Skinhead culture: the ideologies,mythologies, religions and conspiracy theories of racist skinheads

ABSTRACT

Groups of racist skinheads now constitute a significant element of the global radical right. The British youth subculture of the late 1960s has thus been transformed into a worldwide social movement, the violent cutting-edge of white supremacist resistance to multiculturalism. Pollard examines the historical development of the racist skinhead phenomenon and, in particular, analyses the origins, nature and development of the ideas that inspire it: the foundational myth; ‘skinhead, a way of life’; Odinism or paganism; the skinhead as victim; skinheads as a vanguard of white, male, working-class revolutionaries; National Socialism and antisemitism; and, above all, racialism.     

Cross-sectoral strategies in global sustainability governance: towards a nexus approach

The recent shift from the Millennium Development Goals to the much broader Sustainable Development Goals has given further impetus to the debate on the nexus between the multiple sectors of policy-making that the Goals are to cover. The key message in this debate is that different domains—for instance, water, energy and food—are interconnected and can thus not be effectively resolved unless they are addressed as being fully interrelated and interdependent. Yet while this overall narrative is forcefully supported in the new UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that are the main part of this agenda, many Goals still remain sectoral in their basic outlook. This now requires, we argue, a new focus in both policy and research on the nexus between different Sustainable Development Goals, especially with a view to reforms in the overall institutional setting that is required to sufficiently support such a nexus approach. This article thus examines the nexus approach in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and identifies multiple avenues for its institutionalisation in global governance.     

Dental age in Central Poland

Precise evaluation of the developmental stage of a child is an integral part of both diagnosis and treatment of pediatric patients; it is also essential in forensic medicine and dentistry. Among radiological methods for dental age estimation in children the Demirjian's method is widely used, however original standards elaborated for the French-Canadian population are mostly not suitable for other populations. The aim of the study was to compare the dental age of children from the region of Mazovia (Central Poland) with the developmental standards presented by Demirjian, to analyse sexual dimorphism of dental age in the studied group and to estimate validity of the Demirjian's standards for the studied Polish population. The material consisted of clinical files and panoramic X-ray images of 994 children aged from 6 to 16 in good general health, without development impairments. Chronological ages of the patients were established. Next dental ages were estimated by means of the Demirjian method based on developmental maturity of seven left mandibular permanent teeth. It was found that the standards were significantly different from the chronological ages in the studied population, which means that dental development was considerably accelerated. The most significant acceleration was observed in girls aged 11 and 12, as well as in 13-year-old boys; in both groups a considerable acceleration of the dental age was seen in 6-year-olds. No statistically significant differences between dental ages of girls and boys were observed in particular age groups. There were devised gender-specific equations allowing for adaptation of original Demirjian's scores for estimation of dental age in the population of Mazovia (Central Poland). In conclusion, the developmental standards used by Demirjian are not suitable in the case of the population of children of Central Poland. Therefore, it is necessary to establish new tables for this population.     

Domestic Predation of an Elder: A Fatal Dog Attack Case

We present the case of a 91‐year‐old woman lived alone at her home with two domestic dogs, that is,, a Labrador Retriever and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and found dead. The investigation of the scene revealed that the Bull Terrier's jawbone and chest were covered with blood. The autopsy revealed multiple, histologically confirmed, life‐threatening skin and bone lacerations without scavenging marks. The punctures and tearing of each of the wounds on the skin were compatible with bites. A left humeral fracture and multiple fractures of the right facial bones were observed. The death was attributed to external hemorrhages due to several dog bites. A veterinary physical and behavioral examination indicated that the Bull Terrier was involved in the attack. A domestic predation hypothesis was deemed here most likely due to the presence of food supplies at the scene, the dog's previous history of attack, and the breed of the dog.     

The Sustainable Development Goals and REDD+: assessing institutional interactions and the pursuit of synergies

This paper analyzes potential synergies between two recent sustainable development initiatives, namely the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), a climate mitigation mechanism negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The paper elaborates a conceptual framework based on institutional interactions and distinguishes core, complementary, and supplementary synergies that may be realized between the SDGs and REDD+. Potential synergies are analyzed at the global level, as well as within two national-level contexts: Indonesia, with its long-standing REDD+ programme, and Myanmar, which is in the early stages of implementing REDD+. Both are now also engaging nationally with the SDG implementation process. Our research draws on literature review and document analysis, direct observations of global policy processes relating to REDD+ and SDGs, as well as extensive engagement (of one author) at national level in Indonesia and Myanmar. Our analysis reveals that there are currently significant opportunities to pursue synergies in the implementation of these international initiatives at the national level, although pro-active interaction management is necessary, especially to achieve complementary synergies.     

Lone‐actor Terrorism and Impulsivity

In some recent cases of lone‐actor terrorism, there is evidence the subject acted impulsively, often in response to a triggering event which contained a loss and humiliation. Evidence suggests the subjects acted precipitously, despite planning and preparation carried out in the preceding weeks or months, and their attacks failed to include the often considerable preparation that had been done. The pathway became a runway. The authors recommend the traditional assessment of impulsivity in persons of concern for lone acts of terrorism, as well as other proximal warning behaviors for targeted violence. Both indirect and direct assessment guidelines are proposed, with an emphasis upon self‐report, psychological testing, collateral data gathering, and historical records.     

Postmodern Cinema and Hollywood Culture in an Age of Corporate Colonization

Postmodern cinema has emerged in the 1980s and 1990s as a powerfully creative force in Hollywood filmmaking, reflecting and helping to shape the historic convergence of media culture, technology, and consumerism. It corresponds to the post-Fordist, globalized phase of capitalist development typified by increasing class polarization, social atomization, urban chaos and violence, ecological crisis, and mass depoliticization. Departing from the modernist cultural tradition grounded in the Enlightenment, norms of industrial society, and faith in historical progress, postmodern cinema is characterized by disjointed narratives, a dark view of the human condition, images of chaos and random violence, death of the hero, emphasis on technique over content, and dystopic views of the future. While postmodern directors such as Woody Allen, Oliver Stone, Robert Altman, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, Mike Figgis, and John Waters produce films that are often highly original and even subversive, their departure from conventional Hollywood formulas and motifs that define the studio system - their pronounced cultural radicalism - is rarely associated with any sort of political radicalism even where a harsh social critique might be visible. Postmodern cinema helps reproduce the very popular mood of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and cynicism that it mirrors in the general society.     

The Estonian way of deinstitutionalisation. Experiences from an ethnographic research in SOS Children’s Village

This study provides insight into change processes of child residential care as depicted by ethnographic research on Estonian SOS Children’s Villages (SOS CV). Through the analysis of daily life in substitute homes, this study aimed to gain an in-depth and contextualised understanding of this deinstitutionalisation process. The changing approach of SOS CVs from institutional village-life-based to community-based approaches where nonbiological children are raised is discussed. The interpretation of said changes as deinstitutionalisation and their complicated nature is outlined. The latter is attributed to the divergent effects of activities. The findings ultimately lead to the conclusion that such change processes result in both challenges and difficulties to the Estonian substitute care system.     

A Closer Look at an Eye for an Eye: Laypersons’ Punishment Decisions Are Primarily Driven by Retributive Motives

According to recent research on laypersons’ punitive attitudes people’s sentencing decisions are primarily driven by a desire for retribution. The research designed to test this notion, however, can be criticized for suffering from several limitations. Three online-based studies were conducted with samples from Western Europe with the aim of replicating the findings of Carlsmith (J Exp Soc Psychol 42:437–451, 2006) in which participants’ punishment motives were inferred from their behavior in a process tracing task. In the present research, this approach was adopted and modified in order to provide a more conservative test for the notion that people mainly care about retribution. Although these modifications strongly influenced the overall pattern of results, retribution still was the most important punishment motive in all three studies.