January 2022 – CHALLACON

I started working on this article during the pandemic lockdown.

Abstract

Previous research has shown that religious organizations are more
similar to terror or violent extremist organizations than they are
dissimilar (Banisadr, 2009; Centner, 2003; Levine, 1999). Individuals
who join both usually have similar characteristics. Because
contemporary researchers have focused more on terror groups than on
cults, the archival knowledge from cult survivors and years of cult
research has not been adequately illuminated as a guide for terror
studies. The current literature review attempts to remedy this gap. Using
the PRISMA methodology (Moher et al., 2009), I examine the literature
of religious-cult recruitment, terror-organization recruitment, and
radicalization, to illuminate the multiple confluences between them. Just
as cults and terror organizations are similar in many other aspects, they
also tend to follow similar recruitment patterns. Understanding cult
recruitment can be useful to terror researchers.

It’s nearly January 1, 2022. Every new year brings new responsibilities. For corporate trainers, the beginnings of a new year bring about a requirement for a training calendar. This means they have to play Nostradamus and predict the future to some degree. Corporate trainers must also anticipate supporting their usefulness to fiscally responsible C-Suite members. A new year can be rough.

This year has been almost as interesting for me as 2020. If you are like me, you started the year with the impression you may be going back into the office sometime. I haven’t yet (nor do I expect to go back into the office anymore). I started 2021 with a training calendar, goals, and dreams. Within five months, this had changed. I was only able to accomplish about 40% of what was planned for the year. There were multiple reasons why: changes to the organizational structure, a focus on greater productivity for rank-and-file employees, and several high-profile acquisitions.

Month: January 2022

Synergy Between Cults and Terror Groups: A Systematic Review of Recruitment Processes

A new year, a new training schedule