Misogynistic Extremism: A Scoping Review.

In recent years, the concept of "misogynistic extremism" has emerged as a subject of interest among scholars, governments, law enforcement personnel, and the media. Yet a consistent understanding of how misogynistic extremism is defined and conceptualized has not yet emerged. Varying epistemological orientations may contribute to the current conceptual muddle of this topic, reflecting long-standing and on-going challenges with the conceptualization of its individual components. To address the potential impact of misogynistic extremism (i.e., violent attacks), a more precise understanding of what this phenomenon entails is needed. To summarize the existing knowledge base on the nature of misogynistic extremism, this scoping review analyzed publications within English-language peer-reviewed and gray literature sources. Seven electronic databases and citation indexes were systematically searched using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist and charted using the 2020 PRISMA flow diagram. Inclusion criteria included English peer-reviewed articles and relevant gray literature publications, which contained the term "misogynistic extremism" and other closely related terms. No date restrictions were imposed. The search strategy initially yielded 475 publications. After exclusion of ineligible articles, 40 publications remained for synthesis. We found that misogynistic extremism is most frequently conceptualized in the context of misogynistic incels, male supremacism, far-right extremism, terrorism, and the black pill ideology. Policy recommendations include increased education among law enforcement and Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism experts on male supremacist violence and encouraging legal and educational mechanisms to bolster gender equality. Violence stemming from misogynistic worldviews must be addressed by directly acknowledging and challenging socially embedded systems of oppression such as white supremacy and cisheteropatriarchy.

Arrests and convictions but not sentence length deter terrorism in 28 European Union member states.

While countries differ in how they handle terrorism, criminal justice systems in Europe and elsewhere treat terrorism similar to other crime, with police, prosecutors, judges, courts and penal systems carrying out similar functions of investigations, apprehension, charging, convicting and overseeing punishments, respectively. We address a dearth of research on potential deterrent effects against terrorism by analysing data on terrorism offending, arrests, charges, convictions and sentencing over 16 years in 28 European Union member states. Applying both count and dynamic panel data models across multiple specifications, we find that increased probability of apprehension and punishment demonstrate an inverse relationship with terrorism offending, while the rate of charged individuals is associated with a small increase in terrorism. The results for sentence length are less clear but also indicate potential backlash effects. These findings unveil overlaps between crime and terrorism in terms of deterrent effects and have implications for both the research agenda and policy discussion.

[Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals to Extremism and Treatment Options]. / Einstellung von Fachkräften aus den Heilberufen zum Thema Extremismus und zu Behandlungsoptionen.

OBJECTIVE: In view of the cruelty of acts of terrorism and violent extremism, it is often inconceivable what the underlying motives are. Analyzes of the attacks in Ansbach (2016), Halle (2019) and Hanau (2020) showed a picture of different psychological conspicuities among the perpetrators, which highlights the need to involve health care professionals in the prevention of extremism. Against this background, the treatment of people with extremist attitudes appears to be crucial in order to prevent negative consequences for those affected, but also for society. METHODS: Within the framework of an anonymous online survey, physicians and psychological psychotherapists were asked about previous experiences, attitudes and wishes regarding the treatment of patients with extremist attitudes. Furthermore, data on their own work was collected. RESULTS: A total of 364 physicians (18%), psychological psychotherapists (72%) and participants with other job descriptions (10%) took part in the study. Only one fifth state that they felt well trained in the subject. About half of the respondents would offer a place in therapy (if they could decide on the patients themselves), likewise about half have already dealt with the topic of extremism and the majority see a need to deal with the topic more in the future and indicate a need for further training. The analyses show that physicians have so far dealt with the topic somewhat more than those with psychological psychotherapeutic training, and professionals in private practive are more likely to see a connection between extremism and psychiatric illnesses than professionals in hospitals, but would be less willing to offer patients with extremist attitudes a place in therapy. DISCUSSION: Physicians and psychotherapists need further training on extremisms and should be better prepared fo the challenges of treating patients in this context. CONCLUSION: In order to increase the chances of providing adequate care for mentally ill people with extremist attitutdes, health professionals should be better prepared for the topic in the future, for example through further training or opportunities for cooperation.

Why Is It so Difficult to Investigate Violent Radicalization?

Imagine that you are a researcher interested in disentangling the underlying mechanisms that motivate certain individuals to self-sacrifice for a group or an ideology. Now, visualize that you are one of a few privileged that have the possibility of interviewing people who have been involved in some of the most dramatic terrorist attacks in history. What should you do? Most investigations focused on terrorism do not include empirical data and just a handful of fortunate have made face-to-face interviews with these individuals. Therefore, we might conclude that most experts in the field have not directly met the challenge of experiencing studying violent radicalization in person. As members of a research team who have talked with individuals under risk of radicalization, current, and former terrorists, our main goal with this manuscript is to synopsize a series of ten potential barriers that those interested in the subject might find when making fieldwork, and alternatives to solve them. If all the efforts made by investigators could save the life of a potential victim, prevent an individual from becoming radicalized, or make him/her decide to abandon the violence associated with terrorism, all our work will have been worthwhile.

Injury modelling for strategic planning in protecting the national infrastructure from terrorist explosive events.

Terrorist events in the form of explosive devices have occurred and remain a threat currently to the population and the infrastructure of many nations worldwide. Injuries occur from a combination of a blast wave, energised fragments, blunt trauma and burns. The relative preponderance of each injury mechanism is dependent on the type of device, distance to targets, population density and the surrounding environment, such as an enclosed space, to name but a few. One method of primary prevention of such injuries is by modification of the environment in which the explosion occurs, such as modifying population density and the design of enclosed spaces. The Human Injury Predictor (HIP) tool is a computational model which was developed to predict the pattern of injuries following an explosion with the goal to inform national injury prevention strategies from terrorist attacks. HIP currently uses algorithms to predict the effects from primary and secondary blast and allows the geometry of buildings to be incorporated. It has been validated using clinical data from the '7/7' terrorist attacks in London and the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist event. Although the tool can be used readily, it will benefit from further development to refine injury representation, validate injury scoring and enable the prediction of triage states. The tool can assist both in the design of future buildings and methods of transport, as well as the situation of critical emergency services required in the response following a terrorist explosive event. The aim of this paper is to describe the HIP tool in its current version and provide a roadmap for optimising its utility in the future for the protection of national infrastructure and the population.

Preparing railway stakeholders against CBRNe threats through better cooperation with security practitioners.

This paper presents partial results from the Horizon2020 PROACTIVE project, following a set of literature reviews and surveys conducted with first responder organisations and rail security experts. Qualitative and quantitative data from two surveys are being presented. The results provide an overview of the CBRNe (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and explosive) preparedness and response capabilities of railway stakeholders and how these relate to a wider context represented by CBRNe first responders. The results highlight a set of challenges as well as five core skills that railway staff need to develop or improve: 1) understand the specific characteristics of the CBRNe threat, 2) develop basic response measures, 3) cooperate with authorities and train with specialised first responders, 4) improve public awareness about this threat, and 5) optimise crisis communication. In line with these, project PROACTIVE will further help update rail crisis management plans with practical recommendations concerning the CBRNe threat.

Deterrence against Terrorist Attacks in Sports-Mega Events: A Method to Identify the Optimal Portfolio of Defensive Countermeasures.

Sports mega-events, such as the Olympic Games or the Super Bowl, are attractive targets for terrorist organizations, due to their visibility, size, and number of people involved. Two characteristics of sports mega-events, however, make them distinctive in comparison with other well-studied target protection problems in counterterrorism analysis (such as transportation hubs or infrastructure facilities). First, defensive measures are often publicly known. Second, their finite horizon means that deterrence against any attack must be prioritized. In this article we thus propose a method that identifies the best portfolio of defensive measures the defense may adopt, given a fixed budget, to minimize the chances of suffering a terrorist attack during a sports mega-event. The method makes some relevant contributions to adversarial risk analysis: (i) it represents attackers that can choose among multiple attack scenarios and the no-attack scenario; (ii) it measures the deterrence effect caused by synergic portfolios of defensive measures; and (iii) it proposes an algorithm that identifies dominated portfolios and may, thus, overcome the scalability problems inherent to this portfolio optimization. We apply this method to a real-world defense problem, revisiting the defensive countermeasure planning for the 2016 Brazilian Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the case study, we find a nonlinear relationship between budget expenditure and deterrence, as well as a decreasing marginal effectiveness use of resources after a given budget threshold, which would support a more efficient allocation of investments in the Games defense.

Terrorism in China and the Emerging Needs for Counter- Terrorism Medicine Following a Decade of Deaths and Injuries.

BACKGROUND: China is ranked 42nd on the Global Terrorism Index (2019), a scoring system of terrorist activities. While China has a relatively low terrorism risk, events globally have wide-ranging repercussions for future attacks, putting first responders and emergency health workers at risk. This study aims to provide the epidemiological context for the past decade detailing the unique injury types responders are likely to encounter and to develop training programs utilizing these data. METHODS: The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all attacks in China between the years 2008-2018. Attacks met inclusion criteria if they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD's Codebook. Ambiguous events, as defined by the GTD's Codebook, were excluded. English language grey literature was searched to ensure no events meeting these criteria were missed. A focused search of online English language newspaper articles was also performed for any terrorist events between 2008-2018. RESULTS: One-hundred and eight terrorist events occurred in the study time period. Of the 108 incidents, forty-seven (43.5%) involved Explosives/Bombs/Dynamite (E/B/D) only, with an average fatality count of 2.9 and injury count of 7.5 per event. Twenty-seven (25.0%) used bladed or blunt weapons in melees with an average fatality count of 9.7 and an injury count of 8.8 per event. Five (4.6%) involved incendiary weapons with an average fatality count of 2.4 and an injury count of 7.2 per event. Two used only chemical weapons (1.8%) with no recorded deaths and an injury count of 27.0 per event. Two events had unknown weapon types (1.8%) with one recorded death and no injury count. One event used a firearm (0.9%) and led to one death and no injuries. One event used a vehicle (0.9%), which also led to one death and no recorded injuries. Twenty-three attacks used a mix of weapons (21.2%) with an average fatality count of 17.1 and an injury count of 12.0 per event. CONCLUSIONS: One-hundred and eight terrorist attacks were recorded between 2008-2018 on Chinese soil using well-understood modalities. This resulted in a total of 809 recorded fatalities with 956 non-fatal injuries. The most commonly chosen methodology was E/B/D, followed by melees and the use of bladed weapons. Three events individually recorded a combined casualty toll of over 100 people.

Terrorism in Australia: A Decade of Escalating Deaths and Injuries Supporting the Need for Counter-Terrorism Medicine.

BACKGROUND: Australia is ranked 71st on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI; 2019), a scoring system of terrorist activities. While it has a relatively low terrorist risk, events globally have wide-ranging repercussions putting first responders and emergency health workers at risk. Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) is rapidly emerging as a sub-specialty needed to address these threats on the front line. This study aims to provide the epidemiological context for the past decade, detailing the unique injury types responders are likely to encounter, and to develop training programs utilizing these data. METHODS: The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all attacks in Australia from the years 2009-2019. Attacks met inclusion criteria if they fulfilled the following terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD. Ambiguous events were excluded when there was uncertainty as to whether the incident met all of the criteria for inclusion as a GTD terrorist incident. The grey literature was reviewed, and each event was cross-matched with reputable international and national newspaper sources online to confirm or add details regarding weapon type used, and whenever available, details of victim and perpetrator fatalities and injuries. RESULTS: Thirty-seven terrorist events occurred in the study time period. Of the thirty-seven incidents, twenty-six (70.2%) involved incendiary weapons, five (13.5%) involved firearms, four (10.8%) involved melee (bladed weapon/knife) attacks, two (5.4%) were explosive/bombing/dynamite attacks, and one (2.7%) was a mixed attack using both incendiary and melee weapons. All except one firearms-related incident (four out of five) resulted in either a fatality or injury or both. Every melee incident resulted in either a fatality or injury or both. CONCLUSIONS: In the decade from 2009 to 2019, terrorist attacks on Australian soil have been manageable, small-scale incidents with well-understood modalities. Eleven fatalities and fourteen injuries were sustained as a result of terrorist events during that period. Incendiary weapons were the most commonly chosen methodology, followed by firearms, bladed weapons, and explosive/bombings/dynamite attacks.

[Preventing radicalisation: The example of a youth centre]. / Prévenir la radicalisation : l'exemple d'une maison des adolescents.

The maison des adolescents du Cher has been identified by the State to intervene at the local level to prevent the radicalisation of young people, as part of a collaborative work with other actors. This ambitious scheme questions the relationships and mobilisation of the various authorities and institutional structures. It poses an interesting challenge in terms of the implementation of intervention methods while respecting individual freedoms and protecting the population.

[Preventing radicalisation with the necessary involvement of all]. / Prévenir la radicalisation avec la nécessaire implication de tous.

As a recent public policy, the prevention of radicalisation has been built in response to an evolving phenomenon. The implementation of tools for reporting and monitoring people undergoing radicalisation will begin in 2014. Although there is no standard profile of radicalised people, the target group for these systems is mainly young people, adults or minors. In terms of prevention of radicalisation, care covers a broad spectrum of interventions and professionals.

Preparing for a "dirty bomb" attack: the optimum mix of medical countermeasure resources.

BACKGROUND: In radiological emergencies with radionuclide incorporation, decorporation treatment is particularly effective if started early. Treating all people potentially contaminated ("urgent treatment") may require large antidote stockpiles. An efficacious way to reduce antidote requirements is by using radioactivity screening equipment. We analyzed the suitability of such equipment for triage purposes and determined the most efficient mix of screening units and antidote daily doses. METHODS: The committed effective doses corresponding to activities within the detection limits of monitoring portals and mobile whole-body counters were used to assess their usefulness as triage tools. To determine the optimal resource mix, we departed from a large-scale scenario (60,000 victims) and based on purchase prices of antidotes and screening equipment in Germany, we calculated efficiencies of different combinations of medical countermeasure resources by data envelopment analysis. Cost-effectiveness was expressed as the costs per life year saved and compared to risk reduction opportunities in other sectors of society as well as the values of a statistical life. RESULTS: Monitoring portals are adequate instruments for a sensitive triage after cesium-137 exposure with a high screening throughput. For the detection of americium-241 whole-body counters with a lower daily screening capacity per unit are needed. Assuming that 1% of the potentially contaminated patients actually need decorporation treatment, an efficient resource mix includes 6 monitoring portals and 25 mobile whole-body counters. The optimum mix depends on price discounts and in particular the fraction of victims actually needing treatment. The cost-effectiveness of preparedness for a "dirty bomb" attack is less than for common health care, but costs for a life year saved are less than for many risk-reduction interventions in the environmental sector. CONCLUSION: To achieve economic efficiency a high daily screening capacity is of major importance to substantially decrease the required amount of antidote doses. Among the determinants of the number of equipment units needed, the fraction of the potentially contaminated victims that actually needs treatment is the most difficult to assess. Judging cost-effectiveness of the preparedness for "dirty bomb" attacks is an issue of principle that must be dealt with by political leaders.

Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response in Poland: Prevention, Surveillance, and Mitigation Planning.

OBJECTIVES: Biological weapons are one of the oldest weapons of mass destruction used by man. Their use has not only determined the outcome of battles, but also influenced the fate of entire civilizations. Although the use of biological weapons agents in a terrorist attack is currently unlikely, all services responsible for the surveillance and removal of epidemiological threats must have clear guidelines and emergency response plans. METHODS: In the face of the numerous threats appearing in the world, it has become necessary to put the main emphasis on modernizing, securing, and maintaining structures in the field of medicine which are prepared for unforeseen crises and situations related to the use of biological agents. RESULTS: This article presents Poland's current preparation to take action in the event of a bioterrorist threat. The study presents both the military aspect and procedures for dealing with contamination. CONCLUSIONS: In Poland, as in other European Union countries fighting terrorism, preparations should be made to defend against biological attacks, improve the flow of information on the European security system, strengthen research centers, train staff, create observation units and vaccination centers, as well as prepare hospitals for the hospitalization of patients-potential victims of bioterrorist attacks.

Evolution of hot zone care: MARA.

Modern conflict and terrorist events have moved from linear two-dimensional battlespaces into complex, continuously evolving three-dimensional environments. Contested spaces make traditional definitions of zones of response confusing and lead to delays in care. The presence of actual or perceived ongoing threats creates an environment in which the initiation of tactical field care (TFC) may be inappropriate, despite the absence of an immediate risk to life. This risks a 'time and space gap' between care under fire and TFC. Major haemorrhage, airway, respiration, analgesia is proposed as a rethought approach to care in such environments.

Cyberattacks Detection in IoT-Based Smart City Applications Using Machine Learning Techniques.

In recent years, the widespread deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications has contributed to the development of smart cities. A smart city utilizes IoT-enabled technologies, communications and applications to maximize operational efficiency and enhance both the service providers' quality of services and people's wellbeing and quality of life. With the growth of smart city networks, however, comes the increased risk of cybersecurity threats and attacks. IoT devices within a smart city network are connected to sensors linked to large cloud servers and are exposed to malicious attacks and threats. Thus, it is important to devise approaches to prevent such attacks and protect IoT devices from failure. In this paper, we explore an attack and anomaly detection technique based on machine learning algorithms (LR, SVM, DT, RF, ANN and KNN) to defend against and mitigate IoT cybersecurity threats in a smart city. Contrary to existing works that have focused on single classifiers, we also explore ensemble methods such as bagging, boosting and stacking to enhance the performance of the detection system. Additionally, we consider an integration of feature selection, cross-validation and multi-class classification for the discussed domain, which has not been well considered in the existing literature. Experimental results with the recent attack dataset demonstrate that the proposed technique can effectively identify cyberattacks and the stacking ensemble model outperforms comparable models in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and F1-Score, implying the promise of stacking in this domain.