Examining the Role of Religion in Radicalization to Violent Islamist Extremism

In this article, the authors apply the four-phase radicalization model proposed by Silber and Bhatt ¹ 1. M. Silber and A. Bhatt, Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat (New York: New York City Police Department, 2007). Available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/downloads/pdf/public_information/NYPD_Report-Radicalization_in_the_West.pdf (accessed 19 December 2011). to a case study of Australia's first convicted terrorist, Jack Roche, based on communication with Roche after his incarceration and on a qualitative analysis of his trial. In doing so, they examine the validity of the four-phase model to a case of “home grown” terrorism and dissect the role of religion in the radicalization process. To conclude, the authors find that religion plays a far lesser role in radicalization toward violent extremism than the policy response contends and this has implications for counterterrorism programs that aim to address the drivers of violent extremism.     

Decisive Measures

While China is progressing in its battle against the novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19),China and the Chinese people are being stigmatized in some parts of the world.Some Chinese and Asians are being discriminated against,harassed and even physically assaulted in some countries.These behaviors are contemptible,as China is making huge sacrifices to guarantee people’s health and safety and prevent the epidemic from spreading outside.     

Responsive regulation in public‐private partnerships: Between deterrence and persuasion

Design‐Build‐Finance‐Maintain‐Operate (DBFMO) contracts are a particular type of public‐private partnership whereby governments transfer the responsibility for the design, construction, financing, maintenance, and operation of a public infrastructure or utility service building to a multi‐headed private consortium through a long‐term performance contract. These arrangements present a typical principal‐agent problem because they incorporate a “carrot and stick” approach in which the agent (consortium) has to fulfill the expectations of the principal (procurer). This article deals with a neglected aspect in the literature related to the actual use of “the sticks or sanctions” in DBFMOs and assesses to what extent and under which conditions contract managers adopt a deterrence‐based enforcement approach or switch to a persuasion‐based approach, specifically when the contract clauses require the use of (automatic) deterrence. An empirical analysis of four DBFMOs in the Netherlands shows that the continuation of service delivery, the need to build trust, and the lack of agreement on output specifications play a role in the willingness of the procurer to apply a more responsive behavior that uses persuasion, even when deterrence should be automatically applied. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd     

Two six-shot suicides in close geographic and temporal proximity

Two six-shot suicides are reported that occurred in adjoining counties in Ohio eleven-and-one-half weeks apart. There is no indication of any connection between victims, and it is doubtful that the second individual knew of the first death since there was no news media coverage of the first death. The most significant points of commonality between the two cases are the location of the gunshot wounds (anterior chest and upper abdomen) and the responses of disbelief from those outside the medicolegal professions. Knowledge of such cases with a high number of shots and more than one fatal wound can assist death investigators in confronting similar cases.     

Establishment of a group classification of isolated cells using anti-A and anti-B monoclonal antibodies

Anti-A and anti-B monoclonal antibodies may be used for determination of ABO system A and B antigens in mixed agglutination reaction. The authors suggested a variant of this reaction which ensures reliability of antigen detection in cells of people of secretor state. Investigation of mixed traces (liquid salivary part and buccal epithelium cells) showed that three-fold washing of cells couldn't provide for reliable identification of their blood group.