Sandy Hook Research Articles

An Ethical Response to Mass Shootings

An Ethical Response to Mass Shootings

Race and Responses to Violence in Prayer Shawl Ministries

Abstract Prayer shawl ministries, overwhelmingly led and staffed by women, aim to give comfort to the bereaved. Shawl makers often want to respond to communal tragedy and grief such as mass shootings. This case study uses qualitative interviews with shawl makers from white and African-American ministry groups, placing their statements in the context of benevolent handwork, disaster response, and the culture of mass shootings. The ordinary theology of shawl makers is forged in a “chronic mode,” responding to individual instances of grief in the ministry’s neighborhood. “Crisis mode” operations, where shawls are part of multifaceted mobilization efforts to bring relief to a large number of victims, may clarify, test, extend, or alter these meanings. White shawl makers were appalled at the suffering inflicted by the Sandy Hook school shooting and took pride in their ability to make a difference, while black shawl makers were guided by concerns about discipline, process, and preservation of community. These results suggest that perceptions of normalcy influence the response of caretaking ministries to violence and trauma, revealing a distinction between restorative efforts and the development of resilience.

CALL OF DUTY IN THE VIDEO BUNKER

1 7 2 Y C A L L O F D U T Y I N T H E V I D E O B U N K E R H E N R Y H A R T He hunched toward the screen his face a bruised moon luminous as gun posters taped to walls. If the sun wormed into his bunker he put on Ray-bans. If a mourning dove’s lament pierced his windows he clamped on headphones. Zombies with swastika arm-bands staggered from holes in his computer into a fusillade of bullets. He lived for kills sparking through wired fingers, for tallying neck hits and headshots. The dead were only numbers. They never touched him. The last time his mother touched him he stopped emailing her from the basement. At school he wanted to change his socks every hour, to be invisible as wind hustling dead leaves across asphalt. 1 7 3 R When he drove to Sandy Hook, black shirt camouflaging his mother’s blood, the sky was a blank screen. He was ready to shatter the glass door of record books, silence anyone who could touch him. ...

Template to Perpetrate: An Update on Violence in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

IntroductionFor the past two decades, researchers have been using various approaches to investigate the relationship, if any, between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and violence. The need to clarify that relationship was reinforced by the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012 by an individual diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. The purpose of this article is (1) to provide an updated review of the literature on the association between ASD and violence, and (2) to examine implications for treating, and for preventing violence by, individuals with ASD.MethodA review of all published literature regarding ASD and violence from 1943 to 2014 was conducted using electronic and paper searches.ResultsAlthough some case reports have suggested an increased violence risk in individuals with ASD compared to the general population, prevalence studies have provided no conclusive evidence to support this suggestion. Among individuals with ASD, however, generative (e.g., comorbid psychopathology, social-cognition deficits, emotion-regulation problems) and associational (e.g., younger age, Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis, repetitive behavior) risk factors have been identified or proposed for violent behavior.ConclusionsWhile no conclusive evidence indicates that individuals with ASD are more violent than those without ASD, specific generative and associational risk factors may increase violence risk among individuals with ASD. Further research would help to clarify or confirm these findings, suggest potential directions for evaluation, treatment, and prevention, and potentially provide compelling empirical support for forensic testimony regarding defendants with ASD charged with violent crimes.

Individual Well-Being and the Allocation of Time Before and after the Boston Marathon Terrorist Bombing

There is a small literature on the economic costs of terrorism. We consider the effects of the Boston marathon bombing on Americans’ well-being and time allocation. We exploit data from the American Time Use Survey and Well-Being Module in the days around the terrorist attack to implement a regression-discontinuity design. The bombing led to a significant and large drop of about 1.5 points in well-being, on a scale of one to six, for residents of the States close to Boston. The happiness of American women also dropped significantly, by almost a point, regardless of the State of residence. Labor supply and other time use were not significantly affected. We find no well-being effect of the Sandy Hook shootings, suggesting that terrorism is different in nature from other violent deaths.

Youth violence: What we know and what we need to know.

School shootings tear the fabric of society. In the wake of a school shooting, parents, pediatricians, policymakers, politicians, and the public search for "the" cause of the shooting. But there is no single cause. The causes of school shootings are extremely complex. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School rampage shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, we wrote a report for the National Science Foundation on what is known and not known about youth violence. This article summarizes and updates that report. After distinguishing violent behavior from aggressive behavior, we describe the prevalence of gun violence in the United States and age-related risks for violence. We delineate important differences between violence in the context of rare rampage school shootings, and much more common urban street violence. Acts of violence are influenced by multiple factors, often acting together. We summarize evidence on some major risk factors and protective factors for youth violence, highlighting individual and contextual factors, which often interact. We consider new quantitative "data mining" procedures that can be used to predict youth violence perpetrated by groups and individuals, recognizing critical issues of privacy and ethical concerns that arise in the prediction of violence. We also discuss implications of the current evidence for reducing youth violence, and we offer suggestions for future research. We conclude by arguing that the prevention of youth violence should be a national priority. (PsycINFO Database Record

Childhood, Wellness, and Nonlocal Consciousness

T he Schwartzreport tracks emerging trends that will affect the world, particularly the United States. For EXPLORE it focuses on matters of health in the broadest sense of that term, including medical issues, changes in the biosphere, technology, and policy considerations, all of which will shape our culture and our lives. As President Obama said at the Newtown, Connecticut memorial service for the children murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, “Caring for our Children. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right.” So do we take good care of our children? If you use actual facts, instead of fantasy, ideology or theology, it is pretty clear that while individual parents struggle against all odds working multiple jobs to protect and nurture their children, as a society the answer must be: No. It is a horrible truth, and I expect most people would be resistant to that conclusion, using their own intentions for their own children as their measure. But when we stand before ourselves, naked for just a moment of our illusions, facts tell us something very different. Start at the beginning, with infant mortality. How likely is it that an American baby will survive birth? We are the richest country in the world, and we spend more, so very much more, on healthcare than any other country on Earth. Yet the data says there is no correlation between money expended and outcome. Two years ago I looked into this, and found that “The Centers for Disease Control reported that Infant mortality declined for four of the five years as a leading cause of death during the 2005–2011 period. But one has to put that decline in context. In 2008, the U.S. ranked 27th among Organization

Dis-Honoring the Dead: Negotiating Decorum in the Shadow of Sandy Hook

Mourning the indiscriminate murders of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School, many eulogizers began calling publicly for gun control reforms that would help prevent similar tragedies in the future. One particularly savage set of responses to these efforts accused eulogizers of a gross breach of decorum that dishonored the dead and ought, therefore, to be dismissed. Drawing from a Burkean perspective that recognizes the relationships among rhetoric, decorum, and ideology, I contend that these attacks are based upon and advocate for a particular sense of decorum (one at odds with the one embodied in the rhetorical tradition) that reduces the circumference of human tragedy to the individual and permits only conformity with the status quo.

Predicting Violence: Finding That Middle Ground

Abstract Across the complete fabric of our national life, we feel the need as never before to be secure from the threat of violence. This is particularly true of mass violence and murder. It has become mandatory that we identify and review the human factors that result in these horrific violent acts. Two recent documents address the role of mental illness in these acts. The first document, a Naval Postgraduate School thesis, points to past and ongoing efforts and research that attempts to identify a number of behavioral drivers relating to violence. This is done in hopes of formulating a predictive protocol that can be used by all the professions who are called upon to address and prevent this violence, and identify the individuals responsible before they can carry out that violence. The second document, the Sandy Hook Commission report, provides the analysis of the relationship between mental illness and the occurrence of violence. These excellent documents describe the evolving opinions about the role m...

Terrorist attacks and the male-to-female ratio at birth: The Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Rodney King riots, and the Breivik and Sandy Hook shootings

IntroductionMales are usually born in excess of females. The ratio is often expressed as M/F (male divided by total births). A wide variety of factors have been shown to influence M/F. Terrorist attacks reduce M/F. This study was carried out in order to ascertain whether individual terrorist attacks influenced M/F in relevant populations. MethodsThe following events were studied: the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Los Angeles Riots (the Rodney King affair), the Breivik shooting (Norway), and the Sandy Hook shooting (Connecticut). ResultsNorthern IrelandM/F was significantly lower during the Troubles (1969–1998) than during the period before (p=0.0006). There was a very sharp dip in 1978 (p≤0.004) during this particular year of renewed violence and heavy civilian attacks.Rodney King riots—late April 1992M/F dipped significantly in August 1992, 4months after the riots (p=0.044).Breivik Shooting—22/07/2011M/F dipped significantly in December 2011, 5months after the event (p=0.004).Sandy Hook Shooting—14/12/2012M/F dipped significantly in April 2013, 4months after the event (p=0.009). DiscussionM/F dips follow catastrophic or tragic events if these are felt to be momentous enough by a given population. All of the above events caused significant population stress. The M/F dips noted may have been caused by population stress which is known to lead to the culling of frail/small male foetuses. The dips noted are comparable to a substantial proportion of quoted values for perinatal mortality, potentially elevating this a public health issue. Key Guidelines1.The male-to-female ratio at birth is decreased by stressful events.2.This is due to an excess of male foetal losses in established pregnancies.3.Such losses in response to acute events are transient.4.This ratio may be a useful indicator of population stress. Research Directions1.Gender ratios in populations could be routinely monitored in order to assess the impact of stressful events that may reduce the male-to-female birth ratio.

The U.S. Gun-Control Paradox: Gun Buyer Response To Congressional Gun-Control Initiatives

<p>Many scholars and interest groups in the U.S. advocate for more gun-control in terms of restrictions on sales. Following the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, The Obama Administration initiated legislation to restrict gun sales. Coincidentally, U.S. firearm sales surged to record levels and ammunition shortages occurred. This article examines the gun control issue in the U.S. in light of the events of 2013, demonstrating the paradox which gun-control advocates face. The authors provide background information on the gun-control debate including the social cost of gun-violence and the U.S. political battle over the issue.</p>

Content Analysis of Select YouTube Postings: Comparisons of Reactions to the Sandy Hook and Aurora Shootings and Hurricane Sandy.

This study details an innovative and methodical content analysis of 2,207 YouTube comments from four different YouTube videos (e.g., breaking news or memorials) related to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School and Aurora theater mass shootings and the catastrophic Hurricane Sandy. As expected, YouTube comments associated with the Sandy Hook shootings (particularly those from a memorial video) were especially likely to feature compassion and grief with lessened hostility. This study highlights differing online contexts by which individuals show grief and related emotions following man-made and natural calamities and how-even in an online environment-powerful situational contexts greatly guide behavior.

Examining political mobilization of online communities through e-petitioning behavior in We the People

This study aims to reveal patterns of e-petition co-signing behavior that are indicative of the political mobilization of online “communities”. We discuss the case of We the People, a US national experiment in the use of social media technology to enable users to propose and solicit support for policy suggestions to the White House. We apply Baumgartner and Jones's work on agenda setting and punctuated equilibrium, which suggests that policy issues may lie dormant for periods of time until some event triggers attention from the media, interest groups, and elected representatives. In the case study presented, we focus on 21 petitions initiated during the week after the Sandy Hook shooting (14–21 December 2012) in opposition to gun control or in support of policy proposals that are alternatives to gun control, which we view as mobilized efforts to maintain stability and equilibrium in a policy system threatening to change. Using market basket analysis and social network analysis we found a core group of petitions in the “support law-abiding gun owners” theme that were highly connected and four “communities” of e-petitioners mobilizing in opposition to change in gun control policies and in favor of alternative proposals.

“Time of Culture”: an Essential Category of Discourse Analysis

Discourse studies have been developing well both in Russia and abroad. The area might be considered quite theoretically and practically developed but I would like to claim that a very important aspect has been neglected, namely the “Time of Culture” of a particular discourse. The questions raised in my article pertain to the practical necessity of this new category of discourse analysis and the serious philosophic and linguistic background to the problem when the concepts of Zeitgeist by Hegel, the context of culture by Malinowski and the field by Halliday are used as a framework for the introduction of the new term. This article explores the aftermath of a number of events – the Newtown carnage at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in the USA, the finical crisis of 2008, the arrest of the famous whistleblower Julian Assange and the search for April Jones in an attempt to analyse how the changing semiotic landscape alters the interpretants of signs and shifts values. The essay argues that a new Time of Culture paves the way for a new discourse model and key signs which reflect the new intentionality and mentality of the general public. The wide scope of the article should not only appeal to linguists interested in discourse studies and pragmatics, but also to scholars and students in other scientific disciplines – PR studies, sociology, economics, cultural studies. A discursive profile of the ‘Time of Culture’ is built through examination of American and British electronic media data.

Active shooter in educational facility.

The last decade has seen several of the most heinous acts imaginable committed against our educational facilities. In light of the recent shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Monroe (Newtown), CT, which took the lives of 20 children and six employees, a new heightened sense of awareness for safety and security among our educational facilities was created.(1) The law enforcement and public-safety community is now looking to work together with many of the educational representatives across the nation to address this issue, which affects the educational environment now and in the future. The US public and private elementary and secondary school systems' population is approximately 55.2 million students with an additional 19.1 million students attending a 2- and 4-year college or university. These same public and private school and degree-granting institutions employ approximately 7.6 million staff members who can be an enormous threshold of potential targets.(2) A terrorist's act, whether domestic, international, or the actions of a Lone Wolf against one of our educational facilities, would create a major rippling effect throughout our nation. Terrorists will stop at nothing to advance their ideology and they must continue to advance their most powerful tool-fear-to further their agenda and mission of destroying our liberty and the advanced civilization of the Western hemisphere. To provide the safety and security for our children and those who are employed to educate them, educational institutions must address this issue as well as nullify the possible threat to our national security. This thesis used official government reports and data interview methodologies to address various concerns from within our nation's educational system. Educational personnel along with safety and security experts identified, describe, and pinpointed the recommended measures that our educational institutions should include to secure our nation from within. These modifications of evaluating and updating their current emergency operations plan, if implemented correctly, will bring heightened awareness, as well as define roles and responsibilities, to everyone involved. In addition, these implementations will assist in coordinating and strengthening a multiagency partnership's among the public-safety community that will mitigate the risk to our student body, faculty, and staff, and strengthen our national security.

Community Service Work and the Virtues of Apple Trees: Planting Seeds of Hope in the Newtown Victory Garden

This study examined the reports of subjective experiences among eight individuals who participated in a community service work project by planting 60 fruit trees at the Newtown Victory Garden. Five students from Metropolitan State University and three students from Inver Hills Community College participated in a community fruit tree planting activity designed to honor the victims of the December 14, 2012 shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. After participating in the tree planting project, participants were administered a short survey (Sandy Hook Victory Garden Community Service Questionnaire) that recorded their experiences while completing the community service project. The questions from the Sandy Hook Garden Community Service Questionnaire addressed several important themes relative to community development: 1) Perceptions of the importance of the work being done and impact on community members, 2) previous volunteer work and experience in community development, 3) perceptions of “connectedness” with members of the Newtown, Connecticut community, 4) expected changes that were made during participation in this project, and 5) perceptions of making positive changes in the lives of the Newtown, Connecticut community members. The responses from the questionnaire were then analyzed thematically with respect to the four key domains of community service work from the Community Service Attitudes Scale (CSAS) (Shiarella, McCarthy & Tucker, 2010). Results of the study and suggestions for future research are offered.

The Aftermath of Newtown: More of the Same

In the aftermath of the shocking school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, politicians and lobbyists seemed to engage in a lively debate about school security. The most visible suggestion was the National Rifle Association’s proposal to place armed guards in every school. More progressive politicians who derided the NRA, including President Obama’s administration, offered proposals that likewise sought to increase the presence of armed security in schools. Certainly these proposals differed, but they all sought to continue the securitization of American public schools witnessed over the past two decades, rather than advocate for real change in school safety. These responses offer important lessons about the difficulty of responding productively to tragedy, given the strength of institutionalized knowledge and politis

Cumulative Exposure to Prior Collective Trauma and Acute Stress Responses to the Boston Marathon Bombings

The role of repeated exposure to collective trauma in explaining response to subsequent community-wide trauma is poorly understood. We examined the relationship between acute stress response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and prior direct and indirect media-based exposure to three collective traumatic events: the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks, Superstorm Sandy, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Representative samples of residents of metropolitan Boston (n = 846) and New York City (n = 941) completed Internet-based surveys shortly after the Boston Marathon bombings. Cumulative direct exposure and indirect exposure to prior community trauma and acute stress symptoms were assessed. Acute stress levels did not differ between Boston and New York metropolitan residents. Cumulative direct and indirect, live-media-based exposure to 9/11, Superstorm Sandy, and the Sandy Hook shooting were positively associated with acute stress responses in the covariate-adjusted model. People who experience multiple community-based traumas may be sensitized to the negative impact of subsequent events, especially in communities previously exposed to similar disasters.

Improved integrated care is key, reports Sandy Hook Advisory Commission

Improved integrated care is key, reports Sandy Hook Advisory Commission

Law enforcement executive and principal perspectives on school safety measures

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the perspectives of law enforcement executives and public school principals regarding school resource officers (SROs), armed teachers, and armed school administrators in order to inform the policy discussion surrounding school safety issues. Design/methodology/approach – This study utilizes data collected from two surveys that were sent to law enforcement executives and public school principals in South Carolina. Respondents were asked about their experience with SROs and their perspectives on these officers’ ability to maintain school safety. Both groups of respondents were also asked about their attitudes regarding arming school employees. Findings – There is a large amount of support for SROs from both law enforcement executives and principals. However, in general, both groups of respondents do not believe armed administrators or armed teachers to be an effective school safety strategy. Originality/value – SROs have been the primary strategy adopted by schools to maintain safety, but in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, public outcry and political debate has spawned a number of proposed alternatives. Among these alternative security measures has been the idea of arming school teachers and/or administrators. However, there appears to have been little effort to empirically consider the perspectives of those directly impacted by school safety policy decisions. In particular, a gap in the literature remains regarding the perceptions of police executives and school principals concerning school safety policies and how the attitudes of these key actors compare. Thus, the current study addresses this gap by exploring the perspectives of key school safety stakeholders.