Examining ISIS support and opposition networks on Twitter

Overview The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), like no other terrorist organization before, has used Twitter and other social media channels to broadcast its message, inspire followers, and recruit new fighters. Though much less heralded, ISIS opponents have also taken to Twitter to castigate the ISIS message. This report draws on publicly available Twitter data to examine this ongoing debate about ISIS on Arabic Twitter and to better understand the networks of ISIS supporters and opponents on Twitter. To support the countermessaging effort and to more deeply understand ISIS supporters and opponents, this study uses a mixed-methods analytic approach to identify and characterize in detail both ISIS support and opposition networks on Twitter. This analytic approach draws on community detection algorithms that help detect interactive communities of Twitter users, lexical analysis that can identify key themes and content for large data sets, and social network analysis

Counter-Radicalization Bot ResearchUsing Social Bots to Fight Violent Extremism

The speed and diffusion of online recruitment for such violent extremist organizations (VEOs) as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have challenged existing efforts to effectively intervene and engage in counter-radicalization in the digital space. This problem contributes to global instability and violence. ISIL and other groups identify susceptible individuals through open social media (SM) dialogue and eventually seek private conversations online and offline for recruiting. This shift from open and discoverable online dialogue to private and discreet recruitment can occur quickly and offers a short window for intervention before the conversation and the targeted individuals disappear. The counter-radicalization messaging enterprise of the U.S. government may benefit from a sophisticated capability to rapidly detect targets of VEO recruitment efforts and deliver counter-radicalization content to them. In this report, researchers examine the applicability of promising emerging technology tools, particularly automated SM accounts known as bots, to this problem. Their work has implications for efforts to counter the growing threat of state-sponsored propagandists conducting disinformation campaigns or radicalizing U.S. domestic extremists online and assesses the feasibility and advisability of the U.S. government employing social bot technology for counter-radicalization and related purposes. The analysis draws on interviews with a range of subject-matter experts from industry, government, and academia as well as reviews of legal and ethical considerations of using bots, the literature on the development and application of bot technology, and case studies on past uses of social bots to influence individuals, gather information, and conduct messaging campaigns

Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery

Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments may be disproportionately high compared with the physical injuries of combat. Research has focused primarily on three conditions: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Karney et al. review the empirical literature on these three conditions, focusing on research that supports projections about the likely outcomes for OEF/OIF veterans and their families. These include an increased risk of suicide, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease. Mental health conditions among veterans are also associated with reduced work productivity and future job prospects and may be a precursor to homelessness. Post-combat mental health disorders also affect servicemembers' spouses and children: For example, each of the three disorders has been linked to intimate partner violence and divorce. The authors also emphasize that it is common for veterans with one of the three conditions -- PTSD, depression, or TBI -- to also develop another of the three, and such individuals tend to experience more severe symptoms, poorer treatment outcomes, and more disability in social and occupation function. Karney et al. conclude with two series of recommendations: one for future research, and one for policy and interventions to mitigate the consequences of post-combat mental health conditions

Populism and Contemporary Global Media: Populist Communication Logics and the Co-construction of Transnational Identities

The study of populism has often focused on specific leaders or movements within nation-states. Such accounts approach the media as a dissemination tool of these ‘populist actors’, rather than as a producer of populism in itself. However, the ongoing development of new media technologies makes such an approach untenable. With populism understood as a particular set of communication logics in which core appeals are articulated, the contemporary global media environment has fundamentally altered the processes by which such appeals evolve, including the range of voices that contribute to that evolution. Where empirically-observable populism was once predominantly a national phenomenon, this is decreasingly the case. On- and offline transnational collaboration is becoming increasingly common, together with the emergence of genuinely international movements. This chapter updates discussions of populism and the media, by offering an empirically-grounded discussion of how new media technologies facilitate transnational co-production and dissemination of populist appeals amongst both core and peripheral audiences. Our discussions of legacy media developments, online grassroots campaigning and state-funded international broadcasting show how media actors themselves (including particular platforms) contribute to the production of populist messages and identities, especially because new media logics closely correspond to the needs of populist communication

Sinonasal extramedullary plasmacytoma: a systematic review of 175 patients

This study reviews the published literature related to extramedullary sinonasal plasmacytomas. Clinical presentation, demographics, treatment, and outcomes of this uncommon disease are reported. A systematic review of studies for sinonasal plasmacytomas from 1950 to 2012 was conducted. A PubMed database search, both for articles related to this condition along with bibliographies of those selected articles, was performed. Articles were examined for patient data that reported disease outcome. Sixty-seven journal articles were included in this analysis, comprising a total of 175 cases. Radiotherapy was the most common treatment modality, used in 89 cases, followed by a combination of surgery and radiotherapy, and surgery alone. A total of 71.8% of patients were alive after a median follow-up of 39 months, independent of treatment modality. A combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy was rarely used but had the best treatment outcome, with 88.9% of patients (8/9 patients) alive. Of the 3 most common treatment modalities, a combination of radiotherapy and surgery had the most favorable outcomes. Sixteen patients (9.1%) converted to multiple myeloma, with the majority of these patients (75.0%) receiving radiotherapy alone as their treatment modality. This review contains the largest pool of sinonasal plasmacytoma patients to date and suggests aggressive radiotherapy is the most common treatment modality for this condition. Of the 3 most common treatment modalities, a combination of surgery and radiotherapy was shown to have the best survival outcomes