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October Newsletter: Maryland Academy for Innovation in National Security, GTD Training Series

FEATURED RESEARCH

Envisioning the Maryland Academy for Innovation in National Security
Last month, the presidents of the University of Maryland’s College Park and Baltimore campuses announced plans for the Maryland Academy for Innovation in National Security, which will leverage existing national security-relevant capabilities from each university to integrate capacity-building research, workforce development and training efforts, and the opportunity to mentor and recruit the next generation national security professionals. Read more.
 

Using the Global Terrorism Database: START launches online training series
With its first-of-a-kind online training about how to use the Global Terrorism Database, the largest unclassified database on terrorist attacks around the world, START hopes to help improve users’ understanding of the database and ability to analyze the data. The first module focuses on the data collection process, instruction on analytical strengths and weaknesses of large datasets, and an introduction to pivot tables and foundational graphing. Additional training modules will be released over time. Read more.
 

New survey explores Syrian opinions about civil war, radical action, U.S. policy
A new report explores the results from a study surveying Syrians earlier this year about life in Syria, the civil war, justifiability for ISIL, and opinions on U.S. foreign policy, among other topics. Results indicated that while most participants experienced significant hardships since the onset of the war, they did not blame the Assad government for the war. Suicide bombing and support for ISIL received almost no endorsement. Read more.
 
Presentations from START’s annual meeting
Last week, currently funded START researchers from across the country came together to discuss their recently completed and ongoing work. Presentations, linked below, covered topics including:  

Infographic: Temporal sequencing, incident sophistication and terrorist outcomes
A new infographic summarizes findings from recent research on the effects that the length of the planning process, number of participants and number of preparatory behaviors had on the outcome of 504 plots in the United states from 1980-2015. Read more.
 
Fact Sheet: American Deaths in Terrorist Attacks, 1995-2015
START recently updated a fact sheet presenting statistics on the number of terrorist attacks that took place in the United States and related information about deaths of Americans in terrorist attacks to include the most up-to-date information from the Global Terrorism Database. Read more.


DISCUSSION POINT

Potential implications of the attempted coup d’état and counter-coup in Turkey for domestic politics and regional security
In this editorial piece, START Researcher Erin McGrath discusses the ongoing tensions in Turkey and the implications on regional security in the Middle East. Read more

Remembrance: Shimon Peres
The death of former Israeli President Shimon Peres on September 27 marks the end of an era in Middle Eastern politics, diplomacy and peacemaking. START Senior Researcher Peter Weinberger shares a memorable conversation he had with Peres.Read more.


PUBLICATIONS

Guiding Principles for Countering and Displacing Extremist Narratives
Journal of Terrorism Research 
Beutel, Alejandro, and Stevan M. Weine, Aliya Saeed, Aida Spahic Mihajlovic, Andrew Stone, John Oakley Beahrs, Stephan B. Shanfield
 
Popular Uprisings in Turkey: Police culpability and constraints on dialogue-oriented policing in Gezi Park and beyond
European Journal of Criminology
Atak, Kivanc, and Donatella della Porta
 


START NEWS

START Awarded Horizon 2020 Grant from European Union
Later this month, START Director Gary LaFree will travel to Milan to kick off a new project funded by a Horizon 2020 grant from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The grant is the first of its kind to be awarded to START.Read more.
 
START research contributes to radiation safety guide
START research contributed to a new resource for journalists and the general public on maintaining safety during a radiation incident. The guide and infographic were developed as part of the Rotterdam Nuclear Security Workshop, which START’s Steve Sin participated in earlier this year. Read more.
 
Behind the byline: Intern’s article on women and Islam goes viral
After years pondering others’ interpretations, and misinterpretations, about what it meant to be a Muslim woman, START intern Asma Shah recently published a brief – and buzzworthy – article, “5 rights Islam Gave Women before Western Feminism Did.”Read more.
 
Experts address the “blind spot” in extremist web content
This month, the University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) hosted experts from the Center on Religion and Geopolitics at the Tony Blair Faith Foundation at START Headquarters. The researchers presented findings on the accessibility of extremist content through basic search engines such as Google. Read more.
 
Unconventional internship ideally suits a nuclear engineer 
When the Brazilian program Science without Borders offered Thiago Sardo an opportunity to conduct research anywhere in the United States, he began an expansive search that ultimately led him to the Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division at START. Read more.
 
START seeks participants for research project
In order to test the feasibility of using small, portable radiation detectors in large urban settings, START and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will be hosting an all-day event on Sunday, Oct. 23rd, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the National Mall, Washington, D.C. Participants must be U.S. citizens or residents, have a valid form of ID and be affiliated with a University.  State and Federal Government personnel are also welcome. Read more.   
 


START OPPORTUNITIES

JOB: Graduate Education Coordinator Apply now
 
JOB: Unconventional Weapons and Technology Hourly Research Assistant(s)Apply by Oct. 17.
 
Intern at START this spring Apply by Nov. 4.
 
Apply for spring admission to START’s graduate certificate program Apply by Jan. 12.
 
The Terror-Crime Nexus & Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats online course. Register now.
 
Free online short series of video lectures on “Core Capabilities and Potential Durability of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).” View now.
 
START Education Blog featuring opportunities and local events. View now.
 


OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Job Opportunity: Assistant Professor, MSU Criminal Justice and Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Apply by Oct. 14.
 
OSCE Secretariat: Assistant Programme Officer Apply by Oct. 19.
 
Middlebury College: Professor in Terrorism Studies Apply by Oct. 31.
 
Sam Houston State University: Assistant Professor of Security Studies Apply Now.
 
Ocean City Police Department Testing Apply Now.
 


START IN THE NEWS

Maryland Academy for Innovation and National Security
This month, the presidents of the University of Maryland's College Park and Baltimore campuses announced plans for the Maryland Academy for Innovation in National Security at a "Whistle Stop Tour" event at the Greenbelt Metro Station. The announcement was covered by the following outlets, among others:

USA Today: Remembering 9/11 Terror Attacks 15 years later
Data from START’s Global Terrorism Database is mentioned in this piece from the Associated Press and USA Today. Read more.
 
Newsweek: New Yorkers after bombing - resilient or fatigued?
John Horgan and William Braniff are quoted in this piece from Newsweek about the recent and attempted attacks in New York City and New Jersey. Read more.
 
Baltimore Sun: Mental health evaluations key to stopping terrorist attacks
Stevan Weine writes this piece for the Baltimore Sun about using mental health evaluations as a tool to thwart terror attacks. Read more.