Perception of critical situations involving football fans: dynamics of conflict escalation and de-escalation

Title: The perception of critical situations involving football fans – how conflicts escalate or de-escalate Authors: Brechbühl, A.1, Schumacher, A.1 & Seiler, R.1 1Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Switzerland Abstract: Introduction: Fan violence in the context of football matches is a prominent issue in today’s western societies and Switzerland presents no exception. A lot of research has been conducted on reasons for fan violence, mostly with fans of national teams. A prominent model is the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000): ESIM highlights the importance of interactions between the involved groups and their effect on the development of social identities. Another model is the aggravation mitigation model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) which illustrates factors that can contribute towards an escalation or non-escalation of group violence, such as the “categorization” of the opponent group. Despite these models, research about the individual perceptions, and in particular, what factors distinguish between an escalation versus a non-escalation of a potentially violent situation in domestic football, is as yet scarce. This explorative study examines perceptions of critical situations in the domestic football fan context in Switzerland. Methods: An explorative qualitative design was employed to gather data about critical situations (CS) around football matches of two clubs of the Raiffeisen Super League. A CS is defined as a setting in or around the football stadium where violence between football fans and another group could occur. Eight CS were identified and analysed. Fifty-nine narrative interviews with individuals involved in a CS, e.g. fans, police officers or security personnel, were conducted. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Results: The involved opposing groups expressed group-specific perceptions. Furthermore a strong tendency to negatively stereotype the opponent group was observed. Provocative symbols, such as balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms, were considered as highly relevant for the interpretation of the situation. Successful communication and sufficient distance between opponent groups supported the appeasement of a CS. These findings also underline the importance of knowledge about the local fan culture. This culture serves as basis for the perception of legitimacy, which was assessed to be essential for a de-escalation of a CS by fans. Discussion/Conclusion: This study improves the understanding of fan violence in the domestic football context in Switzerland. Based on the results it is suggested to deploy security or police forces without riot gear but with the goal of seeking dialogue with the fans to increase the likelihood of a peaceful ending in a CS. The findings also support the applicability of the ESIM (Drury & Reicher, 2000) and the AM model (Hylander & Guvå, 2010) in the context of domestic fan violence. Due to possible differences in the local fan cultures in Switzerland, research in this area should be continued. References: Drury, J., & Reicher, S. (2000). Collective action and psychological change: The emergence of new social identities. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 579-604. Hylander, I., & Guvå, G. (2010). Misunderstanding of out-group behaviour: Different interpretations of the same crowd events among police officers and demonstrators. Nordic Psychology, 62, 25-47.

Perceptions of critical situations involving football fans: the dynamics of conflict escalation or de-escalation

Fan violence in the context of football matches has drawn the attention of stakeholders and the media. This phenomenon has also attracted the scientific community’s attention, where research mostly focused on reasons for violence escalation. The Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000) for example focuses on group-interactions and social identities, while the Aggravation Mitigation Model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) concentrates on factors contributing to an escalation or a non-escalation of group-violence. However individual perceptions of the different persons involved in potential conflicts have not been sufficiently examined. Beside of that research in domestic football or involving ultrafans is scarce. Especially in Switzerland, there is a lack of research concerning the dynamics of the development or non-development of fan violence. This exploratory study included eight critical situations from the season 2012/2013 of the Swiss premier league to gather data about the perceptions of various persons involved (fans, police officers or security) and the dynamics contributing towards escalation or de-escalation. Fifty-nine narrative interviews were conducted and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). The individuals involved (fans, police and security personnel) showed groupspecific perceptions and a tendency to stereotype the opponent group. Provocative symbols (balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms) were important for the interpretation of the situation. No escalation occurred when successful communication and sufficient distance between the groups was established. Knowledge about the local fan culture is important, because it influences the perception of legitimacy on the side of the fans. This study improves the understanding of fan violence and is congruent with the ESIM and the AM model. It is suggested to deploy police dialogue teams without riot gear. Their task is to establish direct communication with the fans to facilitate a peaceful ending of a critical situation.

Early detection of psychosis: helpful or stigmatizing experience? A qualitative study

AIM Despite the large scientific debate concerning potential stigmatizing effects of identifying an individual as being in an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis, studies investigating this topic from the subjective perspective of patients are rare. This study assesses whether ARMS individuals experience stigmatization and to what extent being informed about the ARMS is experienced as helpful or harmful. METHODS Eleven ARMS individuals, currently participating in the follow-up assessments of the prospective Basel Früherkennung von Psychosen (FePsy; English: Early Detection of Psychosis) study, were interviewed in detail using a semistructured qualitative interview developed for this purpose. Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. RESULTS Most individuals experiencing first symptoms reported sensing that there was 'something wrong with them' and felt in need of help. They were relieved that a specific term was assigned to their symptoms. The support received from the early detection centre was generally experienced as helpful. Many patients reported stigmatization and discrimination that appeared to be the result of altered behaviour and social withdrawal due to the prepsychotic symptoms they experienced prior to contact with the early detection clinic. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that early detection services help individuals cope with symptoms and potential stigmatization rather than enhancing or causing the latter. More emphasis should be put on the subjective experiences of those concerned when debating the advantages and disadvantages of early detection with regard to stigma. There was no evidence for increased perceived stigma and discrimination as a result of receiving information about the ARMS.

Auditory verbal hallucinations: imaging, analysis, and intervention

In this article, we will link neuroimaging, data analysis, and intervention methods in an important psychiatric condition: auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). The clinical and phenomenological background as well as neurophysiological findings will be covered and discussed with respect to noninvasive brain stimulation. Additionally, methods of noninvasive brain stimulation will be presented as ways to intervene with AVH. Finally, preliminary conclusions and possible future perspectives will be proposed.

"Death may come on like a stroke of lightening ..." : Phenomenological and morphological aspects of fatalities caused by manure gas

Due to the decomposition of biological material, hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S) is produced. In low concentrations, the well-known smell of "rotten eggs" is associated with H(2)S. In higher concentrations, H(2)S is an odourless and colourless gas that may cause rapid loss of consciousness, neurological and respiratory depression and imminent death-"... like a stroke of lightening". Hydrogen sulphide poisoning is an un-common incident that is often associated with colleague fatalities. In this study, 4 fatal accidents with 10 deceased victims are reported and the morphological and phenomenological aspects are presented. In these cases, the morphological findings, namely, discolouration of the livores, pulmonary pathologies and sub-mucosal or sub-serosal congestion bleeding were found in nearly all cases. Also the impending threat for colleagues, first aid helpers and professional rescue teams is demonstrated. The suspicion of a fatal H(2)S intoxication should be based on a precise scene analysis with respect to the possibility of life-threatening H(2)S intoxication for the helpers, the typical scent of rotten eggs, which may be noted on the corpses and the abovementioned morphological findings. The diagnosis should be confirmed by a qualitative and, if possible, quantitative analysis of H(2)S.

ATMOSPHERIC RETRIEVAL ANALYSIS OF THE DIRECTLY IMAGED EXOPLANET HR 8799b

Directly imaged exoplanets are unexplored laboratories for the application of the spectral and temperature retrieval method, where the chemistry and composition of their atmospheres are inferred from inverse modeling of the available data. As a pilot study, we focus on the extrasolar gas giant HR 8799b, for which more than 50 data points are available. We upgrade our non-linear optimal estimation retrieval method to include a phenomenological model of clouds that requires the cloud optical depth and monodisperse particle size to be specified. Previous studies have focused on forward models with assumed values of the exoplanetary properties; there is no consensus on the best-fit values of the radius, mass, surface gravity, and effective temperature of HR 8799b. We show that cloud-free models produce reasonable fits to the data if the atmosphere is of super-solar metallicity and non-solar elemental abundances. Intermediate cloudy models with moderate values of the cloud optical depth and micron-sized particles provide an equally reasonable fit to the data and require a lower mean molecular weight. We report our best-fit values for the radius, mass, surface gravity, and effective temperature of HR 8799b. The mean molecular weight is about 3.8, while the carbon-to-oxygen ratio is about unity due to the prevalence of carbon monoxide. Our study emphasizes the need for robust claims about the nature of an exoplanetary atmosphere to be based on analyses involving both photometry and spectroscopy and inferred from beyond a few photometric data points, such as are typically reported for hot Jupiters.