Contents:
Notes Introduction: From bad research to good - a guide for the perplexed 1.The Newson Report: a case study in 'commonsense' Martin Barker 2.The worrying influence of 'media effects' studies David Gauntlett 3.Electronic child abuse? Rethinking the media's effects on children David Buckingham 4.Living for a libido; or, Child's Play IV: the imagery of childhood and the call for censorship Patricia Holland 5.Just what the doctors ordered? - Media regulation, education and the 'problem' of media violence Sara Bragg 6.Once more with feeling: talking about the media violence debate in Australia Sue Turnbull 7.I was a teenage horror fan: or, 'How I learned to stop worrying and love Linda Blair' Mark Kermode 8.'Looks Like it Hurts': Women's Responses to Shocking Entertainment Annette Hill 9.Reservoirs of dogma: an archaeology of popular anxieties Graham Murdock 10.Us and them Julian Petley 11.Invasion of the Internet Abusers: Marketing Fears About the Information Superhighway Thomas Craig and Julian Petley 12.On the problems of being a 'trendy travesty' Martin Barker with Julian Petley Index

This collection brings together distinguished scholars who have come to believe that democracies have a special proclivity to stimulate political violence. Cold War preoccupations and tendencies to ignore historical experiences have obscured this characteristic, as has a naive assumption that when appropriate peaceful means for settling disputes are provided, the need and thus the likelihood for violence dissipates. But the more we know about this feature of democracy the more effective our responses will be.

This collection brings together distinguished scholars who have come to believe that democracies have a special proclivity to stimulate political violence. Cold War preoccupations and tendencies to ignore historical experiences have obscured this characteristic, as has a naive assumption that when appropriate peaceful means for settling disputes are provided, the "need" and thus the likelihood for violence dissipates. But the more we know about this feature of democracy the more effective our responses will be.
The violence associated with elections is the dominant concern, analyzed on a general level and in particular case studies, such as in Israel, Italy, eastern Europe and the US. Forms of violence more conspicuous in, but not exclusive to democratic states receive special attention, for instance ethnic strife, riots, and terrorism. The focus is on national politics, but the impact of democratic institutions in shaping international responses to violence receives attention too.
Finally, some very general issues are scrutinized. What does a persistant history of violence signify for national developments? Why do democracies have a proclivity for violence and can one make sense of Thomas Jefferson's dicta that democratic states need violence periodically to sustain themselves?

Conflict is inherent to all human and inter-state relations, but it is not inevitable. Since the end of the Cold-War, the prevention of conflict escalation into violence through management and resolution has become a fundamental objective of the international system. So how does prevention work when it works, and what can be done when tried and tested practices fail? In this book, I. William Zartman offers a clear and authoritative guide to the key challenges of conflict prevention and the norms, processes and methods used to dampen and diffuse inter and intra-state conflict in the contemporary world. Early-stage techniques including 'awareness' 'de-escalation', 'stalemate', 'ripening', and 'resolution', are explored in full alongside the late or 'crisis' stage techniques of 'interruption', 'separation' and 'integration'. Prevention, he argues, is a battle that is never won: there is always more work to be done. The search for prevention - necessary but still imperfect - continues into new imperatives, new mechanisms, new agents, and new knowledge, which this book helps discover and apply.

"Cooney raises fundamental issues concerning the nature of the sociological enterprise in general and of the understanding of violence and conflict within society in particular. [He] is convincing in his demonstration that any understanding of violence and conflict within society must take into account the role of third parties (e.g., relatives, friends, neighbors, strangers, or legal officials) as a force for violence or peace."
--"Choice"

Why do some conflicts escalate into violence while others dissipate harmlessly? Under what circumstances will people kill, and why?

While homicide has been viewed largely in the pathological terms of "crime" and "deviance," violence, Mark Cooney contends, is a naturally-occurring form of conflict found throughout history and across cultures under certain social conditions. Cooney has analyzed the social control of homicide within and across over 30 societies and interviewed several dozens of prisoners incarcerated for murder or manslaughter, as well as members of their families. Violence such as homicide can only be understood, he argues, by transcending the traditional focus on the social characteristics of the killer and victims, and by looking at the role played by family members, friends, neighbors, onlookers, police officers, and judges. These third parties can be a source of peace or violence, depending on how they are configured in particular cases. Violence flourishes, Cooney demonstrates, when authority is either very strong or very weak and when third-party ties are strong and boundaries between groups sharply defined.

Drawing on recent theory in the lively new sociological speciality of conflict management, Mark Cooney hasculled a vast array of evidence from modern and preindustrial societies to provide us with the first general sociological analysis of human violence.

School violence is a burning issue these days. This book provides an in-depth analysis of violence prevention programs and an assessment of their effectiveness, using data from observations, individual interviews, and focus groups, as well as published data from the schools. It is distinguished by its focus on the cultural and structural context of school violence and violence prevention efforts. Where most other researchers use quantitative measures, such as surveys, to assess the effectiveness of violence prevention programs, the authors of this book use qualitative research and ethnography to study the environment where such programs take place. Thus, this work--one of only a few ethnographic studies of violence prevention programs in schools--links previous quantitative research on the topic and critical ethnography. "Preventing Violence in Schools: A Challenge to American Democracy"
*includes voices of school students, accused of practicing violence, who have been participants in violence prevention programs;
*analyzes a citywide peer mediation program (who benefits and who does not, who is mediated and who mediates, and what the implications of these findings may be);
*examines the kinds of violence recognized in schools and the ways schools themselves may perpetuate violence; and
*describes a violence prevention program for students at an alternative school.
"Preventing Violence in Schools: A Challenge to American Democracy" is highly relevant for students in courses on urban education, foundations of education, education and social policy, youth and the law, and qualitative research, and for teachers, administrators, and other professionals, such as school psychologists and guidance counselors, at the middle and high school levels.

The rash of school shootings in the late 1990s has generated a tremendous amount of public concern about youth aggression and violence. But students, trainees, and professionals who work with children and adolescents have had no concise or systematic survey of our current knowledge about causes and effective approaches to intervention and prevention on which to draw. "Youth Aggression and Violence" has filled the void.
Comprehensive and readable, it:
* utilizes theory and research from the developmental psychology of "normal" children and adolescents, as well as material on "abnormal" forms of development, such as disruptive behavior disorders and juvenile delinquency;
* situates youthful aggression and violence within the overall framework of children's moral development;
* integrates quantitative research with carefully considered qualitative research and case studies;
* discusses the genetic and biological underpinnings of youthful aggression, as well as family and social factors related to antisocial behavior;
* emphasizes cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes involved in youth aggression and violence;
* provides in-depth coverage of juvenile killers and school violence;
* examines female aggression and violence in a variety of contexts; and
* critically examines a number of questions frequently discussed in conjunction with youth violence, such as media violence, firearm accessibility, and the relationship between self-esteem and aggression.

Anthropology of Violence has only recently developed into a field of research in its own right and as such it is still fairly fragmented. Anthropology of Violence and Conflict seeks to redress this fragmentation and develop a method of cross-cultural analysis. The study of important conflicts, such as wars in Sarajevo, Albania and Sri Lanka as well as numerous less publicised conflicts, all aim to create a theory of violence as cross-culturally applicable as possible. Most importantly this volume uses the anthropology of violence as a tool to help in the possible prevention of violence and conflict in the world today.

The Western world's responses to genocide have been slow, unwieldly and sometimes unfit for purpose. So argues David Patrick in this essential new contribution to the aid and intervention debate. While the UK and US have historically been committed to the ideals of human rights, freedom and equality, their actual material reactions are more usually dictated by geopolitical 'noise', pre-conceived ideas of worth and the media attention-spans of individual elected leaders. Utilizing a wide-ranging quantitative analysis of media reporting across the globe, Patrick argues that an over-reliance on the Holocaust as the framing device we use to try and come to terms with such horrors can lead to slow responses, misinterpretation and category errors - in both Rwanda and Bosnia, much energy was expended trying to ascertain whether these regions qualified for 'genocide' status. The Reporting of Genocide demonstrates how such tragedies are reduced to stereotypes in the media - framed in terms of innocent victims and brutal oppressors - which can over-simplify the situation on the ground. This in turn can lead to mixed and inadequate responses from governments. Reporting on Genocide also seeks to address how responses to genocides across the globe can be improved, and will be essential reading for policy-makers and for scholars of genocide and the media.

American cinema has always been violent, and never more so than now: exploding heads, buses that blow up if they stop, racial attacks, and general mayhem. From slapstick's comic violence to film noir, from silent cinema to Tarantino, violence has been an integral part of America on screen.
This new volume in a successful series analyses violence, examining its nature, its effects, and its cinematic and social meaning. The contributors, who include Marsha Kinder and Richard Maltby address theories and histories of Hollywood violence, traditionally violent genres, and Hollywood violence and cultural politics.

Anthropology of Violence has only recently developed into a field of research in its own right and as such it is still fairly fragmented. Anthropology of Violence and Conflict seeks to redress this fragmentation and develop a method of cross-cultural analysis. The study of important conflicts, such as wars in Sarajevo, Albania and Sri Lanka as well as numerous less publicised conflicts, all aim to create a theory of violence as cross-culturally applicable as possible. Most importantly this volume uses the anthropology of violence as a tool to help in the possible prevention of violence and conflict in the world today.

eBook available with sample pages: PB:0415229065

The diverse violence of modern Britain is hardly new. The Britain of 1850 to 1950 was similarly afflicted. The book is divided into four parts.
'Getting Hurt' which looks at everyday violence in the home (including a chapter on infanticide).
'Uses and Rejections' two chapters on the use of violence within groups of men and women outside the home (for example, violence within youth gangs, and male violence centred around pubs).
'Going Public' three chapters on how violence was regulated by law and the professional agencies which were set up to deal with it.
'Perceptions and Representations' this final section looks at how violence was written about, using both fiction and non-fiction sources.
Throughout the book the recurring themes of gender, class, continuity and change, public/private, and experience, discourses and representations are highlighted.

This timely and provocative book looks at contemporary American women and their experiences with guns. Scrupulously balanced, this new paperback edition features a new appendix containing a wealth of primary source documents that help illuminate both the dangers and attractions of guns in our society.

Children bereaved by the death of one parent at the hands of the other, almost always the father, in effect lose both parents. The children are then uprooted, losing their home and, quite often, their familiar routine and essential relationships. The combined effects of trauma, dislocation and loss are dramatic, but little has been written so far about such tragedies and the implications for everyone concerned in the future of affected children. The authors of "When Father Kills Mother" all have special experience of treating such children. They discuss the importance of debriefing children immediately after they have witnessed violence and indicate what therapeutic help will be of most value to both the children and their carers. They examine the legal aspect of the tragedy, not only the civil rights of children and their role as witnesses, but the role of social workers, guardians and courts as decision-makers for the children. Difficult practical problems are all considered from the children's point of view as the authors seek answers to such questions as: where should the children live?; how should their future be planned?; and should they see their fathers in prison?

Looks at Aum's claims about itself and asks, why did a religious movement ostensibly focussed on yoga, meditation, asceticism and enlightenment become involved in violent activities, and discusses Aum's spiritual roots, placing it in the context of contemporary Japanese religious patterns.

"Too Scared to Learn" explores the impact of women's experiences of violence on their learning, and proposes radical changes to educational programs through connecting therapeutic and educational discourses. Little attention has previously been paid to the impact of violence on learning.
A large percentage of women who come to adult literacy programs have experienced, or are currently experiencing, violence in their lives. This experience of violence negatively affects their ability to improve their literacy skills. Literacy programs and other educational programs have not integrated this reality into their work.
This book builds on extensive research that revealed the wide range of impacts violence has on adult literacy learning. Interviews with counselors and therapists, literacy learners, and educators working in different situations, and a wide range of theoretical and experiential literature, form the basis of the analysis. Educators are offered information to support reconceptualizing programs and practices and making concrete changes that will enable women to learn more effectively. The book makes clear that without an acknowledgment of the impact of violence on learning, women, rather than getting a chance to succeed and improve their literacy skills, get only a chance to fail, confirming to themselves that they really cannot learn.
Essential reading for literacy and adult education practitioners, teachers of English as a second language, and education theorists, "Too Scared to Learn" explores the intersection among trauma, psychological theory, and pedagogy. The book is filled with a wealth of practical ideas, possibilities, and thoughts about what practitioners might "do" differently in classrooms and educational institutions if we begin to "think" differently about violence.

The Tokyo subway attack in March 1995 was just one of a series of criminal activities including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and the illegal manufacture of arms and drugs carried out by the Japanese new religious movement Aum Shinrikyo, under the guidance of its leader Asahara Shoko. Reader looks at Aum's claims about itself and asks, why did a religious movement ostensibly focussed on yoga, meditation, asceticism and the pursuit of enlightenment become involved in violent activities?

Reader discusses Aum's spiritual roots, placing it in the context of contemporary Japanese religious patterns. Asahara's teaching are examined from his earliest public pronouncements through to his sermons at the time of the attack, and statements he has made in court. In analysing how Aum not only manufactured nerve gases but constructed its own internal doctrinal justifications for using them Reader focuses on the formation of what made all this possible: Aum's internal thought-world, and on how this was developed.

Reader argues that despite the horrors of this particular case, Aum should not be seen as unique, nor as solely a political or criminal terror group. Rather it can best be analysed within the context of religious violence, as an extreme example of a religious movement that has created friction with the wider world that escalated into violence.

This book discusses the development of 'dissident' Irish republicanism and considers its impact on politics throughout Ireland since the 1980s. Based on a series of interviews with over ninety radical republican activists from the wide range of groups and currents which make up 'dissident' republicanism, the book provides an up-to-date assessment of the political significance and potential of the groups who continue to oppose the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. It shows that the 'dissidents' are much more than traditionalist irreconcilables left behind by Gerry Adams' entry into the mainstream. Instead the book suggests that the dynamics and trajectory of 'dissident' republicanism are shaped more by contemporary forces than historical tradition and that by understanding the "dissidents" we can better understand the emerging forms of political challenge in an age of austerity and increasing political instability internationally. -- .

Did Ajax and Achilles ever suffer from Post-traumatic stress syndrome?

In this absorbing account, Vietnam veteran and classics scholar Lawrence A Tritle offers an incisive analysis of war and its impact upon the soldier and civilian from the classical age to the present day.
Tritle discusses the links between battlefield experiences that affect the participants and victims of war in every age, drawing examples from sources as diverse as the Iliad, Michael Herr's Dispatches, Thucydides' account of the Pelopenesian Wars, and the Oliver Stone film Platoon. Each instance sheds light on some of the most puzzling phemonena of war and shows how the heroes of epic responded to battle with their own forms of "shellshock," battle-madness and bonding. Tritle examines such issues as:

How can ordinarily decent men can commit acts of extraordinary savagery?

Attitudes toward the "enemy"

The impact of war on waiting wives, lovers and civilian bystanders

Remembering the fallen soldier: from the classic Athenian funeral speech to the Vietnam Wall

How veterans live with physical and psychological injury

This memorable book is for readers who wonder about the meaning and experience of battle, about the impact of war and violence on our culture, and for anyone interested in the culture of ancient Greece.

From Melos to My Lai presents an erudite, provocative and moving analysis of the accounts of violence in the literature and history of ancient Greece and in the film literature and veterans' accounts of the Vietnam War. This comparative investigation examines the nature of violence, its impact on society and culture, especially as reflected from the perspective of the survivors. The survivors include not only actual combatants, but those with whom they interact: their comrades, their wives and children, families and society as a whole.
From Melos to My Lai provides a unique contribution to the study of the impact of violence on its participants and its audience which combines an examination of the artistic representations of violence and the real-life accounts of those involved in it.

On an autumn day in 1895, eighteen-year-old Loyd Montgomery shot his parents and a neighbor in a gruesome act that reverberated beyond the small confines of Montgomery's Oregon farming community. The dispassionate slaying and Montgomery's consequent hanging exposed the fault lines of a rapidly industrializing and urbanizing society and revealed the burdens of pioneer narratives boys of the time inherited. In Pioneering Death, Peter Boag examines the Brownsville parricide as an allegory for the destabilizing transitions within the rural United States at the end of the nineteenth century. While pioneer families celebrated and memorialized founders of western white settler society, their children faced a present and future in frightening decline. Connecting a fascinating true-crime story with the broader forces that produced the murders, Boag uncovers how Loyd's violent acts reflected the brutality of American colonizing efforts, the anxieties of global capitalism, and the buried traumas of childhood in the American West.

Feminist research on gender, violence and abuse has been an area of academic study since the late 1970s, and has increased exponentially over this time on a global scale. Although situated in a predominantly qualitative tradition, research in the field has developed to include quantitative and mixed methodologies. This book offers a compendium of research methods on gender and violence, from the traditional to the innovative, and showcases best practice in feminist research and international case studies. Researching Gender, Violence and Abuse covers: The origins of feminist research, Ethical considerations relating to research on gender, violence and abuse, Working in partnership with organisations such as the police or the voluntary sector, A comprehensive range of research methods including interviews and focus groups, surveys, arts-based research and ethnography, The challenges and opportunities of working with existing data, The influence of activism on research and the translation of research into policy and practice. This book is perfect reading for students taking courses on violence against women, domestic violence, gender and crime, as well as advanced students embarking on new research.

Littleton, Colorado. Conyers, Georgia. Pearl, Mississippi. Jonesboro, Arkansas. Springfield, Oregon. In the aftermath of the latest incidences of school violence, Kids Killing Kids: Managing Violence and Gangs in Schools tackles the tough questions: How do we find out which students are potentially violent? What do we do with them? Is there an epidemic of children whose psychological problems go undetected until they erupt in violence? Are the parents really responsible?
Parents, administrators, fellow students, the media: we all look for someone to blame. Kids who look or act different fall under suspicion. The cry goes out for more gun control, less violence in television, movies and video games. President Clinton calls a conference to address violence in the media.
Add gangs to this mix and the situation becomes explosive. A factor in inner-city schools for years, new evidence suggests that gangs are now recruiting new members from suburban schools. Violence from conflicts between rival gangs adds to the already volatile atmosphere in schools.
While not all violence can be anticipated, there is no substitute for being proactive. Kids Killing Kids: Managing Violence and Gangs in Schools serves as a guide for detection, intervention, and prevention - providing solutions for our schools.

Apocalypse Observed is about religious violence. By analysing five of the most notorious cults of recent years, the authors present a fascinating and revealing account of religious sects and conflict.
Cults covered include:
* the apocalypse at Jonestown
* the Branch Davidians at Waco
* the violent path of Aum Shinrikyo
* the mystical apocalypse of the Solar Temple
* the mass suicide of Heaven's Gate.
Through comparative case studies and in-depth analysis, the authors show how religious violence can erupt not simply from the beliefs of the cult followers or the personalities of their leaders, but also from the way in which society responds to the cults in its midst.

Children bereaved by the death of one parent at the hands of the other, almost always the father, in effect lose both parents, and are often forgotten in the midst of such dramatic situations. Reflecting the increased interest in child protection and child law systems, this second edition of When Father Kills Mother brings to public knowledge, in amplified form information about the effects of psychological trauma and bereavement on children. By combining knowledge about bereavement with that of post-traumatic stress disorder, the book remains informative and essential reading for all those involved in the field, both professionally and personally.

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