Terrorism and the New Forms of War

Abstract: The March 2003 American preemptive strike on Iraq and related events pose entirely new conceptual questions about the notion of a valid war. A “war on terrorism” goes well beyond any usual version of the “just‐war” concept, which is itself notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to apply in current international circumstances. The implications of the emerging forms of war are examined and are found to bear in an unexpected way on justifying war, “just war,” and justice in distributional and related respects.     

Intelligence Failure and Need for Cognitive Closure: On the Psychology of the Yom Kippur Surprise

This paper uses newly available evidence to shed light on the circumstances and causes of the 6 October 1973 Yom Kippur surprise attack of Egyptian and Syrian forces on Israeli positions at the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights. The evidence suggests that an important circumstance that accounts for the surprise effect these actions managed to produce, despite ample warning signs, is traceable to a high need for cognitive closure among major figures in the Israeli intelligence establishment. Such a need may have prompted leading intelligence analysts to "freeze" on the conventional wisdom that an attack was unlikely and to become impervious to information suggesting that it was imminent. The discussion considers the psychological forces affecting intelligence operations in predicting the initiation of hostile enemy activities, and it describes possible avenues of dealing with the psychological impediments to open–mindedness that may pervasively characterize such circumstances.     

Justice organisationnelle et croyance en un monde juste : perceptions et réactions des dirigeants d’entreprise vis-à-vis de leurs managers (in)justes

Introduction and objectivesFew studies analyzed the reactions of a company head according to the degree of organizational justice adopted by his managers towards their subordinates. Similarly, the links between organizational justice and belief in a just world have rarely been studied. The aim of this research is to examine whether the three dimensions of organizational justice implemented by a manager have role of supervisor who had to value a manager who adopted, on each of the three dimensions of organizational justice, a just vs. unjust conduct. Participants were also asked about their belief in a just world an impact on the perceptions and reactions of the supervisor of the manager, and if the degree of belief in a just world mediates these perceptions and reactions.MethodIn terms of method, 410 men and women with a professional activity held the role of supervisor who had to value a manager who adopted, on each of the three dimensions of organizational justice, a just vs. unjust conduct. Participants were also asked about their belief in a just world, with a differentiation between personal belief in a just world versus belief in a just world to others.ResultsThe results show main effects and interaction effects between the three forms of justice on the manager's perception score, intends to award him a bonus, and the amount of assigned bonus. The results also indicate an influence of the degree of personal just world belief on the evaluation of the manager, but without interaction between just world belief and the dimensions of organizational justice.ConclusionsThe conclusion summarizes the main findings, examines their limits and deals with their theoretical and practical implications.     

Globalised violence,community psychology and the bombing and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq

In this article, I first set out a conceptualisation of globalised violence. I then reflect upon how psychology networks in general and community psychology networks in particular appear to have positioned themselves publicly in relation to the violence of the recent bombing and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. I ask whether networks of Community Psychologists are able/willing to publicly position themselves in regards to these specific events and the levels of globalised violence in general. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

《周易》刚健美思想对中国书法艺术的影响

<周易>集先秦儒道哲学为一体,建立了以阴阳学说为核心的哲学思想,在中国美学思想史中占有重要地位.围绕着阴阳辩证法,<周易>建构了以刚健美为核心的阴阳审美形态观,刚健所具有的中正、大、神、变化等内涵确立了中国古典美学阳刚之美的主要审美特征,其对天、地、人呼应关系的认识也成为艺术与主体辩证关系的源头.其刚健美的内涵经过后人的阐发渗透到中国书法艺术审美意识中,形成书法艺术中的刚健美风尚、中正美追求、变化美法则.     

WAIMH position paper: Infants’ rights in wartime

The World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) decided to compose a position paper on infants’ rights in wartime, as there is still a general lack of attention paid to the impact of war-related traumas on infants’ development and psychological health. Though there are numerous areas of violent conflicts around the globe, there have been few published studies that relate specifically to infants. Consequently, humanitarian aid programs tend to overlook infants’ psychological needs and to pay more attention to those of older children. This position paper first reviews the studies identified through a literature search, about the impact of war-related traumas during pregnancy and postnatal periods, then describes the existing recommendations that have been added to the Children Rights Convention and their implications for infant mental health clinicians.     

Is this America? Unfinished business with the U.S. national imaginary,religion and violence

This article first proposes definitions and raises questions about what it means to be a nation. I then analyze the national imaginary of the United States, and suggest that at its deepest core we find “substitute ultimates” regarding America's sacrificial war‐culture. This cultural violence perpetuates destructive consequences, including the phenomena of “U.S. war‐culture,” and “moral injury” among military servicemembers and veterans. But widespread legitimation of the imaginary largely inhibits citizens from awareness about their own reality. Lastly, I inquire about the role of prophetic public theology to address nationalism, and engage in a thought experiment with an imagined community of diverse partners.     

Exposure to War Trauma, War-Related PTSD, and Psychological Impact of Subsequent Hurricane

This study explored the impact of psychological outcomes to war on response to subsequent natural disaster. Participants were 312 military personnel, 66% of whom saw Gulf War duty. All were exposed to the 1992 Hurricane Andrew. Troops were compared on reported traumatic events, hurricane impact responses, and psychological symptoms in subgroups defined by war or no war exposure prior to hurricane and by presence or absence of war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Data were gathered in face-to-face clinical assessments. War trauma prior to hurricane was associated with more reported traumatic events, greater fears for safety during the hurricane, and heightened psychological symptoms. Troops with preexisting war-related PTSD showed more adverse psychological hurricane sequelae and reported more traumatic events, higher depression, anxiety, anger, PTSD symptoms, and physical symptoms, and lower self-esteem than those free of diagnoses. Results point to the negative influence of exposure to one traumatic event on the experience of and response to a subsequent stressor.