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START Newsletter: US beliefs before, after Boston bombings; Terrorist targeting of civilians; Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis

 

FEATURED RESEARCH

START study examines US attitudes, beliefs before and after the Boston Marathon bombings
Public attitudes toward terrorism and government responses to it are fairly stable, even in the face of a highly publicized terrorist event, according to a new START study. Among its findings: after the Boston Marathon Bombings, Americans assigned higher probabilities to attacks occurring in the United States, but not to their communities. Read more.
 
New study: Community ties impact terrorist groups’ targeting of civilians
New START research shows terrorist groups that are embedded into the society around them may choose tactics that compromise the group’s strategic or ideological priorities in order to avoid alienating local communities. Read more.

Research Highlight: Understanding Lone-Actor Terrorism -- A Comparative Analysis with Violent Hate Crimes and Group-based Terrorism
Summarizing a report released earlier this fall, this research highlight examines the characteristics of the 101 lone-actor terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States between 1992 and 2010 and compares them with the violent hate crimes and group-based terrorist attacks that occurred during the same period. Read more.
 
Background Report: Boko Haram and Ansaru (Issued Nov. 16). Read more.

Fact Sheet: Armed Assault at LAX (Issued Nov. 1). Read more.
 


DISCUSSION POINT

 
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Methodological Advancements in Data Collection and Coding: Insights from the GTD
In this editorial piece, Michael Jensen describes methodological improvements in data collection and their benefits, while also describing unforeseen challenges in ensuring data remain accurate and consistent in light of these advancements. Read more.
 


PUBLICATIONS

 
Seeing is believing: communication modality, anger, and support for action on behalf of out-groups
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Glasford, Demis E.
 
Practice Parameter on Disaster Preparedness
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Pfefferbaum, Betty, and Shaw, Jon A.
 
Fencing in Warfare: Threats, Punishment, and Intra-war Deterrence in Counterterrorism
Security Studies
Wilner, Alex
 


START NEWS

 
START research informs MEMA workshop
START’s Dr. Elizabeth Petrun recently presented findings from the Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC) Program during a workshop hosted by the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. Read more.
 
Researcher Spotlight: Dr. Jun Zhuang
Growing up in Nanjing, China, Dr. Jun Zhuang envisioned himself as a professor at a young age, but it wasn’t until he was working through his doctoral program that he began to apply his mathematical and engineering background to the study of terrorism. Read more.
 
START student aspires to serve her country
Though she’s still taking classes as a Global Terrorism minor student, one day, Briana Guerrero hopes to serve her country as a director of a counterterrorism department within the CIA, FBI or Department of State. Read more.
 
Registration Deadline: Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis
Interested students have until Jan. 15 to apply for START’s fully online, open enrollment Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis. The yearlong program will begin in March 2014 and provides both scholars and practitioners with advanced education on the causes, dynamics and impacts of international and domestic terrorism. An information session will be held online 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 9. Read more.
 
START announces online summer courses on terrorist finance, hostage taking
This summer, START will offer two fully online summer courses on niche areas of terrorism studies: terrorist finance and the methods employed to counter terrorist finance; and hostage taking and assassinations as they relate to terrorism. Read more.
 
Share how you use the GTD
In an effort to better understand the strengths and limitations of the GTD in practice, START would like to learn more about how the GTD informs your work. Please visit the GTD Contact Page and select "How I use the GTD" from the Action menu to share some details about how the GTD has worked for you.
 


SIGNIFICANT TERRORISM EVENTS IN THE NEWS
Lebanon: Twin explosions at Iranian embassy kill dozens
Two suicide bombers detonated in Beiruit after attempting to enter the Iranian embassy, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 145 others. Read more.
 
Congo: M23 ends insurgency, leaves DRC
Following a string of defeats at the hands of the Congolese army, M23 – one of the most feared rebel groups in the country – has declared the end of its insurgency. Read more.
 
Pakistan: TTP names new leader, ‘Mullah Radio’ to take charge
Following the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a United States drone strike Nov. 1, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has named Mullah Fazlullah as the group’s new emir. Read more.
 
United States of America: Hactivist sentenced to 10 years for cyber attacks
Jeremy Hammond, a computer hacker tied to the Anonymous group, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for cyberattacks on both government agencies and businesses. Read more.

 


OPPORTUNITIES
START OPPORTUNITIES

Job Opportunity: START Assistant Director of Administrative Services.
Apply by Nov. 26.

Job Opportunity: Junior Researcher, Global Terrorism Database.
Apply by Dec. 1.

Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis.
Apply by Jan. 15.

Free online course on “Understanding Terrorism and the Terrorist Threat.”
Register by Jan. 26.
 
START’s Global Terrorism Minor Program.
Apply by Feb. 21.
 
Nominate a peer-reviewed article that makes an outstanding contribution.
Submit by May 15.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Proposals: Kanishka Project Contribution Program on countering terrorism.
Submit by Nov. 29.
 
Combating Terrorism Center at West Point Call for Papers: Cadet/Student Conference on Terrorism, Insurgency, Cyber and Asymmetric Conflicts.”
Submit by Dec. 13.
 
CFR 2014-15 Stanton Nuclear Security Fellowship.
Apply by Dec. 16.
 
CFR 2014-15 International Affairs Fellowships in Nuclear Security.
Apply by Jan. 17.
 


EVENTS

 
“Countering Terrorism in Britain and France,” Frank Foley
Online, 11 a.m. Dec. 3. Register here.
 
Information Session: Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis.
Online, 8 p.m., Monday, Dec. 9. Register now by emailing Jackie DeVore at jldevore@umd.edu to receive a link to participate.
 
Global Terrorism Minor Program information session
START Headquarters, 3 p.m. Dec. 6. And 5 p.m. Dec. 12. Register now.
 


START IN THE NEWS

 
'The Role of Terrorism in Syria's Civil War'
RAND's Brian Michael Jenkins cites START data in recent Congressional Testimony on Syria. Read more.

Peaceful protest is much more effective than violence for toppling dictators
This Washington Post article features the Ted Talk of Erica Chenoweth, “The Success of Nonviolent Civil Resistance.” Read and watch more.
 
NSA call-record program is prudence, not prying
This San Francisco Chronicle op-ed written by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, cites data from START’s Global Terrorism Database. Read more.
 
Local police begin surveillance of social media
START Director Gary LaFree is interviewed in this NBC broadcast news story about how policing tactics have been adapted to include monitoring social media. Read and watch more.

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

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.

Copyright © 2013 The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), All rights reserved.