Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2003.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Nov. 24, 2009). Advisor: Steven W. Hook. Keywords: proactive foreign policy, the multiple streams model, preexisting solutions. Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-238).

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Maria J. Rasmussen, James A. Russell. Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-62). Also available online.

This study examined how mainstream and black press newspapers framed the phenomena of "racial profiling" three years before and three years after the September 11 terrorist attacks. It looked particularly at frames, ethnic groups, source selection and article emphasis. Results indicate that even in the face of a tragedy, black press reporters did not waiver in their position and continued to cover issues from a "black perspective." On the other hand, mainstream newspapers altered their coverage during the high-stress period and began to portray racial profiling as an anti-Arab/terrorist tactic that is acceptable in some cases. This study helps answer the question of whether black press newspapers are necessary in today's society. The answer is yes. They still carry a unique viewpoint. Until the gap that divides African American and other readers ceases to exist, the black press will remain an important staple in the black community. / text

Not available / text

What are the conditions under which terrorist groups turn to party politics? Under what conditions do political parties turn to terrorism? What types of political groups are more likely to turn to or from terrorism? Answers to these questions provide new insights into explanations for the formation of linkages between political parties and terrorist groups. While political parties and terrorist groups are often differentiated by the tactics they employ, empirical evidence shows that these political groups sometimes shift tactics, making use of violent and nonviolent tactics either concurrently or consecutively. Shifts between violent and nonviolent tactics occur when a political party supports, creates, or becomes a terrorist group and when a terrorist group supports, creates, or becomes a political party. Cases in which terrorist groups turn to party politics have been addressed in the literature, most often in the form of case studies. Less attention has been paid to the more numerous cases of political parties forming linkages with terrorist groups. Both types of tactical shifts are under-studied and under-theorized. This dissertation fills a gap in the largely separate literatures on political parties and terrorism through an analysis of international-, state-, and group-level factors associated with the formation of party-terror linkages and a discussion of the implications of these factors for the construction of a more general theory of political group adaptation. / text

It is very important to study the mental health impact of disasters to provide adequate mental health services when there is an increased demand of mental health services and a concurrent deterioration of mental healthcare capacity after disasters. This study examined the mental health impact of 9/11 attacks among the individuals living close to the disaster area and compared them to the individuals living farther from the disaster area. New York (NY) state and Washington DC were selected as the disaster areas and Illinois (IL) was selected to study individuals living farther from the disaster area. The study also assessed the effects of mental health on risky behaviors such as cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption and how they vary based on age, gender and proximity to the disaster. Ten year Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 1996-2005 was obtained for NY, DC and IL. Significant increase in mental distress was observed in NY and DC but not in IL. Increased use of alcohol was found among DC and NY residents but the increase in IL was not significant. Logistic regression showed that increase in alcohol consumption was not associated with mental health. An overall decrease in cigarette smoking was observed and there was no impact of disaster on smoking rates. Mental distress was much higher among the female respondents as compared to the male respondents. Mental distress was highest among 35- 49 year old respondents as compared to other age groups. In future longitudinal studies should be conducted in order to establish the causal relationship of mental health and risk behaviors such as smoking and alcohol consumption after disasters. Most of the interventions regarding post-disaster mental health focus on PTSD but other mental disorders should also be addressed.

”Terrorism” is a term widely used today. It and its effects are portrayed and discussed innewspapers, in movies, on TV. Seeing as it seems to be present in most media, it appears quite inevitable that terrorism has also found its way into literature. Two examples of novels dealing with terrorism are the American novel Terrorist, written by John Updike in 2006 and Bernard MacLaverty's Northern Irish novel Cal, written in 1983. The novels have their similarities. They share terrorism as a major theme, and both of them have a young man as a protagonist. However, they differ in both time and place. Updike's novel is set in a post-9/11 New Jersey, while Cal takes place in a Northern Ireland divided by The Troubles. Furthermore, Updike's main character is a dedicated Muslim, while the main character of Cal is a not as dedicated Catholic. Indeed, the novels might seem similar at first, but the differences are significant.The perspective to be used in this essay is ethnic. Various theories on terrorism, manipulation and race will be used with said perspective in mind. The aim is to, with the help of relevant theories, examine and analyse the terrorism and its connection to religion and ethnicity in the two novels, in order to compare them and find out whether they portray these things in a different way or not. The question I will be asking, and thus the purpose of this essay, is whether the terrorismand its reasons, organisation – including influence by others – and connection to religion and ethnicity in the two novels mentioned above are similar or not. It is my belief that a comparative analysis of the novels will show that the terrorism and its connection to religion and ethnicity will not be the same in Cal as in Terrorist. One of the reasons for this is that they are set in environments that differ from each other not only geographically and chronologically, but also politically. Thus it seems likely that the reasons for and organisation of the terrorism will differ as well. Another reason is that the characters in Terrorist are more diverse than the ones in Cal, both in terms of religion and ethnicity. General theories dealing with reasons for terrorism, such as Kristopher K. Robison, Edward M. Crenshaw, and Craig J. Jenkins's theory on Islamist terrorism, according to which terrorism performed by Islamists is a reaction to the secular West (p. 2012), and Jeff Victoroff's rational choice theory, which suggests that terrorists are rational (p. 14), will be used to examine whether the characters of the two novels have different reasons for their terrorism or not.The next set of theories that will be used deal with influence, manipulation and brainwashing. Austin T. Turk suggests that a terrorist organisation often isolates its members inorder to ensure that they only have the required knowledge (p. 276), and since this can be used as a tool of manipulation, his theory will be used to examine, and compare, the level of influence and manipulation on the two protagonists. For similar reasons, I. E. Farber, Harry F. Harlow, Louis Jolyon West and Joel Rudinow's theories on manipulation, with and without deception, will be used in the comparative analysis. Finally, racial theories, like the theory of signs, which suggests that people have a tendency to divide others into categories based on their racial differences, along with theories on imperative patriotism and the Arab American stereotype will be used. According to Steven Salaita's imperative patriotism, only those who act and look American can be truly American (p. 154), and Jack G. Shaheen suggests that Arab Americans are, by many, thought to be violent Muslims (p. 23). Furthermore, analysts Mita Banerjee and Pamela Mansutti both suggest that there is in fact a connection between religion and race in Updike's novel (p. 16, p. 108). These theories and ideas will be used to analyse the connection between terrorism, ethnicity and religion, and then to compare the two novels, whereupon a conclusion will be drawn. I believe that this conclusion will indeed confirm my thesis.

While the cannon of objectivity has recently been called into question as the means for evaluating news merit, objectivity continues to harbor public expectation of the news media, especially during times of conflict. Results of past and current objectivity studies of conflict reporting, however, were shown to produce inconsistent and conflicting interpretations of whether the news media is presenting objective coverage of conflicts.To determine objectivity of news coverage, this content analysis examined objectivity differences between three newspapers--the Chicago Tribune, the Indianapolis Star, and the Anderson Herald Bulletin--and how they collectively presented front-page conflict and mainstream straight news stories.The study evaluated the newspapers' collective presentation of the September 11 h terrorist attack for a two-week period from September 12 through September 26, 2001. Presentation of the conflict was compared to a proportionate sample of mainstream straight news stories randomly selected from the months of January through December of 2001.Because the literature review indicated researchers most commonly evaluate news objectivity according to the presence of balance, attribution, or gatekeeping bias, the study assessed differences in objectivity level between conflict and straight news based upon the integration of all three objectivity variables The study's findings suggested that reporting of mainstream straight news was more objective than reporting of the September 11 terrorist attack conflict in the combined three newspapers. Reporting of the terrorist attack was found to be less balanced than reporting of straight news stories, as evidenced by a disproportionate amount of quotations afforded in support of United States war efforts. In addition, conflict stories were found to contain a significantly higher use of negative attributes-non-essential adjectives, inferences, collateral language and non-speech quotes--than straight news stories. Differences between page placement and revelation of theme were found to have no effect on objectivity differences. / Department of Journalism

This study deals with empirical collection and analysis regarding terrorist attacks in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain during the Economic crisis and the effects of the economic crisis on certain types of terrorist groups. The aim of the study is to contribute empirically to the “root causes” debate within Terrorism studies. It also contributes by making certain adjustments to existing categorisation of terrorist groups. The research methods used are both quantitative and qualitative and the research strategy is of a hypothetical-deductive nature. Findings conclude that the Puritanical Anarchist type of terrorism has seen an increase during the crisis, but only the Social Revolutionary type shows a propensity for using the crisis as a reason behind attacks. The study contributes to the barren empirical and theoretical landscape within Root causes.