scholarly journals Religion and Support for Political Violence among Christians and Muslims in Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 948-979
Author(s):  
Amy Adamczyk ◽  
Gary LaFree
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Political Action ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Action Collective ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Religious Terrorism ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Violent Political Action

Researchers have found consistently that religion reduces criminal behavior. Yet rising levels of political violence are frequently attributed to a new wave of religious terrorism. Our study seeks to reconcile this apparent discrepancy by studying the attitudes of people living in 34 African nations. Using data from the Afrobarometer survey and mixed modeling, we examine the influence of individual and collective religiosity for shaping civic engagement and willingness to engage in political violence. While individual religiosity decreases support for violent political action, collective religiosity increases it. The effects of religiosity are the same for Muslims and Christians and the country religious context minimally affects residents’ civic engagement and interest in violent political behavior. Our study underscores the importance of the theoretical and empirical distinction between individual and collective religiosity and offers insight into how civic engagement can be a pathway through which religion shapes support for political violence.

scholarly journals On the Radical Cusp: Ecoterrorism in the United States, 1998-2005

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Beck
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Political Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Robust Test ◽  
Movement Data ◽  
Exogenous Factors ◽  
Radical Environmentalism

Political action on the cusp between social movements and militancy provides a robust test of universal theories of both collective action and terrorism. In particular, radical environmentalism and the new wave of ecoterrorism in the United States deserve social science consideration as one such radical cusp movement. Data on 84 ecoterrorist events in the United States, 1998-2005, from the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism's Terrorism Incident Database are considered vis-à-vis previous theories to identify possible patterns. A methodology for research on clandestine organizations, the imputation of cells from incident data, is proposed. Analysis suggests that radicalism is a product of social movements and that it diffuses according to exogenous factors, in particular local political climates. Little support is found for theories of continued radicalization in militant movements, but some evidence indicates that a general life cycle of political violence exists.

Cultures of Violence and Acts of Terror

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Mullins ◽  
Joseph K. Young
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Negative Binomial Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Binomial Regression ◽  
Sectional Analysis ◽  
Global Terrorism Database ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Do So

Although uniquely positioned to provide insight into the nature and dynamics of terrorism, overall the field of criminology has seen few empirically focused analyses of this form of political violence. This article seeks to add to the understanding of terror through an exploration of how general levels of violence within a given society influence the probability of political dissidents within that society resorting to terror as a form of political action. Drawing on the legitimation–habituation thesis, the authors explore whether general levels of legitimate and illegitimate violence within a society predict terrorist violence (both internal and external in direction) within that society. To do so, the authors use zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to perform time series cross-sectional analysis on predictors of terrorist events from the Global Terrorism Database. The authors find support for their core hypothesis and provide a discussion of the implications for the findings within their data and for future criminological research on terrorism.

scholarly journals Estimation of the Actual Incidence of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Emergent Hotspots: The Example of Hokkaido, Japan during February–March 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2392
Author(s):  
Andrei R. Akhmetzhanov ◽  
Kenji Mizumoto ◽  
Sung-Mok Jung ◽  
Natalie M. Linton ◽  
Ryosuke Omori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cumulative Incidence ◽  
Surveillance System ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Actual Number ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Actual Incidence

Following the first report of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Sapporo city, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, on 14 February 2020, a surge of cases was observed in Hokkaido during February and March. As of 6 March, 90 cases were diagnosed in Hokkaido. Unfortunately, many infected persons may not have been recognized due to having mild or no symptoms during the initial months of the outbreak. We therefore aimed to predict the actual number of COVID-19 cases in (i) Hokkaido Prefecture and (ii) Sapporo city using data on cases diagnosed outside these areas. Two statistical frameworks involving a balance equation and an extrapolated linear regression model with a negative binomial link were used for deriving both estimates, respectively. The estimated cumulative incidence in Hokkaido as of 27 February was 2,297 cases (95% confidence interval (CI): 382–7091) based on data on travelers outbound from Hokkaido. The cumulative incidence in Sapporo city as of 28 February was estimated at 2233 cases (95% CI: 0–4893) based on the count of confirmed cases within Hokkaido. Both approaches resulted in similar estimates, indicating a higher incidence of infections in Hokkaido than were detected by the surveillance system. This quantification of the gap between detected and estimated cases helped to inform the public health response at the beginning of the pandemic and provided insight into the possible scope of undetected transmission for future assessments.

Does Social Media Engagement Translate to Civic Engagement Offline?

2021 ◽  
pp. 089976402199944
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Piatak ◽  
Ian Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
Using Data

People increasingly engage in politics on social media, but does online engagement translate to offline engagement? Research is mixed with some suggesting how one uses the internet maters. We examine how political engagement on social media corresponds to offline engagement. Using data following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, we find the more politically engaged people are on social media, the more likely they are to engage offline across measures of engagement—formal and informal volunteering, attending local meetings, donating to and working for political campaigns, and voting. Findings offer important nuances across types of civic engagement and generations. Although online engagement corresponds to greater engagement offline in the community and may help narrow generational gaps, this should not be the only means to promote civic participation to ensure all have a voice and an opportunity to help, mobilize, and engage.

Red for Ed Teacher Movements: Exploring Roles and Symbols in the Politics of the Superintendency

2021 ◽  
pp. 0013161X2110344
Author(s):  
Michael A. Szolowicz ◽  
R. Aaron Wisman
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
The United States ◽  
Instructional Leader ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Symbolic Politics ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Embedded Case Study

Purpose: In recent years, a new wave of teacher-led political action has erupted resulting in work stoppages in several states across the United States. This study examines how superintendents navigated this Red for Ed movement in two representative states. Methods: Framed as a multisite, embedded case study, we drew from public documents and semistructured interviews with superintendents. We took a deductive approach to data analysis, seeking analytic generalization to the theoretical frameworks adopted herein. Findings: Red for Ed-motivated teacher job actions did create a political dilemma for superintendents. Superintendents addressed the dilemma by utilizing the roles of business manager, instructional leader, and politician as expressed through symbolic politics including assigning responsibility and vaguely supporting the Red for Ed cause. Superintendent responses are consistent with isomorphic tenants of sociological institutionalism. Implications: Considering the modern superintendency’s political nature, superintendents might benefit from preparation in political strategy and tactics.

Anatomy of a Violent Protest Wave: Understanding the Mechanisms of Escalation and De-Escalation in Far-Right and Anti-Fascist Street Clashes

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-209
Author(s):  
Leanne C. Serbulo
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Event Analysis ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
State Security ◽  
Social Polarization ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract With the rise of right-wing populist ideologies and ensuing social polarization, political violence has become more widespread. Between 2017 and 2019, far-right extremists and anti-fascists engaged in more than twenty violent protest clashes in Portland, Oregon, USA. Through a protest event analysis of those clashes supplemented with a case study of the protest wave, this paper explores how the mechanisms of radicalization and de-radicalization operate when two violent protest movements collide and interact with state security forces. The three-way interaction among a movement, counter-movement, and the police can produce unanticipated outcomes. For example, rather than de-escalating the situation, police underbidding resulted in an increase in violence between the two movements. Understanding how the mechanisms of radicalization and de-radicalization function in a movement/counter-movement protest cycle can provide insight into the ways in which a movement’s strategy and their adversaries’ responses to it can increase or decrease levels of violence.

Identity and memory as resilience: Applications of liberation psychology in a rural Maya Achi community

2022 ◽  
pp. 136346152110673
Author(s):  
Heidi Mitton
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Historical Trauma ◽  
Popular Education ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Liberation Psychology ◽  
The Status ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Collective Resilience ◽  
Insight Into

This study sought to understand interpretations of interconnections between historical trauma, contemporary violence, and resilience in a Maya Achi community currently engaged in promoting peace and social change through popular education. In particular, the ways in which participants drew upon identity and memory in articulating characteristics of community distress and resilience are discussed. The research is informed by liberation psychology and critical perspectives of mental health, particularly considering the challenges inherent in the promotion of collective memory of trauma and resistance in contexts of violence and humanitarian settings. Participant reflections on historical and contemporary violence highlight elements of collective distress, connecting identity and memory with acts of both oppression and resistance. Education and development are signaled as possible sites of resilience but also experienced as sites of power upholding the status quo. Diverse experiences and applications of identity and memory provide insight into the ways in which community organizations working in contexts of political violence might navigate polarizing and paradoxical discourses in order to subvert, co-opt, or adapt to hegemonic cultural, political, and economic power relations in the process of transformation for collective resilience.

scholarly journals Gender Attitudes in Religious Schools: A Comparative Study of Religious and Secular Private Schools in Guatemala

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darin Mather
Keyword(s):  
Private Schools ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Catholic School ◽  
Gender Attitudes ◽  
Religious Schools ◽  
School Students ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Insight Into

This study assesses the effect that private religious schools have on gender attitudes in students. Using data collected from twenty-one private schools in Guatemala, gender attitudes are assessed using latent class analysis. The results indicate that students’ gender attitudes can be categorized into three distinct profiles. These are non-egalitarian, publicly egalitarian, and generally egalitarian. Subsequent analysis reveals that religious schools and specific religious beliefs are correlated with different gender attitude profiles. For instance, Catholic school students are more likely to be generally egalitarian than students in evangelical or secular schools, and biblical literalists are most likely to be publicly egalitarian. Overall, this research highlights the need to develop new conceptual models to provide more accurate and nuanced descriptions of gender attitudes. It also provides new insight into correlations between religious schools and religious beliefs and gender attitudes formation.

scholarly journals Investigation of the genetic variation in ACE2 on the structural recognition by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingyi Guo ◽  
Zhishan Chen ◽  
Yumin Xia ◽  
Weiqiang Lin ◽  
Hongzhi Li
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
The Novel ◽  
S Protein ◽  
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 ◽  
Missense Variants ◽  
Catalytic Metal ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), through its surface spike glycoprotein (S-protein) recognition on the receptor Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in humans. However, it remains unclear how genetic variations in ACE2 may affect its function and structure, and consequently alter the recognition by SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We have systemically characterized missense variants in the gene ACE2 using data from the Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD; N = 141,456). To investigate the putative deleterious role of missense variants, six existing functional prediction tools were applied to evaluate their impact. We further analyzed the structural flexibility of ACE2 and its protein-protein interface with the S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 using our developed Legion Interfaces Analysis (LiAn) program.Results: Here, we characterized a total of 12 ACE2 putative deleterious missense variants. Of those 12 variants, we further showed that p.His378Arg could directly weaken the binding of catalytic metal atom to decrease ACE2 activity and p.Ser19Pro could distort the most important helix to the S-protein. Another seven missense variants may affect secondary structures (i.e. p.Gly211Arg; p.Asp206Gly; p.Arg219Cys; p.Arg219His, p.Lys341Arg, p.Ile468Val, and p.Ser547Cys), whereas p.Ile468Val with AF = 0.01 is only present in Asian.Conclusions: We provide strong evidence of putative deleterious missense variants in ACE2 that are present in specific populations, which could disrupt the function and structure of ACE2. These findings provide novel insight into the genetic variation in ACE2 which may affect the SARS-CoV-2 recognition and infection, and COVID-19 susceptibility and treatment.

scholarly journals Complementary roles of mechanotransduction and inflammation in vascular homeostasis

2021 ◽  
Vol 477 (2245) ◽  
pp. 20200622
Author(s):  
Marcos Latorre ◽  
Bart Spronck ◽  
Jay D. Humphrey
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Vascular Health ◽  
Induced Hypertension ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Vascular Geometry ◽  
Mechanical Homeostasis ◽  
Using Data ◽  
And Function ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Structure Properties

Arteries are exposed to relentless pulsatile haemodynamic loads, but via mechanical homeostasis they tend to maintain near optimal structure, properties and function over long periods in maturity in health. Numerous insults can compromise such homeostatic tendencies, however, resulting in maladaptations or disease. Chronic inflammation can be counted among the detrimental insults experienced by arteries, yet inflammation can also play important homeostatic roles. In this paper, we present a new theoretical model of complementary mechanobiological and immunobiological control of vascular geometry and composition, and thus properties and function. We motivate and illustrate the model using data for aortic remodelling in a common mouse model of induced hypertension. Predictions match the available data well, noting a need for increased data for further parameter refinement. The overall approach and conclusions are general, however, and help to unify two previously disparate literatures, thus leading to deeper insight into the separate and overlapping roles of mechanobiology and immunobiology in vascular health and disease.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document