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Violence

Analysis and Comment (9)

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The boundary between the military and everyday life is being eroded by videogames. gelle.dk

Anders Breivik, videogames and the militarisation of society

By John Martino, Victoria University

The ongoing trial of Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Breivik has generated a great deal of media coverage, public debate and analysis. Much of this has focused on claims made by Breivik that he…
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Playing violent games didn't make Anders Breivik a mass-murderer. alessio.sartore

Videogames, aggression, Anders Breivik – let’s not join the dots

By Adam Ruch, Macquarie University

“Violent videogames cause people to become violent in real life”. It’s a familiar refrain for anyone who has read a newspaper in the last 15 years. Today, the media reporting surrounding the trial of…
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No independent studies have examined the safety of Tasers on diverse populations.

Why the taser-related death toll is rising

By Jude McCulloch, Monash University

The death of 21-year-old Brazilian national, Roberto Laudisio Cruti, on a Sydney street after being tasered by police has ignited questions about the safety and police use of these weapons. Tasers, the…
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Cast – Elizabeth Banks (L-R), Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson – and director Gary Ross at the premiere of The Hunger Games in Germany. EPA/BRITTA PEDERSEN

Serious themes for young adults sets The Hunger Games apart

By Sue Page, University of South Australia

The film adaptation of the first of Suzanne Collins' trilogy, The Hunger Games, will premiere nationally tomorrow. The books and film are set in a post-apocalyptic America, where teenagers are forced to…
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An anti-Gaddafi fighter holds human remains from a mass grave. Despite this, overall violence among humans has been dropping. AAP/Mohamed Messara

The world has never been as safe and peaceful as it is now

By John Armstrong, University of Melbourne

Hard though it may be to believe, there has been a long-term, very significant decline in all kinds of violence around the world. In his most recent book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Harvard evolutionary…
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Soccer fans in NSW in 2005 after a disturbance between supporters of rival teams. AAP

A-League fans: don’t label them football hooligans

By NAJ Taylor, University of Queensland

The late Johnny Warren deftly described some Australians' attitude to football as being a game for “sheilas, wogs, and poofters”. Whilst public interest has increased markedly following successive World…
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Young people who feel excluded from mainstream politics often join extreme groups to 'belong'. AFP/Wojtek Radwanski

Youth violence and group identity: understanding radical protest

By Jeffrey Murer, University of St Andrews

Many young people in Europe think violent protest can be a legitimate response to the political system they feel no connection to. They believe government pays very little attention to them and have very…
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Some groups in Karachi have demanded the army takes to the streets to restore law and order. EPA/Rehan Khan

Karachi violence putting NATO troops in Afghanistan at risk

By Claude Rakisits, Deakin University

There is a threat to Nato forces in Afghanistan which the world is ignoring. Violent gangs have been killing indiscriminately in Karachi, the Pakistani city vital to the supply chain which sustains ISAF…
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West Coast Eagles player Patrick McGinnity has been suspended after making comments about another player's mother AAP

The mother of all headaches: culture change in the AFL

By Kathryn Hegarty, RMIT University

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou constantly reminds us that women love Aussie Rules and that the AFL returns that respect and allegiance. The key expression of this regard, the AFL’s Respect and Responsibility…

Research Briefs (3)

Violent videogames change self-perception

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

New research has found evidence that playing violent video games leads players to see themselves, and their opponents, as…