An Analysis of the Activities of the Radical Ideological Movement “Columbine” Followers

The paper examines the cases of attacks on schools in Russia, assesses the events that have occurred, and analyzes the activities of school shooters. The symbolism and attributes of Columbine’s followers are given. As part of the study, a content analysis of the Internet information space was carried out, which allowed us to draw certain conclusions on the spread of the radical ideological movement Columbine. Thus, a typical representative of a “Columbine community” is from 14 to 20 years old. Teenagers often pretend to be older in the virtual space and maintain several accounts in the same social network. The formation of a teenager’s personality occurs through the prism of relationships in the reference group. If this self-identification does not occur in the family or school for various reasons, then the minor plunges into the information and network space, where he finds comfort, his interests and views are shared, and he gets support. A teenager gets an impression that he is best understood in death groups, Columbine communities and other destructive associations, and not in the family. The information that these users leave on their personal social network accounts allows us to identify a number of features indicating depression, the presence of pre-suicidal syndrome, aggressive behavior and excessive cruelty. Thus, the following conclusion can be drawn: a typical participant in a Columbine community is an emotionally unstable, driven, complex, secretive, insecure individual. As a rule, there are few or no real photos on the account of a typical Columbine community participant. Sometimes a pseudonym is used instead of the real name: in most cases it is associated with the Columbine cult. In addition, the account of such a teenager contains photo and video content that can be attributed to suicidal themes, excessive cruelty and aggression, and a passion for weapons.

Modeling the Process of School Shooters Radicalization (Russian Case)

Research on radicalization became relevant to the study of terrorism and violent extremism just two decades ago. The accumulated empirical data on terrorism have led researchers and experts to understand that radicalization is a predictor of violent actions by terrorists, violent extremists, and lone actors. Violent incidents committed by school shooters are not terrorist crimes, but there is good reasons for inclusion as terrorist crimes since they have similar mechanisms. The article aims to create a conceptual model of school-shooter radicalization and determine the distinguishing features of the process. The paper presents a theoretical and methodological base of content analysis concepts, political models, and terrorist radicalization on the different levels of study. Based on the content analysis results, we identify the significant gaps in the research field, consider the radicalization phenomenon in detail, substantiated the qualitative aspects of the school shooters radicalization, and propose a conceptual scheme. Psychological, behavioral, cognitive aspects of the school shooters radicalization reflect a holistic picture of the relationship between the process phases and changes in the parameters of the object’s state. The aspects of radicalization and this phenomenon’s qualitative properties are interpreted as the determinants of the conceptual model. The model includes five stages, each of which is considered to be one of the components for the formation and acceptance of the idea of a violent way to solve a problem, but certainly do not act individually as the only component that leads to the actual implementation of the incident of a school shooting. An in-depth study of online social connections and warning signs, mobilization factors, behavioral trajectories, and imitation mechanisms can help scientists understand why school shooters are increasingly motivated to use violent means to achieve personal goals. We have outlined the possibilities and prospects of the model’s application and directions for future research.

Influence of destructive internet content on forming columbine ideas among minors

Modern online culture is causing transformations in the most important spheres of human life, which have both positive and negative impacts. Currently, globalization and rapid growth in the number of Internet users play a significant role in shaping the worldview and socialization of the younger generation. This article reveals the problem of the spread of radical ideas of such a subcultural movement as «Columbine» (school shooting), which is one of the extreme forms of manifestation of destructive behavior. Cases of attacks on educational institutions both in Russia and abroad are considered, an assessment of the events that have taken place is given, the activities of school shooters are analyzed. The authors reveal a number of reasons and factors contributing to the involvement of minors in destructive groups, which subsequently train adherents of «Columbine» from their members. Five stages are analyzed that a potential school shooter goes through, accumulating «deformations»: chronic deformation, uncontrolled deformation, acute stress, planning stage and implementation stage. The psychological aspects of each of them are revealed in details. In the frame of the content analysis of the Internet information space the certain conclusions on the spread of the radical ideological movement «Columbine» are made. Preventive measures are considered, and some recommendations are given to improve their effectiveness.

Mechanics of the Jump Shot: The “Dip” Increases the Accuracy of Elite Basketball Shooters

The present study assessed the mechanics of the basketball jump shot to determine whether or not the “dip” increased shot accuracy. There remained a debate between coaches who believed “dipping” was too slow and coaches who believed “dipping” increased accuracy. A mixed design was used for the present study with elite high-school and university players all performing shots with and without the “dip” at four distances: the last hash mark before the free throw line (3.125 m), the length of an imaginary hash mark beyond the free throw line (4.925 m), the top of the free throw circle (6.025 m), and the three-point line (6.750 m). These distances best emulated where the majority of shots were attempted in a game. Thirty-six athletes completed the study, with accuracy and shot quality being measured using Hardy-Parfitt’s six-point scale. The results of the present study indicated that the “dip” led to approximately a 7–9% increase in accuracy of the jump shot for both high school shooters, and university shooters, suggesting that coaches should begin to teach the “dip” in a player’s shooting motion to improve scoring results.

Pre-Attack Warning Behaviors of 20 Adolescent School Shooters: A Case Study Analysis

This study examines the pre-attack warning behaviors of adolescent school shooters in the US. We conducted 20 case studies of adolescent school shooters in the United States that committed non-fatal or fatal shootings on K-12 school grounds between 1999 and 2016. We investigate whether the school shooters displayed warning behaviors before the attack, who in the perpetrator’s life was aware of these warning behaviors, and what if any actions were taken in response. Given the emergence of online forms of communication, we also investigate how adolescent school shooters may variably communicate warning behaviors in online and offline contexts.

Warning Behaviors

The typology of eight proximal warning behaviors for targeted violence was first introduced a decade ago. Since that time, a number of studies have continued to support its interrater reliability and its criterion, discriminant, and predictive validity. Among the warning behaviors, the three most validated in discriminating between attackers and nonattackers are pathway, identification, and last resort. All of the other warning behaviors—fixation, novel aggression, energy burst, leakage, and directly communicated threat—are found at various frequencies throughout all the samples tested to date, including intimate partner homicide perpetrators, school shooters, adult mass murderers, public figure attackers, and lone actor terrorists.