Marked by both deep interconnectedness and polarization, the contemporary media system in the United States features news outlets and social media that are bound together, yet deeply divided along partisan lines. This article formally analyzes communication flows surrounding mass shootings in the hybrid and polarized U.S. media system. We begin by integrating media system literature with agenda setting and news framing theories and then conduct automated text analysis and time series modeling. After accounting for exogenous event characteristics, results show that (a) sympathy and gun control discourses on Twitter preceded news framing of gun policy more than the other way around, and (b) conservatives on Twitter and conservative media reacted to progressive discourse on Twitter, without their progressive counterparts exhibiting a similar reactiveness. Such results shed light on the influence of social media on political communication flows and confirm an asymmetry in the ways partisan media ecosystems respond to social events.
Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”The essay takes the 2014 book Kontaminierte Landschaften [Contaminated Landscapes] by the Austrian journalist and writer Martin Pollack as an opportunity to explore relationships between landscapes, (marked) places, and memory. In considering the relationship between the metaphorical (literary) image of contaminated landscapes and the actual crime scenes, I focus on the mass shootings of Jews by the German Nazis and their local supporters in the former Soviet Union. These specific crime scenes are used to explore the limits of Pollack’s metaphor and the problems it causes. The central arguments are presented using concrete examples provided by seven photographs.Widzieć historię w teraźniejszości. Refleksje nad pojęciem „skażonych krajobrazów”W artykule książka Skażone krajobrazy (2014) austriackiego dziennikarza i pisarza Martina Pollacka staje się punktem wyjścia do badania związków między krajobrazami, (naznaczonymi) miejscami i pamięcią. Relacje między metaforycznym (literackim) obrazem skażonych krajobrazów a realnymi miejscami zbrodni rozważam na przykładzie masowych rozstrzelań Żydów dokonanych w byłym Związku Radzieckim przez niemieckich nazistów i ich miejscowych stronników. Te konkretne miejsca zbrodni pomagają zbadać granice zastosowania metafory Pollacka i powodowane przez nią problemy. Najważniejsze wnioski zaprezentowałam na konkretnych przykładach siedmiu fotografii.
Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”The essay takes the 2014 book Kontaminierte Landschaften [Contaminated Landscapes] by the Austrian journalist and writer Martin Pollack as an opportunity to explore relationships between landscapes, (marked) places, and memory. In considering the relationship between the metaphorical (literary) image of contaminated landscapes and the actual crime scenes, I focus on the mass shootings of Jews by the German Nazis and their local supporters in the former Soviet Union. These specific crime scenes are used to explore the limits of Pollack’s metaphor and the problems it causes. The central arguments are presented using concrete examples provided by seven photographs. Widzieć historię w teraźniejszości. Refleksje nad pojęciem „skażonych krajobrazów”W artykule książka Skażone krajobrazy (2014) austriackiego dziennikarza i pisarza Martina Pollacka staje się punktem wyjścia do badania związków między krajobrazami, (naznaczonymi) miejscami i pamięcią. Relacje między metaforycznym (literackim) obrazem skażonych krajobrazów a realnymi miejscami zbrodni rozważam na przykładzie masowych rozstrzelań Żydów dokonanych w byłym Związku Radzieckim przez niemieckich nazistów i ich miejscowych stronników. Te konkretne miejsca zbrodni pomagają zbadać granice zastosowania metafory Pollacka i powodowane przez nią problemy. Najważniejsze wnioski zaprezentowałam na konkretnych przykładach siedmiu fotografii.
Introduction Firearm-related violence occupies the third leading age-adjusted mortality rate among all mechanisms of injury. We aim to analyze the distribution of mass shootings in relation to the distance to the nearest public/private school in the United States. Methods A retrospective study investigating mass shootings and proximity to school areas. Information regarding mass shootings was obtained from the Gun Violence Archive. The locations of public/private schools for the 2019-2020 school year were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Euclidian distance from a mass shooting to the nearest school was measured. Results There were 417 mass shootings in 2019 and 610 in 2020. The average distance from a mass shooting to the nearest public/private school was 0.52 miles in 2019 and 0.57 miles in 2020. Most mass shootings occurred within 0.30 miles of a school in 2019 and 0.40 miles in 2020. There was no significant association between average distance of a mass shooting to a public/private school and the population density in 2019 ( P = .313) or 2020 ( P = .351). Conclusion The growing number of mass shootings from 2019-2020 was associated with an average distance of <0.60 miles from the location of a mass shooting to a public or private school, highlighting the danger posed to children living and learning in these areas. Mass shootings are prevalent throughout the country and the close proximity of these events to places of learning warrants further investigation into policies and preventive measures aimed at preventing gun violence occurring near schools.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide mental health practitioners with a framework for conceptualizing individuals who may be at risk of targeted violence, mass shootings in particular.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the lens of the Path to Intended Violence model, a non-experimental descriptive design was chosen to explore the characteristics and behaviors of perpetrators who had engaged in mental health treatment within six months before their attacks.
Findings
The perpetrators in this study demonstrated behaviors included in each of the stages of the Path to Intended Violence model. Thus, it may be important for practitioners to be familiar with this model, especially the earlier stages, to potentially identify and intervene with individuals who may be at risk of committing mass violence.
Originality/value
This paper highlights how the Path to Intended Violence model can provide practitioners with a framework for identifying progressive warning signs in patients and how to take action to stop them from continuing their journey toward violence.
Die Geschichte in der Gegenwart sehen. Überlegungen zum Begriff der „kontaminierten Landschaften“ [Seeing History in the Present: Reflections on the Concept of “Contaminated Landscapes”]