Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries

Suicide attacks are a complex and vexing phenomena that are appearing with greater frequency in the international arena. Previous approaches to studying suicide attacks tend to examine them at one-level of analysis. While helpful, the insights produced are isolated from other crucial factors. This dissertation examines suicide attacks at three-levels of analysis as it investigates the organizational incentives, individual motivations and how the attacks achieve societal resonance. As such, the dissertation asks three primary research questions: why do organizations adopt suicide attacks, why are individuals motivated to become suicide attackers and how do the attacks attain resonance?The research questions are applied to four case studies selected along a conflict continuum where suicide attacks were used. The cases are (a) the Japanese use of Kamikazes during World War II, (b) the LTTE's use of suicide attacks during its irregular war against Sri Lanka, (c) Hamas' use of suicide attacks as domestic terrorism against Israel, and (d) Al Qaeda's use of suicide attacks as transnational terrorism. The dissertation argues that organizations use suicide attacks out of defensive necessity and for strategic purposes, individuals are motivated to become suicide attackers by a religo-nationalist liberation ideology that promises the attacker post-mortem incentives for his or her death, and that societal resonance is achieved when the organization draws on religious, cultural and nationalistic narratives that enable the population to accept the tactic.

Deliberate Death: An Investigation Into the Nature of Suicide Attacks

Black communities have been disproportionately impacted by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Canada, in terms of both number of infections and mortality rates. Yet, according to early studies, vaccine hesitancy appears to be higher in Black communities. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the prevalence and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Black communities in Canada. Peer-reviewed studies published from 11 March 2020 to 26 July 2022, were searched through eleven databases: APA PsycInfo (Ovid), Cairn.info, Canadian Business & Current Affairs (ProQuest), CPI.Q (Gale OneFile), Cochrane CENTRAL (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Érudit, Global Health (EBSCOhost), MEDLINE (Ovid), and Web of Science (Clarivate). Eligible studies were published in French or English and had empirical data on the prevalence or factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in samples or subsamples of Black people. Only five studies contained empirical data on vaccine hesitancy in Black individuals and were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. Black individuals represented 1.18% (n = 247) of all included study samples (n = 20,919). Two of the five studies found that Black individuals were more hesitant to be vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to White individuals, whereas the other three found no significant differences. The studies failed to provide any evidence of factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Black communities. Despite national concerns about vaccine hesitancy in Black communities, a color-blind approach is still predominant in Canadian health research. Of about 40 studies containing empirical data on vaccine hesitancy in Canada, only five contained data on Black communities. None analyzed factors associated with vaccine hesitancy in Black communities. Policies and strategies to strengthen health research in Black communities and eliminate the color-blind approach are discussed.

/pdf/a-systematic-review-on-vaccine-hesitancy-in-black-1upptfg3.pdf

A Systematic Review on Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities in Canada: Critical Issues and Research Failures

Background There remains uncertainty about the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on mental health. This umbrella review provides a comprehensive overview of the association between the pandemic and common mental disorders. We qualitatively summarized evidence from reviews with meta-analyses of individual study-data in the general population, healthcare workers, and specific at-risk populations. Methods and findings A systematic search was carried out in 5 databases for peer-reviewed systematic reviews with meta-analyses of prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the pandemic published between December 31, 2019 until August 12, 2022. We identified 123 reviews of which 7 provided standardized mean differences (SMDs) either from longitudinal pre- to during pandemic study-data or from cross-sectional study-data compared to matched pre-pandemic data. Methodological quality rated with the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews checklist scores (AMSTAR 2) instrument was generally low to moderate. Small but significant increases of depression, anxiety, and/or general mental health symptoms were reported in the general population, in people with preexisting physical health conditions, and in children (3 reviews; SMDs ranged from 0.11 to 0.28). Mental health and depression symptoms significantly increased during periods of social restrictions (1 review; SMDs of 0.41 and 0.83, respectively) but anxiety symptoms did not (SMD: 0.26). Increases of depression symptoms were generally larger and longer-lasting during the pandemic (3 reviews; SMDs depression ranged from 0.16 to 0.23) than those of anxiety (2 reviews: SMDs 0.12 and 0.18). Females showed a significantly larger increase in anxiety symptoms than males (1 review: SMD 0.15). In healthcare workers, people with preexisting mental disorders, any patient group, children and adolescents, and in students, no significant differences from pre- to during pandemic were found (2 reviews; SMD’s ranging from −0.16 to 0.48). In 116 reviews pooled cross-sectional prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms ranged from 9% to 48% across populations. Although heterogeneity between studies was high and largely unexplained, assessment tools and cut-offs used, age, sex or gender, and COVID-19 exposure factors were found to be moderators in some reviews. The major limitations are the inability to quantify and explain the high heterogeneity across reviews included and the shortage of within-person data from multiple longitudinal studies. Conclusions A small but consistent deterioration of mental health and particularly depression during early pandemic and during social restrictions has been found in the general population and in people with chronic somatic disorders. Also, associations between mental health and the pandemic were stronger in females and younger age groups than in others. Explanatory individual-level, COVID-19 exposure, and time-course factors were scarce and showed inconsistencies across reviews. For policy and research, repeated assessments of mental health in population panels including vulnerable individuals are recommended to respond to current and future health crises.

/pdf/covid-19-and-common-mental-health-symptoms-in-the-early-1n5ecbpp.pdf

COVID-19 and common mental health symptoms in the early phase of the pandemic: An umbrella review of the evidence

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused mental and psychological health problems worldwide. The current study assessed the prevalence of mental health issues among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mental Health Problem Scale (MHPQ) is a 35-item scale including five subscales—anxiety, depression, stress, OCD, and sleep disorders. In this study, the Kurdish version of the MHPQ was designed and developed to assess the mental health of Iraqi students. This version was established in a cross-sectional study at three public and private universities in Iraqi Kurdistan. A sample of 1504 university students was included who provided their responses via a Google Form questionnaire. The reliability of the scale was determined by measuring the Cronbach’s alpha and item–total correlations. The Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficients of mental health were calculated on a factor basis. The Cronbach’s alpha values were determined to be 0.735 for “anxiety”, 0.780 for “depression”, 0.731 for “stress”, 0.707 for “OCD” and 0.731 for “sleep disorder”. As a result, the psychometric results show that the Mental Health Scale can be used as a valid and reliable assessment tool. According to the findings of the study, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental health problems among people worldwide, particularly university students. This research was limited to select participants and universities of Sulaimani Governorate of Iraq; therefore, it is highly recommended that future studies include more students and universities from the Iraqi Kurdistan region. Finally, it is recommended that the Ministry of Higher Education and universities review the university programs and develop the quality of study to reduce mental health problems among university students. The findings of this research show that there were differences between the mental health of the study’s male and female participants. The analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between gender and OCD scores (p = 0.05).

/pdf/prevalence-of-mental-health-problems-among-iraqi-university-113oq54g.pdf

Prevalence of Mental Health Problems among Iraqi University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9278995

The global evolution of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Death of a navy : Japanese naval action in World War II

Purpose Many academic medical organizations issued statements in response to demand for collective action against racial injustices and police brutality following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. These statements may offer insight into how medical schools and national organizations were reflecting on and responding to these incidents. The authors sought to empirically examine the initial statements published by academic medical organizations in response to societal concerns about systemic, anti-Black racism. Method The authors searched for initial public statements released by a sample of academic medical organizations in Canada and the United States between May 25 and August 31, 2020. They assembled an archive with a purposive sample of 45 statements, including those issued by 35 medical schools and 10 national organizations. They analyzed the statements using Fairclough’s 3-dimensional framework for critical discourse analysis (descriptive, interpretive, explanatory), which is a qualitative approach to systematically analyzing language and how it reflects and shapes social practice. Results Many statements used formal and analytical language and reflected hierarchical thinking and power differentials between statement producers and consumers. The authors identified several tensions in the statements between explicit messaging and implied ideologies (e.g., self-education vs action to address racism), and they found a lack of critical reflection and commitment to institutional accountability to address anti-Black racism in academic medicine. The authors also found that many statements minimized discussions of racism and de-emphasized anti-Black racism as well as portrayed anti-Black racism as outside the institution and institutional accountability. Conclusions This research offers insight into how 45 academic medical organizations initially responded following the murder of George Floyd. Many of these statements included self-exculpatory and nonracist discursive strategies. While these statements may have been well intentioned, organizations must move beyond words to transformative action to abolish institutional racism in academic medicine.

Symbolic Solidarity or Virtue Signaling? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Public Statements Released by Academic Medical Organizations in the Wake of the Killing of George Floyd

OBJECTIVE
Despite evidence that Black individuals are confronted with various types of racial discrimination that put them at risk for alcohol and substance use disorders, no study in Canada has assessed the frequency and factors related to substance use in Black communities. This study thus aims to examine the frequency and factors related to substance use in Black communities in Canada.


METHOD
A total of 845 Black individuals in Canada (76.6% female) completed questionnaires assessing substance use (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs), everyday racial discrimination, resilience, religious involvement, and sociodemographic information. Multivariable regression analyses were used to determine factors related to substance use among Black individuals.


RESULTS
The findings showed that 14.8% (95% CI [8.60, 20.94]) of participants reported using any substance (i.e., alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs) in the past 12 months. Men reported a significantly higher frequency of substance use than women (25.7% vs. 11.1%; x² = 27.67, p < .001). Everyday racial discrimination (ß = .27, p < .001) and place of birth (born in Canada, ß = .14, p < .001) were positively associated with substance use, whereas it was negatively associated with religiosity, resilience, and gender (being a female; ß = -.08, p < .05; ß = -.21, p < .001; ß = -.12, p < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Racial discrimination is associated with substance use among Black individuals in Canada. The study findings inform potential prevention and intervention strategies by examining protective factors related to substance use (e.g., religiosity, resilience, gender) among Black individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Emmanuel Marie Auguste

Papers

The global evolution of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Death of a navy : Japanese naval action in World War II

Symbolic Solidarity or Virtue Signaling? A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Public Statements Released by Academic Medical Organizations in the Wake of the Killing of George Floyd

Frequency and factors related to substance use among Black individuals aged 15-40 years old in Canada: The role of everyday racial discrimination.

Social mobilization, education, and prevention of the Ebola virus disease: A scoping review.