partnerships across many universities, federal agencies and academic disciplines. Full story…

START honors International GIS Day teaching about Mali conflict
About 100 students from Hyattsville Middle School participated in a simulation hosted by START that examined the geographical and geopolitical background of the conflict in Mali. The students were at the University of Maryland as part of International GIS Day. Full story...
 
Research Roundtable details the patterns of terrorism worldwide 
During a Research Roundtable at START this month, Global Terrorism Database (GTD) Project Manager Erin Miller detailed the patterns of terrorism worldwide using GTD data updated through 2011 and discussed new data collection methods. Full story…
 
START researcher awarded top paper
START’s Stephanie Madden was recently awarded for her paper exploring how documentaries and other forms of narrative from the nonprofit group Invisible Children influenced activists and mobilized support to end violence by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Full story…
 


SIGNIFICANT TERRORISM EVENTS IN THE NEWS

 
Bolivia: Radio personality set on fire while on air 
Fernando Vidal, a journalist known for speaking out against corruption and trafficking, was set ablaze by four masked individuals during his daily radio show. Four people have been arrested, however it is unclear if the attack is related to Vidal’s outspoken opinions on political corruption or trafficking in the region. Full story…

Northern Ireland: New IRA group claims attack on prison guard 
A guard at the high security Maghaberry Prison was shot and killed on his way to work.  While no group initially claimed responsibility, a group calling itself “the IRA” later stated that they had carried out the attack in order “to protect and defend” their imprisoned compatriots. Full story…
 
Kenya: Deadly attack in Nairobi sparks violence throughout the city
A grenade attack on a minibus killed eight people in the Nairobi neighborhood of Eastleigh, which is known as “Little Mogadishu” due to the large Somali population. While al-Shabaab has not claimed responsibility for this attack, authorities suspect it was carried out by sympathizers of the group. Full story…
 
Blunder by Taliban PR spokesperson reveals group’s mailing list 
A Taliban spokesperson accidentally revealed the organization’s mailing list when he sent out a press release. The list included an Afghan warlord, provincial governors, legislators and academics (among others). Full story…
 


EVENTS

 
Webinar Nov. 30: Arabs as Terrorists – Effects of media stereotypes on attitudes, affect and perceptions
Psychologist Muniba Saleem will offer a webinar on "Arabs as Terrorists: Effects of Media Stereotypes on Attitudes, Affect and Perceptions,” at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30. Register now…

Terrorism Studies Minor Information Session: Dec. 3, 7
The Terrorism Studies minor is designed to explore the origins and motivations of terrorism and impacts of the threat of terrorism on both individuals and communities. Register now...
 
Inaugural Global Terrorism Index to be released: Dec. 5
The Institute for Economics and Peace will release the inaugural Global Terrorism Index, based on analysis of data from START’s GTD. The U.S. launch event in Washington, D.C., will be held at the New America Foundation at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5. Register now…
 
Graduate Certificate Information Session: Dec. 6
Those interested in earning a Graduate Certificate through START can learn more about the program through an online information session 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6. Register now...
 


START IN THE NEWS

 
The latest in tracking global terrorism data
In his blog on the Council of Foreign Relations site, Micah Zenko writes about a lecture by START Director Gary LaFree and highlights recent analysis of data in the Global Terrorism Database. Full story…
 
Lessons from Libya
An article in the Las Vegas Sun, references data from START used in an analysis of attacks on American diplomatic targets. Full story…
 
START Fuses Terrorism Research, Education
The Department of Homeland Security's University and Agency Partnership Initiative (UAPI) featured an article on START's top-flight graduate certificate program on terrorism researchFull story…
 

This is a selection of news clips from the past month.
A complete list of START’s media coverage can be found here.

 


JOB OPPORTUNITY
Training and Evaluation Graduate Assistant
START is seeking a graduate student for Winter 2013 to assist with the development of a state-of-the-art risk communication training program. Application information...
 

SUPPORTING START
 
Help Support START Research and Education
The START Consortium is dedicated to generating knowledge of the human causes and consequences of terrorism. Applying rigorous standards to both research and education, START seeks to illuminate one of the most highly politicized and understudied phenomena in the social sciences for students, practitioners, and policy-makers. Funded primarily through research grants to date, START is seeking to generate an endowment that will provide the flexibility and autonomy to ensure that it can continue to serve as an objective source of data and empirically based analysis into the future.  To donate, or for more information, please click here.