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Introduction to Special Issue on Terrorism and Its Consequences
Author(s) -
Unger Rhoda K.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
analyses of social issues and public policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.479
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1530-2415
pISSN - 1529-7489
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-2415.2002.00019.x
Subject(s) - terrorism , citation , state (computer science) , library science , sociology , political science , computer science , law , algorithm
After the jets hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, we were hypnotized by the television images and devastated by the immense destruction and the great loss of lives. Many of us questioned whether our usual activities were worth doing and wished that we could help. This special issue of Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy was conceived as a way to be helpful to faculty teaching during these difficult times, to their students, and to other readers by offering them some of the ideas and research of psychologists who have expertise in areas related to terrorism and its consequences. The articles in this issue have come together as a result of both choice and chance. Two weeks after September 11 (after discussion with SPSSI leaders and the ASAP editorial board), I issued a call for relevant papers that was posted on several list-servs and passed on to others. There were many responses. After a great deal of e-mail correspondence, peer reviews, and revisions (all done at blazing speed compared to the usual pace of academic publishing), we have brought together a set of 15 articles on a broad range of relevant topics. Although this was not a planned issue, it is not a random one. The articles in this issue derive from the theoretical framework of psychology and sociology, including psychoanalysis; cognitive, social, and behavioral psychology; conflict resolution; and community psychology. It is, in general, organized in terms of level of analysis—from individualistic through interpersonal and sociostructural perspectives—and concludes with several articles designed to support individual and community efforts to deal with this crisis. Variations in empirical detail and writing style were retained in the belief that this issue should offer something useful to anyone who looks at it.