Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Analysis Of Non-Conventional Radiological Terrorism, James N. Padgett

Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear terrorism has been a risk since the dawn of the first atomic bomb. Though state sponsored nuclear weapons development is of concern for countries, non-state sponsored terrorism with radiological material can be of even greater concern. This stems from the fact that the material is under less stringent or no safeguards and can readily change hands between different terrorist groups or innocent civilians may accidently come into contact with the material.

Within this paper an analysis of previous accidents using orphan radiological sources, malicious use of orphan radiological sources, and how these sources could be used by terrorists is …

A Comparative Study Of Extreme Religious Nationalist Terrorist Groups In The United States, Colleen Arthur

Undergraduate Research Posters

The aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative study of Radical Right Wing terrorism and Radical Islamic terrorism both of which are categorized under the Religious Nationalism/Extremism typology of terrorism. In order to compare and contrast the two fairly, I broke down the ideology, motives, methods, and the demographic profile of members of both Radical Right Wing and Radical Islamic terrorism then provided examples of different groups that fall within those categories in order to effectively illustrate the striking similarities of the two categories that have been addressed and condemned differently by the United States. Then I had …

Automatically Detecting The Resonance Of Terrorist Movement Frames On The Web, Ugochukwu O. Etudo

Theses and Dissertations

The ever-increasing use of the internet by terrorist groups as a platform for the dissemination of radical, violent ideologies is well documented. The internet has, in this way, become a breeding ground for potential lone-wolf terrorists; that is, individuals who commit acts of terror inspired by the ideological rhetoric emitted by terrorist organizations. These individuals are characterized by their lack of formal affiliation with terror organizations, making them difficult to intercept with traditional intelligence techniques. The radicalization of individuals on the internet poses a considerable threat to law enforcement and national security officials. This new medium of radicalization, however, also …

Law Enforcement Intelligence Recruiting Confidential Informants Within “Religion-Abusing Terrorist Networks”, Hursit Ucak

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the motivation factors that make some individuals (terrorists) confidential informants. The study is based on the assumptions of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theories. Accordingly, main assumption of the present study is that some individuals with unsatisfied needs in religion-abusing terrorist (RAT) networks choose to become confidential informants to satisfy their predominant needs. The main hypothesis for the purpose of this study is “The individuals’ decision-making processes to cooperate with law enforcement intelligence (LEI) as a confidential informant is affected by some motivation factors during recruitment process.” The present study tests 27 hypotheses in order …

The Nexus Between The Ballot And Bullet: Popular Support For The Pkk And Post-Election Violence In Turkey, Nadir Gergin

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between popular support for the Kurdish Worker’s Party (PKK), which is an ethnic insurgent and terrorist organization mainly operating in Turkey, and its terrorist activities during the pre-and post-election periods in Turkey . Popular support has been measured through popular votes for the political party affiliated with the PKK in 1999 general, 2004 local and 2007 general elections. Two leading theories of social movements, Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT) and Relative Deprivation Theory (RD), were used as theoretical approach. The study uses secondary data and constructs a longitudinal design. An advanced statistical analysis technique, a generalized …

Is Screening Cargo Containers For Smuggled Nuclear Threats Worthwhile?, Jason R. W. Merrick, Laura A. Mclay

Statistical Sciences and Operations Research Publications

In recent years, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has installed radiation sensors to screen cargo containers entering theUnited States. They are concerned that terrorists could use containers to smuggle radiological material into the country and carry out attacks with dirty bombs or a nuclear device. Recent studies have questioned the value of improving this screening system with new sensor technology. The cost of delays caused by frequent false alarms outweighs any reduction in the probability of an attack in an expected cost analysis. We extend existing methodology in three ways to demonstrate how additional factors affect the value of screening …

Patterns Of Differential Involvement In Terrorist Activities: Evidence From Dhkp/C And Turkish Hezbollah, Ismail Yilmaz

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the patterns of involvement in terrorist activities for the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and Turkish Hezbollah members. The study is based on the assumption that terrorists differ in terms of their involvement in terrorist activities. In this sense, there are full-time and part-time terrorists. Full-time terrorists act professionally and do the assignments given by their commanders. Part-time terrorists, on the other hand, act on a non-professional basis and have their own motivations to participate in terrorist activities. For part-timers, there are various factors that may have an effect on their degree of involvement in terrorist activities. …

An Application Of Anomie And Strain Theories To Terrorism: Suicide Attacks In Turkey, Ozgur Nikbay

Theses and Dissertations

A suicide attack is an extreme modus operandi of terrorism. This research examines the application of two similar sociological theories to terrorism and specifically, to suicide terrorism. Three models are built to test if Merton‘s strain theory can explain the propensities of provinces to produce terrorists and suicide bombers in the first phase. Next, in Phase 2 one model is built on a combination of altruistic and fatalistic type variables to test if Durkheim‘s anomie theory can explain the probability of a terrorist to become suicide bomber or not. The analyses of models 1, 2, and 3 are performed in …

Poverty, Inequality & Terrorism Relationship In Turkey, Mutlu Koseli

Theses and Dissertations

Poverty, Inequality & Terrorism Relationship in TurkeyUsing empirical evidence criminological studies have identified a relationship between poverty and crime and many studies have concluded that a high crime rate is associated with a higher poverty rate. Other studies indicate that inequalities are a better determinant of crime than absolute poverty. Social disorganization theory, anomie strain theory and Marxist theory have been used to explain the phenomenon. Guided by the aforementioned theories and previous literature on crime, this study looks at the terrorism issue and explores whether a relationship exists between poverty, inequality and terrorist incidents. The main hypothesis of this …

Impact Of Terrorism On Migration Patterns In Turkey, Yilmaz Simsek

Theses and Dissertations

This study is among the first studies that evaluate the social impacts of terrorism in a specific country for a 10 year period. It tests the effects of terrorism on domestic net-migration in Turkey, especially in the terror infected provinces of the Eastern and South Eastern regions of the country between the years 1992 and 2001. Terrorism has impacted people not only physically, but also psychologically. When faced with "future uncertainty" or the "fear of terrorism," it is natural for people to leave their home towns, and to migrate to somewhere else where they feel safe. In order to explore …