Resolving the Conflict Between Associative Overdominance and Background Selection

PubMed Central

Zhao, Lei; Charlesworth, Brian

2016-01-01

In small populations, genetic linkage between a polymorphic neutral locus and loci subject to selection, either against partially recessive mutations or in favor of heterozygotes, may result in an apparent selective advantage to heterozygotes at the neutral locus (associative overdominance) and a retardation of the rate of loss of variability by genetic drift at this locus. In large populations, selection against deleterious mutations has previously been shown to reduce variability at linked neutral loci (background selection). We describe analytical, numerical, and simulation studies that shed light on the conditions under which retardation vs. acceleration of loss of variability occurs at a neutral locus linked to a locus under selection. We consider a finite, randomly mating population initiated from an infinite population in equilibrium at a locus under selection. With mutation and selection, retardation occurs only when S, the product of twice the effective population size and the selection coefficient, is of order 1. With S >> 1, background selection always causes an acceleration of loss of variability. Apparent heterozygote advantage at the neutral locus is, however, always observed when mutations are partially recessive, even if there is an accelerated rate of loss of variability. With heterozygote advantage at the selected locus, loss of variability is nearly always retarded. The results shed light on experiments on the loss of variability at marker loci in laboratory populations and on the results of computer simulations of the effects of multiple selected loci on neutral variability. PMID:27182952

Methods for Addressing Conflict in Cotaught Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conderman, Greg

2011-01-01

As a service delivery option for students with disabilities, coteaching continues to gain popularity. Successful coteaching largely rests upon the compatibility of coteachers. Sometimes conflict may occur when two teachers with different backgrounds and views work closely together. This article focuses on why conflict is inevitable in cotaught…

Forest conflict in Thailand: northern minorities in focus.

PubMed

Hares, Minna

2009-03-01

This paper aims at exploring the local background of and solutions to the forest conflict in upland areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, who are called hill tribes, in northern Thailand. A so-called hill tribe problem has been officially identified as a result of the slash-and-burn cultivation and other perceived problems, such as opium poppy cultivation, illegal immigration, and the suspicion of disloyalty to the state. This has created distrust and tension between the groups and authorities. The local conflict has recently been related to the dilemma of conserving the forest from all human interference, while many people live and make their livelihood within and adjacent to the protected areas. Furthermore, as the results imply, strictly protected areas and reforestation have also increased the competition over land and natural resources and, thereby, the likelihood of local conflicts. The scarcity and pollution of water, illegal logging, and poor fire control have contributed to the conflicts between local communities. The conflicts between the local communities and officials have been nourished by political and public discussions. Using definitions and terms with negative connotations and ignoring the heterogeneity between the groups or labeling some groups as malevolent have increased distrust and strengthened existing stereotypical images. Conflict resolution starts with efforts toward better mutual understanding, and changes in structures and attitudes are necessary. Local cooperation, utilization of traditional methods, and local institutions are central to conflict solving.

Forest Conflict in Thailand: Northern Minorities in Focus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hares, Minna

2009-03-01

This paper aims at exploring the local background of and solutions to the forest conflict in upland areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, who are called hill tribes, in northern Thailand. A so-called hill tribe problem has been officially identified as a result of the slash-and-burn cultivation and other perceived problems, such as opium poppy cultivation, illegal immigration, and the suspicion of disloyalty to the state. This has created distrust and tension between the groups and authorities. The local conflict has recently been related to the dilemma of conserving the forest from all human interference, while many people live and make their livelihood within and adjacent to the protected areas. Furthermore, as the results imply, strictly protected areas and reforestation have also increased the competition over land and natural resources and, thereby, the likelihood of local conflicts. The scarcity and pollution of water, illegal logging, and poor fire control have contributed to the conflicts between local communities. The conflicts between the local communities and officials have been nourished by political and public discussions. Using definitions and terms with negative connotations and ignoring the heterogeneity between the groups or labeling some groups as malevolent have increased distrust and strengthened existing stereotypical images. Conflict resolution starts with efforts toward better mutual understanding, and changes in structures and attitudes are necessary. Local cooperation, utilization of traditional methods, and local institutions are central to conflict solving.

Armed Conflict, Substance Use and HIV: A Global Analysis

PubMed Central

Kerridge, Bradley T.; Saha, Tulshi D.; Hasin, Deborah S.

2015-01-01

Armed conflict is frequently assumed to be a contributor to the global HIV epidemic, but existing evidence is sparse. We examined the relationship between armed conflict between 2002-2008 and HIV disability life years (DALYs) in 2010 among WHO Member States. Using partial least squares analysis we also examined moderation of the armed conflict-HIV link by two susceptibility constructs (background risk, substance use) and one vulnerability mediator (numbers of refugees, people on ART, and total HIV spending). Background risk directly impacted HIV DALYs (p<0.05), substance use moderated the conflict-HIV relationship (p<0.01). The vulnerability construct mediated the conflict-HIV association (p<0.01). Findings underscore the need to align HIV prevention/intervention efforts with pre-existing HIV burden and reduce the impact of natural disasters on the populace in conflict-affected states. Integration of substance prevention/harm reduction programs within national HIV responses, attention to most-at-risk populations and increased surveillance/treatment of drug resistant HIV and TB is warranted. PMID:26286341

Conflict control in task conflict and response conflict.

PubMed

Braverman, Ami; Meiran, Nachshon

2015-03-01

Studies have suggested that conflict control can modulate conflict effects in response to differing levels of conflict context. The current study probed, in two experiments of proportion congruence, the relevance of both task conflict (between a currently relevant task and irrelevant task alternatives) and response conflict (between a currently relevant response and irrelevant response alternatives) to conflict control. In Experiment 1, proportion congruence between blocks was manipulated and in Experiment 2, proportion congruence was manipulated between items. The response conflict effect was smaller when proportion of incongruence was high, regardless if task conflict or response conflict proportions were manipulated. These findings suggest that both task conflict and response conflict are monitored but that only response conflict is being influenced by this monitoring process. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Conflict in schools: student nurses' conflict management styles.

PubMed

Kantek, Filiz; Gezer, Nurdan

2009-01-01

Unless conflicts between the students and the instructors can be successfully managed, they will certainly result in negative outcomes for the students. The conflict management styles of the students should be recognized in detail in order to attain positive outcomes in regard to the conflict management styles. The purpose of this study was to examine the conflict management styles used by nursing students in conflict with faculty members and the differences in use of style from the aspect of some variables. This study was conducted with 151 students in a public university nursing school. Data were collected using a personal information form and the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory II (ROCI II). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Tukey test, Kruskal Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test and Cronbach alpha coefficient analyses. The students were found to use integrating (X=3.82) and obliging (X=3.81) styles the most, and dominating style (X=3.02) the least. In addition there were differences determined in management style between classes, frequency of experiencing conflict, and feeling of success in the conflict (p<0.05). It was determined that the integrating and obliging styles were used more by those who evaluated themselves as successful in conflict management, but the avoiding and compromising styles were used more by students who evaluated themselves as unsuccessful. It was determined that the students preferred to use styles that produced positive results in conflict resolution and that the frequency of experiencing conflict and the feeling of success in conflict had an effect on choice of style. It will be helpful to analyze the relationship between the causes of conflict between the student and the instructor in the practice field and the uses of conflict management styles.

Exploring the Black Box: An Analysis of Work Group Diversity, Conflict, and Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelled, Lisa Hope; Eisenhardt, Kathleen M.; Xin, Katherine R.

1999-01-01

Tests an integrative model of the relationships among diversity, conflict, and performance, using a sample of 45 electronics-industry worker teams. Functional background diversity drives task conflict; multiple types of diversity drive emotional conflict. Task conflict affects task performance more favorably than does emotional conflict. (102…

The Results of Teaching Middle School Students Two Relaxation Techniques as Part of a Conflict Prevention Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dacey, John S.; And Others

1997-01-01

Boston College Conflict Prevention Program techniques for relaxation and self-control were taught to middle-school students in two Boston schools. Preliminary results from teacher interviews revealed that students spontaneously used these methods to calm their "fight-or-flight" reactions in real conflicts. Results also indicated that…

How are parent–child conflict and childhood externalizing symptoms related over time? Results from a genetically informative cross-lagged study

PubMed Central

BURT, S. ALEXANDRA; McGUE, MATT; KRUEGER, ROBERT F.; IACONO, WILLIAM G.

2008-01-01

The present study attempted to determine the direction and etiology of the robust relationship between childhood externalizing (EXT) symptoms and parent–child conflict using a genetically informative longitudinal model and data from the ongoing Minnesota Twin Family Study. Participants consisted of 1,506 same-sex twins assessed at ages 11 and 14, and their parents. The relationship between EXT and parent–child conflict from ages 11 to 14 was examined within a biometrical cross-lagged design. The results revealed three primary findings: first, the stability of conflict and externalizing over time is largely, although not solely, a result of genetic factors. Second, there appears to be a bidirectional relationship between conflict and EXT over time, such that both conflict and EXT at 11 independently predict the other 3 years later. Finally, the results are consistent with the notion that parent–child conflict partially results from parental responses to their child’s heritable externalizing behavior, while simultaneously contributing to child externalizing via environmental mechanisms. These results suggest a “downward spiral” of interplay between parent–child conflict and EXT, and offer confirmation of a (partially) environmentally mediated effect of parenting on child behavior. PMID:15971764

Constructive and destructive marital conflict, emotional security and children's prosocial behavior

PubMed Central

McCoy, Kathleen; Cummings, E. Mark; Davies, Patrick T.

2010-01-01

Background This study addresses the gaps in understanding the relationship between constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's prosocial behavior from a process-oriented perspective. Method Data were drawn from a three-wave study of 235 families with children ages 5–7 at wave 1. Relations between constructive and destructive marital conflict, children's emotional security, warm parenting and children's prosocial behavior were examined through the use of structural equation modeling. Results Even after controlling for prior levels of children's prosocial behavior at wave 1, children's emotional security acted as an intervening variable between both constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's prosocial behavior over time. Conclusions These findings advance the relationship between marital conflict and children's adjustment by focusing on children's prosocial behavior and highlight the need to further investigate the impact of positive dimensions of marital conflict on dimensions of children's positive social functioning. PMID:18673403

Anticipated Work-Family Conflict: Effects of Gender, Self-Efficacy, and Family Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cinamon, Rachel Gali

2006-01-01

Anticipated levels of 2 types of work-family conflict (WFC) were studied among 358 students from 2 universities. The study examined the contribution of gender, parental models of child care and housework, and self-efficacy to the variance in anticipated WFC. Findings demonstrated that the bidirectionality of the relations between work and family…

Confronting History: Simulations of Historical Conflicts. Grades 5-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Katie; Draze, Dianne, Ed.; Conroy, Sonsie, Ed.

This booklet presents four different scenarios of conflict from United States history. Students take on the roles of some of the characters in the conflicts to learn the differing viewpoints of the situations. Each simulation presents five sections: "background information"; "meet the people"; "investigator…

Conflicts of interest in translational research

PubMed Central

Parks, Malcolm R; Disis, Mary L

2004-01-01

Translational research requires a team approach to scientific inquiry and product development. Translational research teams consist of basic and clinical scientists who can be members of both academic and industrial communities. The conception, pre-clinical testing, and clinical evaluation of a diagnostic or therapeutic approach demands an intense interaction between investigators with diverse backgrounds. As the barriers between industry and academia are removed, issues of potential conflict of interest become more complex. Translational researchers must become aware of the situations which constitute conflict of interest and understand how such conflicts can impact their research programs. Finally, the translational research community must participate in the dialogue ongoing in the public and private sectors and help shape the rules that will govern conflicts that arise during the evolution of their research programs. PMID:15301694

When conflicts are good: nonconscious goal conflicts reduce confirmatory thinking.

PubMed

Kleiman, Tali; Hassin, Ran R

2013-09-01

In this article, we argue that nonconscious goal conflicts are accompanied by a mindset that has wide-ranging implications for reasoning and thinking in content areas that are not part of the conflict itself. Specifically, we propose that nonconscious goal conflicts induce a mode of processing information that increases the likelihood of approaching an issue from opposing perspectives. This hypothesis is examined by investigating the effects of nonconscious goal conflicts on confirmatory thinking, that is, a way of thinking that narrowly focuses on confirmation rather than on broader examination of information. In 5 experiments, we show that nonconscious goal conflicts significantly reduce confirmatory hypothesis testing (Experiments 1 through 3) and anchoring (Experiments 4 and 5). We further show that these effects result from a goal conflict by rejecting explanations based on priming of semantic opposites, and priming of multiple goals that do not conflict (Experiments 2 and 3), and by examining decision times as a conflict process variable (Experiment 5). Using various probes, we show that these changes in confirmatory judgments are not accompanied by changes in conflict phenomenology. Together, these results suggest that nonconscious goal conflicts attenuate the robust confirmatory thinking strategy that characterizes human thinking in numerous domains.

Spillover between interparental conflict and parent-child conflict within and across days.

PubMed

Sherrill, Rachel Baden; Lochman, John E; DeCoster, Jamie; Stromeyer, Sara L

2017-10-01

The present study used a daily reporting design to examine the bidirectional spillover in conflict and conflict strategies between the interparental relationship and the parent-child relationship. Participants were 60 parents with a preadolescent child at risk for aggressive behavior. Parents reported on their experience of interparental and parent-child conflict and their use of constructive and destructive conflict strategies through daily telephone interviews over 7 days. Each day was divided into 3 equal time periods roughly corresponding to early morning, daytime, and evening. Time-lagged analyses investigated the spillover in conflict within and across days. Results revealed that the presence of interparental conflict significantly predicted the presence of parent-child conflict 1 time period later and 1 full day later. Likewise, the presence of parent-child conflict significantly predicted the presence of interparental conflict 1 full day later. In terms of conflict strategy use, results revealed that parents who engaged in constructive patterns of interparental conflict were more likely to engage in constructive patterns of parent-child conflict 1 time period later and 1 full day later. Reciprocal effects for constructive parent-child conflict predicting subsequent interparental conflict were significant across all 3 time lags assessed. There were no significant, bidirectional effects for the spillover in destructive conflict. Findings have important clinical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Two Mechanisms to Avoid Control Conflicts Resulting from Uncoordinated Intent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mishkin, Andrew H.; Dvorak, Daniel L.; Wagner, David A.; Bennett, Matthew B.

2013-01-01

This software implements a real-time access control protocol that is intended to make all connected users aware of the presence of other connected users, and which of them is currently in control of the system. Here, "in control" means that a single user is authorized and enabled to issue instructions to the system. The software The software also implements a goal scheduling mechanism that can detect situations where plans for the operation of a target system proposed by different users overlap and interact in conflicting ways. In such situations, the system can either simply report the conflict (rejecting one goal or the entire plan), or reschedule the goals in a way that does not conflict. The access control mechanism (and associated control protocol) is unique. Other access control mechanisms are generally intended to authenticate users, or exclude unauthorized access. This software does neither, and would likely depend on having some other mechanism to support those requirements.

Interprofessional conflict and medical errors: results of a national multi-specialty survey of hospital residents in the US.

PubMed

Baldwin, Dewitt C; Daugherty, Steven R

2008-12-01

Clear communication is considered the sine qua non of effective teamwork. Breakdowns in communication resulting from interprofessional conflict are believed to potentiate errors in the care of patients, although there is little supportive empirical evidence. In 1999, we surveyed a national, multi-specialty sample of 6,106 residents (64.2% response rate). Three questions inquired about "serious conflict" with another staff member. Residents were also asked whether they had made a "significant medical error" (SME) during their current year of training, and whether this resulted in an "adverse patient outcome" (APO). Just over 20% (n = 722) reported "serious conflict" with another staff member. Ten percent involved another resident, 8.3% supervisory faculty, and 8.9% nursing staff. Of the 2,813 residents reporting no conflict with other professional colleagues, 669, or 23.8%, recorded having made an SME, with 3.4% APOs. By contrast, the 523 residents who reported conflict with at least one other professional had 36.4% SMEs and 8.3% APOs. For the 187 reporting conflict with two or more other professionals, the SME rate was 51%, with 16% APOs. The empirical association between interprofessional conflict and medical errors is both alarming and intriguing, although the exact nature of this relationship cannot currently be determined from these data. Several theoretical constructs are advanced to assist our thinking about this complex issue.

Post-conflict slowing after incongruent stimuli: from general to conflict-specific.

PubMed

Rey-Mermet, Alodie; Meier, Beat

2017-05-01

Encountering a cognitive conflict not only slows current performance, but it can also affect subsequent performance, in particular when the conflict is induced with bivalent stimuli (i.e., stimuli with relevant features for two different tasks) or with incongruent trials (i.e., stimuli with relevant features for two response alternatives). The post-conflict slowing following bivalent stimuli, called "bivalency effect", affects all subsequent stimuli, irrespective of whether the subsequent stimuli share relevant features with the conflict stimuli. To date, it is unknown whether the conflict induced by incongruent stimuli results in a similar post-conflict slowing. To investigate this, we performed six experiments in which participants switched between two tasks. In one task, incongruent stimuli appeared occasionally; in the other task, stimuli shared no feature with the incongruent trials. The results showed an initial performance slowing that affected all tasks after incongruent trials. On further trials, however, the slowing only affected the task sharing features with the conflict stimuli. Therefore, the post-conflict slowing following incongruent stimuli is first general and then becomes conflict-specific across trials. These findings are discussed within current task switching and cognitive control accounts.

Is consciousness necessary for conflict detection and conflict resolution?

PubMed

Xiang, Ling; Wang, Baoxi; Zhang, Qinglin

2013-06-15

Is conflict control dependent on consciousness? To answer this question, we used high temporal resolution event-related potentials (ERPs) to separate conflict detection from conflict resolution in a masked prime Stroop task. Although behavioral interference effect was present in both the masked and unmasked conditions, the electrophysiological findings revealed more complex patterns. ERP analyses showed that N450 was greater for incongruent trials than for congruent trials and that it was located in the ACC and nearby motor cortex, regardless of whether the primes were masked or unmasked; however, the effects were smaller for the masked than unmasked condition. These results suggest that consciousness of conflict information may not be necessary for detecting conflict, but that it may modulate conflict detection. The analysis of slow potential (SP) amplitude showed that it distinguished incongruent trials from congruent trials, and that this modulation effects was reduced to a greater extent for the masked condition than for the unmasked condition. Moreover, the prefrontal-parietal control network was activated under the unmasked but not under the masked condition. These results suggest that the consciousness of conflict information may be a necessary boundary condition for the subsequent initiation of control operations in the more extended PFC-parietal control network. However, considering that the conflict interference effect was significantly reduced in the masked condition, it may be that, with larger unconscious conflict effects, more extensive cognitive control networks would have been activated. These findings have important implications for theories on the relationship between consciousness and cognitive control. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Joint issues – conflicts of interest, the ASR hip and suggestions for managing surgical conflicts of interest

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Financial and nonfinancial conflicts of interest in medicine and surgery are troubling because they have the capacity to skew decision making in ways that might be detrimental to patient care and well-being. The recent case of the Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip provides a vivid illustration of the harmful effects of conflicts of interest in surgery. Discussion We identify financial and nonfinancial conflicts of interest experienced by surgeons, hospitals and regulators in the ASR case. These conflicts may have impacted surgical advice, decision-making and evidence gathering with respect to the ASR prosthesis, and contributed to the significant harms experienced by patients in whom the hip was implanted. Drawing on this case we explore shortcomings in the standard responses to conflicts of interest – disclosure and recusal. We argue disclosure is necessary but by no means sufficient to address conflicts of interest. Using the concept of recusal we develop remedies including second opinions and third party consent which may be effective in mitigating conflicts, but their implementation introduces new challenges. Summary Deployment of the ASR hip is a case of surgical innovation gone wrong. As we show, there were multiple conflicts of interest involved in the introduction of the ASR hip into practice and subsequent attempts to gloss over the mounting body of evidence about its lack of safety and effectiveness. Conflicts of interest in surgery are often not well managed. We suggest strategies in this paper which can minimise the conflicts of interest associated with surgical innovation. PMID:25128372

[Types of conflicts and conflict management among Hungarian healthcare workers].

PubMed

Csupor, Éva; Kuna, Ágnes; Pintér, Judit Nóra; Kaló, Zsuzsa; Csabai, Márta

2017-04-01

Efficient communication, conflict management and cooperation are the key factors of a successful patient care. This study is part of an international comparative research. The aim of this study is to unfold conflicts among healthcare workers. 73 healthcare workers were interviewed using a standardized interview protocol. The in-person interviews used the critical incident method. 30 interviews (15 doctors, 15 nurses) were analysed with the Atlas.ti 7 content analysis software. The sources, types, effects of conflicts and conflict management strategies were investigated. The content analysis unfolded the specificities of conflicts in healthcare based on personal experiences. Organizational hierarchy was a substantial source of conflict, especially among physicians, which originates from implicit rules. As a result of the avoiding conflict management the conflicts remain partly unresolved which has negative individual and group effect. Our conceptual framework helps to develop a proper intervention specific to healthcare. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(16), 625-632.

Conflict and user involvement in drug misuse treatment decision-making: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Fischer, Jan; Neale, Joanne; Bloor, Michael; Jenkins, Nicholas

2008-01-01

Background This paper examines client/staff conflict and user involvement in drug misuse treatment decision-making. Methods Seventy-nine in-depth interviews were conducted with new treatment clients in two residential and two community drug treatment agencies. Fifty-nine of these clients were interviewed again after twelve weeks. Twenty-seven interviews were also conducted with staff, who were the keyworkers for the interviewed clients. Results Drug users did not expect, desire or prepare for conflict at treatment entry. They reported few actual conflicts within the treatment setting, but routinely discussed latent conflicts – that is, negative experiences and problematic aspects of current or previous treatment that could potentially escalate into overt disputes. Conflict resulted in a number of possible outcomes, including the premature termination of treatment; staff deciding on the appropriate outcome; the client appealing to the governance structure of the agency; brokered compromise; and staff skilfully eliciting client consent for staff decisions. Conclusion Although the implementation of user involvement in drug treatment decision-making has the potential to trigger high levels of staff-client conflict, latent conflict is more common than overt conflict and not all conflict is negative. Drug users generally want to be co-operative at treatment entry and often adopt non-confrontational forms of covert resistance to decisions about which they disagree. Staff sometimes deploy user involvement as a strategy for managing conflict and soliciting client compliance to treatment protocols. Suggestions for minimising and avoiding harmful conflict in treatment settings are given. PMID:18837989

Cognitive Control and Conflict Adaptation in Youth with High-Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Michael J.; South, Mikle; Clayson, Peter E.; Clawson, Ann

2012-01-01

Background: Youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often show deficits in cognitive control processes, potentially contributing to characteristic difficulties monitoring and regulating behavior. Modification of performance following conflict can be measured by examining conflict adaptation, the adjustment of cognitive resources based…

Cognitive conflict without explicit conflict monitoring in a dynamical agent.

PubMed

Ward, Robert; Ward, Ronnie

2006-11-01

We examine mechanisms for resolving cognitive conflict in an embodied, situated, and dynamic agent, developed through an evolutionary learning process. The agent was required to solve problems of response conflict in a dual-target "catching" task, focusing response on one of the targets while ignoring the other. Conflict in the agent was revealed at the behavioral level in terms of increased latencies to the second target. This behavioral interference was correlated to peak violations of the network's stable state equation. At the level of the agent's neural network, peak violations were also correlated to periods of disagreement in source inputs to the agent's motor effectors. Despite observing conflict at these numerous levels, we did not find any explicit conflict monitoring mechanisms within the agent. We instead found evidence of a distributed conflict management system, characterized by competitive sources within the network. In contrast to the conflict monitoring hypothesis [Botvinick, M. M., Braver, T. S., Barch, D. M., Carter, C. S., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). Conflict monitoring and cognitive control. Psychological Review, 108(3), 624-652], this agent demonstrates that resolution of cognitive conflict does not require explicit conflict monitoring. We consider the implications of our results for the conflict monitoring hypothesis.

Mothers' work–family conflict and enrichment: associations with parenting quality and couple relationship

PubMed Central

Cooklin, A R; Westrupp, E; Strazdins, L; Giallo, R; Martin, A; Nicholson, J M

2015-01-01

Background Employment participation of mothers of young children has steadily increased in developed nations. Combining work and family roles can create conflicts with family life, but can also bring enrichment. Work–family conflict and enrichment experienced by mothers may also impact children's home environments via parenting behaviour and the couple relationship, particularly in the early years of parenting when the care demands for young children is high. Methods In order to examine these associations, while adjusting for a wide range of known covariates of parenting and relationship quality, regression models using survey data from 2151 working mothers of 4- to 5-year-old children are reported. Results/Conclusion Results provided partial support for the predicted independent relationships between work–family conflict, enrichment and indicators of the quality of parenting and the couple relationship. PMID:24673505

Conflicts at work are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Jacob, Louis; Kostev, Karel

2017-01-01

Background: Only few authors have analyzed the impact of workplace conflicts and the resulting stress on the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders. The goal of this study was to analyze the association between workplace conflicts and cardiovascular disorders in patients treated by German general practitioners. Methods: Patients with an initial documentation of a workplace conflict experience between 2005 and 2014 were identified in 699 general practitioner practices (index date). We included only those who were between the ages of 18 and 65 years, had a follow-up time of at least 180 days after the index date, and had not been diagnosed with angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, coronary heart diseases, or stroke prior to the documentation of the workplace mobbing. In total, the study population consisted of 7,374 patients who experienced conflicts and 7,374 controls for analysis. The main outcome measure was the incidence of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and stroke correlated with workplace conflict experiences. Results: After a maximum of five years of follow-up, 2.9% of individuals who experienced workplace conflict were affected by cardiovascular diseases, while only 1.4% were affected in the control group (p-value <0.001). Workplace conflict was associated with a 1.63-fold increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Finally, the impact of workplace conflict was higher for myocardial infarction (OR=2.03) than for angina pectoris (OR=1.79) and stroke (OR=1.56). Conclusions: Overall, we found a significant association between workplace conflicts and cardiovascular disorders.

Conflicts at work are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease

PubMed Central

Jacob, Louis; Kostev, Karel

2017-01-01

Background: Only few authors have analyzed the impact of workplace conflicts and the resulting stress on the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders. The goal of this study was to analyze the association between workplace conflicts and cardiovascular disorders in patients treated by German general practitioners. Methods: Patients with an initial documentation of a workplace conflict experience between 2005 and 2014 were identified in 699 general practitioner practices (index date). We included only those who were between the ages of 18 and 65 years, had a follow-up time of at least 180 days after the index date, and had not been diagnosed with angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, coronary heart diseases, or stroke prior to the documentation of the workplace mobbing. In total, the study population consisted of 7,374 patients who experienced conflicts and 7,374 controls for analysis. The main outcome measure was the incidence of angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and stroke correlated with workplace conflict experiences. Results: After a maximum of five years of follow-up, 2.9% of individuals who experienced workplace conflict were affected by cardiovascular diseases, while only 1.4% were affected in the control group (p-value <0.001). Workplace conflict was associated with a 1.63-fold increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Finally, the impact of workplace conflict was higher for myocardial infarction (OR=2.03) than for angina pectoris (OR=1.79) and stroke (OR=1.56). Conclusions: Overall, we found a significant association between workplace conflicts and cardiovascular disorders. PMID:28496397

The effect of visual-vestibulosomatosensory conflict induced by virtual reality on postural stability in humans.

PubMed

Nishiike, Suetaka; Okazaki, Suzuyo; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Akizuki, Hironori; Imai, Takao; Uno, Atsuhiko; Kitahara, Tadashi; Horii, Arata; Takeda, Noriaki; Inohara, Hidenori

2013-01-01

In this study, we examined the effects of sensory inputs of visual-vestibulosomatosensory conflict induced by virtual reality (VR) on subjective dizziness, posture stability and visual dependency on postural control in humans. Eleven healthy young volunteers were immersed in two different VR conditions. In the control condition, subjects walked voluntarily with the background images of interactive computer graphics proportionally synchronized to their walking pace. In the visual-vestibulosomatosensory conflict condition, subjects kept still, but the background images that subjects experienced in the control condition were presented. The scores of both Graybiel's and Hamilton's criteria, postural instability and Romberg ratio were measured before and after the two conditions. After immersion in the conflict condition, both subjective dizziness and objective postural instability were significantly increased, and Romberg ratio, an index of the visual dependency on postural control, was slightly decreased. These findings suggest that sensory inputs of visual-vestibulosomatosensory conflict induced by VR induced motion sickness, resulting in subjective dizziness and postural instability. They also suggest that adaptation to the conflict condition decreases the contribution of visual inputs to postural control with re-weighing of vestibulosomatosensory inputs. VR may be used as a rehabilitation tool for dizzy patients by its ability to induce sensory re-weighing of postural control.

Parental Depressive Symptoms and Children's Sleep: The Role of Family Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Sheikh, Mona; Kelly, Ryan J.; Bagley, Erika J.; Wetter, Emily K.

2012-01-01

Background: We used a multi-method and multi-informant design to identify developmental pathways through which parental depressive symptoms contribute to children's sleep problems. Environmental factors including adult inter-partner conflict and parent-child conflict were considered as process variables of this relation. Methods: An ethnically and…

Flexible conflict management: conflict avoidance and conflict adjustment in reactive cognitive control.

PubMed

Dignath, David; Kiesel, Andrea; Eder, Andreas B

2015-07-01

Conflict processing is assumed to serve two crucial, yet distinct functions: Regarding task performance, control is adjusted to overcome the conflict. Regarding task choice, control is harnessed to bias decision making away from the source of conflict. Despite recent theoretical progress, until now two lines of research addressed these conflict-management strategies independently of each other. In this research, we used a voluntary task-switching paradigm in combination with response interference tasks to study both strategies in concert. In Experiment 1, participants chose between two univalent tasks on each trial. Switch rates increased following conflict trials, indicating avoidance of conflict. Furthermore, congruency effects in reaction times and error rates were reduced following conflict trials, demonstrating conflict adjustment. In Experiment 2, we used bivalent instead of univalent stimuli. Conflict adjustment in task performance was unaffected by this manipulation, but conflict avoidance was not observed. Instead, task switches were reduced after conflict trials. In Experiment 3, we used tasks comprising univalent or bivalent stimuli. Only tasks with univalent revealed conflict avoidance, whereas conflict adjustment was found for all tasks. On the basis of established theories of cognitive control, an integrative process model is described that can account for flexible conflict management. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

"Conflict management" and "conflict resolution" are not synonymous terms.

PubMed

Robbins, S P

1978-01-01

Robbins sees functional conflict as an absolute necessity within organizations and explicitly encourages it. He explains: "Survival can result only when an organization is able to adapt to constant changes in the environment. Adaption is possible only through change, and change is stimulated by conflict." Robbins cites evidence indicating that conflict can be related to increased productivity and that critical thinking encourages well-developed decisions. He admits, however, that not all conflicts are good for the organization. Their functional or dysfunctional nature is determined by the impact of the conflict on the objectives of the organization. The author identifies several factors underlying the need for conflict stimulation: (1) managers who are surrounded by "yes men"; (2) subordinates who are afraid to admit ignorance or uncertainty; (3) decision-makers' excessive concern about hurting the feelings of others; or (4) an environment where new ideas are slow in coming forth. He suggests techniques for stimulating conflict; manipulating the communication channels (i.e., repression of information); changing the organizational structure (i.e., changes in size or position); and altering personal behavior factors (i.e., role incongruence). Robbins stresses that the actual method to be used in either resolving or stimulating conflict must be appropriate to the situation.

Reporting of conflicts of interest in guidelines of preventive and therapeutic interventions

PubMed Central

Papanikolaou, George N; Baltogianni, Maria S; Contopoulos-Ioannidis, Despina G; Haidich, Anna-Bettina; Giannakakis, Ioannis A; Ioannidis, John PA

2001-01-01

Background Guidelines published in major medical journals are very influential in determining clinical practice. It would be essential to evaluate whether conflicts of interests are disclosed in these publications. We evaluated the reporting of conflicts of interest and the factors that may affect such disclosure in a sample of 191 guidelines on therapeutic and/or preventive measures published in 6 major clinical journals (Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Pediatrics) in 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994 and 1999. Results Only 7 guidelines (3.7%) mentioned conflicts of interest and all were published in 1999 (17.5% (7/40) of guidelines published in 1999 alone). Reporting of conflicts of interest differed significantly by journal (p=0.026), availability of disclosure policy by the journal (p=0.043), source of funding (p < 0.001) and number of authors (p=0.004). In the entire database of 191 guidelines, a mere 18 authors disclosed a total of 24 potential conflicts of interest and most pertained to minor issues. Conclusions Despite some recent improvement, reporting of conflicts of interest in clinical guidelines published in influential journals is largely neglected. PMID:11405896

Crippling Violence: Conflict and Incident Polio in Afghanistan

PubMed Central

Norris, Alison; Hachey, Kevin; Curtis, Andrew; Bourdeaux, Margaret

2016-01-01

Background Designing effective public health campaigns in areas of armed conflict requires a nuanced understanding of how violence impacts the epidemiology of the disease in question. Methods We examine the geographical relationship between violence (represented by the location of detonated Improvised Explosive Devices) and polio incidence by generating maps of IEDs and polio incidence during 2010, and by comparing the mean number of IED detonations in polio high-risk districts with non polio high-risk districts during 2004–2009. Results We demonstrate a geographic relationship between IED violence and incident polio. Districts that have high-risk for polio have highly statistically significantly greater mean numbers of IEDs than non polio high-risk districts (p-values 0.0010–0.0404). Conclusions The geographic relationship between armed conflict and polio incidence provides valuable insights as to how to plan a vaccination campaign in violent contexts, and allows us to anticipate incident polio in the regions of armed conflict. Such information permits vaccination planners to engage interested armed combatants to co-develop strategies to mitigate the effects of violence on polio. PMID:26958854

The Association between Parent-Child Conflict and Adolescent Conduct Problems over Time: Results from a Longitudinal Adoption Study

PubMed Central

Klahr, Ashlea M.; McGue, Matt; Iacono, William G.; Burt, S. Alexandra

2010-01-01

A handful of prior adoption studies have confirmed that the cross-sectional relationship between child conduct problems and parent/child conflict is at least partially shared environmental in origin. However, as the direction of causation between parenting and delinquency remains unclear, this relationship could be better explained by the adolescent's propensity to elicit conflictive parenting, a phenomenon referred to as an evocative gene-environment correlation. The current study thus examined the prospective relationship between conduct problems and parent-child conflict in a sample of adoptive families. Participants included 672 adolescents in 405 adoptive families assessed at two time points roughly 4 years apart. Results indicated that parent-child conflict predicts the development of conduct problems, whereas conduct problems do not predict increases in parent-child conflict. Such findings suggest that evocative gene-environment correlations are highly unlikely as an explanation of prior shared environmental effects during adolescence. Moreover, because the adolescents in this study do not share genes with their adoptive parents, the association between conduct problems and parent-child conflict is indicative of shared environmental mediation in particular. Implications of our findings are discussed. PMID:21038930

Teaching about Ethnic Conflict: Global Issues. Ethnic Heritage Series, Volume 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamy, Steven L.

The document presents background information and activities for use by secondary school social studies teachers as they incorporate material on ethnic conflict into the curriculum. Ethnic conflicts are interpreted as hostilities which are either solely based upon or accentuated by ethnic differences. Examples are violence in Northern Ireland,…

Nursing Students' Perception of Conflict Management Styles of Their Nursing Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hashish, Ebtsam Aly Abou; Hamouda, Ghada Mohamed; Taha, Eman El-Sayed

2015-01-01

Background: The interactive nature of the teaching process is built on a social relationship between teachers and students. Conflicts in the relationship between students and teachers may occur for a several reasons. Effective and constructive management of conflict can decrease its negative effects on the learning environment, students, and…

Task conflict and relationship conflict in top management teams: the pivotal role of intragroup trust.

PubMed

Simons, T L; Peterson, R S

2000-02-01

Task conflict is usually associated with effective decisions, and relationship conflict is associated with poor decisions. The 2 conflict types are typically correlated in ongoing groups, however, which creates a prescriptive dilemma. Three explanations might account for this relationship--misattribution of task conflict as relationship conflict, harsh task conflict tactics triggering relationship conflict, and misattribution of relationship conflict as task conflict. The authors found that intragroup trust moderates the relationship between task conflict and relationship conflict in 70 top management teams. This result supports the "misattribution of task conflict" explanation. The authors also found a weak effect that is consistent with the argument that tactical choices drive the association between the 2 conflict types. We infer that trust is a key to gaining the benefits of task conflict without suffering the costs of relationship conflict.

Eysenck's Theory of Personality and the Role of Background Music in Cognitive Task Performance: A Mini-Review of Conflicting Findings and a New Perspective.

PubMed

Küssner, Mats B

2017-01-01

The question of whether background music is able to enhance cognitive task performance is of interest to scholars, educators, and stakeholders in business alike. Studies have shown that background music can have beneficial, detrimental or no effects on cognitive task performance. Extraversion-and its postulated underlying cause, cortical arousal-is regarded as an important factor influencing the outcome of such studies. According to Eysenck's theory of personality, extraverts' cortical arousal at rest is lower compared to that of introverts. Scholars have thus hypothesized that extraverts should benefit from background music in cognitive tasks, whereas introverts' performance should decline with music in the background. Reviewing studies that have considered extraversion as a mediator of the effect of background music on cognitive task performance, it is demonstrated that there is as much evidence in favor as there is against Eysenck's theory of personality. Further, revisiting Eysenck's concept of cortical arousal-which has traditionally been assessed by activity in the EEG alpha band-and reviewing literature on the link between extraversion and cortical arousal, it is revealed that there is conflicting evidence. Due to Eysenck's focus on alpha power, scholars have largely neglected higher frequency bands in the EEG signal as indicators of cortical arousal. Based on recent findings, it is suggested that beta power might not only be an indicator of alertness and attention but also a predictor of cognitive task performance. In conclusion, it is proposed that focused music listening prior to cognitive tasks might be a more efficient way to boost performance than listening to background music during cognitive tasks.

Eysenck's Theory of Personality and the Role of Background Music in Cognitive Task Performance: A Mini-Review of Conflicting Findings and a New Perspective

PubMed Central

Küssner, Mats B.

2017-01-01

The question of whether background music is able to enhance cognitive task performance is of interest to scholars, educators, and stakeholders in business alike. Studies have shown that background music can have beneficial, detrimental or no effects on cognitive task performance. Extraversion—and its postulated underlying cause, cortical arousal—is regarded as an important factor influencing the outcome of such studies. According to Eysenck's theory of personality, extraverts' cortical arousal at rest is lower compared to that of introverts. Scholars have thus hypothesized that extraverts should benefit from background music in cognitive tasks, whereas introverts' performance should decline with music in the background. Reviewing studies that have considered extraversion as a mediator of the effect of background music on cognitive task performance, it is demonstrated that there is as much evidence in favor as there is against Eysenck's theory of personality. Further, revisiting Eysenck's concept of cortical arousal—which has traditionally been assessed by activity in the EEG alpha band—and reviewing literature on the link between extraversion and cortical arousal, it is revealed that there is conflicting evidence. Due to Eysenck's focus on alpha power, scholars have largely neglected higher frequency bands in the EEG signal as indicators of cortical arousal. Based on recent findings, it is suggested that beta power might not only be an indicator of alertness and attention but also a predictor of cognitive task performance. In conclusion, it is proposed that focused music listening prior to cognitive tasks might be a more efficient way to boost performance than listening to background music during cognitive tasks. PMID:29184523

Accurate where it counts: Empathic accuracy on conflict and no-conflict days.

PubMed

Lazarus, Gal; Bar-Kalifa, Eran; Rafaeli, Eshkol

2018-03-01

When we are accurate regarding our partners' negative moods, are we seen as more responsive (and do we see them as such) as a function of the presence/absence of conflict? In 2 daily diary studies, empathic accuracy (EA) was assessed by comparing targets' daily negative moods with perceivers' inferences of these moods. We hypothesized that conflict will be associated with reductions in perceived partner responsiveness (PPR) for both parties; that on no-conflict days, EA will be positively associated with both parties' PPR; that on conflict days, this positive association will be stronger for targets but will become negative for perceivers; and that regardless of conflict, overestimation (vs. underestimation) of negative moods will be tied with higher PPR for targets but with lower PPR for perceivers. Thirty-six (Sample 1) and 77 (Sample 2) committed couples completed daily diaries (for 21 or 35 days, respectively). We utilized multilevel polynomial regression with response surface analyses, a sophisticated approach for studying multisource data of this sort (Edwards & Parry, 1993). Results partially supported our hypotheses: conflict was tied to reduced PPR; on no-conflict days, EA was not consistently predictive of target or perceiver PPR; on conflict days, EA predicted increased target PPR but decreased perceiver PPR; finally, overestimation predicted increased target PPR on no-conflict days and decreased perceiver PPR regardless of conflict. These results highlight the double-edged effects of EA on conflict days, and the importance of investigating dyadic EA in a context-sensitive approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Underreporting of conflicts of interest in clinical practice guidelines: cross sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Conflicts of interest affect recommendations in clinical guidelines and disclosure of such conflicts is important. However, not all conflicts of interest are disclosed. Using a public available disclosure list we determined the prevalence and underreporting of conflicts of interest among authors of clinical guidelines on drug treatments. Methods We included up to five guidelines published from July 2010 to March 2012 from each Danish clinical specialty society. Using the disclosure list of the Danish Health and Medicines Authority, we identified author conflicts of interest and compared them with the disclosures in the guidelines. For each guideline we extracted methodological characteristics of guideline development. Results Forty-five guidelines from 14 specialty societies were included. Of 254 authors, 135 (53%) had conflicts of interest, corresponding to 43 of the 45 guidelines (96%) having one or more authors with a conflict of interest. Only one of the 45 guidelines (2%) disclosed author conflicts of interest. The most common type of conflict of interest (83 of the 135) was being a consultant, an advisory board member or a company employee. Only 10 guidelines (22%) described the methods used for guideline development, 27 (60%) used references in the text and 11 (24%) graded the types of evidence. Conclusions Conflicts of interest were common, but disclosures were very rare. Most guidelines did not describe how they were developed and many did not describe the evidence behind specific recommendations. Publicly available disclosure lists may assist guideline issuing bodies in ensuring that all conflicts are disclosed. PMID:23642105

Positive consequences of conflict on decision making: when a conflict mindset facilitates choice.

PubMed

Savary, Jennifer; Kleiman, Tali; Hassin, Ran R; Dhar, Ravi

2015-02-01

Much research has shown that conflict is aversive and leads to increased choice deferral. In contrast, we have proposed that conflict can be beneficial. Specifically, exposure to nonconscious goal conflict can activate a mindset (a set of cognitive procedures) that facilitates the systematic processing of information without triggering the associated costs, such as negative affect and stress. In a conflict mindset, people should be better able to make tradeoffs and resolve choice conflict. We tested this proposition in 4 experiments, and demonstrated that priming conflicting goals before a decision increases choice in domains unrelated to the primed conflict. We further demonstrated that increased choice occurs because people in a conflict mindset process choice information more systematically, and we rule out several alternative explanations for the results.

Stimulus conflict triggers behavioral avoidance.

PubMed

Dignath, David; Eder, Andreas B

2015-12-01

According to a recent extension of the conflict-monitoring theory, conflict between two competing response tendencies is registered as an aversive event and triggers a motivation to avoid the source of conflict. In the present study, we tested this assumption. Over five experiments, we examined whether conflict is associated with an avoidance motivation and whether stimulus conflict or response conflict triggers an avoidance tendency. Participants first performed a color Stroop task. In a subsequent motivation test, participants responded to Stroop stimuli with approach- and avoidance-related lever movements. These results showed that Stroop-conflict stimuli increased the frequency of avoidance responses in a free-choice motivation test, and also increased the speed of avoidance relative to approach responses in a forced-choice test. High and low proportions of response conflict in the Stroop task had no effect on avoidance in the motivation test. Avoidance of conflict was, however, obtained even with new conflict stimuli that had not been presented before in a Stroop task, and when the Stroop task was replaced with an unrelated filler task. Taken together, these results suggest that stimulus conflict is sufficient to trigger avoidance.

Conflict management and resolution.

PubMed

Harolds, Jay; Wood, Beverly P

2006-03-01

When people work collaboratively, conflict will always arise. Understanding the nature and source of conflict and its progression and stages, resolution, and outcome is a vital aspect of leadership. Causes of conflict include the miscomprehension of communication, emotional issues, personal history, and values. When the difference is understood and the resultant behavior properly addressed, most conflict can be settled in a way that provides needed change in an organization and interrelationships. There are serious consequences of avoiding or mismanaging disagreements. Informed leaders can effectively prevent destructive conflicts.

Persistent work-life conflict and health satisfaction - A representative longitudinal study in Switzerland

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The objectives of the present study were (1) to track work-life conflict in Switzerland during the years 2002 to 2008 and (2) to analyse the relationship between work-life conflict and health satisfaction, examining whether long-term work-life conflict leads to poor health satisfaction. Methods The study is based on a representative longitudinal database (Swiss Household Panel), covering a six-year period containing seven waves of data collection. The sample includes 1261 persons, with 636 men and 625 women. Data was analysed by multi-level mixed models and analysis of variance with repeated measures. Results In the overall sample, there was no linear increase or decrease of work-life conflict detected, in either its time-based or strain-based form. People with higher education were more often found to have a strong work-life conflict (time- and strain-based), and more men demonstrated a strong time-based work-life conflict than women (12.2% vs. 5%). A negative relationship between work-life conflict and health satisfaction over time was found. People reporting strong work-life conflict at every wave reported lower health satisfaction than people with consistently weak work-life conflict. However, the health satisfaction of those with a continuously strong work-life conflict did not decrease during the study period. Conclusions Both time-based and strain-based work-life conflict are strongly correlated to health satisfaction. However, no evidence was found for a persistent work-life conflict leading to poor health satisfaction. PMID:21529345

Closing the Chasm: Preparing and Building Post-Conflict Civil Capacity

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-18

vii Background and Analysis ...CLOSING THE CHASM: PREPARING AND BUILDING POST-CONFLICT CIVIL CAPACITY Background and Analysis Introduction Plans fail for lack of counsel... rhythmic comfort zone. The lack of Human Resource depth in the military and other Federal agencies‘ directly impact their priorities of ongoing

Acculturation Conflict, Cultural Parenting Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Parenting Competence in Asian American and Latino/a Families.

PubMed

Kiang, Lisa; Glatz, Terese; Buchanan, Christy M

2017-12-01

Parents from immigrant backgrounds must deal with normative parenting demands as well as unique challenges associated with acculturation processes. The current study examines the independent and interactive influences of acculturation conflict and cultural parenting self-efficacy (PSE; e.g., parents' confidence in instilling heritage, American, and bicultural values in their children) on perceptions of general parenting competence. Using data from 58 Asian American and 153 Latin American parents of children in grades 6-12, ethnic differences were also explored. Results suggest that lower acculturation conflict is associated with higher perceptions of general parenting competence for both Asian and Latin American parents. Higher cultural PSE is associated with higher perceived general parenting competence for Latino/a parents only. One significant interaction was found, and only for Asian Americans, whereby the negative association between acculturation conflict and perceptions of parenting competence was weaker for those who felt efficacious in transmitting heritage messages. Results are discussed in light of clinical implications and the need for further recognition and study of culturally relevant factors and frameworks among families from immigrant backgrounds. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

Conflict prevention, conflict mitigation, and manifestations of conflict during emergency department consultations.

PubMed

Chan, Teresa; Bakewell, Francis; Orlich, Donika; Sherbino, Jonathan

2014-03-01

The objective was to determine the causes of and mitigating factors for conflict between emergency physicians and other colleagues during consultations. From March to September 2010, a total of 61 physicians (31 residents and 30 attendings from emergency medicine [EM], internal medicine, and general surgery) were interviewed about how junior learners should be taught about emergency department (ED) consultations. During these interviews, they were asked if and how conflict manifests during the ED consultation process. Two investigators reviewed the transcripts independently to generate themes related to conflict until saturation was reached. Disagreements were resolved by consensus. The trustworthiness of the analysis was ensured by generating an audit trail, which was subsequently audited by an investigator not involved with the initial analysis. This analysis was compared to previously proposed models of trust and conflict from the sociology and business literature. All participants recalled some manifestation of conflict. There were 12 negative conflict-producing themes and 10 protective conflict-mitigating themes. When comparing these themes to a previously developed model of the domains of trust, each theme mapped to domains of the model. Conflict affects the ED consultation process. Areas that lead to conflict are identified that map to previous models of trust and conflict. This work extends the current understanding about intradisciplinary conflict in the clinical realm. These new findings may improve the understanding of the nature of conflicts that occur and form the foundation for interventions that may decrease conflict during ED consultations. © 2014 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Association between work-family conflict and musculoskeletal pain among hospital patient care workers

PubMed Central

Kim, Seung-Sup; Okechukwu, Cassandra; Buxton, Orfeu M.; Dennerlein, Jack T.; Boden, Leslie I.; Hashimoto, Dean M.; Sorensen, Glorian

2014-01-01

Background A growing body of evidence suggests that work-family conflict is an important risk factor for workers' health and well-being. The goal of this study is to examine association between work-family conflict and musculoskeletal pain among hospital patient care workers. Methods We analyzed a cross-sectional survey of 1119 hospital patient care workers in 105 units in two urban, academic hospitals. Work-family conflict was measured by 5-item Work-Family Conflict Scale questionnaire. Multilevel logistic regression was applied to examine associations between work-family conflict and self-reported musculoskeletal pain in the past 3 months, adjusting for confounders including work-related psychosocial factors and physical work factors. Results In fully adjusted models, high work-family conflict was strongly associated with neck or shoulder pain (OR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.64 - 3.34), arm pain (OR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.64 - 4.75), lower extremity pain (OR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.54- 3.15) and any musculoskeletal pain (OR: 2.45, 95% CI: 1.56 - 3.85), and a number of body areas in pain (OR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.82 - 3.36) in the past 3 months. The association with low back pain was attenuated and became non-significant after adjusting for confounders. Conclusions Given the consistent associations between work-family conflict and self-reported musculoskeletal pains, the results suggest that work-family conflict could be an important domain for health promotion and workplace policy development among hospital patient care workers. PMID:23019044

Scientific results from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)

PubMed Central

Bennett, C. L.; Boggess, N. W.; Cheng, E. S.; Hauser, M. G.; Kelsall, T.; Mather, J. C.; Moseley, S. H.; Murdock, T. L.; Shafer, R. A.; Silverberg, R. F.; Smoot, G. F.; Weiss, R.; Wright, E. L.

1993-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has flown the COBE satellite to observe the Big Bang and the subsequent formation of galaxies and large-scale structure. Data from the Far-Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer (FIRAS) show that the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background is that of a black body of temperature T = 2.73 ± 0.06 K, with no deviation from a black-body spectrum greater than 0.25% of the peak brightness. The data from the Differential Microwave Radiometers (DMR) show statistically significant cosmic microwave background anisotropy, consistent with a scale-invariant primordial density fluctuation spectrum. Measurements from the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) provide new conservative upper limits to the cosmic infrared background. Extensive modeling of solar system and galactic infrared foregrounds is required for further improvement in the cosmic infrared background limits. PMID:11607383

Adolescent Conflict Appraisals Moderate the Link Between Marital Conflict and Physiological Stress Reactivity.

PubMed

Lucas-Thompson, Rachel G; Lunkenheimer, Erika S; Granger, Douglas A

2017-03-01

The goal of this study was to advance understanding of how adolescent conflict appraisals contribute uniquely, and in combination with interparental conflict behavior, to individual differences in adolescent physiological reactivity. Saliva samples were collected from 153 adolescents (52% female; ages 10-17 years) before and after the Trier Social Stress Test. Saliva was assayed for cortisol and alpha-amylase. Results revealed interactive effects between marital conflict and conflict appraisals. For youth who appraised parental conflict negatively (particularly as threatening), negative marital conflict predicted dampened reactivity; for youth who appraised parental conflict less negatively, negative marital conflict predicted heightened reactivity. These findings support the notion that the family context and youth appraisals of family relationships are linked with individual differences in biological sensitivity to context. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Breaking the conflict of tionghoa-java in surakarta at reformation period 1998

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riyadi; Hermawan, ES; Aji, RNB; Trilaksana, A.; Mastuti, S.

2018-01-01

The issues raised in this paper are potential conflicts and efforts to create harmony of the socio-cultural environment of ethnic Chinese-Javanese. This research is to know the historical background of the process, and the development of ethnic Chinese descent in Surakarta City and how far the potential conflict and causal factor of conflict between ethnic Chinese and ethnic indigenous of Java so that known factors become obstacle of social integration process of ethnic of Chinese and indigenous Java in Surakarta. Approach of this research is descriptive qualitative. Data collection techniques were initially used in the questionnaire distribution model, followed by: in-depth interviews and (2) involved observation, document content analysis and FGD. To obtain degree of high validity, done by technique triangulation, recheck and peer debriefing. This research using interactive technique analysis. The result of the research can be concluded that the conflict arising from the existence of domestic economic and political pressure has forced Chinese people to migrate to Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and then there are several conflicts in many areas in Indonesia. The conflict between ethnic Chinese and Javanese in Surakarta occurred in 1980 and 1998. The conflict resolution can be done by optimizing social, cultural, and economic factors. This factor is used as a social adhesive to the integration between ethnic Chinese and Javanese in Surakarta.

Examination of the double burden hypothesis—a systematic review of work–family conflict and sickness absence

PubMed Central

Skipstein, Anni; Østby, Kristian A.; Mykletun, Arnstein

2017-01-01

Abstract Background: Women consistently have higher sickness absence than men. The double-burden hypothesis suggests this is due to higher work–family burden in women than men. The current study aimed to systematically review prospective studies of work–family conflict and subsequent sickness absence. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in the electronic databases Medline, PsycINFO, and Embase with subject heading terms and keywords with no language or time restrictions. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and read full-texts with pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Eight included studies (n = 40 856 respondents) measure perceived work–family conflict and subsequent sickness absence. We found moderate evidence for a positive relationship between work–family conflict and subsequent sickness absence, and that women experience higher levels of work–family conflict than men. Conclusion: Work–family conflict is associated with later sickness absence, and work–family conflict is more common for women than for men. This indicates that work–family conflict may contribute to the gender gap in sick leave. However, further studies are needed to confirm whether this relationship is causal. PMID:28486653

Contingency learning is not affected by conflict experience: Evidence from a task conflict-free, item-specific Stroop paradigm.

PubMed

Levin, Yulia; Tzelgov, Joseph

2016-02-01

A contingency learning account of the item-specific proportion congruent effect has been described as an associative stimulus-response learning process that has nothing to do with controlling the Stroop conflict. As supportive evidence, contingency learning has been demonstrated with response conflict-free stimuli, such as neutral words. However, what gives rise to response conflict and to Stroop interference in general is task conflict. The present study investigated whether task conflict can constitute a trigger or, alternatively, a booster to the contingency learning process. This was done by employing a "task conflict-free" condition (i.e., geometric shapes) and comparing it with a "task conflict" condition (i.e., neutral words). The results showed a significant contingency learning effect in both conditions, refuting the possibility that contingency learning is triggered by the presence of a task conflict. Contingency learning was also not enhanced by the task conflict experience, indicating its complete insensitivity to Stroop conflict(s). Thus, the results showed no evidence that performance optimization as a result of contingency learning is greater under conflict, implying that contingency learning is not recruited to assist the control system to overcome conflict. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Changes in adolescents' conflict responses associated with consecutive presentation of hypothetical conflict situations.

PubMed

Johnson, H D; LaVoie, J C; Eggenburg, E; Mahoney, M A; Pounds, L

2001-10-01

The advantages of using hypothetical situations are one reason they have been widely used to examine adolescents' responses to conflict situations. One frequently used research protocol involves presenting several conflict scenarios to participants during a single session. However, in real-life situations multiple conflicts rarely occur within short periods of time, and the nature of this presentation may be associated with changes in adolescents' reports of conflict behaviors. Trend analyses of emotional, conflict goal, and conflict tactic responses from grade 8, 10, 12, and college students to consecutively presented conflict situations showed that responses were associated with presentation of the hypothetical situations. Findings revealed an increase in reports of assertive conflict behaviors and a decrease in reports of constructive conflict behaviors with successive situation presentation. Results from the current study suggest that researchers must consider trends in responses when examining findings from successive situation presentation methodologies because adolescent reports of conflict behavior may change as situation presentation proceeds. Copyright 2001 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.

Conflict and conflict resolution: parent and young teen perceptions.

PubMed

Riesch, Susan K; Gray, Jacqueline; Hoeffs, Mellisa; Keenan, Tia; Ertl, Tammy; Mathison, Kristin

2003-01-01

The purpose of this preliminary study was to describe a novel approach to examine the thinking of parents and young teens about conflict and conflict resolution in their relationship. The novel approach was that teens and parents were asked to solve, in focus groups, a hypothetical conflict situation without, and then with, a structured conflict resolution guide. Two focus groups were conducted. The resulting data were analyzed with use of content analysis from a sample of 8 parent-young teen dyads. The young teens and their parents participated separately from one another in the focus groups. Data demonstrated that the young teens (a) thought parents or siblings initiated most disagreements and that such disagreements were routine, and (b) handled conflict with their parents by trying to prevent it. If a conflict ensued, they used emotion, aggression, cooling off, accepting some of the blame, or submission to resolve it. Parents viewed the disagreements as (a) representing their struggles with their role as a parent or (b) opportunities to instill a sense of intrinsic responsibility in their child. Parents used the strategies of setting clear expectations, parental authority, negotiation, cooling down, and feedback to solve disagreements with their teenage children. We concluded that these parents and young teens do not use a systematic method of solving disagreements but that with structured guidance, the parents and teens were able to resolve conflicts.

Conflict Adaptation and Congruency Sequence Effects to Social-Emotional Stimuli in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Worsham, Whitney; Gray, Whitney E.; Larson, Michael J.; South, Mikle

2015-01-01

Background: The modification of performance following conflict can be measured using conflict adaptation tasks thought to measure the change in the allocation of cognitive resources in order to reduce conflict interference and improve performance. While previous studies have suggested atypical processing during nonsocial cognitive control tasks,…

Low Background Assay Results for LZ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliver-Mallory, Kelsey; Thomas, Keenan; Lux-Zeplin Collaboration; Berkeley Low Background Facility Team

2016-03-01

The next generation dark matter experiment LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) requires careful control of intrinsic radioactivity in all critical detector components in order to reach its unprecedented target sensitivity to Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs): 2 ×10-48 cm2 at 50 GeV/c2. Appropriate material selection is essential to meeting this goal, and an extensive campaign of low background screening is currently being carried out using assay devices at the Sanford Underground Research Facility and the Boulby Underground Laboratory. We will present results from this work, including measurements for the Ti cryostat, PMT bases, PMT raw materials, PTFE, and other components. This work was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Award Number DE-AC02-05CH11231, and is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 1106400.

Armed conflict and child health.

PubMed

Rieder, Michael; Choonara, Imti

2012-01-01

Armed conflict has a major impact on child health throughout the world. One in six children worldwide lives in an area of armed conflict and civilians are more likely to die than soldiers as a result of the conflict. In stark contrast to the effect on children, the international arms trade results in huge profits for the large corporations involved in producing arms, weapons and munitions. Armed conflict is not inevitable but is an important health issue that should be prevented.

Leisure Activity Patterns and Marital Conflict in Iran

PubMed Central

Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh; Saadat, Hassan; Noushad, Siena

2016-01-01

Background: Over the past few decades, the association between leisure activity patterns and marital conflict or satisfaction has been studied extensively. However, most studies to date have been limited to middle-class families of developed societies, and an investigation of the issue, from a developing country perspective like Iran, is non-existent. Objectives: In an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study we aimed to investigate the relationship between leisure activity patterns and marital conflict in a nationally representative sample of Iranian married males. Patients and Methods: Using the cluster sampling method, a representative sample of 400 Iranian married individuals from seven provinces of Iran was surveyed. Self-administered surveys included a checklist collecting demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the enrolled participants, leisure time questionnaire, and marital conflict questionnaire. The main patterns of leisure activity were derived from principal component analysis. For each pattern, factor scores were calculated. The relationship between factor scores and marital conflict were assessed using multivariate linear regression models accounting for the potential confounding effects of age, education, socioeconomic status, job status, number of children, duration of marriage, and time spent for leisure. Results: Two hundred and ninety-nine respondents completed the leisure time and marital conflict questionnaires. Five major leisure patterns were identified accounting for 60.3% of the variance in data. The most dominant pattern was family-oriented activities (e.g. spending time with family outdoors and spending time with family indoors) and was negatively linked to marital conflict (standardized beta= −0.154, P = 0.013). Of the four remaining patterns, three only included individual activities and one was a family-individual composite. Individual patterns exhibited discrepant behavior; while the pattern involving activities

Armed conflict and child health

PubMed Central

Rieder, Michael; Choonara, Imti

2012-01-01

Summary Armed conflict has a major impact on child health throughout the world. One in six children worldwide lives in an area of armed conflict and civilians are more likely to die than soldiers as a result of the conflict. In stark contrast to the effect on children, the international arms trade results in huge profits for the large corporations involved in producing arms, weapons and munitions. Armed conflict is not inevitable but is an important health issue that should be prevented. PMID:21393303

Decisional conflict and the disposition of frozen embryos: implications for informed consent

PubMed Central

Lyerly, A.D.; Nakagawa, S.; Kuppermann, M.

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND Fertility patients often struggle with decisions about disposition of embryos remaining after fertility treatment. We aimed to identify predictors and correlates of decisional conflict among patients facing these decisions. METHODS We analyzed results from a survey of 2210 patients from nine geographically diverse US fertility clinics. The main outcome measure was decisional conflict about embryo disposition, as measured by the decisional conflict scale (DCS). RESULTS Of 1244 respondents who returned the survey, 1005 with cryopreserved embryos and DCS scores were included in the analysis. Of the respondents, 39% reported high decisional conflict (DCS ≥ 37.5). Thoughts about future childbearing were associated with high decisional conflict: respondents who were either uncertain about whether to have a baby in the future or sure they did not want to have a baby were at higher odds of high decisional conflict than participants who desired a baby [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.93, P < 0.001 and aOR = 1.69, P = 0.04, respectively]. Also associated with high decisional conflict were being likely to have embryos thawed and discarded (aOR = 2.08, P < 0.001), donated for research (aOR = 1.66, P = 0.01) or frozen ‘forever’ (aOR = 1.90, P = 0.01); being likely to choose compassionate transfer if it were available (aOR = 1.65, P = 0.03); attributing high, but not full, moral status to human embryos; not having enough information; and not being satisfied with the informed consent process. CONCLUSIONS Decisional conflict about frozen embryo disposition differs according to reproductive preferences that may vary according to stage of treatment. Informed consent for embryo disposition should be revisited periodically, with serious discussions about disposition after childbearing is complete. PMID:21216789

The dissociable neural dynamics of cognitive conflict and emotional conflict control: An ERP study.

PubMed

Xue, Song; Li, Yu; Kong, Xia; He, Qiaolin; Liu, Jia; Qiu, Jiang

2016-04-21

This study investigated differences in the neural time-course of cognitive conflict and emotional conflict control, using event-related potentials (ERPs). Although imaging studies have provided some evidence that distinct, dissociable neural systems underlie emotional and nonemotional conflict resolution, no ERP study has directly compared these two types of conflict. Therefore, the present study used a modified face-word Stroop task to explore the electrophysiological correlates of cognitive and emotional conflict control. The behavioral data showed that the difference in response time of congruency (incongruent condition minus the congruent condition) was larger in the cognitive conflict task than in the emotional conflict task, which indicated that cognitive conflict was stronger than the emotional conflict in the present tasks. Analysis of the ERP data revealed a main effect of task type on N2, which may be associated with top-down attention. The N450 results showed an interaction between cognitive and emotional conflict, which might be related to conflict detection. In addition, we found the incongruent condition elicited a larger SP than the congruent condition, which might be related to conflict resolution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Committees and Conflict: Developing a Conflict Resolution Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaulding, Angela

2002-01-01

Describes development of conflict-resolution framework to address committee conflict. Describes several conflict-resolution strategies. Matches appropriate strategies with different types of committee conflict. For example, compromise is listed at the appropriate strategy to resolve interpersonal conflict. (Contains 24 references.) (PKP)

Sexual conflict predicts morphology and behavior in two species of penduline tits

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The evolutionary interests of males and females rarely coincide (sexual conflict), and these conflicting interests influence morphology, behavior and speciation in various organisms. We examined consequences of variation in sexual conflict in two closely-related passerine birds with contrasting breeding systems: the Eurasian penduline tit Remiz pendulinus (EPT) exhibiting a highly polygamous breeding system with sexually antagonistic interests over parental care, and the socially monogamous Cape penduline tit Anthoscopus minutus (CPT). We derived four a priori predictions from sexual conflict theory and tested these using data collected in Central Europe (EPT) and South Africa (CPT). Firstly, we predicted that EPTs exhibit more sexually dimorphic plumage than CPTs due to more intense sexual selection. Secondly, we expected brighter EPT males to provide less care than duller males. Thirdly, since song is a sexually selected trait in many birds, male EPTs were expected to exhibit more complex songs than CPT males. Finally, intense sexual conflict in EPT was expected to lead to low nest attendance as an indication of sexually antagonistic interests, whereas we expected more cooperation between parents in CPT consistent with their socially monogamous breeding system. Results Consistent with our predictions EPTs exhibited greater sexual dimorphism in plumage and more complex song than CPTs, and brighter EPT males provided less care than duller ones. EPT parents attended the nest less frequently and less simultaneously than CPT parents. Conclusions These results are consistent with sexual conflict theory: species in which sexual conflict is more manifested (EPT) exhibited a stronger sexual dimorphism and more elaborated sexually selected traits than species with less intense sexual conflict (CPT). Our results are also consistent with the notion that EPTs attempt to force their partner to work harder as expected under sexual conflict: each member of the

Medical Professionalism: Conflicting Values for Tomorrow's Doctors

PubMed Central

Cohn, Simon; Barclay, Stephen

2010-01-01

Background New values and practices associated with medical professionalism have created an increased interest in the concept. In the United Kingdom, it is a current concern in medical education and in the development of doctor appraisal and revalidation. Objective To investigate how final year medical students experience and interpret new values of professionalism as they emerge in relation to confronting dying patients and as they potentially conflict with older values that emerge through hidden dimensions of the curriculum. Methods Qualitative study using interpretative discourse analysis of anonymized student reflective portfolios. One hundred twenty-three final year undergraduate medical students (64 male and 59 female) from the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine supplied 116 portfolios from general practice and 118 from hospital settings about patients receiving palliative or end of life care. Results Professional values were prevalent in all the portfolios. Students emphasised patient-centered, holistic care, synonymous with a more contemporary idea of professionalism, in conjunction with values associated with the ‘old’ model of professionalism that had not be directly taught to them. Integrating ‘new’ professional values was at times problematic. Three main areas of potential conflict were identified: ethical considerations, doctor-patient interaction and subjective boundaries. Students explicitly and implicitly discussed several tensions and described strategies to resolve them. Conclusions The conflicts outlined arise from the mix of values associated with different models of professionalism. Analysis indicates that ‘new’ models are not simply replacing existing elements. Whilst this analysis is of accounts from students within one UK medical school, the experience of conflict between different notions of professionalism and the three broad domains in which this conflict arises are relevant in other areas of medicine and in

Conflict cultures in organizations: how leaders shape conflict cultures and their organizational-level consequences.

PubMed

Gelfand, Michele J; Leslie, Lisa M; Keller, Kirsten; de Dreu, Carsten

2012-11-01

Anecdotal evidence abounds that organizations have distinct conflict cultures, or socially shared norms for how conflict should be managed. However, research to date has largely focused on conflict management styles at the individual and small group level, and has yet to examine whether organizations create socially shared and normative ways to manage conflict. In a sample of leaders and members from 92 branches of a large bank, factor analysis and aggregation analyses show that 3 conflict cultures-collaborative, dominating, and avoidant-operate at the unit level of analysis. Building on Lewin, Lippitt, and White's (1939) classic work, we find that leaders' own conflict management behaviors are associated with distinct unit conflict cultures. The results also demonstrate that conflict cultures have implications for macro branch-level outcomes, including branch viability (i.e., cohesion, potency, and burnout) and branch performance (i.e., creativity and customer service). A conflict culture perspective moves beyond the individual level and provides new insight into the dynamics of conflict management in organizational contexts. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Parental depression and child outcomes – is marital conflict the missing link?

PubMed Central

Hanington, L; Heron, J; Stein, A; Ramchandani, P

2012-01-01

Background Both maternal and paternal depression during the perinatal period are associated with adverse effects on child outcomes. Attention has started to focus on the mechanisms mediating these relationships. Marital conflict may play a role in this context. Methods In a large cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n= 14 541 pregnancies), we aimed to (i) investigate the relative influences of parental postnatal depression and marital conflict on child outcomes and to attempt to determine the pathway(s) of risk; (ii) investigate the impact of two types of antenatal stress (parental depression and marital conflict) on child outcomes; and (iii) determine the relative contributions of antenatal and postnatal risk. Parents completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and a marital conflict scale during the second trimester and at 8 months postnatally. Child outcomes were assessed at 42 months using the Rutter revised pre-school scales. Results Marital conflict partially mediated the relationship between postnatal depression in both mothers and fathers and child outcomes, and acted as an independent risk for adverse outcomes. Parental depression (maternal and paternal) and marital conflict in the antenatal period were both associated with adverse effects which persisted even when postnatal stresses were taken into account. Conclusions These findings, if replicated, suggest that screening and intervention programmes targeted at parental depression and marital problems should be considered antenatally, as well as postnatally. PMID:21771000

EEG neural oscillatory dynamics reveal semantic and response conflict at difference levels of conflict awareness

PubMed Central

Jiang, Jun; Zhang, Qinglin; Van Gaal, Simon

2015-01-01

Although previous work has shown that conflict can be detected in the absence of awareness, it is unknown how different sources of conflict (i.e., semantic, response) are processed in the human brain and whether these processes are differently modulated by conflict awareness. To explore this issue, we extracted oscillatory power dynamics from electroencephalographic (EEG) data recorded while human participants performed a modified version of the Stroop task. Crucially, in this task conflict awareness was manipulated by masking a conflict-inducing color word preceding a color patch target. We isolated semantic from response conflict by introducing four color words/patches, of which two were matched to the same response. We observed that both semantic as well as response conflict were associated with mid-frontal theta-band and parietal alpha-band power modulations, irrespective of the level of conflict awareness (high vs. low), although awareness of conflict increased these conflict-related power dynamics. These results show that both semantic and response conflict can be processed in the human brain and suggest that the neural oscillatory mechanisms in EEG reflect mainly “domain general” conflict processing mechanisms, instead of conflict source specific effects. PMID:26169473

EEG neural oscillatory dynamics reveal semantic and response conflict at difference levels of conflict awareness.

PubMed

Jiang, Jun; Zhang, Qinglin; Van Gaal, Simon

2015-07-14

Although previous work has shown that conflict can be detected in the absence of awareness, it is unknown how different sources of conflict (i.e., semantic, response) are processed in the human brain and whether these processes are differently modulated by conflict awareness. To explore this issue, we extracted oscillatory power dynamics from electroencephalographic (EEG) data recorded while human participants performed a modified version of the Stroop task. Crucially, in this task conflict awareness was manipulated by masking a conflict-inducing color word preceding a color patch target. We isolated semantic from response conflict by introducing four color words/patches, of which two were matched to the same response. We observed that both semantic as well as response conflict were associated with mid-frontal theta-band and parietal alpha-band power modulations, irrespective of the level of conflict awareness (high vs. low), although awareness of conflict increased these conflict-related power dynamics. These results show that both semantic and response conflict can be processed in the human brain and suggest that the neural oscillatory mechanisms in EEG reflect mainly "domain general" conflict processing mechanisms, instead of conflict source specific effects.

Conflicts in the operating theatre.

PubMed

Booij, Leo H D J

2007-04-01

Quality and safety of healthcare depend on team performance. Conflicts decrease team performance. A number of studied factors involved in the development and solution of conflicts are discussed. An operating team consists of individuals, with specific roles requiring specific expertise and skills, performing interdependent tasks with patient treatment as a common goal. Teams are prone to conflicts: a dispute, disagreement or difference of opinion related to patient management, requiring some decision or action. Many factors determine the character of the conflicts, and these vary between different countries, hospitals and teams. Factors include culture, professional social status, personality of members, etc. Conflicts can induce innovation, but can also result in job dissatisfaction. They even can affect the functioning of the hospital. On average, four conflicts can be observed per operation, which are mostly solved immediately. Communication in an open atmosphere is a major issue in dealing with conflicts. If conflicts are unresolved they grow into relationship conflicts, which are difficult to handle. Understanding the factors that contribute to the conflict is important for mediators. Most conflicts arise about theatre management, case acceptation, unexpected changes in the team or incapability of one of its members. There are many possible inductors of conflicts. Conflicts should be immediately resolved by open communication and respectful discussion.

Conflict effects without conflict in anterior cingulate cortex: multiple response effects and context specific representations

PubMed Central

Brown, Joshua W.

2009-01-01

The error likelihood computational model of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Brown & Braver, 2005) has successfully predicted error likelihood effects, risk prediction effects, and how individual differences in conflict and error likelihood effects vary with trait differences in risk aversion. The same computational model now makes a further prediction that apparent conflict effects in ACC may result in part from an increasing number of simultaneously active responses, regardless of whether or not the cued responses are mutually incompatible. In Experiment 1, the model prediction was tested with a modification of the Eriksen flanker task, in which some task conditions require two otherwise mutually incompatible responses to be generated simultaneously. In that case, the two response processes are no longer in conflict with each other. The results showed small but significant medial PFC effects in the incongruent vs. congruent contrast, despite the absence of response conflict, consistent with model predictions. This is the multiple response effect. Nonetheless, actual response conflict led to greater ACC activation, suggesting that conflict effects are specific to particular task contexts. In Experiment 2, results from a change signal task suggested that the context dependence of conflict signals does not depend on error likelihood effects. Instead, inputs to ACC may reflect complex and task specific representations of motor acts, such as bimanual responses. Overall, the results suggest the existence of a richer set of motor signals monitored by medial PFC and are consistent with distinct effects of multiple responses, conflict, and error likelihood in medial PFC. PMID:19375509

A two wave cross-lagged study of work-role conflict, work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion.

PubMed

Jensen, Maria Therese

2016-12-01

By using a two-wave panel design, the present study aimed to study causal, reversed, and reciprocal relations among work-role conflict, work-family conflict, and emotional exhaustion. The Conservation of Resources theory was applied as a theoretical framework. The study was conducted in a large Norwegian oil and gas company (n = 1703). The results demonstrated positive cross-lagged effects of work-role conflict and work-family conflict on emotional exhaustion. In addition, emotional exhaustion predicted work-family conflict over time, and work-family conflict predicted work-role conflict over time, indicating the presence of reciprocal effects. The current study adds new knowledge to the positioning of work-family conflict in relation to perceived conflict in the workplace and emotional exhaustion. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Conflict management styles of Asian and Asian American nurses: implications for the nurse manager.

PubMed

Xu, Yu; Davidhizar, Ruth

2004-01-01

Foreign nurses and American nurses who are culturally diverse make up an increasing number of the US nursing workforce. Of foreign nurses, Asians constitute the largest number. Conflict is an inevitable aspect of human relations in health care settings. Nurses and other health team members with diverse cultural background bring to the workplace different conflict behaviors that directly impact the outcomes of conflicts. It is essential for health care team members and managers to be cognizant of different conflict behaviors as well as different conflict management styles so that strategies can be designed to build a culturally diverse health care team that is able to effectively achieve group and organizational objectives.

Effects of Classical Background Music on Stress, Anxiety, and Knowledge of Filipino Baccalaureate Nursing Students.

PubMed

Evangelista, Kevin; Macabasag, Romeo Luis A; Capili, Brylle; Castro, Timothy; Danque, Marilee; Evangelista, Hanzel; Rivero, Jenica Ana; Gonong, Michell Katrina; Diño, Michael Joseph; Cajayon, Sharon

2017-10-28

Previous work on the use of background music suggests conflicting results in various psychological, behavioral, and educational measures. This quasi-experiment examined the effect of integrating classical background music during a lecture on stress, anxiety, and knowledge. A total of 42 nursing students participated this study. We utilized independent sample t-test and multivariate analysis of variance to examine the effect of classical background music. Our findings suggest that the presence or absence of classical background music do not affect stress, anxiety, and knowledge scores (Λ = 0.999 F(3, 78) = 0.029, p = 0.993). We provided literature to explain the non-significant result. Although classical music failed to establish a significant influence on the dependent variables, classical background music during lecture hours can be considered a non-threatening stimulus. We recommend follow up studies regarding the role of classical background music in regulating attention control of nursing students during lecture hours.

Identification of Social and Environmental Conflicts Resulting from Open-Cast Mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Górniak-Zimroz, Justyna; Pactwa, Katarzyna

2016-10-01

Open-cast mining is related to interference in the natural environment. It also affects human health and quality of life. This influence is, among others, dependent on the type of extracted materials, size of deposit, methods of mining and mineral processing, as well as, equally important, sensitivity of the environment within which mining is planned. The negative effects of mining include deformations of land surface or contamination of soils, air and water. What is more, in many cases, mining for minerals leads to clearing of housing and transport infrastructures located within the mining area, a decrease in values of the properties in the immediate vicinity of a deposit, and an increase in stress levels in local residents exposed to noise. The awareness of negative consequences of taking up open-cast mining activity leads to conflicts between a mining entrepreneur and self-government authorities, society or nongovernment organisations. The article attempts to identify potential social and environmental conflicts that may occur in relation to a planned mining activity. The results of the analyses were interpreted with respect to the deposits which were or have been mined. That enabled one to determine which facilities exclude mineral mining and which allow it. The research took the non-energy mineral resources into consideration which are included in the group of solid minerals located in one of the districts of Lower Silesian Province (SW Poland). The spatial analyses used the tools available in the geographical information systems

Value Conflicts Experienced by Mexican-American Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramirez, Manuel, III

The object of this study, conducted in a Northern California city school district, was to find evidence of cultural value conflicts experienced by Mexican American secondary school students of low socioeconomic background. Those students experiencing the most difficulty in adjusting to the school setting and thus most likely to be dropouts were…

First results of GERDA Phase II and consistency with background models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agostini, M.; Allardt, M.; Bakalyarov, A. M.; Balata, M.; Barabanov, I.; Baudis, L.; Bauer, C.; Bellotti, E.; Belogurov, S.; Belyaev, S. T.; Benato, G.; Bettini, A.; Bezrukov, L.; Bode1, T.; Borowicz, D.; Brudanin, V.; Brugnera, R.; Caldwell, A.; Cattadori, C.; Chernogorov, A.; D'Andrea, V.; Demidova, E. V.; Di Marco, N.; Domula, A.; Doroshkevich, E.; Egorov, V.; Falkenstein, R.; Frodyma, N.; Gangapshev, A.; Garfagnini, A.; Gooch, C.; Grabmayr, P.; Gurentsov, V.; Gusev, K.; Hakenmüller, J.; Hegai, A.; Heisel, M.; Hemmer, S.; Hofmann, W.; Hult, M.; Inzhechik, L. V.; Janicskó Csáthy, J.; Jochum, J.; Junker, M.; Kazalov, V.; Kihm, T.; Kirpichnikov, I. V.; Kirsch, A.; Kish, A.; Klimenko, A.; Kneißl, R.; Knöpfle, K. T.; Kochetov, O.; Kornoukhov, V. N.; Kuzminov, V. V.; Laubenstein, M.; Lazzaro, A.; Lebedev, V. I.; Lehnert, B.; Liao, H. Y.; Lindner, M.; Lippi, I.; Lubashevskiy, A.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lutter, G.; Macolino, C.; Majorovits, B.; Maneschg, W.; Medinaceli, E.; Miloradovic, M.; Mingazheva, R.; Misiaszek, M.; Moseev, P.; Nemchenok, I.; Palioselitis, D.; Panas, K.; Pandola, L.; Pelczar, K.; Pullia, A.; Riboldi, S.; Rumyantseva, N.; Sada, C.; Salamida, F.; Salathe, M.; Schmitt, C.; Schneider, B.; Schönert, S.; Schreiner, J.; Schulz, O.; Schütz, A.-K.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Selivanenko, O.; Shevzik, E.; Shirchenko, M.; Simgen, H.; Smolnikov, A.; Stanco, L.; Vanhoefer, L.; Vasenko, A. A.; Veresnikova, A.; von Sturm, K.; Wagner, V.; Wegmann, A.; Wester, T.; Wiesinger, C.; Wojcik, M.; Yanovich, E.; Zhitnikov, I.; Zhukov, S. V.; Zinatulina, D.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

2017-01-01

The GERDA (GERmanium Detector Array) is an experiment for the search of neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) in 76Ge, located at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN (Italy). GERDA operates bare high purity germanium detectors submersed in liquid Argon (LAr). Phase II of data-taking started in Dec 2015 and is currently ongoing. In Phase II 35 kg of germanium detectors enriched in 76Ge including thirty newly produced Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors is operating to reach an exposure of 100 kg·yr within about 3 years data taking. The design goal of Phase II is to reduce the background by one order of magnitude to get the sensitivity for T1/20ν = O≤ft( {{{10}26}} \\right){{ yr}}. To achieve the necessary background reduction, the setup was complemented with LAr veto. Analysis of the background spectrum of Phase II demonstrates consistency with the background models. Furthermore 226Ra and 232Th contamination levels consistent with screening results. In the first Phase II data release we found no hint for a 0νββ decay signal and place a limit of this process T1/20ν > 5.3 \\cdot {1025} yr (90% C.L., sensitivity 4.0·1025 yr). First results of GERDA Phase II will be presented.

Functional definition of the N450 event-related brain potential marker of conflict processing: a numerical stroop study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Several conflict processing studies aimed to dissociate neuroimaging phenomena related to stimulus and response conflict processing. However, previous studies typically did not include a paradigm-independent measure of either stimulus or response conflict. Here we have combined electro-myography (EMG) with event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in order to determine whether a particularly robust marker of conflict processing, the N450 ERP effect usually related to the activity of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC), is related to stimulus- or to response-conflict processing. EMG provided paradigm-independent measure of response conflict. In a numerical Stroop paradigm participants compared pairs of digits and pressed a button on the side where they saw the larger digit. 50% of digit-pairs were preceded by an effective cue which provided accurate information about the required response. 50% of trials were preceded by a neutral cue which did not communicate the side of response. Results EMG showed that response conflict was significantly larger in neutrally than in effectively cued trials. The N450 was similar when response conflict was high and when it was low. Conclusions We conclude that the N450 is related to stimulus or abstract, rather than to response conflict detection/resolution. Findings may enable timing ACC conflict effects. PMID:22452924

Cognitive and Emotional Factors Predicting Decisional Conflict among High-Risk Breast Cancer Survivors Who Receive Uninformative BRCA1/2 Results

PubMed Central

Rini, Christine; O’Neill, Suzanne C.; Valdimarsdottir, Heiddis; Goldsmith, Rachel E.; DeMarco, Tiffani A.; Peshkin, Beth N.; Schwartz, Marc D.

2012-01-01

Objective To investigate high-risk breast cancer survivors’ risk reduction decision making and decisional conflict after an uninformative BRCA1/2 test. Design Prospective, longitudinal study of 182 probands undergoing BRCA1/2 testing, with assessments 1-, 6-, and 12-months post-disclosure. Measures Primary predictors were health beliefs and emotional responses to testing assessed 1-month post-disclosure. Main outcomes included women’s perception of whether they had made a final risk management decision (decision status) and decisional conflict related to this issue. Results There were four patterns of decision making, depending on how long it took women to make a final decision and the stability of their decision status across assessments. Late decision makers and non-decision makers reported the highest decisional conflict; however, substantial numbers of women—even early and intermediate decision makers—reported elevated decisional conflict. Analyses predicting decisional conflict 1- and 12-months post-disclosure found that, after accounting for controls and decision status, health beliefs and emotional factors predicted decisional conflict at different timepoints, with health beliefs more important one month after test disclosure and health beliefs more important one year later. Conclusion Many of these women may benefit from decision making assistance. PMID:19751083

Recognizing and Managing Interpersonal Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deane, Nancy; Hovland, Michael

1993-01-01

Practical advice is offered, to managers and supervisors at any level, on recognizing and analyzing interpersonal conflicts, managing such conflicts and making them productive, and ensuring that performance reviews result in progress for both supervisor and employee. Conflict is seen as inevitable, an opportunity to take action, and manageable.…

Flexible Conflict Management: Conflict Avoidance and Conflict Adjustment in Reactive Cognitive Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dignath, David; Kiesel, Andrea; Eder, Andreas B.

2015-01-01

Conflict processing is assumed to serve two crucial, yet distinct functions: Regarding task performance, control is adjusted to overcome the conflict. Regarding task choice, control is harnessed to bias decision making away from the source of conflict. Despite recent theoretical progress, until now two lines of research addressed these…

The cosmic infrared background experiment (CIBER): instrumentation and first results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zemcov, M.; Battle, J.; Bock, J.; Cooray, A.; Hristov, V.; Keating, B.; Lee, D. H.; Levenson, L.; Mason, P.; Matsumoto, T.; Matsuura, S.; Nam, U. W.; Renbarger, T.; Sullivan, I.; Tsumura, K.; Wada, T.

2010-07-01

Ultraviolet emission from the first generation of stars in the Universe ionized the intergalactic medium in a process which was completed by z ~ 6; the wavelength of these photons has been redshifted by (1 + z) into the near infrared today and can be measured using instruments situated above the Earth's atmosphere. First flying in February 2009, the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER) comprises four instruments housed in a single reusable sounding rocket borne payload. CIBER will measure spatial anisotropies in the extragalactic IR background caused by cosmological structure from the epoch of reionization using two broadband imaging instruments, make a detailed characterization of the spectral shape of the IR background using a low resolution spectrometer, and measure the absolute brightness of the Zodiacal light foreground with a high resolution spectrometer in each of our six science fields. The scientific motivation for CIBER and details of its first and second flight instrumentation will be discussed. First flight results on the color of the zodiacal light around 1 μm and plans for the future will also be presented.

Conflict management in online relationships.

PubMed

Ishii, Kumi

2010-08-01

With the diffusion of networked technology, personal relationships can be easily formed and maintained online today. Similar to a face-to-face situation, conflict is also seen in these online relationships. Early theories suggested that computer-mediated communication (CMC) tends to increase conflicts because of the lack of social-context cues, and CMC is not rich enough to manage conflict. As CMC has become part of our daily life, we often face conflict online, and thus we need to understand how people manage conflict online. This study explored how online users manage interpersonal conflict. Self-report survey data from 159 university students were analyzed to examine their conflict-management styles in association with the perceived closeness of the online relationship and a future intention toward the relationship. The results indicated that online users select cooperative management styles to handle conflict in their close relationships. In addition, online users avoid less cooperative styles when they want to continue the relationship.

Behavioural Patterns of Conflict Resolution Strategies in Preschool Boys with Language Impairment in Comparison with Boys with Typical Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horowitz, Laura; Jansson, Liselotte; Ljungberg, Tomas; Hedenbro, Monica

2005-01-01

Background: Children with language impairment (LI) experience social difficulties, including conflict management. This paper is therefore motivated to examine behavioural processes guiding preschool peer conflict progression, which ultimately contributes to overall development. Aims: To describe behavioural sequences in conflicts between children…

Bear-Baiting May Exacerbate Wolf-Hunting Dog Conflict

PubMed Central

Bump, Joseph K.; Murawski, Chelsea M.; Kartano, Linda M.; Beyer, Dean E.; Roell, Brian J.

2013-01-01

Background The influence of policy on the incidence of human-wildlife conflict can be complex and not entirely anticipated. Policies for managing bear hunter success and depredation on hunting dogs by wolves represent an important case because with increasing wolves, depredations are expected to increase. This case is challenging because compensation for wolf depredation on hunting dogs as compared to livestock is less common and more likely to be opposed. Therefore, actions that minimize the likelihood of such conflicts are a conservation need. Methodology/Principal Findings We used data from two US states with similar wolf populations but markedly different wolf/hunting dog depredation patterns to examine the influence of bear hunting regulations, bear hunter to wolf ratios, hunter method, and hunter effort on wolf depredation trends. Results indicated that the ratio of bear hunting permits sold per wolf, and hunter method are important factors affecting wolf depredation trends in the Upper Great Lakes region, but strong differences exist between Michigan and Wisconsin related in part to the timing and duration of bear-baiting (i.e., free feeding). The probability that a wolf depredated a bear-hunting dog increases with the duration of bear-baiting, resulting in a relative risk of depredation 2.12–7.22× greater in Wisconsin than Michigan. The net effect of compensation for hunting dog depredation in Wisconsin may also contribute to the difference between states. Conclusions/Significance These results identified a potential tradeoff between bear hunting success and wolf/bear-hunting dog conflict. These results indicate that management options to minimize conflict exist, such as adjusting baiting regulations. If reducing depredations is an important goal, this analysis indicates that actions aside from (or in addition to) reducing wolf abundance might achieve that goal. This study also stresses the need to better understand the relationship among baiting

Industry and evidence-based medicine: Believable or conflicted? A systematic review of the surgical literature

PubMed Central

Bailey, Chris S.; Fehlings, Michael G.; Rampersaud, Y. Raja; Hall, Hamilton; Wai, Eugene K.; Fisher, Charles G.

2011-01-01

Background Over the last few decades medical research and development has come to depend more heavily on the financial support of industry. However, there is concern that financial relations between the medical community and medical industry could unduly influence medical research and therefore patient care. Our objective was to determine whether conflict of interest owing to authors’/investigators’ financial affiliation with industry associated with their academic research has been identified in the surgical literature. In particular, we sought to answer the following questions: What is the extent of such conflict of interest? Does conflict of interest bias the results of academic surgical research in favour of industry? What are the potential causes of this proindustry bias? Methods We conducted a systematic review of the literature in May 2008 using the OVID SP search engine of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, DARE and Health Technology Assessment. Quantitative studies that included a methods section and reported on conflict of interest as a result of industry funding in surgery-related research specifically were included in our analysis. Results The search identified 190 studies that met our criteria. Author/investigator conflict of interest owing to financial affiliation with industry associated with their academic research is well documented in the surgical literature. Six studies demonstrated that authors with such conflicts of interest were significantly more likely to report a positive outcome than authors without industry funding, which demonstrates a proindustry bias. Two studies found that the proindustry bias could not be explained by variations in study quality or sample size. Conclusion The conflict of interest that exists when surgical research is sponsored by industry is a genuine concern. PMID:21933525

The Role of Emotional Responses and Physiological Reactivity in the Marital Conflict-Child Functioning Link

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Sheikh, Mona

2005-01-01

Background: Children's emotional responses and physiological reactivity to conflict were examined as mediators and moderators in the associations between exposure to parental marital conflict and child adjustment and cognitive problems. Method: One hundred and eighty elementary school children participated. In response to a simulated argument,…

Conflict management, Part 1. Conflict management checklist: a diagnostic tool for assessing conflict in organizations.

PubMed

Siders, C T; Aschenbrener, C A

1999-01-01

Complex interpersonal conflicts are inevitable in the high speed, high stakes, pressured work of health care. Poorly managed, conflict saps productivity, erodes trust, and spawns additional disputes. Well managed, conflict can enhance the self-confidence and self-esteem of the parties, build relationships, and engender creative solutions beyond expectations. Just as thoughtful differential diagnosis precedes optimum treatment in the doctor-patient relationship, management of conflict is greatly enhanced when preceded by careful assessment. In the first of two articles, the authors present a diagnostic approach, the Conflict Management Checklist, to increase self-awareness and decrease anxiety around conflict.

Conflict management style and marital satisfaction.

PubMed

Greeff, A P; de Bruyne, T

2000-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is one conflict management style that correlated more significantly with marital satisfaction than any other. In addition, spousal satisfaction with how marital conflict is managed was also examined, as were gender differences. Fifty-seven couples who had been married for at least 10 years took part in the study. Results showed that the collaborative conflict management style has the highest correlation with both marital satisfaction and spousal satisfaction with conflict management in the marriage. In contrast, where one or both of the spouses used the competitive conflict management style, the lowest marital satisfaction was reported. The results were also interpreted in terms of cultural and gender differences.

Coping Styles, Aggression and Interpersonal Conflicts among Depressed and Non-Depressed People

PubMed Central

Nazir, Amber; Mohsin, Humaira

2013-01-01

Background: The present study compared people with depressive symptoms and people without depressive symptoms with reference to their coping styles, level of aggression and interpersonal conflicts. Methods: A purposive sample of 128 people (64 depressed and 64 normal controls)was selected from four different teaching hospitals of Lahore. Both the groups were matched on four demographic levels i.e. age, gender, education and monthly income. Symptom Checklist-R was used to screen out depressed and non-depressed people. The Brief COPE, the Aggression Questionnaire and the Bergen Social Relationship Scale were used to assess coping styles, aggression and interpersonal conflicts respectively. The Independent t-test was used to compare the groups. Binary logistic Regression was also carried out to predict the role of research variables in causing depression. Results: The results showed that level of aggression and interpersonal conflict was significantly more in people with depressive symptoms as compared to control group. On the other hand control group was using more adaptive coping styles than people with depressive symptoms but no difference was found in the use of maladaptive coping styles. Conclusion: The present findings revealed that coping styles, aggression and interpersonal conflicts play important role in depression. Therefore, these dimensions must be considered while dealing with the depressive patients. Implications for preventive work are also discussed in the light of previous researches. PMID:24688956

Reporting of financial and non-financial conflicts of interest by authors of systematic reviews: a methodological survey

PubMed Central

Anouti, Sirine; Al-Gibbawi, Mounir; Abou-Jaoude, Elias A; Hasbani, Divina Justina; Guyatt, Gordon; Akl, Elie A

2016-01-01

Background Conflicts of interest may bias the findings of systematic reviews. The objective of this methodological survey was to assess the frequency and different types of conflicts of interest that authors of Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews report. Methods We searched for systematic reviews using the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Ovid MEDLINE (limited to the 119 Core Clinical Journals and the year 2015). We defined a conflict of interest disclosure as the reporting of whether a conflict of interest exists or not, and used a framework to classify conflicts of interest into individual (financial, professional and intellectual) and institutional (financial and advocatory) conflicts of interest. We conducted descriptive and regression analyses. Results Of the 200 systematic reviews, 194 (97%) reported authors' conflicts of interest disclosures, typically in the main document, and in a few cases either online (2%) or on request (5%). Of the 194 Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews, 49% and 33%, respectively, had at least one author reporting any type of conflict of interest (p=0.023). Institutional conflicts of interest were less frequently reported than individual conflicts of interest, and Cochrane reviews were more likely to report individual intellectual conflicts of interest compared with non-Cochrane reviews (19% and 5%, respectively, p=0.004). Regression analyses showed a positive association between reporting of conflicts of interest (at least one type of conflict of interest, individual financial conflict of interest, institutional financial conflict of interest) and journal impact factor and between reporting individual financial conflicts of interest and pharmacological versus non-pharmacological intervention. Conclusions Although close to half of the published systematic reviews report that authors (typically many) have conflicts of interest, more than half report that they do not. Authors reported individual conflicts of interest

Researching the Vietnam Conflict through U.S. Archival Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marlatt, Greta E.

1995-01-01

Presents a pathfinder for the researcher interested in locating materials pertaining to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Highlight include historical background; information sources, including the National Archives, oral histories, manuscripts, federal reports, National Technical Information Service, and special collections. Seven…

The critical role of conflict resolution in teams: a close look at the links between conflict type, conflict management strategies, and team outcomes.

PubMed

Behfar, Kristin J; Peterson, Randall S; Mannix, Elizabeth A; Trochim, William M K

2008-01-01

This article explores the linkages between strategies for managing different types of conflict and group performance and satisfaction. Results from a qualitative study of 57 autonomous teams suggest that groups that improve or maintain top performance over time share 3 conflict resolution tendencies: (a) focusing on the content of interpersonal interactions rather than delivery style, (b) explicitly discussing reasons behind any decisions reached in accepting and distributing work assignments, and (c) assigning work to members who have the relevant task expertise rather than assigning by other common means such as volunteering, default, or convenience. The authors' results also suggest that teams that are successful over time are likely to be both proactive in anticipating the need for conflict resolution and pluralistic in developing conflict resolution strategies that apply to all group members. 2008 APA

Distinguishing response conflict and task conflict in the Stroop task: evidence from ex-Gaussian distribution analysis.

PubMed

Steinhauser, Marco; Hübner, Ronald

2009-10-01

It has been suggested that performance in the Stroop task is influenced by response conflict as well as task conflict. The present study investigated the idea that both conflict types can be isolated by applying ex-Gaussian distribution analysis which decomposes response time into a Gaussian and an exponential component. Two experiments were conducted in which manual versions of a standard Stroop task (Experiment 1) and a separated Stroop task (Experiment 2) were performed under task-switching conditions. Effects of response congruency and stimulus bivalency were used to measure response conflict and task conflict, respectively. Ex-Gaussian analysis revealed that response conflict was mainly observed in the Gaussian component, whereas task conflict was stronger in the exponential component. Moreover, task conflict in the exponential component was selectively enhanced under task-switching conditions. The results suggest that ex-Gaussian analysis can be used as a tool to isolate different conflict types in the Stroop task. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Ancestral hierarchy and conflict.

PubMed

Boehm, Christopher

2012-05-18

Ancestral Pan, the shared predecessor of humans, bonobos, and chimpanzees, lived in social dominance hierarchies that created conflict through individual and coalitional competition. This ancestor had male and female mediators, but individuals often reconciled independently. An evolutionary trajectory is traced from this ancestor to extant hunter-gatherers, whose coalitional behavior results in suppressed dominance and competition, except in mate competition. A territorial ancestral Pan would not have engaged in intensive warfare if we consider bonobo behavior, but modern human foragers have the potential for full-scale war. Although hunter-gatherers are able to resolve conflicts preemptively, they also use mechanisms, such as truces and peace pacts, to mitigate conflict when the costs become too high. Today, humans retain the genetic underpinnings of both conflict and conflict management; thus, we retain the potential for both war and peace.

Conflict Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, William; Koue, Glen

1991-01-01

Discusses general issues involved in conflict management and provides more specific examples of conflict management in libraries. Causes of conflict are considered, including organizational structure, departmentalization, performance appraisal, poor communication, and technological change; and methods of dealing with conflict are described,…

Impact of Conflict and Displacement on Risk Behaviours Amongst People Who Inject Drugs in Kabul, Afghanistan

PubMed Central

Todd, Catherine S.; Nasir, Abdul; Stanekzai, Mohammad Raza; Fiekert, Katja; Sipsma, Heather L.; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Vlahov, David

2015-01-01

Background Theoretical work posits that drug-related risk behaviour increases during armed conflict; however, few studies have been conducted in conflict settings. The objective of this analysis is to determine whether conflict or local displacement impact risk behaviours among people who inject drugs (PWID) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Methods Consenting PWIDs aged ≥18 years completed interviews at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of follow-up. Quarters with peak conflict or local displacement exposure were defined and associations with injecting drug use and sexual risk behaviours analysed with generalized estimating equations. Results Of 483 PWID enrolled, 385 completed ≥1 follow-up visit (483.8 person-years) between 2007 and 2009. All participants were male, with 35% initiating injecting as a refugee. Sharing syringes (Odds Ratio (OR))=8.53, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.58 – 28.2) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) symptoms (OR=1.72, 95% CI: 1.00 – 2.96) increased significantly during peak conflict quarters, while odds of STI symptoms (OR=0.06, 95% CI: 0.02 – 0.20) and arrest (OR=0.61, 95% CI: 0.40 – 0.93) were significantly lower during periods of displacement. Conclusion Syringe sharing significantly increased during peak conflict periods amongst PWID in Kabul. Programming should include instruction for coping with conflict and prepare clients for harm reduction needs during conflict. PMID:26303577

Display dimensionality and conflict geometry effects on maneuver preferences for resolving in-flight conflicts.

PubMed

Thomas, Lisa C; Wickens, Christopher D

2008-08-01

Two experiments explored the effects of display dimensionality, conflict geometry, and time pressure on pilot maneuvering preferences for resolving en route conflicts. With the presence of a cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) that provides graphical airspace information, pilots can use a variety of conflict resolution maneuvers in response to how they perceive the conflict. Inconsistent preference findings from previous research on conflict resolution using CDTIs may be attributable to inherent ambiguities in 3-D perspective displays and/or a limited range of conflict geometries. Pilots resolved predicted conflicts using CDTIs with three levels of display dimensionality; the first had two 2-D orthogonal views, the second depicted the airspace in two alternating 3-D perspective views, and the third had a pilot-controlled swiveling viewpoint. Pilots demonstrated the same preferences that have been observed in previous research for vertical over lateral maneuvers in low workload and climbs over descents for level-flight conflicts. With increasing workload the two 3-D perspective displays, but not the 2-D displays, resulted in an increased preference for lateral over vertical maneuvers. Increased time pressure resulted in increased vertical maneuvers, an effect again limited to the two 3-D perspective displays. Resolution preferences were more affected by workload and time pressure when the 3-D perspective displays were used, as compared with the 2-D displays, although overall preferences were milder than in previous studies. Investigating maneuver preferences using the strategic flight planning paradigm employed in this study may be the key to better ensure pilot acceptance of computer-generated resolution maneuvers.

A Study of Interpersonal Conflict Among Operating Room Nurses.

PubMed

Chang, Tsui-Fen; Chen, Chung-Kuang; Chen, Ming-Jia

2017-12-01

Team collaboration is an important factor that affects the performance of the operating room (OR). Therefore, the ability of OR nurses to adapt to and manage interpersonal conflict incidents properly is very important. The aims of this study were to investigate the interpersonal conflict management capabilities of OR nursing staffs and to find the relationships among the demographics of OR nurses and the following: work-related variables, interpersonal conflict management style, and target of interpersonal conflict. This study investigated 201 OR nurses who had worked for more than 6 months at the target hospitals, which were located in the three counties of Changhua, Yunlin, and Chiayi. The questionnaire that was used to collect data included three components: a demographic and work-related variables survey, interpersonal conflict management factor analysis scale, and interpersonal conflict parties and frequency scale. Data were analyzed using independent t test, analysis of variance, Scheffe's test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The main findings were as follows: (a) Integration and arbitration were the major interpersonal conflict management strategies adopted by the participants; (b) medical doctor, OR nurses, and anesthetists were the primary targets of conflict for the participants; (c) the factors of educational background, job position, experience in other departments, seniority, attending courses in conflict management, and level of hospital significantly affected the strategies that participants used to manage interpersonal conflict; and (d) license level, experience in other departments, seniority, and inclination toward serving in the OR were each found to relate significantly to the target of interpersonal conflict and the frequency of interpersonal conflict incidents. The main implications of this study are as follows: (a) The environment for communication in the OR should be made more friendly to encourage junior OR nurses to adopt

The impact of cognitive and affective aspects of cognitive conflict on learners' conceptual change about floating and sinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadjiachilleos, Stella; Valanides, Nicos; Angeli, Charoula

2013-07-01

Background: Cognitive conflict has been identified as an important factor for bringing about students' conceptual change. Researchers draw attention to the need to study not only cognitive factors related to cognitive conflict but affective factors as well. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of cognitive and non-cognitive aspects involved in cognitive conflict on students' conceptual change. Sample: Fifteen students, five from each of fourth, sixth and eighth grades, participated in the study. Seven students were male, and the rest were female. All students had high academic performance and were good at explaining their reasoning. Design and method: The study focused on gaining in-depth information, using semi-structured clinical interviews, about students' thinking when they were engaged in an inquiry process, which incorporated cognitive conflict using a scenario about floating and sinking. Students' initial conceptions related to the phenomenon of floating and sinking were first diagnosed and, subsequently, discrepant events were presented to challenge their initial conceptions. The 15 interviews were qualitatively analyzed using the constant comparative analysis method. Results: The results of this study showed that students' conceptual change was directly related to both cognitive and affective aspects of cognitive conflict. The results also showed that some students showed persistence on alternative frameworks even after their exposure to cognitive conflict. Conclusions: Cognitive conflict is an idiosyncratic, or personal event, that may not be experienced by all learners in the same way. Thus, the effect of cognitive conflict on learners' conceptual change is directly related to learners' ability to experience and feel the conflict when it is presented to them.

Long-Term Exposure to High Altitude Affects Conflict Control in the Conflict-Resolving Stage

PubMed Central

Wu, Jianhui; Wang, Baoxi; Guo, Shichun; Luo, Ping; Han, Buxin

2015-01-01

The neurocognitive basis of the effect of long-term high altitude exposure on conflict control is unclear. Event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in a flanker task to investigate the influence of high altitude on conflict control in the high-altitude group (who had lived at high altitude for three years but were born at low altitude) and the low-altitude group (living in low altitude only). Although altitude effect was not significant at the behavioral level, ERPs showed cognitive conflict modulation. The interaction between group and trial type was significant: P3 amplitude was greater in the low-altitude group than in the high-altitude group in the incongruent trial. This result suggests that long-term exposure to high altitude affects conflict control in the conflict-resolving stage, and that attentional resources are decreased to resist the conflict control in the high-altitude group. PMID:26671280

When Task Conflict Becomes Personal

PubMed Central

Guenter, Hannes; van Emmerik, Hetty; Schreurs, Bert; Kuypers, Tom; van Iterson, Ad; Notelaers, Guy

2016-01-01

Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relationship conflict. Prior research has identified a set of interpersonal factors (e.g., team communication, team trust) that help attenuate this association. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative perspective that focuses on the moderating role of performance-related factors (i.e., perceived team performance). Using social identity theory, we build a model that predicts how task conflict associates with growth in relationship conflict and how perceived team performance influences this association. We test a three-wave longitudinal model by means of random coefficient growth modeling, using data from 60 ongoing teams working in a health care organization. Results provide partial support for our hypotheses. Only when perceived team performance is low, do task conflicts relate with growth in relationship conflict. We conclude that perceived team performance seems to enable teams to uncouple task from relationship conflict. PMID:28190944

Evaluation of psychological support for victims of sexual violence in a conflict setting: results from Brazzaville, Congo

PubMed Central

Hustache, Sarah; Moro, Marie-Rose; Roptin, Jacky; Souza, Renato; Gansou, Grégoire Magloire; Mbemba, Alain; Roederer, Thomas; Grais, Rebecca F; Gaboulaud, Valérie; Baubet, Thierry

2009-01-01

Background Little is known about the impact of psychological support in war and transcultural contexts and in particular, whether there are lasting benefits. Here, we present an evaluation of the late effect of post-rape psychological support provided to women in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Methods Women who attended the Médecins Sans Frontières program for sexual violence in Brazzaville during the conflict were selected to evaluate the psychological consequences of rape and the late effect of post-rape psychological support. A total of 178 patients met the eligibility criteria: 1) Women aged more than 15 years; 2) raped by unknown person(s) wearing military clothes; 3) admitted to the program between the 1/1/2002 and the 30/4/2003; and 4) living in Brazzaville. Results The initial diagnosis according to DSM criteria showed a predominance of anxious disorders (54.1%) and acute stress disorders (24.6%). One to two years after the initial psychological care, 64 women were evaluated using the Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ), the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) and an assessment scale to address medico-psychological care in emergencies (EUMP). Two patients (3.1%) met the needed criteria for PTSD diagnosis from the TSQ. Among the 56 women evaluated using GAF both as pre and post-test, global functioning was significantly improved by initial post-rape support (50 women (89.3%) had extreme or medium impairment at first post-rape evaluation, and 16 (28.6%) after psychological care; p = 0.04). When interviewed one to two years later, the benefit was fully maintained (16 women (28.6%) presenting extreme or medium impairment). Conclusion We found the benefits of post-rape psychological support to be present and lasting in this conflict situation. However, we were unable to evaluate all women for the long-term impact, underscoring the difficulty of leading evaluation studies in unstable contexts. Future research is needed to validate these findings in

Conflict and professionalism: perceptions among nurses in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Zakari, N M; Al Khamis, N I; Hamadi, H Y

2010-09-01

To examine the relationship between nurses' perceptions of conflict and professionalism. In Saudi Arabia, health-care sectors are constantly undergoing major changes because of social, consumer-related, governmental, technological and economic pressures. These changes will influence the nature of health-care organizations, such as hospitals' work environment. The ability of nurses to practise in a professional manner may be influenced by their work environment and conflict level. A cross-sectional design was conducted in this study. A simple random selection of three health-care sectors in Saudi Arabia was performed and 346 nurse managers, as well as bedside nurses participated to provide information about conflict levels and professionalism. The Perceived Conflict Scale was used to assess the level of conflict, and the Valiga Concept of Nursing Scale was used to assess the professionalism perception among nurses. The intragroup/other department type of conflict had a statistically significant correlation with the perception of professionalism. In addition, the findings point to a low perception among the participating nurses regarding their professionalism. A number of factors might explain the low level of perception of professionalism. These relate to the workplace itself, as well as to the personal background of the nurses, which includes the personal interest in the nursing profession, as well as the family's, society's and the consumers' views of the profession. Given the findings of this study, nurse managers are encouraged to create a work environment that supports professionalism and minimizes conflict.

Parent-Adolescent Conflicts, Conflict Resolution Types, and Adolescent Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branje, Susan J. T.; van Doorn, Muriel; van der Valk, Inge; Meeus, Wim

2009-01-01

The current study examined the moderating role of conflict resolution on the association between parent-adolescent conflicts and adolescent problematic adjustment. Participants were 1313 Dutch early and middle adolescents who completed measures on conflict frequency, conflict resolution with parents, and internalizing and externalizing adjustment…

Understanding Conflict Management Styles in Anesthesiology Residents.

PubMed

Vasilopoulos, Terrie; Giordano, Christopher R; Hagan, Jack D; Fahy, Brenda G

2018-05-17

Successful conflict resolution is vital for effective teamwork and is critical for safe patient care in the operating room. Being able to appreciate the differences in training backgrounds, individual knowledge and opinions, and task interdependency necessitates skilled conflict management styles when addressing various clinical and professional scenarios. The goal of this study was to assess conflict styles in anesthesiology residents via self- and counterpart assessment during participation in simulated conflict scenarios. Twenty-two first-year anesthesiology residents (first postgraduate year) participated in this study, which aimed to assess and summarize conflict management styles by 3 separate metrics. One metric was self-assessment with the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), summarized as percentile scores (0%-99%) for 5 conflict styles: collaborating, competing, accommodating, avoiding, and compromising. Participants also completed self- and counterpart ratings after interactions in a simulated conflict scenario using the Dutch Test for Conflict Handling (DUTCH), with scores ranging from 5 to 25 points for each of 5 conflict styles: yielding, compromising, forcing, problem solving, and avoiding. Higher TKI and DUTCH scores would indicate a higher preference for a given conflict style. Sign tests were used to compare self- and counterpart ratings on the DUTCH scores, and Spearman correlations were used to assess associations between TKI and DUTCH scores. On the TKI, the anesthesiology residents had the highest median percentile scores (with first quartile [Q1] and third quartile [Q3]) in compromising (67th, Q1-Q3 = 27-87) and accommodating (69th, Q1-Q3 = 30-94) styles, and the lowest scores for competing (32nd, Q1-Q3 = 10-57). After each conflict scenario, residents and their counterparts on the DUTCH reported higher median scores for compromising (self: 16, Q1-Q3 = 14-16; counterpart: 16, Q1-Q3 = 15-16) and problem solving (self: 17, Q1-Q3 = 16

Parent-Adolescent Conflict in African American Families.

PubMed

Skinner, Olivenne D; McHale, Susan M

2016-10-01

Parent-adolescent conflict is frequent in families and has implications for youth adjustment and family relationships. Drawing on a family systems perspective, we examined mothers', fathers', and two adolescent-aged siblings' (50.5 % females) reports of parent-adolescent conflict in 187 African American families. Using latent profile analysis in the context of an ethnic homogeneous design, we identified three family types based on levels of and differences between parent and youth conflict reports: low conflict, father high conflict, and younger sibling high conflict. Compared to low conflict families, youth in younger sibling high conflict families reported more depressive symptoms and risky behaviors. The results for parents' acceptance revealed that, in comparison to low conflict families, older siblings in father high conflict families reported lower acceptance from mothers, and mothers in these families reported lower acceptance of their children; further, older siblings in younger sibling high conflict families reported less acceptance from fathers, and fathers in these families reported less acceptance of their children. Results underscore the significance of levels of and both differences between and direction of differences in parents' and youth's reports of their "shared" experiences, as well as the importance of examining the larger family contexts of dyadic parent-relationships.

Ethnic Conflicts and Governmental Conflict Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

the risk of violent conflict.12 Indisputably, many of the ethnically diverse nations of Europe in the 19th century emerged as nation- states in the...conflict involving Protestants, Catholics, and secularists in the first quarter of the 20th century .8 In Malaysia, Malays and Chinese have clashed...20th century . In the developing world, like Africa and the Middle East, however, attempts at nation building have often led to bitter conflict and

Environmental changes and violent conflict

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernauer, Thomas; Böhmelt, Tobias; Koubi, Vally

2012-03-01

This letter reviews the scientific literature on whether and how environmental changes affect the risk of violent conflict. The available evidence from qualitative case studies indicates that environmental stress can contribute to violent conflict in some specific cases. Results from quantitative large-N studies, however, strongly suggest that we should be careful in drawing general conclusions. Those large-N studies that we regard as the most sophisticated ones obtain results that are not robust to alternative model specifications and, thus, have been debated. This suggests that environmental changes may, under specific circumstances, increase the risk of violent conflict, but not necessarily in a systematic way and unconditionally. Hence there is, to date, no scientific consensus on the impact of environmental changes on violent conflict. This letter also highlights the most important challenges for further research on the subject. One of the key issues is that the effects of environmental changes on violent conflict are likely to be contingent on a set of economic and political conditions that determine adaptation capacity. In the authors' view, the most important indirect effects are likely to lead from environmental changes via economic performance and migration to violent conflict.

Work-family conflict and burnout among Chinese female nurses: the mediating effect of psychological capital

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Burnout among nurses not only threatens their own health, but also that of their patients. Exploring risk factors of nurse’ burnout is important to improve nurses’ health and to increase the quality of health care services. This study aims to explore the relationship between work-family conflict and burnout among Chinese female nurses and the mediating role of psychological capital in this relationship. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed during the period of September and October 2010. A questionnaire that consisted of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), the work-family conflict scale and the psychological capital questionnaire (PCQ-24) scale, as well as demographic and working factors, was distributed to nurses in Liaoning province, China. A total of 1,332 individuals (effective response rate: 78.35%) became our subjects. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the mediating role of psychological capital. Results Both work interfering family conflict and family interfering work conflict were positively related with emotional exhaustion and cynicism. However, work interfering family conflict was positively related with professional efficacy whereas family interfering work conflict was negatively related with it. Psychological capital partially mediated the relationship of work interfering family conflict with emotional exhaustion and cynicism; and partially mediated the relationship of family interfering work conflict with emotional exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy. Conclusion Work-family conflict had effects on burnout and psychological capital was a mediator in this relationship among Chinese nurses. Psychological capital was a positive resource for fighting against nurses’ burnout. PMID:23107113

[Neurotic conflict systematics--the fundamentals of conflict diagnostics (OPD-2)].

PubMed

Schüssler, Gerhard; Burgmer, Markus; Mans, Elmar; Schneider, Gundrun; Dahlbender, Reiner; Heuft, Gereon

2006-01-01

Although a majority of psychodynamic-psychoanalytic researchers and practitioners address the issue of psychic structure, reevaluation of the nature of a neurotic conflict system and its relation to psychic structure is necessary. A comprehensive conflict system is presented in the context of operative psychodynamic diagnostics (OPD-2), based on findings confirmed thus far. The conflict levels range from conflict tension to neurotic conflicts to conflict schemata in structural disturbances.

Temporal dynamics of conflict monitoring and the effects of one or two conflict sources on error-(related) negativity.

PubMed

Armbrecht, Anne-Simone; Wöhrmann, Anne; Gibbons, Henning; Stahl, Jutta

2010-09-01

The present electrophysiological study investigated the temporal development of response conflict and the effects of diverging conflict sources on error(-related) negativity (Ne). Eighteen participants performed a combined stop-signal flanker task, which was comprised of two different conflict sources: a left-right and a go-stop response conflict. It is assumed that the Ne reflects the activity of a conflict monitoring system and thus increases according to (i) the number of conflict sources and (ii) the temporal development of the conflict activity. No increase of the Ne amplitude after double errors (comprising two conflict sources) as compared to hand- and stop-errors (comprising one conflict source) was found, whereas a higher Ne amplitude was observed after a delayed stop-signal onset. The results suggest that the Ne is not sensitive to an increase in the number of conflict sources, but to the temporal dynamics of a go-stop response conflict. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reexamining the Relationship between Verbal Knowledge Background and Keyword Training for Vocabulary Acquisition

PubMed

Hogben; Lawson

1997-07-01

The literature on keyword training presents a confusing picture of the usefulness of the keyword method for foreign language vocabulary learning by students with strong verbal knowledge backgrounds. This paper reviews research which notes the existence of conflicting sets of findings concerning the verbal background-keyword training relationship and presents the results of analyses which argue against the assertion made by McDaniel and Pressley (1984) that keyword training will have minimal effect on students with high verbal ability. Findings from regression analyses of data from two studies did not show that the relationship between keyword training and immediate recall performance was moderated by verbal knowledge background. The disparate sets of findings related to the keyword training-verbal knowledge relationship and themes emerging from other research suggest that this relationship requires further examination.

Frontal and occipital-parietal alpha oscillations distinguish between stimulus conflict and response conflict

PubMed Central

Tang, Dandan; Hu, Li; Lei, Yi; Li, Hong; Chen, Antao

2015-01-01

Conflicts between target and distraction can occur at the level of both stimulus and response processing. However, the neural oscillations underlying occurrence of the interference in different levels have not been understood well. Here, we reveal such a neural oscillation modulation by combining a 4:2 mapping design (two targets are mapped into one response key) with a practice paradigm (pretest, practice, and posttest) when healthy human participants were performing a novel color-word flanker task. Response time (RT) results revealed constant stimulus conflict (SC, stimulus incongruent minus congruent, SI-CO) but increased response conflict (RC, response incongruent minus stimulus incongruent, RI-SI) with practice. Event-related potential (ERP) results demonstrated stable P3 amplitude differences for the SI-CO in the centro-parietal region across practice, which may reflect maintenance of the stimulus processing; and significantly larger P3 amplitudes in the same region for the RI relative to SI trial type in posttest, which may reflect inhibition of the distraction response. Further, neural oscillatory results showed that with practice, the lower alpha band in the frontal region and the upper alpha band in the occipital-parietal region distinguished between stimulus- and response-conflicts, respectively, suggesting that practice reduces the alertness (sensitiveness) of the brain to conflict occurrence, and enhances stimulus-response associations. PMID:26300758

Impaired Conflict Resolution and Alerting in Children with ADHD: Evidence from the Attention Network Task (ANT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Katherine A.; Robertson, Ian H.; Barry, Edwina; Mulligan, Aisling; Daibhis, Aoife; Daly, Michael; Watchorn, Amy; Gill, Michael; Bellgrove, Mark A.

2008-01-01

Background: An important theory of attention suggests that there are three separate networks that execute discrete cognitive functions. The "alerting" network acquires and maintains an alert state, the "orienting" network selects information from sensory input and the "conflict" network resolves conflict that arises between potential responses.…

Conflicts of interest and expertise of independent commenters in news stories about medical research

PubMed Central

Wang, Michael T.M.; Grey, Andrew; Bolland, Mark J.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Media coverage of medical research influences the views and behaviours of clinicians, scientists and members of the public. We examined how frequently commenters in news stories about medical research have relevant expertise and have academic and financial conflicts, how often such conflicts are reported and whether there are associations between the conflicts and the disposition of the comments toward the findings of the source research. METHODS: We analyzed 104 independent comments in news stories on original clinical research published in high-impact medical journals from Jan. 1 to Mar. 31, 2013, and 21 related journal editorials. Main outcomes were prevalence of relevant academic and clinical expertise, prevalence and reporting of academic and financial conflicts of interest, and disposition of comments toward study findings. RESULTS: Only 1 in 6 news stories included independent comments. Overall, 25% of commenters and 0% of editorialists had neither relevant academic nor clinical expertise (p = 0.007). Among the 104 comments, an academic conflict of interest was present for 56 (54%), of which 25 (45%) were reported in the news stories. A financial conflict of interest was present for 33 (32%) of the comments, of which 11 (33%) were reported. When commenters’ conflicts of interest were congruent with the findings of the source research, 97% and 93% of comments associated with academic and financial conflicts of interest, respectively, were favourably disposed toward the research. These values were 16% and 17%, respectively, when the conflicts of interest were not congruent with the research findings. INTERPRETATION: Independent commenters in new stories about medical research may lack relevant academic or clinical expertise. Academic or financial conflicts of interest were frequently present among independent commenters but infrequently reported, and were often associated with the disposition of comments about the source research. PMID:27993918

Increasing Advisor Effectiveness by Understanding Conflict and Conflict Resolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClellan, Jeffrey

2005-01-01

On a daily basis, advisors encounter various types of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict. Through this article, the reader will better understand conflict, its positive and negative impacts and the approaches of the actors experiencing conflict, and the means whereby conflicts arise, escalate, and come to resolution in advising situations.…

Approaches to Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Toddler Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashby, Nicole; Neilsen-Hewett, Cathrine

2012-01-01

The importance of conflict and its resolution for children's short- and long-term adjustment has been well established within the research literature. Conflict and conflict resolution differs according to a number of constructs, including age, gender and relationship status. The purpose of this study was to explore conflict origins, resolution…

Stimulus ambiguity elicits response conflict.

PubMed

Szmalec, Arnaud; Verbruggen, Frederick; Vandierendonck, André; De Baene, Wouter; Verguts, Tom; Notebaert, Wim

2008-04-18

Conflict monitoring theory [M.M. Botvinick, T. Braver, D. Barch, C. Carter, J.D. Cohen, Conflict monitoring and cognitive control, Psychol. Rev. 108 (2001) 625-652] assumes that perceptual ambiguity among choice stimuli elicits response conflict in choice reaction. It hence predicts that response conflict is also involved in elementary variants of choice reaction time (RT) tasks, i.e., those variants that, by contrast with the Stroop task or the Go/No-Go task for instance, are rarely associated with cognitive control. In order to test this prediction, an experiment was designed in which participants performed a simple RT task and a regular between-hand 2-choice RT task under three different levels of stimulus ambiguity. The data show that response conflict, as measured by the N2 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP), was elicited in the 2-choice RT task but not in the simple RT task and that the degree of response conflict in the 2-choice RT task was a function of stimulus ambiguity. These results show that response conflict is also present in a regular choice RT task which is traditionally not considered to be a measure of cognitive conflict.

Conflicting Online Health Information and Rational Decision Making: Implication for Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Yoon, Heesoo; Sohn, Minsung; Choi, Mankyu; Jung, Minsoo

Although people in the social media age can access health information easier, they have difficulty judging conflicting rational information or summarizing the large amounts of health information available. Conflicting health information occurs when contrary assertions or information about a certain health issue comes from different information sources. This study examined the background knowledge and the current phenomenon of why conflicting health information occurs in real-world conditions. We also reviewed causes and solutions by reviewing the literature. In particular, we recommend a method that solves problems that patients have including cancer survivors who cannot themselves be active in seeking health information. Thus, we categorized the specific types of conflicting health information and analyzed the sociodemographic factors and information carrier factors that have an impact on the health information-seeking behavior of individuals.

Nurse/physician conflict management mode choices: implications for improved collaborative practice.

PubMed

Hendel, Tova; Fish, Miri; Berger, Ornit

2007-01-01

In today's complex healthcare organizations, conflicts between physicians and nurses occur daily. Consequently, organizational conflict has grown into a major subfield of organizational behavior. Researchers have claimed that conflict has a beneficial effect on work group function and identified collaboration as one of the intervening variables that may explain the relationship between magnet hospitals and positive patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare conflict mode choices of physicians and head nurses in acute care hospitals and examine the relationship of conflict mode choices with their background characteristics. In a cross-sectional correlational study, 75 physicians and 54 head nurses in 5 hospitals were surveyed, using the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. No difference was found between physicians and nurses in choice of the most frequently used mode in conflict management. The compromising mode was found to be the significantly most commonly chosen mode (P = .00) by both. Collaborating was chosen significantly more frequently among head nurses (P = .001) and least frequently among physicians (P = .00). Most of the respondents' characteristics were not found to be correlated with mode choices. The findings indicate a need to enhance partnerships in the clinical environment to ensure quality patient care and staff satisfaction.

Interdisciplinary conflict and organizational complexity.

PubMed

Guy, M E

1986-01-01

Most people think that conflict among the professional staff is inevitable and results from each profession's unique set of values. Each profession then defends itself by claiming its own turf. This article demonstrates that organizational complexity, not professional territorialism, influences the amount of intraorganizational conflict. In a comparison of two psychiatric hospitals, this study shows that there is not necessarily greater conflict across professions than within professions. However, there is a significantly greater amount of conflict among staff at a structurally more complex hospital than at a less-complex hospital, regardless of profession. Implications for management are discussed.

Effects of social identity salience on motivational orientation and conflict strategies in intergenerational conflict.

PubMed

Ho, Henry C Y; Yeung, Dannii Y

2017-06-01

With the upsurge of older adults still working, the labour force is becoming increasingly diverse in age. Age diversity in an organisation can increase the likelihood of intergenerational conflict. The present study aims to integrate the dual concern model and social identity theory to explain the underlying mechanisms of intergenerational conflict by examining the effects of social identity salience on motivational orientation and conflict strategies. A 2 (subgroup identity salience: low vs. high younger/older group membership) × 2 (superordinate identity salience: low vs. high organisational group membership) factorial design with a structured questionnaire on motivational orientation and conflict strategies in relation to a hypothetical work conflict scenario was implemented among 220 postgraduate university students in Hong Kong. Results revealed that subgroup and superordinate identities had a combined influence on conflict strategies but not in motivational orientation. Subgroup and superordinate identification promoted integrating and compromising strategies, superordinate identification promoted obliging strategy, subgroup identification promoted dominating strategy and no identification promoted avoiding strategy. Age did not moderate these relationships. This study contributes to the development of the integrated model of conflict. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

Analyzing the generality of conflict adaptation effects.

PubMed

Funes, Maria Jesús; Lupiáñez, Juan; Humphreys, Glyn

2010-02-01

Conflict adaptation effects refer to the reduction of interference when the incongruent stimulus occurs immediately after an incongruent trial, compared with when it occurs after a congruent trial. The present study analyzes the key conditions that lead to adaptation effects that are specific to the type of conflict involved versus those that are conflict general. In the first 2 experiments, we combined 2 types of conflict for which compatibility arises from clearly different sources in terms of dimensional overlap while keeping the task context constant across conflict types. We found a clear pattern of specificity on conflict adaptation across conflict types. In subsequent experiments, we tested whether this pattern could be accounted in terms of feature integration processes contributing differently to repetition versus alternation of conflict types. The results clearly indicated that feature integration was not key to generating conflict type specificity on conflict adaptation. The data are consistent with there being separate modes of control for different types of cognitive conflict.

A Case Study in Conflict Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chase, Lawrence J.; Smith, Val R.

This paper presents a model for a message-centered theory of human conflict based on the assumption that conflict will result from the pairing of any two functional messages that share a common antecedent but contain different consequences with oppositely signed affect. The paper first shows how to represent conflict situations diagrammatically…

The cerebellum mediates conflict resolution.

PubMed

Schweizer, Tom A; Oriet, Chris; Meiran, Nachshon; Alexander, Michael P; Cusimano, Michael; Stuss, Donald T

2007-12-01

Regions within the frontal and parietal cortex have been implicated as important neural correlates for cognitive control during conflict resolution. Despite the extensive reciprocal connectivity between the cerebellum and these putatively critical cortical areas, a role for the cerebellum in conflict resolution has never been identified. We used a task-switching paradigm that separates processes related to task-set switching and the management of response conflict independent of motor processing. Eleven patients with chronic, focal lesions to the cerebellum and 11 healthy controls were compared. Patients were slower and less accurate in conditions involving conflict resolution. In the absence of response conflict, however, tasks-witching abilities were not impaired in our patients. The cerebellum may play an important role in coordinating with other areas of cortex to modulate active response states. These results are the first demonstration of impaired conflict resolution following cerebellar lesions in the presence of an intact prefrontal cortex.

South Asian women: identities and conflicts.

PubMed

Inman, Arpana G

2006-04-01

This study investigated the effects of education, level of religiosity, ethnic identity (internal and external), and racial identity statuses (conformity, dissonance, resistance, and awareness) on cultural value conflict for first and second generation South Asian women (N = 193). Cultural value conflict was examined in two areas, intimate relations and sex-role expectations. Results revealed that level of religiosity was more predictive of intimate relations conflict for second generation than first generation women. Furthermore, higher ratings in internal ethnic identity predicted greater intimate relations conflict in first generation women, while both internal and external ethnic identity predicted intimate relations conflict in second generation women. Finally, higher dissonance scores in racial identity predicted greater conflicts in sex-role expectations for second generation women alone.

Assessing the role of relationship conflict in sexual dysfunction.

PubMed

Metz, Michael E; Epstein, Norman

2002-01-01

Relationship conflict has long been thought to cause, maintain, and influence the therapeutic outcome of sexual problems in the absence of a physical cause. The results of conflict can influence partners' relationship satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction can influence sexual satisfaction. General relationship deficiencies, such as unresolved conflict, undermine the mutual acceptance that is important to healthy sexual functioning. The purpose of this article is to summarize some of the basic empirical findings of studies of conflict patterns in relationships and their role in sex dysfunction and to suggest a model for assessing relationship conflict as a feature of sexual dysfunction. Results from several studies indicate that couples with sexual problems may have conflict-management issues and employ distinct conflict-resolution styles compared to satisfied couples. Dysfunctional conflict resolution may be a cause or result of some sexual problems, whereas constructive interaction concerning conflict can add to emotional and sexual intimacy in a couple's relationship. These patterns warrant systematic attention in assessment and intervention in sex therapy.

Interpersonal Sources of Conflict in Young People with and without Mild to Moderate Intellectual Disabilities at Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larkin, P.; Jahoda, A.; MacMahon, K.; Pert, C.

2012-01-01

Background: Interpersonal conflict is a source of stress and contributes to poor mental health in people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. Understanding the contexts in which conflict typically occurs can better equip services to help people with such difficulties. However, existing studies into the contexts of conflict have…

Cognitive and brain consequences of conflict.

PubMed

Fan, Jin; Flombaum, Jonathan I; McCandliss, Bruce D; Thomas, Kathleen M; Posner, Michael I

2003-01-01

Tasks involving conflict between stimulus dimensions have been shown to activate dorsal anterior cingulate and prefrontal areas. It has been proposed that the dorsal anterior cingulate is involved a domain general process of monitoring conflict, while prefrontal areas are involved in resolving conflict. We examine three tasks that all require people to respond based on one stimulus dimension while ignoring another conflicting dimension, but which vary in the source of conflict. One of the tasks uses language stimuli (Stroop effect) and two use nonlanguage spatial conflicts appropriate for children and nonhuman animals. In Experiment 1, 12 participants were studied with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing each of the three tasks. Reaction times for each of the three tasks were significantly longer in the incongruent condition compared with the congruent condition, demonstrating that each task elicits a conflict. By studying the same people in the same session, we test the hypothesis that conflict activates a similar brain network in the three tasks. Significant activations were found in the anterior cingulate and left prefrontal cortex for all three conflict tasks. Within these regions, the conflict component demonstrated evidence for significant common activation across the three tasks, although the peak activation point and spatial extent were not identical. Other areas demonstrated activation unique to each task. Experiments 2-4 provide behavioral evidence indicating considerable independence between conflict operations involved in the tasks. The behavioral and fMRI results taken together seem to argue against a single unified network for processing conflict, but instead support either distinct networks for each conflict task or a single network that monitors conflict with different sites used to resolve the conflict.

A Mathematical Analysis of Conflict Prevention Information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Butler, Ricky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Dowek, Gilles

2009-01-01

In air traffic management, conflict prevention information refers to the guidance maneuvers, which if taken, ensure that an aircraft's path is conflict-free. These guidance maneuvers take the form of changes to track angle or ground speed. Conflict prevention information may be assembled into prevention bands that advise the crew on maneuvers that should not be taken. Unlike conflict resolution systems, which presume that the aircraft already has a conflict, conflict prevention systems show conflicts for any maneuver, giving the pilot confidence that if a maneuver is made, then no near-term conflicts will result. Because near-term conflicts can lead to safety concerns, strong verification of information correctness is required. This paper presents a mathematical framework to analyze the correctness of algorithms that produce conflict prevention information incorporating an arbitrary number of traffic aircraft and with both a near-term and intermediate-term lookahead times. The framework is illustrated with a formally verified algorithm for 2-dimensional track angle prevention bands.

Conflict management of mothers and daughters belonging to individualistic and collectivistic cultural backgrounds: a comparative study.

PubMed

Gilani, N P

1999-12-01

Research on the mother-daughter relationship during adolescence is mostly conducted in Western and European cultures where individualism is stressed. To examine ethnic/cultural differences and similarities in this relationship, 80 dyads of British (white) and Pakistani mothers and their adolescent daughters were studied. On the basis of the theories of cultural variability dimension and conflict face negotiation, it was hypothesized that mothers and daughters from the two cultures would use different styles of handling disagreements/conflicts. That is, Pakistani mothers and daughters would use an avoiding style, whereas British mothers and daughters would use either a dominating or compromising style, to a greater degree. It was also argued that Pakistani daughters and mothers will express more intimacy and relational harmony, will exhibit greater connectedness and mutuality and demonstrate lesser individuality and self-assertion compared to their British counterparts. However, it appeared that both the groups used an avoiding style equally, although the British group used a dominating style more than Pakistani group. As hypothesized, Pakistani mothers and daughters expressed more intimacy, relational harmony, connectedness and mutuality and lesser individuality than British mothers and daughters. Copyright 1999 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.

A Model of Family Background, Family Process, Youth Self-Control, and Delinquent Behavior in Two-Parent Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeong, So-Hee; Eamon, Mary Keegan

2009-01-01

Using data from a national sample of two-parent families with 11- and 12-year-old youths (N = 591), we tested a structural model of family background, family process (marital conflict and parenting), youth self-control, and delinquency four years later. Consistent with the conceptual model, marital conflict and youth self-control are directly…

Playing With Conflict: Teaching Conflict Resolution through Simulations and Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, Richard B.; Kirkpatrick, Kat

2013-01-01

Playing With Conflict is a weekend course for graduate students in Portland State University's Conflict Resolution program and undergraduates in all majors. Students participate in simulations, games, and experiential exercises to learn and practice conflict resolution skills. Graduate students create a guided role-play of a conflict. In addition…

Ecosystemic Complexity Theory of Conflict: Understanding the Fog of Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brack, Greg; Lassiter, Pamela S.; Hill, Michele B.; Moore, Sarah A.

2011-01-01

Counselors often engage in conflict mediation in professional practice. A model for understanding the complex and subtle nature of conflict resolution is presented. The ecosystemic complexity theory of conflict is offered to assist practitioners in navigating the fog of conflict. Theoretical assumptions are discussed with implications for clinical…

Managing Conflict: A Guide for the Pharmacy Manager.

PubMed

Haumschild, Ryan J; Hertig, John B; Weber, Robert J

2015-06-01

Managing conflict among a variety of people and groups is a necessary part of creating a high performance pharmacy department. As new pharmacy managers enter the workforce, much of their success depends on how they manage conflict. The goal of this article is to provide a guide for the pharmacy director on conflict in the workplace. By evaluating each type of conflict, we can learn how to respond when it occurs. Resolving conflict requires a unique and individualized approach, and the strategy used may often be based on the situational context and the personality of the employee or manager. The more that pharmacy leaders can engage in conflict resolution with employees and external leaders, the more proactive they can be in achieving positive results. If pharmacy directors understand the source of conflicts and use management strategies to resolve them, they will ensure that conflicts result in a more effective patient-centered pharmacy service.

Influence of Conflict Resolution Training on Conflict Handling Styles of College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waithaka, Abel Gitimu; Moore-Austin, Shante'; Gitimu, Priscilla N.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of conflict resolution skills training on conflict handling styles, and conflict orientation of college students. Conflict handling styles was measured by the Thomas-Kilmann MODE instrument, while Conflict orientation was measured by conflict orientation survey instrument. A sample of 135…

Neural Circuitry of Emotional and Cognitive Conflict Revealed through Facial Expressions

PubMed Central

Chiew, Kimberly S.; Braver, Todd S.

2011-01-01

Background Neural systems underlying conflict processing have been well studied in the cognitive realm, but the extent to which these overlap with those underlying emotional conflict processing remains unclear. A novel adaptation of the AX Continuous Performance Task (AX-CPT), a stimulus-response incompatibility paradigm, was examined that permits close comparison of emotional and cognitive conflict conditions, through the use of affectively-valenced facial expressions as the response modality. Methodology/Principal Findings Brain activity was monitored with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during performance of the emotional AX-CPT. Emotional conflict was manipulated on a trial-by-trial basis, by requiring contextually pre-cued facial expressions to emotional probe stimuli (IAPS images) that were either affectively compatible (low-conflict) or incompatible (high-conflict). The emotion condition was contrasted against a matched cognitive condition that was identical in all respects, except that probe stimuli were emotionally neutral. Components of the brain cognitive control network, including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), showed conflict-related activation increases in both conditions, but with higher activity during emotion conditions. In contrast, emotion conflict effects were not found in regions associated with affective processing, such as rostral ACC. Conclusions/Significance These activation patterns provide evidence for a domain-general neural system that is active for both emotional and cognitive conflict processing. In line with previous behavioural evidence, greatest activity in these brain regions occurred when both emotional and cognitive influences additively combined to produce increased interference. PMID:21408006

The Impact of the School-Based Psychosocial Structured Activities (PSSA) Program on Conflict-Affected Children in Northern Uganda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ager, Alastair; Akesson, Bree; Stark, Lindsay; Flouri, Eirini; Okot, Braxton; McCollister, Faith; Boothby, Neil

2011-01-01

Background: Children in northern Uganda have undergone significant psychosocial stress during the region's lengthy conflict. A Psychosocial Structured Activities (PSSA) program was implemented in 21 schools identified as amongst those most severely affected by conflict-induced displacement across Gulu and Amuru Districts. The PSSA intervention…

Dating conflicts: rethinking dating violence and youth conflict.

PubMed

Adelman, Madelaine; Kil, Sang Hea

2007-12-01

Dating couples are tied to each other's friends who have expectations about dating, such as who constitutes an acceptable date and how to balance friendship and dating. We explore the place of friends in dating conflicts (i.e., conflicts and violence associated with heterosexual teen dating) and ask: (a) How are friends implicated in teen dating/violence not only as targets or confidants, but also as participants in conflict that stems from their friends' relationships, and (b) in what ways do dating conflicts conserve or challenge the power of gender and sexual conformity that underlies heterosexual dating and dating violence?

Exploring relations between task conflict and informational conflict in the Stroop task.

PubMed

Entel, Olga; Tzelgov, Joseph; Bereby-Meyer, Yoella; Shahar, Nitzan

2015-11-01

In this study, we tested the proposal that the Stroop task involves two conflicts--task conflict and informational conflict. Task conflict was defined as the latency difference between color words and non-letter neutrals, and manipulated by varying the proportion of color words versus non-letter neutrals. Informational conflict was defined as the latency difference between incongruent and congruent trials and manipulated by varying the congruent-to-incongruent trial ratio. We replicated previous findings showing that increasing the ratio of incongruent-to-congruent trials reduces the latency difference between the incongruent and congruent condition (i.e., informational conflict), as does increasing the proportion of color words (i.e., task conflict). A significant under-additive interaction between the two proportion manipulations (congruent vs. incongruent and color words vs. neutrals) indicated that the effects of task conflict and informational conflict were not additive. By assessing task conflict as the contrast between color words and neutrals, we found that task conflict existed in all of our experimental conditions. Under specific conditions, when task conflict dominated behavior by explaining most of the variability between congruency conditions, we also found negative facilitation, thus demonstrating that this effect is a special case of task conflict.

The min-conflicts heuristic: Experimental and theoretical results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minton, Steven; Philips, Andrew B.; Johnston, Mark D.; Laird, Philip

1991-01-01

This paper describes a simple heuristic method for solving large-scale constraint satisfaction and scheduling problems. Given an initial assignment for the variables in a problem, the method operates by searching through the space of possible repairs. The search is guided by an ordering heuristic, the min-conflicts heuristic, that attempts to minimize the number of constraint violations after each step. We demonstrate empirically that the method performs orders of magnitude better than traditional backtracking techniques on certain standard problems. For example, the one million queens problem can be solved rapidly using our approach. We also describe practical scheduling applications where the method has been successfully applied. A theoretical analysis is presented to explain why the method works so well on certain types of problems and to predict when it is likely to be most effective.

Domain-specific conflict adaptation without feature repetitions.

PubMed

Akçay, Çağlar; Hazeltine, Eliot

2011-06-01

An influential account of how cognitive control deals with conflicting sources of information holds that conflict is monitored by a module that automatically recruits attention to resolve the conflict. This leads to reduced effects of conflict on the subsequent trial, a phenomenon termed conflict adaptation. A prominent question is whether control processes are domain specific--that is, recruited only by the particular type of conflict they resolve. Previous studies that have examined this question used two-choice tasks in which feature repetition effects could be responsible for domain-specific adaptation effects. We report two experiments using four-choice (Experiment 1) and five-choice (Experiment 2) tasks that contain two types of irrelevant sources of potentially conflicting information: stimulus location (Simon conflict) and distractors (flanker conflict). In both experiments, we found within-type conflict adaptation for both types of conflict after eliminating trials on which stimulus features were repeated from one trial to the next. Across-type conflict adaptation, however, was not significant. Thus, conflict adaptation was due to domain-specific recruitment of cognitive control. Our results add converging evidence to the idea that multiple independent control processes are involved in reactive cognitive control, although whether control is always local remains to be determined.

Street conflict mediation to prevent youth violence: conflict characteristics and outcomes.

PubMed

Whitehill, Jennifer M; Webster, Daniel W; Vernick, Jon S

2013-06-01

Mediation of potentially violent conflicts is a key component of CeaseFire, an effective gun violence-prevention programme. To describe conflicts mediated by outreach workers (OW) in Baltimore's CeaseFire replication, examine neighbourhood variation, and measure associations between conflict risk factors and successful nonviolent resolution. A cross-sectional study was conducted using records for 158 conflicts mediated between 2007 and 2009. Involvement of youth, gangs, retaliation, weapons and other risk factors were described. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for data-reduction purposes before the relationship between conflict risk components and mediation success was assessed with multivariate logistic regression. Most conflicts involved 2-3 individuals. Youth, persons with a history of violence, gang members and weapons were commonly present. OWs reported immediate, nonviolent resolution for 65% of mediated conflicts; an additional 23% were at least temporarily resolved without violence. PCA identified four dimensions of conflict risk: the risk-level of individuals involved; whether the incident was related to retaliation; the number of people involved; and shooting likelihood. However, these factors were not related to the OW's ability to resolve the conflict. Neighbourhoods with programme-associated reductions in homicides mediated more gang-related conflicts; neighbourhoods without programme-related homicide reductions encountered more retaliatory conflicts and more weapons.

[Conflict of interest and bioethics].

PubMed

Kemelmajer De Carlucci, Aida

2014-06-01

"Conflicts of interests" is a multi-meaning expression. To give a juridical concept is not easy because this concept is applied in public and private law. Maybe this is the reason of not having a law giving a valid definition in any case In health area, a conflict of interests is present many times, i.e. at the beginning of a research, when informing its results, etc. This conflict of interests may affect different aspects of the research work, economic or not; sometimes totally or partially. The economic resources is one of the most common reasons of the conflict of interests. The mass media often cause conflicts of interests informing the general public about new scientific discovery in a simple way to be understood but without been quite assertive. Other times, great enterprises hide information about new and better medicines due to the fact that they have many old medicines that should be sold before introducing in the market the new ones. From the academic point of view, conflicts may arise when the public funds are wrongly used to support unworthy researches.

Understanding conflict-resolution taskload: Implementing advisory conflict-detection and resolution algorithms in an airspace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vela, Adan Ernesto

2011-12-01

From 2010 to 2030, the number of instrument flight rules aircraft operations handled by Federal Aviation Administration en route traffic centers is predicted to increase from approximately 39 million flights to 64 million flights. The projected growth in air transportation demand is likely to result in traffic levels that exceed the abilities of the unaided air traffic controller in managing, separating, and providing services to aircraft. Consequently, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other air navigation service providers around the world, are making several efforts to improve the capacity and throughput of existing airspaces. Ultimately, the stated goal of the Federal Aviation Administration is to triple the available capacity of the National Airspace System by 2025. In an effort to satisfy air traffic demand through the increase of airspace capacity, air navigation service providers are considering the inclusion of advisory conflict-detection and resolution systems. In a human-in-the-loop framework, advisory conflict-detection and resolution decision-support tools identify potential conflicts and propose resolution commands for the air traffic controller to verify and issue to aircraft. A number of researchers and air navigation service providers hypothesize that the inclusion of combined conflict-detection and resolution tools into air traffic control systems will reduce or transform controller workload and enable the required increases in airspace capacity. In an effort to understand the potential workload implications of introducing advisory conflict-detection and resolution tools, this thesis provides a detailed study of the conflict event process and the implementation of conflict-detection and resolution algorithms. Specifically, the research presented here examines a metric of controller taskload: how many resolution commands an air traffic controller issues under the guidance of a conflict-detection and resolution decision-support tool. The goal

Conflict management: a primer for doctors in training.

PubMed

Saltman, D C; O'Dea, N A; Kidd, M R

2006-01-01

Conflict in the health arena is a growing concern and is well recognised for doctors in training. Its most extreme expression, workplace violence is on the increase. There is evidence that many conflicts remain unsatisfactorily resolved or unresolved, and result in ongoing issues for staff morale. This paper describes the nature of conflict in the health care system and identifies the difference between conflict and disagreement. Using a conflict resolution model, strategies for dealing with conflict as it arises are explored and tips are provided on how to effectively manage conflict to a satisfactory resolution for all parties.

Conflict management: a primer for doctors in training

PubMed Central

Saltman, D C; O'Dea, N A; Kidd, M R

2006-01-01

Conflict in the health arena is a growing concern and is well recognised for doctors in training. Its most extreme expression, workplace violence is on the increase. There is evidence that many conflicts remain unsatisfactorily resolved or unresolved, and result in ongoing issues for staff morale. This paper describes the nature of conflict in the health care system and identifies the difference between conflict and disagreement. Using a conflict resolution model, strategies for dealing with conflict as it arises are explored and tips are provided on how to effectively manage conflict to a satisfactory resolution for all parties. PMID:16397073

Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks: Results of a National Survey.

PubMed

Miller, Matthew; Hepburn, Lisa; Azrael, Deborah

2017-02-21

In 1994, 40% of U.S. gun owners who had recently acquired a firearm did so without a background check. No contemporary estimates exist. To estimate the proportion of current U.S. gun owners who acquired their most recent firearm without a background check, by time since and manner of acquisition, for the nation as a whole and separately in states with and without legislation regulating private sales. Probability-based online survey. United States, 2015. 1613 adult gun owners. Current gun owners were asked where and when they acquired their last firearm; if they purchased the firearm; and whether, as part of that acquisition, they had a background check (or were asked to show a firearm license or permit). 22% (95% CI, 16% to 27%) of gun owners who reported obtaining their most recent firearm within the previous 2 years reported doing so without a background check. For firearms purchased privately within the previous 2 years (that is, other than from a store or pawnshop, including sales between individuals in person, online, or at gun shows), 50% (CI, 35% to 65%) were obtained without a background check. This percentage was 26% (CI, 5% to 47%) for owners residing in states regulating private firearm sales and 57% (CI, 40% to 75%) for those living in states without regulations on private firearm sales. Potential inaccuracies due to recall and social desirability bias. 22% of current U.S. gun owners who acquired a firearm within the past 2 years did so without a background check. Although this represents a smaller proportion of gun owners obtaining firearms without background checks than in the past, millions of U.S. adults continue to acquire guns without background checks, especially in states that do not regulate private firearm sales. Fund for a Safer Future and the Joyce Foundation.

Effects of a Brief Psychoeducational Intervention for Family Conflict: Constructive Conflict, Emotional Insecurity and Child Adjustment.

PubMed

Miller-Graff, Laura E; Cummings, E Mark; Bergman, Kathleen N

2016-10-01

The role of emotional security in promoting positive adjustment following exposure to marital conflict has been identified in a large number of empirical investigations, yet to date, no interventions have explicitly addressed the processes that predict child adjustment after marital conflict. The current study evaluated a randomized controlled trial of a family intervention program aimed at promoting constructive marital conflict behaviors thereby increasing adolescent emotional security and adjustment. Families (n = 225) were randomized into 1 of 4 conditions: Parent-Adolescent (n = 75), Parent-Only (n = 75), Self-Study (n = 38) and No Treatment (n = 37). Multi-informant and multi-method assessments were conducted at baseline, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up. Effects of treatment on destructive and constructive conflict behaviors were evaluated using multilevel models where observations were nested within individuals over time. Process models assessing the impact of constructive and destructive conflict behaviors on emotional insecurity and adolescent adjustment were evaluated using path modeling. Results indicated that the treatment was effective in increasing constructive conflict behaviors (d = 0.89) and decreasing destructive conflict behaviors (d = -0.30). For the Parent-Only Group, post-test constructive conflict behaviors directly predicted lower levels of adolescent externalizing behaviors at 6-month follow-up. Post-test constructive conflict skills also indirectly affected adolescent internalizing behaviors through adolescent emotional security. These findings support the use of a brief psychoeducational intervention in improving post-treatment conflict and emotional security about interparental relationships.

Background matching by means of dorsal color change in treefrog populations (Hyla japonica).

PubMed

Choi, Noori; Jang, Yikweon

2014-02-01

Treefrogs change dorsal coloration to match background colors, presumably for predator avoidance. Dorsal coloration in treefrogs results from rearrangement of pigment granules in dermal chromatophores. This physiological basis for color change suggests that brightness and chroma are the color components that may change in response to background color. However, results of experiments are conflicting in that there is no consensus as to which color component is critical for color change in treefrogs. We tested predictions of the physiological model for color change in treefrogs by investigating dorsal color change under five background colors in three different populations of the treefrog Hyla japonica. Differences in color components between background colors and frogs were used as a measure of background matching. Throughout a 1-week experimental period, brightness and chroma differences decreased monotonically, while hue difference remained constant for all background colors. Chroma differences were smaller with the natural colors such as green and brown than with achromatic colors. Moreover, variation in color change among frogs from three localities that differed in land cover suggested that chroma change capacity may be sensitive to environmental conditions. Under the white background color, however, decreasing brightness difference seemed to be crucial to background matching. Furthermore, chroma difference and brightness difference did not decrease indefinitely, suggesting a trade-off between chroma difference and brightness difference under the white background. Thus, background matching may generally occur by decreasing chroma difference under most background colors in H. japonica, but brightness matching may be important under the white color. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Decisional conflict in economically disadvantaged men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer: baseline results from a shared decision-making trial.

PubMed

Kaplan, Alan L; Crespi, Catherine M; Saucedo, Josemanuel D; Connor, Sarah E; Litwin, Mark S; Saigal, Christopher S

2014-09-01

Decisional conflict is a source of anxiety and stress for men diagnosed with prostate cancer given uncertainty surrounding myriad treatment options. Few data exist to help clinicians identify which patients are at risk for decisional conflict. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with decisional conflict in economically disadvantaged men diagnosed with prostate cancer before any treatment choices were made. A total of 70 men were surveyed at a Veterans Administration clinic with newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer enrolled in a randomized trial testing a novel shared decision-making tool. Baseline demographic, clinical, and functional data were collected. Independent variables included age, race, education, comorbidity, relationship status, urinary/sexual dysfunction, and prostate cancer knowledge. Tested outcomes were Decisional Conflict Scale, Uncertainty Subscale, and Perceived Effectiveness Subscale. Multiple linear regression modeling was used to identify factors associated with decisional conflict. Mean age was 63 years, 49% were African American, and 70% reported an income less than $30,000. Poor prostate cancer knowledge was associated with increased decisional conflict and higher uncertainty (P < .001 and P = 0.001, respectively). Poor knowledge was also associated with lower perceived effectiveness (P = 0.003) whereas being in a relationship was associated with higher decisional conflict (P = 0.03). Decreased patient knowledge about prostate cancer is associated with increased decisional conflict and lower perceived effective decision-making. Interventions to increase comprehension of prostate cancer and its treatments may reduce decisional conflict. Further work is needed to better characterize this relationship and identify effective targeted interventions. © 2014 American Cancer Society.

Assessing the Relationship Between Work–Family Conflict and Smoking

PubMed Central

Nelson, Candace C.; Sorensen, Glorian

2012-01-01

Objectives. We examined the relationship between smoking and work–family conflict among a sample of New England long-term-care facility workers. Methods. To collect data, we conducted in-person, structured interviews with workers in 4 extended-care facilities. Results. There was a strong association between smoking likelihood and work–family conflict. Workers who experienced both stress at home from work issues (i.e., work-to-home conflict) and stress at work from personal issues (i.e., home-to-work conflict) had 3.1 times higher odds of smoking than those who did not experience these types of conflict. Workers who experienced home-to-work conflict had an odds of 2.3 compared with those who did not experience this type of conflict, and workers who experienced work-to-home conflict had an odds of 1.6 compared with workers who did not experience this type of conflict. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that there is a robust relationship between work–family conflict and smoking, but that this relationship is dependent upon the total amount of conflict experienced and the direction of the conflict. PMID:22720765

Managing Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindelow, John; Scott, James J.

Chapter 15 of a revised volume on school leadership, this chapter defines and categorizes conflict and outlines techniques for its management in schools. Conflict, endemic to human existence, exists on many levels and assumes various forms. This chapter focuses on social conflict, or antagonistic interaction between individuals or groups common to…

A contingency model of conflict and team effectiveness.

PubMed

Shaw, Jason D; Zhu, Jing; Duffy, Michelle K; Scott, Kristin L; Shih, Hsi-An; Susanto, Ely

2011-03-01

The authors develop and test theoretical extensions of the relationships of task conflict, relationship conflict, and 2 dimensions of team effectiveness (performance and team-member satisfaction) among 2 samples of work teams in Taiwan and Indonesia. Findings show that relationship conflict moderates the task conflict-team performance relationship. Specifically, the relationship is curvilinear in the shape of an inverted U when relationship conflict is low, but the relationship is linear and negative when relationship conflict is high. The results for team-member satisfaction are more equivocal, but the findings provide some evidence that relationship conflict exacerbates the negative relationship between task conflict and team-member satisfaction. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Temporality of couple conflict and relationship perceptions.

PubMed

Johnson, Matthew D; Horne, Rebecca M; Hardy, Nathan R; Anderson, Jared R

2018-05-03

Using 5 waves of longitudinal survey data gathered from 3,405 couples, the present study investigates the temporal associations between self-reported couple conflict (frequency and each partner's constructive and withdrawing behaviors) and relationship perceptions (satisfaction and perceived instability). Autoregressive cross-lagged model results revealed couple conflict consistently predicted future relationship perceptions: More frequent conflict and withdrawing behaviors and fewer constructive behaviors foretold reduced satisfaction and conflict frequency and withdrawal heightened perceived instability. Relationship perceptions also shaped future conflict, but in surprising ways: Perceptions of instability were linked with less frequent conflict, and male partner instability predicted fewer withdrawing behaviors for female partners. Higher satisfaction from male partners also predicted more frequent and less constructive conflict behavior in the future. These findings illustrate complex bidirectional linkages between relationship perceptions and couple conflict behaviors in the development of couple relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Intergroup Conflict and Rational Decision Making

PubMed Central

Martínez-Tur, Vicente; Peñarroja, Vicente; Serrano, Miguel A.; Hidalgo, Vanesa; Moliner, Carolina; Salvador, Alicia; Alacreu-Crespo, Adrián; Gracia, Esther; Molina, Agustín

2014-01-01

The literature has been relatively silent about post-conflict processes. However, understanding the way humans deal with post-conflict situations is a challenge in our societies. With this in mind, we focus the present study on the rationality of cooperative decision making after an intergroup conflict, i.e., the extent to which groups take advantage of post-conflict situations to obtain benefits from collaborating with the other group involved in the conflict. Based on dual-process theories of thinking and affect heuristic, we propose that intergroup conflict hinders the rationality of cooperative decision making. We also hypothesize that this rationality improves when groups are involved in an in-group deliberative discussion. Results of a laboratory experiment support the idea that intergroup conflict –associated with indicators of the activation of negative feelings (negative affect state and heart rate)– has a negative effect on the aforementioned rationality over time and on both group and individual decision making. Although intergroup conflict leads to sub-optimal decision making, rationality improves when groups and individuals subjected to intergroup conflict make decisions after an in-group deliberative discussion. Additionally, the increased rationality of the group decision making after the deliberative discussion is transferred to subsequent individual decision making. PMID:25461384

Intergroup conflict and rational decision making.

PubMed

Martínez-Tur, Vicente; Peñarroja, Vicente; Serrano, Miguel A; Hidalgo, Vanesa; Moliner, Carolina; Salvador, Alicia; Alacreu-Crespo, Adrián; Gracia, Esther; Molina, Agustín

2014-01-01

The literature has been relatively silent about post-conflict processes. However, understanding the way humans deal with post-conflict situations is a challenge in our societies. With this in mind, we focus the present study on the rationality of cooperative decision making after an intergroup conflict, i.e., the extent to which groups take advantage of post-conflict situations to obtain benefits from collaborating with the other group involved in the conflict. Based on dual-process theories of thinking and affect heuristic, we propose that intergroup conflict hinders the rationality of cooperative decision making. We also hypothesize that this rationality improves when groups are involved in an in-group deliberative discussion. Results of a laboratory experiment support the idea that intergroup conflict -associated with indicators of the activation of negative feelings (negative affect state and heart rate)- has a negative effect on the aforementioned rationality over time and on both group and individual decision making. Although intergroup conflict leads to sub-optimal decision making, rationality improves when groups and individuals subjected to intergroup conflict make decisions after an in-group deliberative discussion. Additionally, the increased rationality of the group decision making after the deliberative discussion is transferred to subsequent individual decision making.

[The conflict between work and private life and its relationship with burnout - results of a physician survey in breast cancer centers in North Rhine-Westphalia].

PubMed

Nitzsche, A; Driller, E; Kowalski, C; Ansmann, L; Pfaff, H

2013-05-01

This study investigates the conflict between work and private life (work-life conflict and life-work conflict) and its relationship with burnout among physicians in breast cancer centers in North Rhine-Westphalia (n=378). With regard to the construct burnout, we differentiated between the 3 subscales emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment of the Maslach burnout inventory. In a structural equation model it was seen that above all the work-life conflict is positively associated with emotional exhaustion whereas the life-work conflict has a stronger positive correlation with depersonalisation and a negative relationship with personal accomplishment. Altogether, the results emphasise the importance of a successful interaction between professional work and private life ("work-life balance") for the health of medical personnel. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Current Readings on the Iran-Iraq Conflict and Its Effects on U.S. Foreign Relations and Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Sherbini, Magda

1989-01-01

Provides background on the Iran-Iraq conflict and suggests readings dating from 1980 to 1988 in both English and Arabic which are classified under seven broad categories: the roots of the conflict; Iran-United States relations; the American hostage crisis; the Iran-Contra affair; periodicals and indexes; online databases; and bibliographies. (105…

How Do Children Deal With Conflict? A Developmental Study of Sequential Conflict Modulation

PubMed Central

Smulders, Silvan F. A.; Soetens, Eric L. L.; van der Molen, Maurits W.

2018-01-01

This study examined age-related differences in sequential conflict modulation (SCM), elicited in three tasks requiring the inhibition of pre-potent responses; a Simon task, an S-R compatibility (SRC) task and a hybrid Choice-reaction/NoGo task. The primary focus was on age-related changes in performance changes following a conflict trial. A secondary aim was to assess whether SCM follows different developmental trajectories depending on the type of conflict elicited by the tasks. The tasks were presented to three different groups of participants with an age range between 7- to 25-years—one group of participants for each task. For each task, the response-to-stimulus interval (RSI) was manipulated (50 vs. 500 ms) across trial blocks to assess time-dependent changes in conflict modulation. The results showed SCM for all three tasks, although the specific patterns differed between tasks and RSIs. Importantly, the magnitude of SCM decreased with advancing age, but this developmental trend did not survive when considering age-group differences in basic response speed. The current results contribute to the emerging evidence suggesting that patterns of SCM are task specific and were interpreted in terms of multiple bottom-up control mechanisms. PMID:29875718

Focusing on task conflict in the Stroop effect.

PubMed

Entel, Olga; Tzelgov, Joseph

2018-03-01

Two types of conflict underlie performance in the Stroop task-informational (between the incongruent word and its ink color) and task (between the relevant color-naming task and the irrelevant word-reading task). We manipulated congruent-to-neutral trial ratio in an attempt to reveal whether task conflict can be monitored and controlled in the absence of an informational conflict. In our first experiment, no incongruent trials were included, thus allowing examination of a pure task conflict situation. The results revealed an impressively large facilitation when most of the stimuli were congruent and a smaller yet significant facilitation when most of the stimuli were neutrals. In Experiments 2, exposing participants to incongruent trials during pre-experimental practice (but not during the experimental blocks) slowed down the responses to congruent trials, resulting in a reduced facilitation effect in the mostly congruent condition, and in a negative facilitation in the mostly neutral condition. In our third experiment, we replicated our results, eliminating possible contingency and frequency biases. Overall, our findings show that experiencing, or at least expecting, informational conflict is essential to reveal conflict, while control is recruited through task demands. This challenges previous findings and points out that additional research is needed to clarify the necessity of informational conflict for conflict detection.

Interpersonal Conflict Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roark, Albert E.

1978-01-01

The difference between constructive and destructive conflicts may be traced to the way in which they are managed. Third-party help is often utilized to achieve constructive conflict management. This article describes two models for conflict management consultation. Five guidelines are given for constructive conflict management. (Author/JEL)

Financial conflicts of interest in science.

PubMed

Sax, Joanna K

2012-01-01

This Article proposes a new direction for addressing financial conflicts of interest, which plague biomedical research and threaten scientific integrity. This Article descriptively states the controversy surrounding financial conflicts of interest by explaining how these conflicts arise and the damage that can be created as a result. By describing the scientific process, the Article explains that changes to the academic environment may allow the public-private interaction to proceed, without creating the problems associated with financial conflicts of interest. Financial conflicts of interest are created when the profit-seeking motive of a private funding source unduly influences an academic scientist's primary responsibilities. The problem with financial conflicts of interest has grown since the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980. The cornerstone of current policies to address financial conflicts of interest is disclosure, which is inadequate and unsatisfying. The analysis herein changes the trajectory of current approaches in this area by proposing that an analysis of the underlying environment and behavior leading to conflicts of interest must be considered. This Article proposes the use of behavioral economics to craft a policy that effectively addresses conflicts of interest. To this end, this Article applies research from the field of psychology to understand both the environment of academic scientists as well as to begin to understand how academic scientists make decisions. Drawing on psychology literature, this article proposes that academic scientists may experience cognitive dissonance when faced with a situation in which a conflict of interest may arise. This helps to understand why an academic scientist may make a decision that creates a conflict of interest. In addition, this Article utilizes the results of an empirical study conducted by myself and a colleague. In this study, we asked faculty at five medical schools to respond to an anonymous survey

A systematic review of post-deployment injury-related mortality among military personnel deployed to conflict zones

PubMed Central

Knapik, Joseph J; Marin, Roberto E; Grier, Tyson L; Jones, Bruce H

2009-01-01

Background This paper reports on a systematic review of the literature on the post-conflict injury-related mortality of service members who deployed to conflict zones. Methods Literature databases, reference lists of articles, agencies, investigators, and other sources were examined to find studies comparing injury-related mortality of military veterans who had served in conflict zones with that of contemporary veterans who had not served in conflict zones. Injury-related mortality was defined as a cause of death indicated by International Classification of Diseases E-codes E800 to E999 (external causes) or subgroupings within this range of codes. Results Twenty studies met the review criteria; all involved veterans serving during either the Vietnam or Persian Gulf conflict. Meta-analysis indicated that, compared with non-conflict-zone veterans, injury-related mortality was elevated for veterans serving in Vietnam (summary mortality rate ratio (SMRR) = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 1.08–1.46) during 9 to 18 years of follow-up. Similarly, injury-related mortality was elevated for veterans serving in the Persian Gulf War (SMRR = 1.26, 95%CI = 1.16–1.37) during 3 to 8 years of follow-up. Much of the excess mortality among conflict-zone veterans was associated with motor vehicle events. The excess mortality decreased over time. Hypotheses to account for the excess mortality in conflict-zone veterans included post-traumatic stress, coping behaviors such as substance abuse, ill-defined diseases and symptoms, lower survivability in injury events due to conflict-zone comorbidities, altered perceptions of risk, and/or selection processes leading to the deployment of individuals who were risk-takers. Conclusion Further research on the etiology of the excess mortality in conflict-zone veterans is warranted to develop appropriate interventions. PMID:19594931

Development process and initial validation of the Ethical Conflict in Nursing Questionnaire-Critical Care Version

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Ethical conflicts are arising as a result of the growing complexity of clinical care, coupled with technological advances. Most studies that have developed instruments for measuring ethical conflict base their measures on the variables ‘frequency’ and ‘degree of conflict’. In our view, however, these variables are insufficient for explaining the root of ethical conflicts. Consequently, the present study formulates a conceptual model that also includes the variable ‘exposure to conflict’, as well as considering six ‘types of ethical conflict’. An instrument was then designed to measure the ethical conflicts experienced by nurses who work with critical care patients. The paper describes the development process and validation of this instrument, the Ethical Conflict in Nursing Questionnaire Critical Care Version (ECNQ-CCV). Methods The sample comprised 205 nursing professionals from the critical care units of two hospitals in Barcelona (Spain). The ECNQ-CCV presents 19 nursing scenarios with the potential to produce ethical conflict in the critical care setting. Exposure to ethical conflict was assessed by means of the Index of Exposure to Ethical Conflict (IEEC), a specific index developed to provide a reference value for each respondent by combining the intensity and frequency of occurrence of each scenario featured in the ECNQ-CCV. Following content validity, construct validity was assessed by means of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), while Cronbach’s alpha was used to evaluate the instrument’s reliability. All analyses were performed using the statistical software PASW v19. Results Cronbach’s alpha for the ECNQ-CCV as a whole was 0.882, which is higher than the values reported for certain other related instruments. The EFA suggested a unidimensional structure, with one component accounting for 33.41% of the explained variance. Conclusions The ECNQ-CCV is shown to a valid and reliable instrument for use in critical care units. Its

Organizational Response to Conflict: Future Conflict and Work Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Susan

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine how on organization's response to conflict affected the amount and intensity of future conflict and negative work outcomes. In this cross-sectional study of 3,374 government service workers, bivariate correlations and multiple regressions revealed associations between managers' conflict-handling style (CHS)…

The relationship between work-family conflict and the level of self-efficacy in female nurses in Alzahra Hospital

PubMed Central

Baghban, Iran; Malekiha, Marziyeh; Fatehizadeh, Maryam

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Work-family conflict has many negative outcomes for organization and career and family life of each person. The aim of present study was to determine the relationship between work-family conflict and the level of self-efficacy in female nurses. METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive research, the relationship between work-family conflict and the level of self-efficacy in female nurses of Alzahra Hospital was assessed. Questionnaire, demographic data form, work-family conflict scale and self-efficacy scale were the data collection tools. Content analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used for evaluating the validity and reliability of questionnaire. The study sample included 160 nurses (80 permanent nurses and 80 contract-based nurses) selected through simple random sampling from nurses working in different wards of Alzahra Hospital. Data analysis was done using SPSS software. RESULTS: There was significant difference in work-family conflict between the two groups of permanent and contract-based nurses (p = 0.02). Also, a significant difference in the level of self-efficacy was observed between the two groups of nurses (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The level of self-efficacy and work-family conflict in contract-based nurses was not acceptable. Therefore, it is suggested to arrange courses to train effective skills in the field of management of work-family conflicts in order to increase the level of self-efficacy for contract-based nurses. PMID:21589794

Post-conflict slowing: cognitive adaptation after conflict processing.

PubMed

Verguts, Tom; Notebaert, Wim; Kunde, Wilfried; Wühr, Peter

2011-02-01

The aftereffects of error and conflict (i.e., stimulus or response incongruency) have been extensively studied in the cognitive control literature. Each has been characterized by its own behavioral signature on the following trial. Conflict leads to a reduced congruency effect (Gratton effect), whereas an error leads to increased response time (post-error slowing). The reason for this dissociation has remained unclear. Here, we show that post-conflict slowing is not typically observed because it is masked by the processing of the irrelevant stimulus dimension. We demonstrate that post-conflict slowing does occur when tested in pure trials where helpful or detrimental impacts from irrelevant stimulus dimensions are removed (i.e., univalent stimuli).

Intergenerational continuity in high conflict family environments

PubMed Central

Rothenberg, W. Andrew; Hussong, Andrea M.; Chassin, Laurie

2016-01-01

In the current study, we examined continuity in conflict across generations and explored potential mediators and moderators that could explain this continuity. We followed 246 targets from adolescence to adulthood and examined family conflict as reported by multiple reporters in targets' family of origin and current families. Results showed that conflict in the current family was strongly correlated with that of the family of origin in women but not in men. Continuity in family conflict across generations was mediated by patterns of elevated adolescent externalizing behavior in members of the second generation (G2). Additionally, analyses revealed an interaction between both G2 partners' externalizing behavior such that if one partner in the G2 family demonstrated high levels of externalizing behavior, elevated levels of family conflict resulted. Potential explanations and implications of these findings are considered. PMID:26018605

An overview of conflict.

PubMed

Kelly, Jacinta

2006-01-01

Conflict is found in all aspects of society and nursing is not immune. Conflict is also found in critical care units. However, conflict within the nursing profession has traditionally generated negative feelings and many nurses use avoidance as a coping mechanism. This article will provide an overview of conflict, conflict management, and conflict resolution.

Adolescents' responses to marital conflict: The role of cooperative marital conflict.

PubMed

Zhou, Nan; Buehler, Cheryl

2017-10-01

Not all youth exposed to hostile marital interactions develop negative responses to marital conflict. Cooperative marital conflict has long been considered as an important way of managing conflict and may serve as an important context in which hostility might convey during marital interactions. In light of little prior attention placed on the positive side of conflict processes, the main and moderating effects of cooperative marital conflict on youth responses to marital conflict were examined in a sample of 416 2-parent families using a multimethod, 2-year prospective design. Cooperative marital conflict was associated with decreases in youth emotional dysregulation, perceived threat, and behavioral dysregulation, and increases in constructive family representations and coping efficacy. As a specific dimension of cooperation, effective conflict resolution was associated uniquely with elevated youth coping efficacy, and decreased emotional and behavioral dysregulation; marital warmth was associated uniquely with increased constructive family representations. Significant interactions between marital hostility and marital cooperation also were found. These findings highlight the importance of examining cooperation above and beyond hostility in studies of marital conflict in order to better understand youth development during early adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Dependability of results in conference abstracts of randomized controlled trials in ophthalmology and author financial conflicts of interest as a factor associated with full publication.

PubMed

Saldanha, Ian J; Scherer, Roberta W; Rodriguez-Barraquer, Isabel; Jampel, Henry D; Dickersin, Kay

2016-04-26

Discrepancies between information in conference abstracts and full publications describing the same randomized controlled trial have been reported. The association between author conflicts of interest and the publication of randomized controlled trials is unclear. The objective of this study was to use randomized controlled trials in ophthalmology to evaluate (1) the agreement in the reported main outcome results by comparing abstracts and corresponding publications and (2) the association between the author conflicts of interest and publication of the results presented in the abstracts. We considered abstracts describing results of randomized controlled trials presented at the 2001-2004 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology conferences as eligible for our study. Through electronic searching and by emailing abstract authors, we identified the earliest publication (journal article) containing results of each abstract's main outcome through November 2013. We categorized the discordance between the main outcome results in the abstract and its paired publication as qualitative (a difference in the direction of the estimated effect) or as quantitative. We used the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology categories for conflicts of interest: financial interest, employee of business with interest, consultant to business with interest, inventor/developer with patent, and receiving ≥ 1 gift from industry in the past year. We calculated the relative risks (RRs) of publication associated with the categories of conflicts of interest for abstracts with results that were statistically significant, not statistically significant, or not reported. We included 513 abstracts, 230 (44.8 %) of which reached publication. Among the 86 pairs with the same main outcome domain at the same time point, 47 pairs (54.7 %) had discordant results: qualitative discordance in 7 pairs and quantitative discordance in 40 pairs. Quantitative discordance was indicated

Conflict Resolution between Friends during Middle Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joshi, Anupama

2008-01-01

The author interviewed 74 children (ages 8.5-11.5 years) in an exploratory study of interpersonal conflict resolution between children. Results suggest that children (a) most frequently used assertion and discussion as conflict resolution strategies, (b) used more than one strategy in a single conflict, and (c) used a strategy that corresponded to…

Negotiating School Conflicts to Prevent Student Delinquency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Cecco, John P.; Roberts, John K.

One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter presents a model of negotiation as a means to resolve school conflict. The assumption is that school conflict is inevitable, but student delinquency is not. Delinquent behavior results from the way that the school deals with conflict. Students resort to…

Why Do Corals Bleach? Conflict and Conflict Mediation in a Host/Symbiont Community.

PubMed

Blackstone, Neil W; Golladay, Jeff M

2018-06-26

Coral bleaching has attracted considerable study, yet one central question remains unanswered: given that corals and their Symbiodinium symbionts have co-evolved for millions of years, why does this clearly maladaptive process occur? Bleaching may result from evolutionary conflict between the host corals and their symbionts. Selection at the level of the individual symbiont favors using the products of photosynthesis for selfish replication, while selection at the higher level favors using these products for growth of the entire host/symbiont community. To hold the selfish lower-level units in check, mechanisms of conflict mediation must evolve. Fundamental features of photosynthesis have been co-opted into conflict mediation so that symbionts that fail to export these products produce high levels of reactive oxygen species and undergo programmed cell death. These mechanisms function very well under most environmental conditions, but under conditions particularly detrimental to photosynthesis, it is these mechanisms of conflict mediation that trigger bleaching. © 2018 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

Unconsciously Triggered Emotional Conflict by Emotional Facial Expressions

PubMed Central

Chen, Antao; Cui, Qian; Zhang, Qinglin

2013-01-01

The present study investigated whether emotional conflict and emotional conflict adaptation could be triggered by unconscious emotional information as assessed in a backward-masked affective priming task. Participants were instructed to identify the valence of a face (e.g., happy or sad) preceded by a masked happy or sad face. The results of two experiments revealed the emotional conflict effect but no emotional conflict adaptation effect. This demonstrates that emotional conflict can be triggered by unconsciously presented emotional information, but participants may not adjust their subsequent performance trial-by trial to reduce this conflict. PMID:23409084

Climate change, conflict and health.

PubMed

Bowles, Devin C; Butler, Colin D; Morisetti, Neil

2015-10-01

Future climate change is predicted to diminish essential natural resource availability in many regions and perhaps globally. The resulting scarcity of water, food and livelihoods could lead to increasingly desperate populations that challenge governments, enhancing the risk of intra- and interstate conflict. Defence establishments and some political scientists view climate change as a potential threat to peace. While the medical literature increasingly recognises climate change as a fundamental health risk, the dimension of climate change-associated conflict has so far received little attention, despite its profound health implications. Many analysts link climate change with a heightened risk of conflict via causal pathways which involve diminishing or changing resource availability. Plausible consequences include: increased frequency of civil conflict in developing countries; terrorism, asymmetric warfare, state failure; and major regional conflicts. The medical understanding of these threats is inadequate, given the scale of health implications. The medical and public health communities have often been reluctant to interpret conflict as a health issue. However, at times, medical workers have proven powerful and effective peace advocates, most notably with regard to nuclear disarmament. The public is more motivated to mitigate climate change when it is framed as a health issue. Improved medical understanding of the association between climate change and conflict could strengthen mitigation efforts and increase cooperation to cope with the climate change that is now inevitable. © The Royal Society of Medicine.

Background, Personal, and Environmental Influences on the Career Planning of Adolescent Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novakovic, Alexandra; Fouad, Nadya A.

2013-01-01

This study investigated the influence of background variables (age, race/ethnicity, mother's work status outside of the home, and socioeconomic status), personal variables (anticipatory role conflict and academic self-efficacy), and environmental variables (parental attachment and parental support) on aspects of adolescent girls' career planning.…

Anticipating conflict facilitates controlled stimulus-response selection

PubMed Central

Correa, Ángel; Rao, Anling; Nobre, Anna C.

2014-01-01

Cognitive control can be triggered in reaction to previous conflict, as suggested by the finding of sequential effects in conflict tasks. Can control also be triggered proactively by presenting cues predicting conflict (‘proactive control’)? We exploited the high temporal resolution of event-related potentials (ERPs) and controlled for sequential effects to ask whether proactive control based on anticipating conflict modulates neural activity related to cognitive control, as may be predicted from the conflict-monitoring model. ERPs associated with conflict detection (N2) were measured during a cued flanker task. Symbolic cues were either informative or neutral with respect to whether the target involved conflicting or congruent responses. Sequential effects were controlled by analysing the congruency of the previous trial. The results showed that cuing conflict facilitated conflict resolution and reduced the N2 latency. Other potentials (frontal N1 and P3) were also modulated by cuing conflict. Cuing effects were most evident after congruent than after incongruent trials. This interaction between cuing and sequential effects suggests neural overlap between the control networks triggered by proactive and reactive signals. This finding clarifies why previous neuroimaging studies, in which reactive sequential effects were not controlled, have rarely found anticipatory effects upon conflict-related activity. Finally, the high temporal resolution of ERPs was critical to reveal a temporal modulation of conflict detection by proactive control. This novel finding suggests that anticipating conflict speeds up conflict detection and resolution. Recent research suggests that this anticipatory mechanism may be mediated by pre-activation of the ACC during the preparatory interval. PMID:18823248

Financial Conflicts of Interest, Disclosure, and Academic Discipline.

PubMed

Bruton, Samuel V; Sacco, Donald F; Didlake, Ralph

2016-04-01

Peer assessments of researchers' financial conflicts of interest (FCOIs) are crucial to effective FCOI management. We sought to determine how academics perceive FCOI disclosure and whether their perceptions vary depending on discipline and educational backgrounds. Participants (faculty and staff members from a multi-disciplinary academic medical center) responded to a questionnaire involving 10 hypothetical scenarios in which researchers either disclosed or failed to disclose a financial conflict (between-participants manipulation). Participants viewed disclosure as important and believed that researchers' objectivity would be affected by undisclosed FCOIs. In contrast to non-physicians, physicians showed greater recognition that the existence of an FCOI does not depend on its disclosure. This suggests that physicians are relatively well informed about FCOIs, which is likely attributable to more education about them. © The Author(s) 2016.

Interparental Conflict and Adolescents' Romantic Relationship Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, Valerie A.; Furman, Wyndol

2010-01-01

This study examined associations between interparental conflict and adolescents' romantic relationship conflict. High school seniors (N = 183) who lived with married parents completed questionnaires about their parents' marriage and their own romantic relationships. A subset of 88 adolescents was also observed interacting with their romantic…

Disconnected Lives: Women with Intellectual Disabilities in Conflict with the Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Kathryn Ann; Proulx, Jocelyn; Schwartz, Karen

2018-01-01

Background: Women with intellectual/developmental disabilities in conflict with the law experience childhood trauma, substance abuse and intimate partner violence but continue to have difficulty accessing appropriate therapeutic services, both within correctional settings and upon discharge. The aim of this study is to explore women's service…

Consensus and conflict cards for metabolic pathway databases

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The metabolic network of H. sapiens and many other organisms is described in multiple pathway databases. The level of agreement between these descriptions, however, has proven to be low. We can use these different descriptions to our advantage by identifying conflicting information and combining their knowledge into a single, more accurate, and more complete description. This task is, however, far from trivial. Results We introduce the concept of Consensus and Conflict Cards (C2Cards) to provide concise overviews of what the databases do or do not agree on. Each card is centered at a single gene, EC number or reaction. These three complementary perspectives make it possible to distinguish disagreements on the underlying biology of a metabolic process from differences that can be explained by different decisions on how and in what detail to represent knowledge. As a proof-of-concept, we implemented C2CardsHuman, as a web application http://www.molgenis.org/c2cards, covering five human pathway databases. Conclusions C2Cards can contribute to ongoing reconciliation efforts by simplifying the identification of consensus and conflicts between pathway databases and lowering the threshold for experts to contribute. Several case studies illustrate the potential of the C2Cards in identifying disagreements on the underlying biology of a metabolic process. The overviews may also point out controversial biological knowledge that should be subject of further research. Finally, the examples provided emphasize the importance of manual curation and the need for a broad community involvement. PMID:23803311

Enhancing conflict competency.

PubMed

Waite, Roberta; McKinney, Nicole S

2014-01-01

Professional nurses are taking on leadership roles of diverse healthcare teams. Development of conflict competence is essential, yet requires self-awareness and deliberate effort. Heightened awareness of one's preferred conflict style and cognizance of the implications of overuse and/or underuse of these styles is important. DESIGN/METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH: A pre-post survey design (N = 14) used paired sample T-test. Paired sample correlations and an overview of the paired sample test are reported. Students gained self-awareness about their preferred conflict style, recognized that each conflict style has its utility depending on any given situation, and demonstrated a difference in their most frequently used style. Limited data conveys conflict behavior styles among pre-licensure nursing; however, students can influence their own environments (either causing or fueling situations) by their personal conflict-handling styles. Early development of these skills can raise awareness and cultivate ease in the management of conflict within varied settings.

Confronting conflict: addressing institutional conflicts of interest in academic medical centers.

PubMed

Liang, Bryan A; Mackey, Tim

2010-01-01

Individual conflicts of interest are rife in healthcare, and substantial attention has been given to address them. Yet a more substantive concern-institutional conflicts of interest ("ICOIs") in academic medical centers ("AMCs") engaged in research and clinical care-have yet to garner sufficient attention, despite their higher stakes for patient safety and welfare. ICOIs are standard in AMCs, are virtually unregulated, and have led to patient deaths. Upon review of ICOIs, we find a clear absence of substantive efforts to confront these conflicts. We also assess the Jesse Gelsinger case, which resulted in the death of a study participant exemplifying a deep-seated culture of institutional indifference and complicity in unmanaged conflicts. Federal policy, particularly the Bayh-Dole Act, also creates and promotes ICOIs. Efforts to address ICOIs are narrow or abstract, and do not provide for a systemic infrastructure with effective enforcement mechanisms. Hence, in this paper, we provide a comprehensive proposal to address ICOIs utilizing a "Centralized System" model that would proactively review, manage, approve, and conduct assessments of conflicts, and would have independent power to evaluate and enforce any violations via sanctions. It would also manage any industry funds and pharmaceutical samples and be a condition of participation in public healthcare reimbursement and federal grant funding. The ICOI policy itself would provide for disclosure requirements, separate management of commercial enterprise units from academic units, voluntary remediation of conflicts, and education on ICOIs. Finally, we propose a new model of medical education-academic detailing-in place of current marketing-focused "education." Using such a system, AMCs can wean themselves from industry reliance and promote a culture of accountability and independence from industry influence. By doing so, clinical research and treatment can return to a focus on patient care, not profits.

Group size and social conflict in complex societies.

PubMed

Shen, Sheng-Feng; Akçay, Erol; Rubenstein, Dustin R

2014-02-01

Conflicts of interest over resources or reproduction among individuals in a social group have long been considered to result in automatic and universal costs to group living. However, exploring how social conflict varies with group size has produced mixed empirical results. Here we develop a model that generates alternative predictions for how social conflict should vary with group size depending on the type of benefits gained from being in a social group. We show that a positive relationship between social conflict and group size is favored when groups form primarily for the benefits of sociality but not when groups form mainly for accessing group-defended resources. Thus, increased social conflict in animal societies should not be viewed as an automatic cost of larger social groups. Instead, studying the relationship between social conflict and the types of grouping benefits will be crucial for understanding the evolution of complex societies.

Influential third party on water right conflict: A Game Theory approach to achieve the desired equilibrium (case study: Ilam dam, Iran).

PubMed

Zanjanian, Hossein; Abdolabadi, Hamid; Niksokhan, Mohammad Hossein; Sarang, Amin

2018-05-15

Allocating water to organizational stakeholders poses a vital challenge to water managers. Organizations which benefit from water as the primary factor input attempt to achieve their objectives using cost-effective and quick-return strategies, such as increasing the water rights. In such circumstances, lack of water probably results in the conflict. Recognizing the management approaches, organizational priorities, and the stakeholders' influence power can play a dominant role in analyzing the future of such conflicts. In this paper, we analyzed the conflict of water allocation in Ilam dam among organizational stakeholders. We defined the strategies based on the background of the game and organizational objectives. The influence power of stakeholders and the numerical weights of strategies were quantified based on the expert judgment method. The relative priorities of strategies were then calculated for each state of the conflict. We used the GMCR + model to study the actions of stakeholders. Results suggest that the Jihad Agriculture Organization and the Water and Wastewater Company withdraw more water; hence, there exists no water to meet the environmental water right. In this case, the participation of the third party, such as the Governorship and the Justice can change the future of the conflict, and result in moving to the optimal state. However, results from Inverse GMCR analysis demonstrate that Justice is the most influential third party that can move the conflict towards a desired equilibrium (optimal case). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Naturalistically-Observed Conflict and Youth Asthma Symptoms

PubMed Central

Tobin, Erin T.; Kane, Heidi S.; Saleh, Daniel J.; Naar-King, Sylvie; Poowuttikul, Pavadee; Secord, Elizabeth; Pierantoni, Wayne; Simon, Valerie; Slatcher, Richard B.

2014-01-01

Objective To investigate the links between naturalistically-observed conflict, self-reported caregiver-youth conflict, and youth asthma symptoms. Method Fifty-four youth with asthma (aged 10-17) wore the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) for a 4-day period to assess interpersonal conflict and caregiver-youth conflict as they occur in daily life. Conflict also was assessed with baseline self-report questionnaires and daily diaries completed by the youth participants and their caregiver. Asthma symptoms were assessed via daily diaries and baseline self-reports and wheezing as coded from the EAR. Results EAR-observed measures of conflict were strongly associated with self-reported asthma symptoms (both baseline and daily diaries) and wheezing coded from the EAR. Further, when entered together in regression analyses, youth daily reports of negative caregiver-youth interactions and EAR-observed conflict uniquely predicted asthma symptoms; only EAR-observed conflict was associated with EAR-observed wheezing. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the potential impact of daily conflict on youth asthma symptoms and the importance of assessing conflict as it occurs in everyday life. More broadly, they point to the importance of formulating a clear picture of family interactions outside of the lab, which is essential for understanding how family relationships “get under the skin” to affect youth health. PMID:25222090

Mismatch and conflict: neurophysiological and behavioral evidence for conflict priming.

PubMed

Mager, Ralph; Meuth, Sven G; Kräuchi, Kurt; Schmidlin, Maria; Müller-Spahn, Franz; Falkenstein, Michael

2009-11-01

Conflict-related cognitive processes are critical for adapting to sudden environmental changes that confront the individual with inconsistent or ambiguous information. Thus, these processes play a crucial role to cope with daily life. Generally, conflicts tend to accumulate especially in complex and threatening situations. Therefore, the question arises how conflict-related cognitive processes are modulated by the close succession of conflicts. In the present study, we investigated the effect of interactions between different types of conflict on performance as well as on electrophysiological parameters. A task-irrelevant auditory stimulus and a task-relevant visual stimulus were presented successively. The auditory stimulus consisted of a standard or deviant tone, followed by a congruent or incongruent Stroop stimulus. After standard prestimuli, performance deteriorated for incongruent compared to congruent Stroop stimuli, which were accompanied by a widespread negativity for incongruent versus congruent stimuli in the event-related potentials (ERPs). However, after deviant prestimuli, performance was better for incongruent than for congruent Stroop stimuli and an additional early negativity in the ERP emerged with a fronto-central maximum. Our data show that deviant auditory prestimuli facilitate specifically the processing of stimulus-related conflict, providing evidence for a conflict-priming effect.

Swarm intelligence: when uncertainty meets conflict.

PubMed

Conradt, Larissa; List, Christian; Roper, Timothy J

2013-11-01

Good decision making is important for the survival and fitness of stakeholders, but decisions usually involve uncertainty and conflict. We know surprisingly little about profitable decision-making strategies in conflict situations. On the one hand, sharing decisions with others can pool information and decrease uncertainty (swarm intelligence). On the other hand, sharing decisions can hand influence to individuals whose goals conflict. Thus, when should an animal share decisions with others? Using a theoretical model, we show that, contrary to intuition, decision sharing by animals with conflicting goals often increases individual gains as well as decision accuracy. Thus, conflict-far from hampering effective decision making-can improve decision outcomes for all stakeholders, as long as they share large-scale goals. In contrast, decisions shared by animals without conflict were often surprisingly poor. The underlying mechanism is that animals with conflicting goals are less correlated in individual choice errors. These results provide a strong argument in the interest of all stakeholders for not excluding other (e.g., minority) factions from collective decisions. The observed benefits of including diverse factions among the decision makers could also be relevant to human collective decision making.

Trial-by-Trial Adjustments of Cognitive Control Following Errors and Response Conflict are Altered in Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

PubMed Central

Liu, Yanni; Gehring, William J.; Weissman, Daniel H.; Taylor, Stephan F.; Fitzgerald, Kate Dimond

2012-01-01

Background: Impairments of cognitive control have been theorized to drive the repetitive thoughts and behaviors of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) from early in the course of illness. However, it remains unclear whether altered trial-by-trial adjustments of cognitive control characterize young patients. To test this hypothesis, we determined whether trial-by-trial adjustments of cognitive control are altered in children with OCD, relative to healthy controls. Methods: Forty-eight patients with pediatric OCD and 48 healthy youth performed the Multi-Source Interference Task. Two types of trial-by-trial adjustments of cognitive control were examined: post-error slowing (i.e., slower responses after errors than after correct trials) and post-conflict adaptation (i.e., faster responses in high-conflict incongruent trials that are preceded by other high-conflict incongruent trials, relative to low-conflict congruent trials). Results: While healthy youth exhibited both post-error slowing and post-conflict adaptation, patients with pediatric OCD failed to exhibit either of these effects. Further analyses revealed that patients with low symptom severity showed a reversal of the post-conflict adaptation effect, whereas patients with high symptom severity did not show any post-conflict adaptation. Conclusion: Two types of trial-by-trial adjustments of cognitive control are altered in pediatric OCD. These abnormalities may serve as early markers of the illness. PMID:22593744

Post-conflict affiliation as conflict management in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

PubMed Central

Yamamoto, Chisato; Morisaka, Tadamichi; Furuta, Keisuke; Ishibashi, Toshiaki; Yoshida, Akihiko; Taki, Michihiro; Mori, Yoshihisa; Amano, Masao

2015-01-01

Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents or between one of the former opponents and bystanders might have the function of conflict management, which reduces the costs associated with aggressions. One of the suggested functions of post-conflict affiliation is decreased renewed aggressions directed from aggressors to victims. However, the effect of post-conflict affiliation on renewed aggressions by victims has not been investigated. We examined whether post-conflict affiliations decreased the number of renewed aggressions initiated by winners or losers in captive bottlenose dolphins. Both winners and losers initiated renewed aggressions. However, these aggressions decreased after post-conflict affiliation between former opponents, initiated by bystanders to winners, initiated by losers to bystanders, and initiated by bystanders to losers. Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents is suggested to function as reconciliation. Post–conflict affiliation initiated by losers to bystanders is suggested to function as the protection of losers. Post-conflict affiliations initiated by bystanders to one of former opponents are suggested to function as both appeasement and protection of the opponent who affiliates with bystanders. PMID:26392064

Post-conflict affiliation as conflict management in captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

PubMed

Yamamoto, Chisato; Morisaka, Tadamichi; Furuta, Keisuke; Ishibashi, Toshiaki; Yoshida, Akihiko; Taki, Michihiro; Mori, Yoshihisa; Amano, Masao

2015-09-22

Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents or between one of the former opponents and bystanders might have the function of conflict management, which reduces the costs associated with aggressions. One of the suggested functions of post-conflict affiliation is decreased renewed aggressions directed from aggressors to victims. However, the effect of post-conflict affiliation on renewed aggressions by victims has not been investigated. We examined whether post-conflict affiliations decreased the number of renewed aggressions initiated by winners or losers in captive bottlenose dolphins. Both winners and losers initiated renewed aggressions. However, these aggressions decreased after post-conflict affiliation between former opponents, initiated by bystanders to winners, initiated by losers to bystanders, and initiated by bystanders to losers. Post-conflict affiliation between former opponents is suggested to function as reconciliation. Post-conflict affiliation initiated by losers to bystanders is suggested to function as the protection of losers. Post-conflict affiliations initiated by bystanders to one of former opponents are suggested to function as both appeasement and protection of the opponent who affiliates with bystanders.

Conflict and Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice and the Army in the 21st Century

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-21

terms of the field are: conflict settlement, conflict management , and conflict resolution. Miall, Ramsbotham, and Woodhouse describe conflict...settlement and conflict management . These are useful terms because they describe situations where the endstate may be more in line with what the...doctrine concerning the concepts of theory and conflict and the addition ofa manual for conflict resolution. 16. SUBJECT TERMS Conflict, Conflict

A Conflict Management Scale for Pharmacy

PubMed Central

Gregory, Paul A.; Martin, Craig

2009-01-01

Objectives To develop and establish the validity and reliability of a conflict management scale specific to pharmacy practice and education. Methods A multistage inventory-item development process was undertaken involving 93 pharmacists and using a previously described explanatory model for conflict in pharmacy practice. A 19-item inventory was developed, field tested, and validated. Results The conflict management scale (CMS) demonstrated an acceptable degree of reliability and validity for use in educational or practice settings to promote self-reflection and self-awareness regarding individuals' conflict management styles. Conclusions The CMS provides a unique, pharmacy-specific method for individuals to determine and reflect upon their own conflict management styles. As part of an educational program to facilitate self-reflection and heighten self-awareness, the CMS may be a useful tool to promote discussions related to an important part of pharmacy practice. PMID:19960081

Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People

PubMed Central

Overton, Amy R.; Lowry, Ann C.

2013-01-01

Conflict occurs frequently in any workplace; health care is not an exception. The negative consequences include dysfunctional team work, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased employee turnover. Research demonstrates that training in conflict resolution skills can result in improved teamwork, productivity, and patient and employee satisfaction. Strategies to address a disruptive physician, a particularly difficult conflict situation in healthcare, are addressed. PMID:24436688

Conflict management: difficult conversations with difficult people.

PubMed

Overton, Amy R; Lowry, Ann C

2013-12-01

Conflict occurs frequently in any workplace; health care is not an exception. The negative consequences include dysfunctional team work, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased employee turnover. Research demonstrates that training in conflict resolution skills can result in improved teamwork, productivity, and patient and employee satisfaction. Strategies to address a disruptive physician, a particularly difficult conflict situation in healthcare, are addressed.

The Influence of Disclosure and Ethics Education on Perceptions of Financial Conflicts of Interest.

PubMed

Sacco, Donald F; Bruton, Samuel V; Hajnal, Alen; Lustgraaf, Chris J N

2015-08-01

This study explored how disclosure of financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) influences naïve or "lay" individuals' perceptions of the ethicality of researcher conduct. On a between-subjects basis, participants read ten scenarios in which researchers disclosed or failed to disclose relevant financial conflicts of interest. Participants evaluated the extent to which each vignette represented a FCOI, its possible influence on researcher objectivity, and the ethics of the financial relationship. Participants were then asked if they had completed a college-level ethics course. Results indicated that FCOI disclosure significantly influenced participants' perceptions of the ethicality of the situation, but only marginally affected perceptions of researcher objectivity and had no significant influence on perceptions of the existence of FCOIs. Participants who had previously completed a college-level ethics course appeared more sensitive to the importance of FCOI disclosure than those who lacked such background. This result suggests that formal ethical training may help individuals become more critical consumers of scientific research.

Emotional conflict in interpersonal interactions.

PubMed

Ruz, María; Tudela, Pío

2011-01-15

Facial displays of emotions can help to infer the mental states of other individuals. However, the expectations we generate on the basis of people's emotions can mismatch their actual behaviour in certain circumstances, which generates conflict. In the present study, we explored the neural mechanisms of emotional conflict during interpersonal interactions. Participants had to accept or reject economic offers made by several partners who displayed emotional expressions. On every trial, a cue informed participants of whether they could trust the emotion of their partner or not. Trustworthy (low-conflict) partners with happy facial expressions were cooperative and those with angry expressions did not cooperate. Untrustworthy (high-conflict) partners, on the other hand, cooperated when their expression was angry and did not cooperate when they displayed a happy emotion. Behavioural responses were faster for trustworthy than for untrustworty partners. High-conflict partners activated the anterior cingulate and the anterior insula. In turn, trustworthy partners were associated with activations in the left precuneus. Our results suggest that the emotion displayed by another person affects our decision-making in social contexts. When emotional expressions are linked to their natural consequences, they engage ToM processes. In contrast, untrustworthy emotional expressions engage conflict-related brain regions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Situated Nature of Preschool Children's Conflict Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thornberg, Robert

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the peer conflict strategies of preschool children are situated and therefore vary across different conflict situations. Hypothetical conflict interviews were administered through a series of puppet shows. Participants were 178 preschool children. Results indicate that preschool children's conflict…

The Impact of Cognitive and Affective Aspects of Cognitive Conflict on Learners' Conceptual Change about Floating and Sinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadjiachilleos, Stella; Valanides, Nicos; Angeli, Charoula

2013-01-01

Background: Cognitive conflict has been identified as an important factor for bringing about students' conceptual change. Researchers draw attention to the need to study not only cognitive factors related to cognitive conflict but affective factors as well. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of cognitive…

A mental health needs assessment of children and adolescents in post-conflict Liberia: results from a quantitative key-informant survey

PubMed Central

Borba, Christina P.C.; Ng, Lauren C.; Stevenson, Anne; Vesga-Lopez, Oriana; Harris, Benjamin L.; Parnarouskis, Lindsey; Gray, Deborah A.; Carney, Julia R.; Domínguez, Silvia; Wang, Edward K.S.; Boxill, Ryan; Song, Suzan J.; Henderson, David C.

2016-01-01

Between 1989 and 2004, Liberia experienced a devastating civil war that resulted in widespread trauma with almost no mental health infrastructure to help citizens cope. In 2009, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare collaborated with researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a rapid needs assessment survey in Liberia with local key informants (n = 171) to examine the impact of war and post-war events on emotional and behavioral problems of, functional limitations of, and appropriate treatment settings for Liberian youth aged 5–22. War exposure and post-conflict sexual violence, poverty, infectious disease and parental death negatively impacted youth mental health. Key informants perceived that youth displayed internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mental health-related functional impairment at home, school, work and in relationships. Medical clinics were identified as the most appropriate setting for mental health services. Youth in Liberia continue to endure the harsh social, economic and material conditions of everyday life in a protracted post-conflict state, and have significant mental health needs. Their observed functional impairment due to mental health issues further limited their access to protective factors such as education, employment and positive social relationships. Results from this study informed Liberia's first post-conflict mental health policy. PMID:26807147

A mental health needs assessment of children and adolescents in post-conflict Liberia: results from a quantitative key-informant survey.

PubMed

Borba, Christina P C; Ng, Lauren C; Stevenson, Anne; Vesga-Lopez, Oriana; Harris, Benjamin L; Parnarouskis, Lindsey; Gray, Deborah A; Carney, Julia R; Domínguez, Silvia; Wang, Edward K S; Boxill, Ryan; Song, Suzan J; Henderson, David C

2016-01-02

Between 1989 and 2004, Liberia experienced a devastating civil war that resulted in widespread trauma with almost no mental health infrastructure to help citizens cope. In 2009, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare collaborated with researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a rapid needs assessment survey in Liberia with local key informants ( n = 171) to examine the impact of war and post-war events on emotional and behavioral problems of, functional limitations of, and appropriate treatment settings for Liberian youth aged 5-22. War exposure and post-conflict sexual violence, poverty, infectious disease and parental death negatively impacted youth mental health. Key informants perceived that youth displayed internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mental health-related functional impairment at home, school, work and in relationships. Medical clinics were identified as the most appropriate setting for mental health services. Youth in Liberia continue to endure the harsh social, economic and material conditions of everyday life in a protracted post-conflict state, and have significant mental health needs. Their observed functional impairment due to mental health issues further limited their access to protective factors such as education, employment and positive social relationships. Results from this study informed Liberia's first post-conflict mental health policy.

The benefit of expecting no conflict--Stronger influence of self-generated than cue-induced conflict expectations on Stroop performance.

PubMed

Kemper, Maike; Gaschler, Robert; Schwager, Sabine; Schubert, Torsten

2016-01-01

The role of expectations in sequential adaptation to cognitive conflict has been debated controversially in prior studies. On the one hand, a sequential congruency effect (SCE) has been reported for trials in which participants expect a repetition of conflict level. On the other hand, conflict level expectations vs. the SCE have been shown to develop differentially across runs of trials with the same conflict level, arguing against the theory that the SCE is purely driven by expectation. The current verbal Stroop experiment addresses this controversy by two means. First, we tested which specific type of expectation (cue-induced expectations vs. self-generated predictions) might affect the SCE. Second, we assessed the impact of expectation on the SCE as well as the development of SCE and expectation with congruency level run length in one design. We observed a dissociation between expectations and SCE, demonstrating that the SCE is not exclusively driven by expectations. At the same time, we found evidence that (self-generated) expectations do have an impact on the SCE. Our data document especially high performance for one specific combination of task events: congruent trial accompanied by congruent prediction and conflict level repetition. Our results are in line with theories attributing conflict adaptation effects to the "adaption to the lack of conflict". We discuss our results in a broader context of theories about conflict monitoring. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Unconsciously triggered conflict adaptation.

PubMed

van Gaal, Simon; Lamme, Victor A F; Ridderinkhof, K Richard

2010-07-09

In conflict tasks such as the Stroop, the Eriksen flanker or the Simon task, it is generally observed that the detection of conflict in the current trial reduces the impact of conflicting information in the subsequent trial; a phenomenon termed conflict adaptation. This higher-order cognitive control function has been assumed to be restricted to cases where conflict is experienced consciously. In the present experiment we manipulated the awareness of conflict-inducing stimuli in a metacontrast masking paradigm to directly test this assumption. Conflicting response tendencies were elicited either consciously (through primes that were weakly masked) or unconsciously (strongly masked primes). We demonstrate trial-by-trial conflict adaptation effects after conscious as well as unconscious conflict, which could not be explained by direct stimulus/response repetitions. These findings show that unconscious information can have a longer-lasting influence on our behavior than previously thought and further stretch the functional boundaries of unconscious cognition.

Unconsciously Triggered Conflict Adaptation

PubMed Central

van Gaal, Simon; Lamme, Victor A. F.; Ridderinkhof, K. Richard

2010-01-01

In conflict tasks such as the Stroop, the Eriksen flanker or the Simon task, it is generally observed that the detection of conflict in the current trial reduces the impact of conflicting information in the subsequent trial; a phenomenon termed conflict adaptation. This higher-order cognitive control function has been assumed to be restricted to cases where conflict is experienced consciously. In the present experiment we manipulated the awareness of conflict-inducing stimuli in a metacontrast masking paradigm to directly test this assumption. Conflicting response tendencies were elicited either consciously (through primes that were weakly masked) or unconsciously (strongly masked primes). We demonstrate trial-by-trial conflict adaptation effects after conscious as well as unconscious conflict, which could not be explained by direct stimulus/response repetitions. These findings show that unconscious information can have a longer-lasting influence on our behavior than previously thought and further stretch the functional boundaries of unconscious cognition. PMID:20634898

Health Education in Practice: Employee Conflict Resolution Knowledge and Conflict Handling Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hackett, Alexis; Renschler, Lauren; Kramer, Alaina

2014-01-01

The purpose of this project was to determine if a brief workplace conflict resolution workshop improved employee conflict resolution knowledge and to examine which conflict handling strategies (Yielding, Compromising, Forcing, Problem-Solving, Avoiding) were most used by employees when dealing with workplace conflict. A pre-test/post-test control…

Conflict resolution in insect societies.

PubMed

Ratnieks, Francis L W; Foster, Kevin R; Wenseleers, Tom

2006-01-01

Although best known for cooperation, insect societies also manifest many potential conflicts among individuals. These conflicts involve both direct reproduction by individuals and manipulation of the reproduction of colony members. Here we review five major areas of reproductive conflict in insect societies: (a) sex allocation, (b) queen rearing, (c) male rearing, (d) queen-worker caste fate, and (e) breeding conflicts among totipotent adults. For each area we discuss the basis for conflict (potential conflict), whether conflict is expressed (actual conflict), whose interests prevail (conflict outcome), and the factors that reduce colony-level costs of conflict (conflict resolution), such as factors that cause workers to work rather than to lay eggs. Reproductive conflicts are widespread, sometimes having dramatic effects on the colony. However, three key factors (kinship, coercion, and constraint) typically combine to limit the effects of reproductive conflict and often lead to complete resolution.

Diversity, Conflict, and Recognition in Hospital Medical Practice.

PubMed

Fortin, Sylvie; Maynard, Serge

2018-03-01

The hospital is a place of encounter between health care providers, patients and family members, the healthy and the suffering, migrants and non-migrants, as well as social and cultural minorities, and majorities of various backgrounds. It is also a space where multiple conceptions of care, life, quality of life, and death are enacted, sometimes inhibiting mutual understanding between caregivers and the cared for, a scenario that in turn may provoke conflict. Through the lens of conflict, we explore in this article the theme of Otherness within the clinic, basing analysis on an ethnographic study conducted in recent years in three cosmopolitan Canadian cities. Daily practices and-on a larger scale-the social space of the clinic become material here for reflecting on recognition (and non-recognition) of the Other as actors in the clinical encounter. The examination of structural and situational conditions that contribute to the emergence of conflict offers an understanding of the diversity of values that pervade the clinic. By way of conclusion, we argue that recognition of diversity, at least on the part of practitioners, is a key condition for the emergence of a pluralist normativity in the social space of the clinic.

Parent smoker role conflict and planning to quit smoking: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Role conflict can motivate behavior change. No prior studies have explored the association between parent/smoker role conflict and readiness to quit. The objective of the study is to assess the association of a measure of parent/smoker role conflict with other parent and child characteristics and to test the hypothesis that parent/smoker role conflict is associated with a parent’s intention to quit smoking in the next 30 days. As part of a cluster randomized controlled trial to address parental smoking (Clinical Effort Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure—CEASE), research assistants completed exit interviews with 1980 parents whose children had been seen in 20 Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) practices and asked a novel identity-conflict question about “how strongly you agree or disagree” with the statement, “My being a smoker gets in the way of my being a parent.” Response choices were dichotomized as “Strongly Agree” or “Agree” versus “Disagree” or “Strongly Disagree” for the analysis. Parents were also asked whether they were “seriously planning to quit smoking in 30 days.” Chi-square and logistic regression were performed to assess the association between role conflict and other parent/children characteristics. A similar strategy was used to determine whether role conflict was independently associated with intention to quit in the next 30 days. Methods As part of a RTC in 20 pediatric practices, exit interviews were held with smoking parents after their child’s exam. Parents who smoked were asked questions about smoking behavior, smoke-free home and car rules, and role conflict. Role conflict was assessed with the question, “Please tell me how strongly you agree or disagree with the statement: ‘My being a smoker gets in the way of my being a parent.’ (Answer choices were: “Strongly agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.”) Results Of 1980 eligible smokers identified, 1935 (97%) responded to

How Important is Conflict Detection to the Conflict Resolution Task?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mercer, Joey; Gabets, Cynthia; Gomez, Ashley; Edwards, Tamsyn; Bienert, Nancy; Claudatos, Lauren; Homola, Jeffrey R.

2016-01-01

To determine the capabilities and limitations of human operators and automation in separation assurance roles, the second of three Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) part-task studies investigates air traffic controllers ability to detect and resolve conflicts under varying task sets, traffic densities, and run lengths. Operations remained within a single sector, staffed by a single controller, and explored, among other things, the controllers conflict resolution performance in conditions with or without their involvement in the conflict detection task. Whereas comparisons of conflict resolution performance between these two conditions are available in a prior publication, this paper explores whether or not other subjective measures display a relationship to that data. Analyses of controller workload and situation awareness measures attempt to quantify their contribution to controllers ability to resolve traffic conflicts.

Constructive and Destructive Marital Conflict, Emotional Security and Children's Prosocial Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCoy, Kathleen; Cummings, E. Mark; Davies, Patrick T.

2009-01-01

Background: This study addresses the gaps in understanding the relationship between constructive and destructive marital conflict and children's prosocial behavior from a process-oriented perspective. Method: Data were drawn from a three-wave study of 235 families with children ages 5-7 at wave 1. Relations between constructive and destructive…

PATTERNS OF MASTERY AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MINUCHIN, PATRICIA; AND OTHERS

EFFORTS WERE DIRECTED TOWARD THE EXPLORATION OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE HOME AND SCHOOL BACKGROUND INFLUENCES OF FOURTH-GRADE CHILDREN, AND THE PATTERNS OF RESPONSE THROUGH WHICH CHILDREN MASTER CHALLENGE, REACT TO OPPORTUNITY, AND EXPRESS AND HANDLE CONFLICT. THIS CURRENT RESEARCH WAS BUILT UPON AN EARLIER STUDY WHICH ASSESSED THE EFFECTS OF…

Work–Family Conflict, Task Interruptions, and Influence at Work Predict Musculoskeletal Pain in Operating Room Nurses

PubMed Central

Nützi, Marina; Koch, Patricia; Baur, Heiner; Elfering, Achim

2015-01-01

Background The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints in Swiss operating room (OR) nurses, and to investigate how work–family conflict, work interruptions, and influence at work are related to lumbar and cervical back pain. Methods Participants in this correlational questionnaire study included 116 OR nurses from eight different hospitals in Switzerland. Results We found that 66% of the OR staff suffered from musculoskeletal problems. The most prevalent musculoskeletal complaints were lumbar (52.7%) and cervical pain (38.4%). Furthermore, 20.5% reported pain in the mid spine region, 20.5% in the knees and legs, and 9.8% in the hands and feet. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that work–family conflict (p < 0.05) and interruptions (p < 0.05) significantly predicted lumbar and cervical pain in OR nurses, while influence at work (p < 0.05) only predicted lumbar pain. Conclusion These results suggest that reducing the work–family conflict and interruptions at work, as well as offering opportunities to influence one's workplace, help to promote OR nurses' health. PMID:26929846

An Exploration of Conflict and Conflict Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trusty, Francis M.

The study reported on was conducted to study aspects of conflict and conflict management that might have implications for the fields of education and educational administration. The five phases of the study include a review of the literature, a series of interviews, a synthesis of ideas, the dissemination of findings, and a concluding research…

To BG or not to BG: Background Subtraction for EIT Coronal Loops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beene, J. E.; Schmelz, J. T.

2003-05-01

One of the few observational tests for various coronal heating models is to determine the temperature profile along coronal loops. Since loops are such an abundant coronal feature, this method originally seemed quite promising - that the coronal heating problem might actually be solved by determining the temperature as a function of arc length and comparing these observations with predictions made by different models. But there are many instruments currently available to study loops, as well as various techniques used to determine their temperature characteristics. Consequently, there are many different, mostly conflicting temperature results. We chose data for ten coronal loops observed with the Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT), and chose specific pixels along each loop, as well as corresponding nearby background pixels where the loop emission was not present. Temperature analysis from the 171-to-195 and 195-to-284 angstrom image ratios was then performed on three forms of the data: the original data alone, the original data with a uniform background subtraction, and the original data with a pixel-by-pixel background subtraction. The original results show loops of constant temperature, as other authors have found before us, but the 171-to-195 and 195-to-284 results are significantly different. Background subtraction does not change the constant-temperature result or the value of the temperature itself. This does not mean that loops are isothermal, however, because the background pixels, which are not part of any contiguous structure, also produce a constant-temperature result with the same value as the loop pixels. These results indicate that EIT temperature analysis should not be trusted, and the isothermal loops that result from EIT (and TRACE) analysis may be an artifact of the analysis process. Solar physics research at the University of Memphis is supported by NASA grants NAG5-9783 and NAG5-12096.

A national survey of policies on disclosure of conflicts of interest in biomedical research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCrary, S. V.; Anderson, C. B.; Jakovljevic, J.; Khan, T.; McCullough, L. B.; Wray, N. P.; Brody, B. A.

2000-01-01

BACKGROUND: Conflicts of interest pose a threat to the integrity of scientific research. The current regulations of the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Science Foundation require that medical schools and other research institutions report the existence of conflicts of interest to the funding agency but allow the institutions to manage conflicts internally. The regulations do not specify how to do so. METHODS: We surveyed all medical schools (127) and other research institutions (170) that received more than $5 million in total grants annually from the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation; 48 journals in basic science and clinical medicine; and 17 federal agencies in order to analyze their policies on conflicts of interest. RESULTS: Of the 297 institutions, 250 (84 percent) responded by March 2000, as did 47 of the 48 journals and 16 of the 17 federal agencies. Fifteen of the 250 institutions (6 percent)--5 medical schools and 10 other research institutions--reported that they had no policy on conflicts of interest. Among the institutions that had policies, there was marked variation in the definition and management of conflicts. Ninety-one percent had policies that adhered to the federal threshold for disclosure ($10,000 in annual income or equity in a relevant company or 5 percent ownership), and 9 percent had policies that exceeded the federal guidelines. Only 8 percent had policies requiring disclosure to funding agencies, only 7 percent had such policies regarding journals, and only 1 percent had policies requiring the disclosure of information to the relevant institutional review boards or to research subjects. Twenty journals (43 percent) reported that they had policies requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest. Only four federal agencies had policies that explicitly addressed conflicts of interest in extramural research, and all but one of the agencies relied primarily on institutional discretion. CONCLUSIONS

Associations Between Marital Conflict and Adolescent Conflict Appraisals, Stress Physiology, and Mental Health.

PubMed

Lucas-Thompson, Rachel G; Lunkenheimer, Erika S; Dumitrache, Adina

2017-01-01

The goal of the current study was to examine conflict appraisals and diurnal cortisol production as mediators of the robust association between marital conflict and adolescent adjustment problems. Parents reported their marital conflict and were observed engaging in a marital conflict discussion; they also reported adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Adolescents (n = 105, 52% female, 10-17 years of age) appraised their parents' marital conflict and reported their internalizing and externalizing behaviors. After the laboratory visit, adolescents provided four saliva samples on each of 2 consecutive days to assess diurnal cortisol production. More-negative marital conflict predicted more self-blame for parental conflict, which in turn predicted less robust decreases in cortisol across the day. Further, this flattened cortisol production pattern mediated the relationship between greater self-blame for parental conflict and adolescents' elevated internalizing behaviors. Feeling responsible for parental conflict appears to be particularly damaging in terms of physiological regulation and adjustment, and may therefore be a particularly useful intervention target.

Associations Between Marital Conflict and Adolescent Conflict Appraisals, Stress Physiology, and Mental Health

PubMed Central

Lucas-Thompson, Rachel G.; Lunkenheimer, Erika S.; Dumitrache, Adina

2015-01-01

The goal of the current study was to examine conflict appraisals and diurnal cortisol production as mediators of the robust association between marital conflict and adolescent adjustment problems. Parents reported their marital conflict and were observed engaging in a marital conflict discussion; they also reported adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Adolescents (n = 105, 52% female, 10–17 years of age) appraised their parents’ marital conflict and reported their internalizing and externalizing behaviors. After the laboratory visit, adolescents provided four saliva samples on each of 2 consecutive days to assess diurnal cortisol production. More-negative marital conflict predicted more self-blame for parental conflict, which in turn predicted less robust decreases in cortisol across the day. Further, this flattened cortisol production pattern mediated the relationship between greater self-blame for parental conflict and adolescents’ elevated internalizing behaviors. Feeling responsible for parental conflict appears to be particularly damaging in terms of physiological regulation and adjustment, and may therefore be a particularly useful intervention target. PMID:26136117

Assessing Psychodynamic Conflict.

PubMed

Simmonds, Joshua; Constantinides, Prometheas; Perry, J Christopher; Drapeau, Martin; Sheptycki, Amanda R

2015-09-01

Psychodynamic psychotherapies suggest that symptomatic relief is provided, in part, with the resolution of psychic conflicts. Clinical researchers have used innovative methods to investigate such phenomenon. This article aims to review the literature on quantitative psychodynamic conflict rating scales. An electronic search of the literature was conducted to retrieve quantitative observer-rated scales used to assess conflict noting each measure's theoretical model, information source, and training and clinical experience required. Scales were also examined for levels of reliability and validity. Five quantitative observer-rated conflict scales were identified. Reliability varied from poor to excellent with each measure demonstrating good validity. However a small number of studies and limited links to current conflict theory suggest further clinical research is needed.

Automating Deep Space Network scheduling and conflict resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Mark D.; Clement, Bradley

2005-01-01

The Deep Space Network (DSN) is a central part of NASA's infrastructure for communicating with active space missions, from earth orbit to beyond the solar system. We describe our recent work in modeling the complexities of user requirements, and then scheduling and resolving conflicts on that basis. We emphasize our innovative use of background 'intelligent' assistants' that carry out search asynchrnously while the user is focusing on various aspects of the schedule.

Assessing the relationship between work-family conflict and smoking.

PubMed

Nelson, Candace C; Li, Yi; Sorensen, Glorian; Berkman, Lisa F

2012-09-01

We examined the relationship between smoking and work-family conflict among a sample of New England long-term-care facility workers. To collect data, we conducted in-person, structured interviews with workers in 4 extended-care facilities. There was a strong association between smoking likelihood and work-family conflict. Workers who experienced both stress at home from work issues (i.e., work-to-home conflict) and stress at work from personal issues (i.e., home-to-work conflict) had 3.1 times higher odds of smoking than those who did not experience these types of conflict. Workers who experienced home-to-work conflict had an odds of 2.3 compared with those who did not experience this type of conflict, and workers who experienced work-to-home conflict had an odds of 1.6 compared with workers who did not experience this type of conflict. The results of this study indicate that there is a robust relationship between work-family conflict and smoking, but that this relationship is dependent upon the total amount of conflict experienced and the direction of the conflict.

Integrating conflict detection and attentional control mechanisms.

PubMed

Walsh, Bong J; Buonocore, Michael H; Carter, Cameron S; Mangun, George R

2011-09-01

Human behavior involves monitoring and adjusting performance to meet established goals. Performance-monitoring systems that act by detecting conflict in stimulus and response processing have been hypothesized to influence cortical control systems to adjust and improve performance. Here we used fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms of conflict monitoring and resolution during voluntary spatial attention. We tested the hypothesis that the ACC would be sensitive to conflict during attentional orienting and influence activity in the frontoparietal attentional control network that selectively modulates visual information processing. We found that activity in ACC increased monotonically with increasing attentional conflict. This increased conflict detection activity was correlated with both increased activity in the attentional control network and improved speed and accuracy from one trial to the next. These results establish a long hypothesized interaction between conflict detection systems and neural systems supporting voluntary control of visual attention.

Need for "conflict version" of primary surgery: war surgery in the era of low-intensity conflicts.

PubMed

Morikawa, Masahiro J

2006-01-01

The conventional wars between nations have widely been replaced by low-intensity conflicts within nations today, resulting in different patterns of injuries and practice of surgical care. A blurred front line, protracted durations of violence, indiscriminant fighting, and the emergence of specific surgical problems characterize low-intensity conflicts. In protracted conflicts with limited resources, surgical outcomes depend on many factors other than surgical skills, such as social/cultural values and economical feasibility. This paper examines how the characteristics of current conflicts affect surgical practice and will address key issues to evolve care to adapt to these changes. Key issues are (1) need for comprehensive surgical skills, (2) importance of improving local capacities, (3) long-term impact of trauma, and (4) limited access to information required to improve surgical skills.

Marital Conflict and Conduct Problems in Children of Twins

PubMed Central

Harden, K. Paige; Turkheimer, Eric; Emery, Robert E.; D’Onofrio, Brian M.; Slutske, Wendy S.; Heath, Andrew C.; Martin, Nicholas G.

2010-01-01

The Children-of-Twins design was used to test whether associations between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems can be replicated within the children of discordant twin pairs. A sample of 2,051 children (age 14–39 years) of 1,045 twins was used to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on marital conflict and determine whether genetic or environmental selection processes underlie the observed association between marital conflict and conduct problems. Results indicate that genetic and nonshared environmental factors influence the risk of marital conflict. Furthermore, genetic influences mediated the association between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems. These results highlight the need for quasiexperimental designs in investigations of intergenerational associations. PMID:17328690

Marital conflict and conduct problems in Children of Twins.

PubMed

Harden, K Paige; Turkheimer, Eric; Emery, Robert E; D'Onofrio, Brian M; Slutske, Wendy S; Heath, Andrew C; Martin, Nicholas G

2007-01-01

The Children-of-Twins design was used to test whether associations between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems can be replicated within the children of discordant twin pairs. A sample of 2,051 children (age 14-39 years) of 1,045 twins was used to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on marital conflict and determine whether genetic or environmental selection processes underlie the observed association between marital conflict and conduct problems. Results indicate that genetic and nonshared environmental factors influence the risk of marital conflict. Furthermore, genetic influences mediated the association between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems. These results highlight the need for quasiexperimental designs in investigations of intergenerational associations.

Power-law relaxation in human violent conflicts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picoli, Sergio; Antonio, Fernando J.; Itami, Andreia S.; Mendes, Renio S.

2017-08-01

We study relaxation patterns of violent conflicts after bursts of activity. Data were obtained from available catalogs on the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. We find several examples in each catalog for which the observed relaxation curves can be well described by an asymptotic power-law decay (the analog of the Omori's law in geophysics). The power-law exponents are robust, nearly independent of the conflict. We also discuss the exogenous or endogenous nature of the shocks. Our results suggest that violent conflicts share with earthquakes and other natural and social phenomena a common feature in the dynamics of aftershocks.

A Skills Approach to Negotiating Conflict in Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Ann Marie

Conflict almost necessarily results from change on the part of one or both participants in a relationship. Four levels at which interaction may lead to conflict are disagreement, misunderstanding, feeling misunderstood, and failure of realization of understanding. Conflict may take place when the issue is directly salient to one partner but only…

Single Mothers, Social Capital, and Work--Family Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciabattari, Teresa

2007-01-01

The purpose of this article is to examine work-family conflict among low-income, unmarried mothers. Analyzing the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national sample of nonmarital births, I examine how social capital affects work-family conflict and how both social capital and work-family conflict affect employment. Results show that…

Resolving conflict realistically in today's health care environment.

PubMed

Smith, S B; Tutor, R S; Phillips, M L

2001-11-01

Conflict is a natural part of human interaction, and when properly addressed, results in improved interpersonal relationships and positive organizational culture. Unchecked conflict may escalate to verbal and physical violence. Conflict that is unresolved creates barriers for people, teams, organizational growth, and productivity, leading to cultural disintegration within the establishment. By relying on interdependence and professional collaboration, all parties involved grow and, in turn, benefit the organization and population served. When used in a constructive manner, conflict resolution can help all parties involved see the whole picture, thus allowing freedom for growth and change. Conflict resolution is accomplished best when emotions are controlled before entering into negotiation. Positive confrontation, problem solving, and negotiation are processes used to realistically resolve conflict. Everyone walks away a winner when conflict is resolved in a positive, professional manner (Stone, 1999).

Conflict Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawhon, Tommie; Jacobson, Arminta

1983-01-01

Teachers are expected to provide guidance in coping, adapting, and managing conflicts. Ways to resolve conflict include achieving a balance between work and family life goals to increase personal, family, and work satisfactions. (SK)

Women Administrators Negotiate Work-Family Conflicts in Changing Times: An Intergenerational Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loder, Tondra L.

2005-01-01

Background: Concerns about work-family conflicts are becoming an increasing problem for women administrators. Yet these concerns have been overshadowed in the educational leadership scholarship, which has focused on barriers related to discrimination in hiring and promotion and lack of sponsoring and mentoring. Purpose: To illuminate differences…

Dealing with conflicts on knowledge in tutorial groups.

PubMed

Aarnio, Matti; Lindblom-Ylänne, Sari; Nieminen, Juha; Pyörälä, Eeva

2013-05-01

The aim of our study was to gain understanding of different types of conflicts on knowledge in the discussions of problem-based learning tutorial groups, and how such conflicts are dealt with. We examined first-year medical and dental students' (N = 33) conflicts on knowledge in four videotaped reporting phase tutorials. A coding scheme was created for analysing verbatim transcripts of 43 conflict episodes in order to find out whether the conflict episodes were about factual or conceptual knowledge and how the students elaborated the knowledge. Conflict episodes were relatively rare (taking up 7.6 % of the time) in the videotaped groups. Conflict episodes were more frequently about factual knowledge (58 %) than conceptual knowledge (42 %), but conflicts on conceptual knowledge lasted longer and were more often elaborated. Elaboration was, however, more frequently done individually than collaboratively. Conflict episodes were generally fairly short (mean duration 28 s). This was due to a lack of thorough argumentation and collaborative elaboration of conflicting ideas. The results suggest that students' skills to bring out differences in each other's conceptual thinking, the depth of argumentation and the use of questions that elicit elaboration need to be improved. Tutors' skills to facilitate the collaborative resolving of conflicts on knowledge call for further study.

Comorbidity of PTSD and Depression among Refugee Children during War Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thabet, Abdel Aziz Mousa; Abed, Yehia; Vostanis, Panos

2004-01-01

Background: We examined the prevalence and nature of comorbid post-traumatic stress reactions and depressive symptoms, and the impact of exposure to traumatic events on both types of psychopathology, among Palestinian children during war conflict in the region. Methods: The 403 children aged 9-15 years, who lived in four refugee camps, were…

Making sense of all the conflict: a theoretical review and critique of conflict-related ERPs.

PubMed

Larson, Michael J; Clayson, Peter E; Clawson, Ann

2014-09-01

Cognitive control theory suggests that goal-directed behavior is governed by a dynamic interplay between areas of the prefrontal cortex. Critical to cognitive control is the detection and resolution of competing stimulus or response representations (i.e., conflict). Event-related potential (ERP) research provides a window into the nature and precise temporal sequence of conflict monitoring. We critically review the research on conflict-related ERPs, including the error-related negativity (ERN), Flanker N2, Stroop N450 and conflict slow potential (conflict SP or negative slow wave [NSW]), and provide an analysis of how these ERPs inform conflict monitoring theory. Overall, there is considerable evidence that amplitude of the ERN is sensitive to the degree of response conflict, consistent with a role in conflict monitoring. It remains unclear, however, to what degree contextual, individual, affective, and motivational factors influence ERN amplitudes and how ERN amplitudes are related to regulative changes in behavior. The Flanker N2, Stroop N450, and conflict SP ERPs represent distinct conflict-monitoring processes that reflect conflict detection (N2, N450) and conflict adjustment or resolution processes (N2, conflict SP). The investigation of conflict adaptation effects (i.e., sequence or sequential trial effects) shows that the N2 and conflict SP reflect post-conflict adjustments in cognitive control, but the N450 generally does not. Conflict-related ERP research provides a promising avenue for understanding the effects of individual differences on cognitive control processes in healthy, neurologic and psychiatric populations. Comparisons between the major conflict-related ERPs and suggestions for future studies to clarify the nature of conflict-related neural processes are provided. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Two-actor conflict with time delay: A dynamical model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qubbaj, Murad R.; Muneepeerakul, Rachata

2012-11-01

Recent mathematical dynamical models of the conflict between two different actors, be they nations, groups, or individuals, have been developed that are capable of predicting various outcomes depending on the chosen feedback strategies, initial conditions, and the previous states of the actors. In addition to these factors, this paper examines the effect of time delayed feedback on the conflict dynamics. Our analysis shows that under certain initial and feedback conditions, a stable neutral equilibrium of conflict may destabilize for some critical values of time delay, and the two actors may evolve to new emotional states. We investigate the results by constructing critical delay surfaces for different sets of parameters and analyzing results from numerical simulations. These results provide new insights regarding conflict and conflict resolution and may help planners in adjusting and assessing their strategic decisions.

Reconsidering Changes in Parent-Child Conflict across Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

PubMed Central

Laursen, Brett; Coy, Katherine C.; Collins, W. Andrew

2009-01-01

A series of meta-analyses addresses whether and how parent-child conflict changes during adolescence and factors that moderate patterns of change. The meta-analyses summarize results from studies of change in parent-child conflict as a function of either adolescent age or pubertal maturation. Three types of parent-adolescent conflict are examined: conflict rate, conflict affect, and total conflict (rate and affect combined). The results provide little support for the commonly held view that parent-child conflict rises and then falls across adolescence, although conclusions regarding pubertal change as well as conflict affect are qualified by the limited number of studies available. Two diverging sets of linear effects emerged, one indicating a decline in conflict rate and total conflict with age and the other indicating an increase in conflict affect with both age and pubertal maturation. In age meta-analyses, conflict rate and total conflict decline from early adolescence to mid-adolescence and from mid-adolescence to late adolescence; conflict affect increases from early adolescence to mid-adolescence. Puberty meta-analyses revealed only a positive linear association between conflict affect and pubertal maturation. Effect-size patterns varied little in follow-up analyses of potential moderating variables, implying similarities in the direction (although not the magnitude) of conflict across parent-adolescent dyads, reporters, and measurement procedures. PMID:9680687

Work-family conflict: experiences and health implications among immigrant Latinos.

PubMed

Grzywacz, Joseph G; Arcury, Thomas A; Márin, Antonio; Carrillo, Lourdes; Burke, Bless; Coates, Michael L; Quandt, Sara A

2007-07-01

Work-family conflict research has focused almost exclusively on professional, White adults. The goal of this article was to expand the understanding of culture and industry in shaping experiences and consequences of work-family conflict. Using in-depth interview data (n = 26) and structured survey data (n = 200) from immigrant Latinos employed in the poultry processing industry, the authors evaluated predictions drawn from emerging models emphasizing the influence of cultural characteristics such as collectivism and gender ideology on work-family conflict. Results indicated that immigrant Latinos in poultry processing experienced infrequent work-to-family conflict; both the level and the antecedents of work-to-family conflict differed by gender, with physical demands contributing to greater conflict for women but not men. In addition, there was little evidence that work-family conflict was associated with health in this population. These results demonstrate how traditional models of work-family conflict need to be modified to reflect the needs and circumstances of diverse workers in the new global economy.

Positive emotion impedes emotional but not cognitive conflict processing.

PubMed

Zinchenko, Artyom; Obermeier, Christian; Kanske, Philipp; Schröger, Erich; Kotz, Sonja A

2017-06-01

Cognitive control enables successful goal-directed behavior by resolving a conflict between opposing action tendencies, while emotional control arises as a consequence of emotional conflict processing such as in irony. While negative emotion facilitates both cognitive and emotional conflict processing, it is unclear how emotional conflict processing is affected by positive emotion (e.g., humor). In 2 EEG experiments, we investigated the role of positive audiovisual target stimuli in cognitive and emotional conflict processing. Participants categorized either spoken vowels (cognitive task) or their emotional valence (emotional task) and ignored the visual stimulus dimension. Behaviorally, a positive target showed no influence on cognitive conflict processing, but impeded emotional conflict processing. In the emotional task, response time conflict costs were higher for positive than for neutral targets. In the EEG, we observed an interaction of emotion by congruence in the P200 and N200 ERP components in emotional but not in cognitive conflict processing. In the emotional conflict task, the P200 and N200 conflict effect was larger for emotional than neutral targets. Thus, our results show that emotion affects conflict processing differently as a function of conflict type and emotional valence. This suggests that there are conflict- and valence-specific mechanisms modulating executive control.

The relationship of interpersonal conflict handling styles and marital conflicts among Iranian divorcing couples.

PubMed

Navidian, Ali; Bahari, Farshad; Kermansaravi, Fatihe

2014-08-15

Various research studies have suggested that among other variables that couples remain married if they successfully manage their interactions (marital communication based on acceptance of individual differences, problem solving skills, forgiveness, collaborative decision making, empathy and active listening) and constructively manage conflict. The study was aimed at examining the relation of conflict handling styles and marital conflicts among divorcing couples. As a descriptive -comparative study 60 couples out of 440 couples referred to the Crisis Intervention Center of the Isfahan Well-being Organization have selected. The tools implemented were Marital Conflicts (Barati & Sanaei, 1996) and Interpersonal Conflict Handling Styles Questionnaires (Thomas-Kilman, 1975). Their total reliabilities were, respectively, 0.74 and 0.87. Findings showed that there are no significant differences among their conflict handling styles and marital conflicts. Also, there was positive correlation between avoidance and competition styles and negative one between compromise, accommodation, and cooperation styles with marital conflicts. That is, these styles reduced couples' conflicts. Finally, wives had tendency to apply accommodation style and husbands tended to use accommodation and cooperation styles to handle their conflicts. It is suggested to be studied couples' views toward their own styles to handle marital conflicts and holding training courses to orient couples with advantages and disadvantages of marital conflict handling styles.

Family Environment and the Metabolic Syndrome: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study (SCAS)

PubMed Central

Brintz, Carrie E.; LLabre, Maria M.; Arguelles, William; Isasi, Carmen R.; Arredondo, Elva M.; Navas-Nacher, Elena L.; Perreira, Krista M.; González, Hector M.; Rodriguez, Carlos J.; Daviglus, Martha; Schneiderman, Neil; Gallo, Linda C.

2015-01-01

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Very limited work has evaluated associations of sociocultural processes with prevalence of the MetS. Purpose The purpose of the present study was to evaluate associations between family environment (cohesion/conflict) and the MetS, in a multi-site sample of US Hispanics/Latinos. Methods A total of 3278 participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos underwent a clinical exam and completed psychosocial measures including family environment (cohesion and conflict) as part of the Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Results The association between family environment and the MetS was moderated by sex. Among all women, higher family conflict was associated with MetS prevalence. Results by ancestry group showed that only among Cuban women, higher conflict was associated with the MetS, whereas only among Dominican men, greater cohesion was associated with the MetS. Conclusions The family context may be a sociocultural protective or risk factor among Hispanics/Latinos in terms of MetS risk, but these associations may vary by sex and Hispanic background. PMID:26068057

Three cheers for conflict!

PubMed

King, D

1981-01-01

Conflict is pervasive and an inevitable part of life--at work and elsewhere. But author Dennis King, organizational consultant for The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, adds that it is also a functional part of the social process. Managing conflict on the job involves the ability to identify, seek out, and utilize the functions of conflict and its outcomes. He identifies fifteen functions of conflict in three major categories: maintaining or reinforcing identity and innate strength, increasing operational effectiveness, and dealing with others. For example, conflict can lead to minor clashes that actually strengthen a relationship because they function as safety valves--preventing the buildup of tension to the stage of explosion. (Note, however, that a conflict over the basic foundation of a relationship spells trouble.) Similarly, in the union-management relationship, both negotiations and grievance handling focus on adjusting or eliminating problem elements so that the employer-employee relationship can exist satisfactorily. Recognizing and exploiting the functions of a conflict situation--that is, functional conflict management--can work to our benefit. If we develop a "functional mind-set," looking for the positive aspects of conflict will become natural.

Levels of conflict in reasoning modulate right lateral prefrontal cortex.

PubMed

Stollstorff, Melanie; Vartanian, Oshin; Goel, Vinod

2012-01-05

Right lateral prefrontal cortex (rlPFC) has previously been implicated in logical reasoning under conditions of conflict. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted to explore its role in conflict more precisely. Specifically, we distinguished between belief-logic conflict and belief-content conflict, and examined the role of rlPFC under each condition. The results demonstrated that a specific region of rlPFC is consistently activated under both types of conflict. Moreover, the results of a parametric analysis demonstrated that the same region was modulated by the level of conflict contained in reasoning arguments. This supports the idea that this specific region is engaged to resolve conflict, including during deductive reasoning. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Thought". Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Accounting for the association of family conflict and heavy alcohol use among adolescent girls: the role of depressed mood.

PubMed

Chan, Gary C K; Kelly, Adrian B; Toumbourou, John W

2013-05-01

Heavy alcohol use increases dramatically at age 14, and there is emerging cross-sectional evidence that when girls experience family conflict at younger ages (11-13 years) the risk of alcohol use and misuse is high. This study evaluated the role of family conflict and subsequent depressed mood in predicting heavy alcohol use among adolescent girls. This was a three-wave longitudinal study with annual assessments (modal ages 12, 13, and 14 years). The participants (N = 886, 57% female) were from 12 metropolitan schools in Victoria, Australia, and participants completed questionnaires during school class time. The key measures were based on the Communities That Care Youth Survey and included family conflict (Wave 1), depressed mood (Wave 2), and heavy alcohol use (Wave 3). Control variables included school commitment, number of peers who consumed alcohol, whether parents were living together, and ethnic background. With all controls in the model, depressed mood at Wave 2 was predicted by family conflict at Wave 1. The interaction of family conflict with gender was significant, with girls showing a stronger association of family conflict and depressed mood. Depressed mood at Wave 2 predicted heavy alcohol use at Wave 3. Girls may be especially vulnerable to family conflict, and subsequent depressed mood increases the risk of heavy alcohol use. The results support the need for gender-sensitive family-oriented prevention programs delivered in late childhood and early adolescence.

Personal Conflict Impairs Performance on an Unrelated Self-Control Task: Lingering Costs of Uncertainty and Conflict.

PubMed

Alquist, Jessica L; Baumeister, Roy F; McGregor, Ian; Core, Tammy J; Benjamin, Ilil; Tice, Dianne M

2018-01-01

People have the ability to make important choices in their lives, but deliberating about these choices can have costs. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that writing about conflicted personal goals and values (conflict condition) would impair self-control on an unrelated subsequent task as compared to writing about clear personal goals and values (clarity condition). Personal conflict activates the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; Hirsh, Mar, & Peterson, 2012), which may make it harder for participants to successfully execute self-control. In this large ( N =337), pre-registered study participants in the conflict condition performed worse on anagrams than participants in the clarity condition, and the effect of condition on anagram performance was mediated by a subjective uncertainty measure of BIS activation. This suggests that BIS activation leads to poor self-control. Moreover, given that conflict is inherent in the exercise of self-control, results point to BIS activation as a mechanism for why initial acts of self-control impair self-control on subsequent, unrelated tasks.

Automated conflict resolution issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wike, Jeffrey S.

1991-01-01

A discussion is presented of how conflicts for Space Network resources should be resolved in the ATDRSS era. The following topics are presented: a description of how resource conflicts are currently resolved; a description of issues associated with automated conflict resolution; present conflict resolution strategies; and topics for further discussion.

How Sustained Conflict Makes Moral Education Impossible: Some Observations from Palestine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Affouneh, Saida Jaser

2007-01-01

This article explores the impact of conflict and war on children's moral education, taking the case of Palestine as an example. It begins by giving a brief background to the emergency situation in Palestine and the impact this has on children. The second section reports research findings about the attitudes of Palestinian teachers, parents and…

Stop interfering: Stroop task conflict independence from informational conflict and interference.

PubMed

Kalanthroff, Eyal; Goldfarb, Liat; Usher, Marius; Henik, Avishai

2013-01-01

Performance of the Stroop task reflects two conflicts-informational (between the incongruent word and ink colour) and task (between relevant colour naming and irrelevant word reading). This is supported by findings showing that the anterior cingulate cortex is more activated by congruent and incongruent stimuli than by nonword neutral stimuli. Previously, researchers demonstrated behavioural evidence for task conflict-a reverse facilitation effect under a reduced task conflict control condition. The boundary conditions of this Stroop reverse facilitation effect are not yet clear. The current study aimed to investigate whether task conflict arises, and task control is needed, whenever there are two possible tasks, even if the irrelevant task cannot mislead one to give erroneous responses (i.e., stimuli do not contain an informational conflict). To this end, in both experiments no incongruent stimuli were presented. In Experiment 1, participants conducted a Stroop task with a high proportion of nonword neutrals and with a neutral/congruent cue in 50% of the trials. In Experiment 2, the nonword neutral was replaced by a real non-colour-word. We found the reverse facilitation effect in the noncued trials of Experiment 1. Moreover, as expected, this effect was eliminated when a noncolour neutral word that induced task conflict was used (Experiment 2). We conclude that task conflict control is reactively activated whenever there are at least two possible tasks, even in the absence of any possibility of informational conflict.

Cognitive and emotional factors predicting decisional conflict among high-risk breast cancer survivors who receive uninformative BRCA1/2 results.

PubMed

Rini, Christine; O'Neill, Suzanne C; Valdimarsdottir, Heiddis; Goldsmith, Rachel E; Jandorf, Lina; Brown, Karen; DeMarco, Tiffani A; Peshkin, Beth N; Schwartz, Marc D

2009-09-01

To investigate high-risk breast cancer survivors' risk reduction decision making and decisional conflict after an uninformative BRCA1/2 test. Prospective, longitudinal study of 182 probands undergoing BRCA1/2 testing, with assessments 1-, 6-, and 12-months postdisclosure. Primary predictors were health beliefs and emotional responses to testing assessed 1-month postdisclosure. Main outcomes included women's perception of whether they had made a final risk management decision (decision status) and decisional conflict related to this issue. There were four patterns of decision making, depending on how long it took women to make a final decision and the stability of their decision status across assessments. Late decision makers and nondecision makers reported the highest decisional conflict; however, substantial numbers of women--even early and intermediate decision makers--reported elevated decisional conflict. Analyses predicting decisional conflict 1- and 12-months postdisclosure found that, after accounting for control variables and decision status, health beliefs and emotional factors predicted decisional conflict at different timepoints, with health beliefs more important 1 month after test disclosure and emotional factors more important 1 year later. Many of these women may benefit from decision making assistance. Copyright 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

de Wit, Frank R C; Greer, Lindred L; Jehn, Karen A

2012-03-01

Since the meta-analysis by De Dreu and Weingart (2003b) on the effects of intragroup conflict on group outcomes, more than 80 new empirical studies of conflict have been conducted, often investigating more complex, moderated relationships between conflict and group outcomes, as well as new types of intragroup conflict, such as process conflict. To explore the trends in this new body of literature, we conducted a meta-analysis of 116 empirical studies of intragroup conflict (n = 8,880 groups) and its relationship with group outcomes. To address the heterogeneity across the studies included in the meta-analysis, we also investigated a number of moderating variables. Stable negative relationships were found between relationship and process conflict and group outcomes. In contrast to the results of De Dreu and Weingart, we did not find a strong and negative association between task conflict and group performance. Analyses of main effects as well as moderator analyses revealed a more complex picture. Task conflict and group performance were more positively related among studies where the association between task and relationship conflict was relatively weak, in studies conducted among top management teams rather than non-top management teams, and in studies where performance was measured in terms of financial performance or decision quality rather than overall performance.

Antecedents and consequences of intra-group conflict among nurses.

PubMed

Almost, Joan; Doran, Diane M; McGillis Hall, Linda; Spence Laschinger, Heather K

2010-11-01

To test a theoretical model linking selected antecedent variables to intra-group conflict among nurses, and subsequently conflict management style, job stress and job satisfaction. A contributing factor to the nursing shortage is job dissatisfaction as a result of conflict among nurses. To develop strategies to reduce conflict, research is needed to understand the causes and outcomes of conflict in nursing work environments. A predictive, non-experimental design was used in a random sample of 277 acute care nurses. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the hypothesised model. Nurses' core self-evaluations, complexity of care and relationships with managers and nursing colleagues influenced their perceived level of conflict. Conflict management style partially mediated the relationship between conflict and job satisfaction. Job stress had a direct effect on job satisfaction and core self-evaluation had a direct effect on job stress. Conflict and its associated outcomes is a complex process, affected by dispositional, contextual and interpersonal factors. How nurses manage conflict may not prevent the negative effects of conflict, however, learning to manage conflict using collaboration and accommodation may help nurses experience greater job satisfaction. Strategies to manage and reduce conflict include building interactional justice practices and positive interpersonal relationships. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Seeing the conflict: an attentional account of reasoning errors.

PubMed

Mata, André; Ferreira, Mário B; Voss, Andreas; Kollei, Tanja

2017-12-01

In judgment and reasoning, intuition and deliberation can agree on the same responses, or they can be in conflict and suggest different responses. Incorrect responses to conflict problems have traditionally been interpreted as a sign of faulty problem-solving-an inability to solve the conflict. However, such errors might emerge earlier, from insufficient attention to the conflict. To test this attentional hypothesis, we manipulated the conflict in reasoning problems and used eye-tracking to measure attention. Across several measures, correct responders paid more attention than incorrect responders to conflict problems, and they discriminated between conflict and no-conflict problems better than incorrect responders. These results are consistent with a two-stage account of reasoning, whereby sound problem solving in the second stage can only lead to accurate responses when sufficient attention is paid in the first stage.

Matrix Management: Is It Really Conflict Management.

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-11-01

ru— A036 516 DEFENSE SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT COLL FORT BELVOIR VA - FIG 5/1 MATRIX MANAGEMENT: IS IT REALLY CONFLICT MANAGEMENT . (U) NOV 76 R P... conflict management .” As a result , sensitivity training for managers and their subordinates was conducted in order to implement the matrix concept...Wilemon. “ Conflict Management in ProJect Life Cycles ,” Sloan ~anagement Review , Vol. 16,Spring , 1975, pp . 3 1—5 0. Thamhain , Hans J. and David L

Intergenerational Conflicts among Latinos in Early Adulthood: Separating Values Conflicts with Parents from Acculturation Conflicts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennis, Jessica; Basanez, Tatiana; Farahmand, Anahita

2010-01-01

An investigation of Latino and non-Latino college students sought to examine the ways in which perceived intergenerational conflicts with parents are related to acculturation, family dynamics, and psychosocial functioning. Participants reported the extent to which they experienced two types of intergenerational conflicts with parents:…

Ravens reconcile after aggressive conflicts with valuable partners.

PubMed

Fraser, Orlaith N; Bugnyar, Thomas

2011-03-25

Reconciliation, a post-conflict affiliative interaction between former opponents, is an important mechanism for reducing the costs of aggressive conflict in primates and some other mammals as it may repair the opponents' relationship and reduce post-conflict distress. Opponents who share a valuable relationship are expected to be more likely to reconcile as for such partners the benefits of relationship repair should outweigh the risk of renewed aggression. In birds, however, post-conflict behavior has thus far been marked by an apparent absence of reconciliation, suggested to result either from differing avian and mammalian strategies or because birds may not share valuable relationships with partners with whom they engage in aggressive conflict. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence of reconciliation in a group of captive subadult ravens (Corvus corax) and show that it is more likely to occur after conflicts between partners who share a valuable relationship. Furthermore, former opponents were less likely to engage in renewed aggression following reconciliation, suggesting that reconciliation repairs damage caused to their relationship by the preceding conflict. Our findings suggest not only that primate-like valuable relationships exist outside the pair bond in birds, but that such partners may employ the same mechanisms in birds as in primates to ensure that the benefits afforded by their relationships are maintained even when conflicts of interest escalate into aggression. These results provide further support for a convergent evolution of social strategies in avian and mammalian species.

Predictors of Cultural Values Conflict for Asian Indian Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaduvettoor-Davidson, Anju; Inman, Arpana G.

2012-01-01

This study explored the relationship between the family environments and coping styles and the cultural values conflicts of 110 Asian Indian women. Results indicated that women perceiving supportive family environments had less sex role conflict. Additionally, avoidant and emotion-focused coping predicted high conflict regarding intimate relations…

Young Children in Intractable Conflicts: The Israeli Case.

PubMed

Nasie, Meytal; Diamond, Aurel Harrison; Bar-Tal, Daniel

2015-10-08

The article examines the political socialization of young Jewish-Israeli children who live under the Israeli-Palestinian intractable conflict. It proposes arguments and presents empirical evidence to suggest that the way in which political socialization of young children happens in this context contributes to the development of conflict-supporting narratives of ethos of conflict and collective memory by the youngest generation. As a result, the conflict solidifies adherence to these narratives in adulthood, thereby serving as a major obstacle to the processes of peace-making and peace-building. Specifically, as evidence for showing how the political socialization works in Israel, a series of studies conducted in Israeli kindergartens and elementary schools are presented. These studies recount the contents acquired by young children, as well as contents delivered by teachers, related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This indicates the serious consequences of acquiring conflict-supporting narratives at an early age in societies involved in intractable conflict. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Duration and outcome of intergroup conflict influences intragroup affiliative behaviour

PubMed Central

Radford, Andrew N

2008-01-01

Theoreticians have long suggested that the amount of intergroup conflict in which a group is involved could influence the level of cooperation or affiliation displayed by its members. Despite the prevalence of intergroup conflicts in many social animal species, however, few empirical studies have investigated this potential link. Here, I show that intragroup allopreening rates are highest in green woodhoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) groups that have the greatest involvement in intergroup conflict. One reason for this relationship is a post-conflict increase in allopreening, and I demonstrate for the first time that both conflict duration and outcome influence subsequent allopreening rates: group members allopreened more following long conflicts and those they lost compared with short conflicts and those they won, perhaps because the former are more stressful. The increase in affiliative behaviour was the result of more allopreening of subordinate helpers by the dominant breeding pair, which may be because the breeders are trying to encourage helpers to participate in future conflicts; relative group size influences conflict outcome and helpers contribute more to conflicts than do the breeding pair. These results emphasize that our understanding of cooperation and group dynamics can be enhanced by investigations of how intergroup interactions affect intragroup processes. PMID:18765344

Prototype Conflict Alerting Logic for Free Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, Lee C.; Kuchar, James K.

1997-01-01

This paper discusses the development of a prototype alerting system for a conceptual Free Flight environment. The concept assumes that datalink between aircraft is available and that conflicts are primarily resolved on the flight deck. Four alert stages are generated depending on the likelihood of a conflict. If the conflict is not resolved by the flight crews, Air Traffic Control is notified to take over separation authority. The alerting logic is based on probabilistic analysis through modeling of aircraft sensor and trajectory uncertainties. Monte Carlo simulations were used over a range of encounter situations to determine conflict probability. The four alert stages were then defined based on probability of conflict and on the number of avoidance maneuvers available to the flight crew. Preliminary results from numerical evaluations and from a piloted simulator study at NASA Ames Research Center are summarized.

Aiming at a Moving Target: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations in the Study of Intraindividual Goal Conflict between Personal Goals.

PubMed

Gorges, Julia; Grund, Axel

2017-01-01

Multiple-goal pursuit and conflict between personal life-defining goals can be considered part of everyday business in most individuals' lives. Given the potentially detrimental effects of goal conflict-for example, impaired well-being or poor performance-the literature on goal conflict is surprisingly scattered due to heterogeneous methodological approaches and technical terms. Little empirical research has addressed the conceptualization of goal conflict against the background of differing understandings from a structure-like and a process-like perspective. In the present article, we outline theoretical foundations of goal conflict from two perspectives: a structure- and a process-like perspective. Based on a comparative analysis and integration of these two perspectives, we systematically review empirical studies on goal conflict over 30 years of research. In doing so, we identify and discuss important conceptual dimensions of goal conflict, namely, goal conflict as a cognitive construct and an experiential instance, a focus on goal interrelations or on specific goal properties, and resource vs. inherent conflict, and the potential of these distinctions to further research on goal conflict. Finally, we present major challenges and pose questions that need to be addressed by future research.

Conflict of interest reporting in dentistry meta-analyses: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Beyari, Mohammed M.; Strain, Dan; Lamfon, Hanadi A.

2014-01-01

Objectives: The issue of reporting conflicts of interest (COI) in medical research has come under scrutiny over the past decade. Absolute transparency is important when dealing with conflicts of interest to provide readers with all essential information required to make an informative decision of the results. The key objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of reporting conflicts of interest in therapeutic dental meta-analyses of Randomized Control Trials (RCTs), and to investigate possible associations with other categorical variables. Study Design: We conducted an extensive literature search across multiple databases to search for relevant review articles for this study. We utilized pre-determined key words, and relied on three reviewers to test and review the use of a data extraction form that was used for the meta-analyses. Data regarding study characteristics, direction of results, and the significance of the results from each meta-analysis were extracted. Results: There were 129 meta-analyses used in this review, and the reporting on conflict of interest was low with only 50 (38.8%) of the articles possessing a conflict of interest statement (either confirming of denying COI). Of these 50 articles, there were only 4 (8%) studies that reported an actual conflict of interest. A statement of conflicts of interest was found in 29 (35.3%) of the papers that reported significant findings, whereas 35% of the papers that reported positive results reported on conflict of interest. Prior to 2009, only 17 (25%) papers reported conflicts of interest, but since 2009, 54.1% of papers collected had a conflict of interest statement. Conclusions: Meta-analyses published in the field of dentistry do not routinely report author conflicts of interest. Although few conflicts appear to exist, the field of dentistry should continue to ensure that best evidence reports provide clear and transparent reporting of potential conflicts of interest in academic journals. Key

Conflict in the dialysis clinic.

PubMed

Payton, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Conflict is common in healthcare settings and can affect the functioning of a dialysis clinic. Unresolved conflict can decrease staff productivity and teamwork, and potentially decrease the quality of patient care. This article discusses the causes and effects of conflict, describes the five basic conflict-handling styles that can be useful when dealing with conflict (avoidance, accommodation, competing, compromise, and collaboration), and provides resources for resolving patient-provider conflict.

Neural Correlates of Decision-Making Under Ambiguity and Conflict.

PubMed

Pushkarskaya, Helen; Smithson, Michael; Joseph, Jane E; Corbly, Christine; Levy, Ifat

2015-01-01

HIGHLIGHTS We use a simple gambles design in an fMRI study to compare two conditions: ambiguity and conflict.Participants were more conflict averse than ambiguity averse.Ambiguity aversion did not correlate with conflict aversion.Activation in the medial prefrontal cortex correlated with ambiguity level and ambiguity aversion.Activation in the ventral striatum correlated with conflict level and conflict aversion. Studies of decision making under uncertainty generally focus on imprecise information about outcome probabilities ("ambiguity"). It is not clear, however, whether conflicting information about outcome probabilities affects decision making in the same manner as ambiguity does. Here we combine functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a simple gamble design to study this question. In this design the levels of ambiguity and conflict are parametrically varied, and ambiguity and conflict gambles are matched on expected value. Behaviorally, participants avoided conflict more than ambiguity, and attitudes toward ambiguity and conflict did not correlate across participants. Neurally, regional brain activation was differentially modulated by ambiguity level and aversion to ambiguity and by conflict level and aversion to conflict. Activation in the medial prefrontal cortex was correlated with the level of ambiguity and with ambiguity aversion, whereas activation in the ventral striatum was correlated with the level of conflict and with conflict aversion. These novel results indicate that decision makers process imprecise and conflicting information differently, a finding that has important implications for basic and clinical research.

Neural Correlates of Decision-Making Under Ambiguity and Conflict

PubMed Central

Pushkarskaya, Helen; Smithson, Michael; Joseph, Jane E.; Corbly, Christine; Levy, Ifat

2015-01-01

HIGHLIGHTS We use a simple gambles design in an fMRI study to compare two conditions: ambiguity and conflict.Participants were more conflict averse than ambiguity averse.Ambiguity aversion did not correlate with conflict aversion.Activation in the medial prefrontal cortex correlated with ambiguity level and ambiguity aversion.Activation in the ventral striatum correlated with conflict level and conflict aversion. Studies of decision making under uncertainty generally focus on imprecise information about outcome probabilities (“ambiguity”). It is not clear, however, whether conflicting information about outcome probabilities affects decision making in the same manner as ambiguity does. Here we combine functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a simple gamble design to study this question. In this design the levels of ambiguity and conflict are parametrically varied, and ambiguity and conflict gambles are matched on expected value. Behaviorally, participants avoided conflict more than ambiguity, and attitudes toward ambiguity and conflict did not correlate across participants. Neurally, regional brain activation was differentially modulated by ambiguity level and aversion to ambiguity and by conflict level and aversion to conflict. Activation in the medial prefrontal cortex was correlated with the level of ambiguity and with ambiguity aversion, whereas activation in the ventral striatum was correlated with the level of conflict and with conflict aversion. These novel results indicate that decision makers process imprecise and conflicting information differently, a finding that has important implications for basic and clinical research. PMID:26640434

Trust, conflict, and cooperation: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Balliet, Daniel; Van Lange, Paul A M

2013-09-01

Many theories of trust emphasize that trust is most relevant to behavior in situations involving a conflict of interests. However, it is not clear how trust relates to behavior across situations that differ in the degree of conflicting interest: Does trust matter more when the conflict of interest is small or large? According to an interdependence perspective, trust becomes an especially important determinant of behavior in situations involving larger, compared to smaller, degrees of conflicting interests. To examine this perspective, we conducted a meta-analysis involving 212 effect sizes on the relation between trust (both state and dispositional trust in others) and cooperation in social dilemmas-situations that involve varying degrees of conflict between self-interest and collective interest. Results revealed that the positive relation between trust and cooperation is stronger when there is a larger, compared to smaller, degree of conflict. We also examined several other possible moderators of the relation between trust and cooperation. The relation between trust and cooperation was stronger during individual, compared to intergroup, interactions but did not vary as a function of the situation being either a one-shot or repeated interaction. We also find differences across countries in the extent that people condition their own cooperation based on their trust in others. We discuss how the results support an emerging consensus about trust being limited to situations of conflict and address some theoretical and societal implications for our understanding of how and why trust is so important to social interactions and relationships. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Contingency learning is reduced for high conflict stimuli.

PubMed

Whitehead, Peter S; Brewer, Gene A; Patwary, Nowed; Blais, Chris

2016-09-16

Recent theories have proposed that contingency learning occurs independent of control processes. These parallel processing accounts propose that behavioral effects originally thought to be products of control processes are in fact products solely of contingency learning. This view runs contrary to conflict-mediated Hebbian-learning models that posit control and contingency learning are parts of an interactive system. In this study we replicate the contingency learning effect and modify it to further test the veracity of the parallel processing accounts in comparison to conflict-mediated Hebbian-learning models. This is accomplished by manipulating conflict to test for an interaction, or lack thereof, between conflict and contingency learning. The results are consistent with conflict-mediated Hebbian-learning in that the addition of conflict reduces the magnitude of the contingency learning effect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stimulus and response conflict processing during perceptual decision making.

PubMed

Wendelken, Carter; Ditterich, Jochen; Bunge, Silvia A; Carter, Cameron S

2009-12-01

Encoding and dealing with conflicting information is essential for successful decision making in a complex environment. In the present fMRI study, stimulus conflict and response conflict are contrasted in the context of a perceptual decision-making dot-motion discrimination task. Stimulus conflict was manipulated by varying dot-motion coherence along task-relevant and task-irrelevant dimensions. Response conflict was manipulated by varying whether or not competing stimulus dimensions provided evidence for the same or different responses. The right inferior frontal gyrus was involved specifically in the resolution of stimulus conflict, whereas the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was shown to be sensitive to response conflict. Additionally, two regions that have been linked to perceptual decision making with dot-motion stimuli in monkey physiology studies were differentially engaged by stimulus conflict and response conflict. The middle temporal area, previously linked to processing of motion, was strongly affected by the presence of stimulus conflict. On the other hand, the superior parietal lobe, previously associated with accumulation of evidence for a response, was affected by the presence of response conflict. These results shed light on the neural mechanisms that support decision making in the presence of conflict, a cognitive operation fundamental to both basic survival and high-level cognition.

Conflict of interest: nurses at risk!

PubMed

Erlen, Judith A

2008-01-01

Conflict of interest as it relates to healthcare is gaining increasing attention. Pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers that produce medical devices are coming under greater scrutiny because of the influence that their marketing practices may have on the patient management decisions made by healthcare professionals. The result is that healthcare agency administrators are developing conflict of interest policies and procedures for their professional employees. The driving force behind many of these policies is the need to maintain the trust of the public by refraining from questionable professional conduct. This article presents 2 hypothetical cases to provide nurses with an understanding of the concept of conflict of interest and the ethical considerations this issue raises, and describes the subtle and not-so-subtle influences on professional practice decisions. Recommendations are offered to help nurses avoid conflict of interest and preserve their professional integrity. It is incumbent upon nurses to become cognizant of the types of situations that may present a conflict of interest for them and to take the necessary steps to avoid such professional impropriety.

The evolution of cooperative turn-taking in animal conflict

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background A fundamental assumption in animal socio-ecology is that animals compete over limited resources. This view has been challenged by the finding that individuals might cooperatively partition resources by "taking turns". Turn-taking occurs when two individuals coordinate their agonistic behaviour in a way that leads to an alternating pattern in who obtains a resource without engaging in costly fights. Cooperative turn-taking has been largely ignored in models of animal conflict and socio-ecological models that explain the evolution of social behaviours based only on contest and scramble competition. Currently it is unclear whether turn-taking should be included in socio-ecological models because the evolution of turn-taking is not well understood. In particular, it is unknown whether turn-taking can evolve when fighting costs and assessment of fighting abilities are not fixed but emerge from evolved within-fight behaviour. We address this problem with an evolutionary agent-based model. Results We found that turn-taking evolves for small resource values, alongside a contest strategy that leads to stable dominance relationships. Turn-taking leads to egalitarian societies with unclear dominance relationships and non-linear dominance hierarchies. Evolutionary stability of turn-taking emerged despite strength differences among individuals and the possibility to evolve within-fight behaviour that allows good assessment of fighting abilities. Evolutionary stability emerged from frequency-dependent effects on fitness, which are modulated by feedbacks between the evolution of within-fight behaviour and the evolution of higher-level conflict strategies. Conclusions Our results reveal the impact of feedbacks between the evolution of within-fight behaviour and the evolution of higher-level conflict strategies, such as turn-taking. Similar feedbacks might be important for the evolution of other conflict strategies such as winner-loser effects or coalitions. However, we

Sampling bias in climate-conflict research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adams, Courtland; Ide, Tobias; Barnett, Jon; Detges, Adrien

2018-03-01

Critics have argued that the evidence of an association between climate change and conflict is flawed because the research relies on a dependent variable sampling strategy1-4. Similarly, it has been hypothesized that convenience of access biases the sample of cases studied (the `streetlight effect'5). This also gives rise to claims that the climate-conflict literature stigmatizes some places as being more `naturally' violent6-8. Yet there has been no proof of such sampling patterns. Here we test whether climate-conflict research is based on such a biased sample through a systematic review of the literature. We demonstrate that research on climate change and violent conflict suffers from a streetlight effect. Further, studies which focus on a small number of cases in particular are strongly informed by cases where there has been conflict, do not sample on the independent variables (climate impact or risk), and hence tend to find some association between these two variables. These biases mean that research on climate change and conflict primarily focuses on a few accessible regions, overstates the links between both phenomena and cannot explain peaceful outcomes from climate change. This could result in maladaptive responses in those places that are stigmatized as being inherently more prone to climate-induced violence.

Parent-adolescent conflict in teenagers with ADHD and ODD.

PubMed

Edwards, G; Barkley, R A; Laneri, M; Fletcher, K; Metevia, L

2001-12-01

Eighty-seven male teens (ages 12-18 years) with ADHD/ODD and their parents were compared to 32 male teens and their parents in a community control (CC) group on mother, father, and teen ratings of parent-teen conflict and communication quality, parental self-reports of psychological adjustment, and direct observations of parent-teen problem-solving interactions during a neutral and conflict discussion. Parents and teens in the ADHD/ODD group rated themselves as having significantly more issues involving parent-teen conflict, more anger during these conflict discussions, and more negative communication generally, and used more aggressive conflict tactics with each other than did parents and teens in the CC group. During a neutral discussion, only the ADHD/ODD teens demonstrated more negative behavior. During the conflict discussion, however, the mothers, fathers, and teens in the ADHD/ODD group displayed more negative behavior, and the mothers and teens showed less positive behavior than did participants in the CC group. Differences in conflicts related to sex of parent were evident on only a few measures. Both mother and father self-rated hostility contributed to the level of mother-teen conflict whereas father self-rated hostility and anxiety contributed to father-teen conflict beyond the contribution made by level of teen ODD and ADHD symptoms. Results replicated past studies of mother-child interactions in ADHD/ODD children, extended these results to teens with these disorders, showed that greater conflict also occurs in father-teen interactions, and found that degree of parental hostility, but not ADHD symptoms, further contributed to levels of parent-teen conflict beyond the contribution made by severity of teen ADHD and ODD symptoms.

Cognitive conflict increases processing of negative, task-irrelevant stimuli.

PubMed

Ligeza, Tomasz S; Wyczesany, Miroslaw

2017-10-01

The detection of cognitive conflict is thought to trigger adjustments in executive control. It has been recently shown that cognitive conflict increases processing of stimuli that are relevant to the ongoing task and that these modulations are exerted by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, it is still unclear whether such control influences are unspecific and might also affect the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli. The aim of the study was to examine if cognitive conflict affects processing of neutral and negative, task-irrelevant pictures. Participants responded to congruent (non-conflict) or to incongruent (conflict-eliciting) trials of a modified flanker task. Each response was followed by a presentation of a neutral or negative picture. The late positive potential (LPP) in response to picture presentation was used to assess the level of picture processing after conflict vs non-conflict trials. Connectivity between the DLPFC and attentional and perceptual areas during picture presentation was analysed to check if the DLPFC might be a source of these modulations. ERP results showed an effect of cognitive conflict only on processing of negative pictures: LPP in response to negative pictures was increased after conflict trials, whereas LPP in response to neutral pictures remained unchanged. Cortical connectivity analysis showed that conflict trials intensified information flow from the DLPFC towards attentional and perceptual regions. Results suggest that cognitive conflict increases processing of task-irrelevant stimuli; however, they must display high biological salience. Increase in cognitive control exerted by the DLPFC over attentional and perceptual regions is a probable mechanism of the effect. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The evolutionary outcome of sexual conflict

PubMed Central

Lessells, C(Kate). M

2006-01-01

Inter-locus sexual conflict occurs by definition when there is sexually antagonistic selection on a trait so that the optimal trait value differs between the sexes. As a result, there is selection on each sex to manipulate the trait towards its own optimum and resist such manipulation by the other sex. Sexual conflict often leads additionally to the evolution of harmful behaviour and to self-reinforcing and even perpetual sexually antagonistic coevolution. In an attempt to understand the determinants of these different outcomes, I compare two groups of traits—those related to parental investment (PI) and to mating—over which there is sexual conflict, but which have to date been explored by largely separate research traditions. A brief review suggests that sexual conflict over PI, particularly over PI per offspring, leads less frequently to the evolution of manipulative behaviour, and rarely to the evolution of harmful behaviour or to the rapid evolutionary changes which may be symptomatic of sexually antagonistic coevolution. The chief determinants of the evolutionary outcome of sexual conflict are the benefits of manipulation and resistance, the costs of manipulation and resistance, and the feasibility of manipulation. All three of these appear to contribute to the differences in the evolutionary outcome of conflicts over PI and mating. A detailed dissection of the evolutionary changes following from sexual conflict exposes greater complexity than a simple adaptation–counter-adaptation cycle and clarifies the role of harm. Not all of the evolutionary changes that follow from sexual conflict are sexually antagonistic, and harm is not necessary for sexually antagonistic coevolution to occur. In particular, whereas selection on the trait over which there is conflict is by definition sexually antagonistic, collateral harm is usually in the interest of neither sex. This creates the opportunity for palliative adaptations which reduce collateral harm. Failure to

The evolutionary outcome of sexual conflict.

PubMed

Lessells, C M

2006-02-28

Inter-locus sexual conflict occurs by definition when there is sexually antagonistic selection on a trait so that the optimal trait value differs between the sexes. As a result, there is selection on each sex to manipulate the trait towards its own optimum and resist such manipulation by the other sex. Sexual conflict often leads additionally to the evolution of harmful behaviour and to self-reinforcing and even perpetual sexually antagonistic coevolution. In an attempt to understand the determinants of these different outcomes, I compare two groups of traits-those related to parental investment (PI) and to mating-over which there is sexual conflict, but which have to date been explored by largely separate research traditions. A brief review suggests that sexual conflict over PI, particularly over PI per offspring, leads less frequently to the evolution of manipulative behaviour, and rarely to the evolution of harmful behaviour or to the rapid evolutionary changes which may be symptomatic of sexually antagonistic coevolution. The chief determinants of the evolutionary outcome of sexual conflict are the benefits of manipulation and resistance, the costs of manipulation and resistance, and the feasibility of manipulation. All three of these appear to contribute to the differences in the evolutionary outcome of conflicts over PI and mating. A detailed dissection of the evolutionary changes following from sexual conflict exposes greater complexity than a simple adaptation-counter-adaptation cycle and clarifies the role of harm. Not all of the evolutionary changes that follow from sexual conflict are sexually antagonistic, and harm is not necessary for sexually antagonistic coevolution to occur. In particular, whereas selection on the trait over which there is conflict is by definition sexually antagonistic, collateral harm is usually in the interest of neither sex. This creates the opportunity for palliative adaptations which reduce collateral harm. Failure to

Conflict-Aware Scheduling Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Yeou-Fang; Borden, Chester

2006-01-01

conflict-aware scheduling algorithm is being developed to help automate the allocation of NASA s Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas and equipment that are used to communicate with interplanetary scientific spacecraft. The current approach for scheduling DSN ground resources seeks to provide an equitable distribution of tracking services among the multiple scientific missions and is very labor intensive. Due to the large (and increasing) number of mission requests for DSN services, combined with technical and geometric constraints, the DSN is highly oversubscribed. To help automate the process, and reduce the DSN and spaceflight project labor effort required for initiating, maintaining, and negotiating schedules, a new scheduling algorithm is being developed. The scheduling algorithm generates a "conflict-aware" schedule, where all requests are scheduled based on a dynamic priority scheme. The conflict-aware scheduling algorithm allocates all requests for DSN tracking services while identifying and maintaining the conflicts to facilitate collaboration and negotiation between spaceflight missions. These contrast with traditional "conflict-free" scheduling algorithms that assign tracks that are not in conflict and mark the remainder as unscheduled. In the case where full schedule automation is desired (based on mission/event priorities, fairness, allocation rules, geometric constraints, and ground system capabilities/ constraints), a conflict-free schedule can easily be created from the conflict-aware schedule by removing lower priority items that are in conflict.

Role conflict: cause of burnout or energizer?

PubMed

Jones, M L

1993-03-01

A year-long study of public child welfare administrators examined the effects of role conflict on their attitudes and performance. Popular belief and some of the literature have suggested that burnout is inevitable for those confronted with role conflict. Other literature has proposed that it may instead be energizing to individuals and lead to greater personal and organizational effectiveness. This qualitative study found that individuals in the study had developed specific, effective skills for responding to role conflict. Although there was a public presentation of self that indicated they were under stress and in "impossible" situations, there was in fact an energizing effect resulting from the ongoing challenge of dealing with conflict.

Nurses' perceptions of conflict as constructive or destructive.

PubMed

Kim, Wonsun Sunny; Nicotera, Anne M; McNulty, Julie

2015-09-01

The aim of this study was to examine nurses' perceptions of constructive and destructive conflicts and their management among nurses. Conflict among nurses is common and has been associated with lack of collaboration, lack of communication and disruptive behaviour, with the potential to have negative impact teamwork. However, unlike the broader social science literature, positive views of conflict are scarce in the nursing literature. Given the various functions of conflict and the high stakes of ineffective conflict management in nursing, it is necessary to examine how nurses understand both sides of conflict: constructive and destructive. A qualitative descriptive design. Data were collected from 34 full time nurses as part of a conflict skills training course offered over 6 months beginning in October 2009. Each participant was asked to write a weekly journal about conflicts in his/her work place. Data yielded 163 entries (82 classified as constructive and 81 as destructive). Results showed that quality patient care and cooperative communication contributed to the perception that conflict is constructive in nature. The central underlying themes in nurses' perceptions of destructive conflict were time constraints, role conflict and power differences that are not managed through communication. This article helps to identify nursing perceptions of constructive and destructive conflict and to understand complexities nurses face during their interactions with other nurses, physicians and patients. The insight that constructive views are related to constructive processes provides an excellent opportunity for an educational intervention, so that we can educate nurses to analyse problems and learn how to manage conflict with effective collaborative processes. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Conflict adaptation in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Abrahamse, Elger; Ruitenberg, Marit; Boddewyn, Sarah; Oreel, Edith; de Schryver, Maarten; Morrens, Manuel; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe

2017-11-01

Cognitive control impairments may contribute strongly to the overall cognitive deficits observed in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the current study we explore a specific cognitive control function referred to as conflict adaptation. Previous studies on conflict adaptation in schizophrenia showed equivocal results, and, moreover, were plagued by confounded research designs. Here we assessed for the first time conflict adaptation in schizophrenia with a design that avoided the major confounds of feature integration and stimulus-response contingency learning. Sixteen patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and sixteen healthy, matched controls performed a vocal Stroop task to determine the congruency sequence effect - a marker of conflict adaptation. A reliable congruency sequence effect was observed for both healthy controls and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. These findings indicate that schizophrenia is not necessarily accompanied by impaired conflict adaptation. As schizophrenia has been related to abnormal functioning in core conflict adaptation areas such as anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, further research is required to better understand the precise impact of such abnormal brain functioning at the behavioral level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Financial Conflicts of Interest and Study Results in Environmental and Occupational Health Research.

PubMed

Friedman, Lee; Friedman, Michael

2016-03-01

To date, there is no comprehensive analysis of the relationship between financial conflict of interest (COI) and a potential publication bias in environmental and occupational health studies. We analyzed original research articles published in 2012 in 17 peer-reviewed journals. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models were developed to evaluate the relationship between financial COI and the study outcome. Of the 373 studies included in the analysis, 17.2% had a financial COI associated with organizations involved with the processing, use, or disposal of industrial and commercial products, and studies with this type of COI were more likely to report negative results (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 4.31), as were studies with any COI associated with the military (employment or funding; Adjusted Odds Ratio = 9.15). Our findings show a clear relationship between direction of reported findings and specific types of financial COI.

Conflict in Somalia: impact on child undernutrition

PubMed Central

Kinyoki, Damaris K; Moloney, Grainne M; Uthman, Olalekan A; Kandala, Ngianga-Bakwin; Odundo, Elijah O; Noor, Abdisalan M; Berkley, James A

2017-01-01

Introduction In Somalia, protracted conflict and drought have caused population displacement and livelihood destruction. There is also widespread childhood undernutrition. We aimed to determine the independent effects of conflict on wasting and stunting among children aged 6–59 months nationwide in Somalia. Methods Data were from household surveys during 2007–2010, including 73 778 children in 1066 clusters, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project database and remote sensing. We used Bayesian hierarchical spatial-temporal regression to examine the effects of conflict on wasting and stunting. Models included individual, household and environmental covariates and recent (<3 months) or longer term (3–12 months) conflict events. Results 15 355 (21%) and 22 739 (31%) observations were from wasted and stunted children, respectively. The conflict was associated with undernutrition independently of the individual, household and environmental factors, and its inclusion improved model performance. Recent conflict was associated with wasting (OR 1.37, 95% credible interval (CrI): (1.33, 1.42) and attributable fraction (AF) 7.6%)) and stunting (OR 1.21, 95% CrI (1.15, 1.28), AF 6.9%). Longer term conflict had greater effects on wasting (OR 1.76, 95% CrI (1.71, 1.81), AF 6.0%) and stunting (OR 1.88, 95% CrI = (1.83, 1.94), AF 7.4%). After controlling for conflict, the harmful effect of internal displacement and protective effects of rainfall and vegetation cover on undernutrition were enhanced. Conclusion Conflict and internal displacement have large effects on undernutrition in ways not fully captured by simply measuring individual, household and environmental factors or drought. PMID:28966793

Multiple cognitive control mechanisms associated with the nature of conflict.

PubMed

Kim, Chobok; Chung, Chongwook; Kim, Jeounghoon

2010-06-07

Cognitive control is required to regulate conflict. The conflict monitoring theory suggests that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is involved in detecting response conflict and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays a critical role in regulating conflict. Recent studies, however, have suggested that rostral dACC (rdACC) responds to response conflict whereas caudal dACC (cdACC) is associated with perceptual conflict. Moreover, DLPFC has been engaged only in regulation of response conflict. A neural network involved in perceptual conflict, however, remains unclear. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in an attempt to reveal monitor-controller networks corresponding to either perceptual conflict or response conflict. A version of the Stroop color matching task was used to manipulate perceptual conflict, response conflict was manipulated by an arrow. The results demonstrated that rdACC and DLPFC were engaged in response conflict whereas cdACC and the dorsal portion of premotor cortex (pre-PMd) were involved in perceptual conflict. Interestingly, the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) was activated by both types of conflict. Correlation analyses between behavioral conflict effects and neural responses demonstrated that rdACC and DLPFC were associated with response conflict whereas cdACC and pre-PMd were associated with perceptual conflict. PPC was not correlated with either perceptual conflict or response conflict. We suggest that cdACC and pre-PMd play critical roles in perceptual conflict processing, and this network is independent from the rdACC/DLPFC network for response conflict processing. We also discussed the function of PPC in conflict processing. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conflict control of children with different intellectual levels: an ERP study.

PubMed

Liu, Tongran; Xiao, Tong; Shi, Jiannong; Zhao, Daheng; Liu, Jizhong

2011-02-25

Conflict control is an important cognitive ability in human behavioral regulation. The Eriksen flanker task was employed to explore the neural correlation between conflict control and intelligence with the aid of event-related potential (ERP) techniques. Two groups of early adolescents with different intellectual levels participated in the current study (an intellectually gifted group of 20 children vs. an intellectually average group of 21 children, with mean scores of 43 vs. 35.7 in Cattell's Culture Fair Test, respectively). Behavioral results indicate that the gifted children had better conflict control performances, with increased accuracy and faster response speeds than the intellectually average children. Electrophysiological results further show that the gifted children had more efficient N2 activations during conflict monitoring processing, faster P3 responses over frontal regions, and stronger P3 activations over central-parietal regions during attentional control processing. The difference waveform analysis showed that the gifted children had the weakest N2d activations when elicited by multiple conflicts. N2d amplitudes can be used to distinguish a stimulus conflict from a response conflict, and P3d amplitudes can be used to separate multiple conflicts from a single conflict. The results support the neural efficiency hypothesis of intelligence and shed light on the close relationship between conflict control ability and human intelligence. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of personality in task and relationship conflict.

PubMed

Bono, Joyce E; Boles, Terry L; Judge, Timothy A; Lauver, Kristy J

2002-06-01

Two studies explored the extent to which dispositions influence the attributions individuals make about the type of conflict they experience. Traits from the Five-Factor Model of personality (FFM) were linked to the tendency to experience task-and relationship-oriented conflict. Results provide some support for the idea that individuals have stable tendencies in the attributions they make about their conflict experiences across time, partners, and situations. Agreeableness and openness were related to reports of relationship conflict at the individual level. However, the strongest effects of personality on conflict attributions were found in the analysis of dyads. This analysis revealed that partner levels of extraversion and conscientiousness were associated with individuals' tendencies to report relationship conflict. Moreover, mean levels of extraversion and conscientiousness in a pair were associated with reports of relationship conflict. Differences between partners in extraversion were associated with more frequent conflict and a greater likelihood of reporting task-related conflict. Implications of these findings with respect to the role of personality in interpersonal relationships are discussed. Finally, these studies provide confirmatory evidence that conflict attributions have a meaningful impact on relationship satisfaction.

Investigating goal conflict as a source of mixed emotions.

PubMed

Berrios, Raul; Totterdell, Peter; Kellett, Stephen

2015-01-01

This research investigated whether (1) the experience of mixed emotions is a consequence of activating conflicting goals and (2) mixed emotions are distinct from emotional conflict. A preliminary experiment (Study 1, N = 35) showed that an elicited goal conflict predicted more mixed emotions than a condition where the same goals were not in conflict. The second experiment was based on naturally occurring goal activation (Study 2, N = 57). This illustrated that mixed emotions were experienced more following conflicting goals compared with a facilitating goals condition-on both a direct self-report measure of mixed emotions and a minimum index measure. The results also showed that mixed emotions were different to emotional conflict. Overall, goal conflict was found to be a source of mixed emotions, and it is feasible that such states have a role in resolving personal dilemmas.

Aiming at a Moving Target: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations in the Study of Intraindividual Goal Conflict between Personal Goals

PubMed Central

Gorges, Julia; Grund, Axel

2017-01-01

Multiple-goal pursuit and conflict between personal life-defining goals can be considered part of everyday business in most individuals' lives. Given the potentially detrimental effects of goal conflict—for example, impaired well-being or poor performance—the literature on goal conflict is surprisingly scattered due to heterogeneous methodological approaches and technical terms. Little empirical research has addressed the conceptualization of goal conflict against the background of differing understandings from a structure-like and a process-like perspective. In the present article, we outline theoretical foundations of goal conflict from two perspectives: a structure- and a process-like perspective. Based on a comparative analysis and integration of these two perspectives, we systematically review empirical studies on goal conflict over 30 years of research. In doing so, we identify and discuss important conceptual dimensions of goal conflict, namely, goal conflict as a cognitive construct and an experiential instance, a focus on goal interrelations or on specific goal properties, and resource vs. inherent conflict, and the potential of these distinctions to further research on goal conflict. Finally, we present major challenges and pose questions that need to be addressed by future research. PMID:29201013

The time course of attentional modulation on emotional conflict processing.

PubMed

Zhou, Pingyan; Yang, Guochun; Nan, Weizhi; Liu, Xun

2016-01-01

Cognitive conflict resolution is critical to human survival in a rapidly changing environment. However, emotional conflict processing seems to be particularly important for human interactions. This study examined whether the time course of attentional modulation on emotional conflict processing was different from cognitive conflict processing during a flanker task. Results showed that emotional N200 and P300 effects, similar to colour conflict processing, appeared only during the relevant task. However, the emotional N200 effect preceded the colour N200 effect, indicating that emotional conflict can be identified earlier than cognitive conflict. Additionally, a significant emotional N100 effect revealed that emotional valence differences could be perceived during early processing based on rough aspects of input. The present data suggest that emotional conflict processing is modulated by top-down attention, similar to cognitive conflict processing (reflected by N200 and P300 effects). However, emotional conflict processing seems to have more time advantages during two different processing stages.

The Effects of Marital Conflict on Korean Children's Appraisal of Conflict and Psychological Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oh, Kyung Ja; Lee, Soojin; Park, Soo Hyun

2011-01-01

This study examined the effects of marital conflict on Korean children's psychological adjustment and appraisal of hypothetical marital conflict situations. Children between the ages of 10 and 12 were divided into "high-conflict" (n = 58) and "low-conflict" (n = 58) groups based on their self-reported degree of perceived…

Interparental conflict in context: exploring relations between parenting processes and children's conflict appraisals.

PubMed

DeBoard-Lucas, Renee L; Fosco, Gregory M; Raynor, Sarah R; Grych, John H

2010-01-01

Children's appraisals of conflict are a mechanism by which parental discord can lead to child maladjustment. The cognitive-contextual framework proposes that parent-child relationships may affect how children perceive conflict, but this idea has rarely been examined empirically. This study investigated relations between conflict appraisals, parenting, and child adjustment in a sample of 150 8- to 12-year-old children, using a multi-informant, multimethod design. Mothers' coercive/controlling and emotionally unsupportive parenting magnified the relation between conflict and children's self-blame; emotionally supportive parenting diminished this association. Children's secure attachment with fathers was linked with less threat and self-blame; more security reduced self-blame for conflict. Data suggest that supportive, responsive parenting can buffer the effects of interparental conflict on children by reducing self-blaming attributions for parental discord.

Can conflict be energizing? a study of task conflict, positive emotions, and job satisfaction.

PubMed

Todorova, Gergana; Bear, Julia B; Weingart, Laurie R

2014-05-01

Scholars have assumed that the presence of negative emotions during task conflict implies the absence of positive emotions. However, emotions researchers have shown that positive and negative emotions are not 2 ends of a bipolar continuum; rather, they represent 2 separate, orthogonal dimensions. Drawing on affective events theory, we develop and test hypotheses about the effects of task conflict on positive emotions and job satisfaction. To this end, we distinguish among the frequency, intensity, and information gained from task conflict. Using field data from 232 employees in a long-term health care organization, we find that more frequent mild task conflict expression engenders more information acquisition, but more frequent intense task conflict expression hinders it. Because of the information gains from mild task conflict expression, employees feel more active, energized, interested, and excited, and these positive active emotions increase job satisfaction. The information gained during task conflict, however, is not always energizing: It depends on the extent to which the behavioral context involves active learning and whether the conflict is cross-functional. We discuss theoretical implications for conflict, emotions, and job satisfaction in organizations. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Does Zoning Winter Recreationists Reduce Recreation Conflict?

PubMed

Miller, Aubrey D; Vaske, Jerry J; Squires, John R; Olson, Lucretia E; Roberts, Elizabeth K

2017-01-01

Parks and protected area managers use zoning to decrease interpersonal conflict between recreationists. Zoning, or segregation, of recreation-often by non-motorized and motorized activity-is designed to limit physical interaction while providing recreation opportunities to both groups. This article investigated the effectiveness of zoning to reduce recreation conflict in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area in Colorado, USA. Despite a zoning management system, established groomed travel routes were used by both non-motorized recreationists (backcountry skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers) and motorized recreationists (snowmobilers). We hypothesized that persistent recreation conflict reported by non-motorized recreationists was the result of recreation occurring in areas of mixed non-motorized and motorized use, mostly along groomed routes. We performed a geospatial analysis of recreation [from Global Positioning System (GPS) points, n = 1,233,449] in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area to identify areas of mixed non-motorized and motorized use. We then surveyed non-motorized recreationists (n = 199) to test whether reported conflict is higher for respondents who traveled in areas of mixed-use, compared with respondents traveling outside areas of mixed-use. Results from the geospatial analysis showed that only 0.7 % of the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area contained recreation from both groups, however that area contained 14.8 % of all non-motorized recreation and 49.1 % of all motorized recreation. Survey analysis results showed higher interpersonal conflict for all five standard conflict variables among non-motorized respondents who traveled in areas of mixed-use, compared with those traveling outside mixed-use areas. Management implications and recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of zoning are provided.

Does Zoning Winter Recreationists Reduce Recreation Conflict?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Aubrey D.; Vaske, Jerry J.; Squires, John R.; Olson, Lucretia E.; Roberts, Elizabeth K.

2017-01-01

Parks and protected area managers use zoning to decrease interpersonal conflict between recreationists. Zoning, or segregation, of recreation—often by non-motorized and motorized activity—is designed to limit physical interaction while providing recreation opportunities to both groups. This article investigated the effectiveness of zoning to reduce recreation conflict in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area in Colorado, USA. Despite a zoning management system, established groomed travel routes were used by both non-motorized recreationists (backcountry skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers) and motorized recreationists (snowmobilers). We hypothesized that persistent recreation conflict reported by non-motorized recreationists was the result of recreation occurring in areas of mixed non-motorized and motorized use, mostly along groomed routes. We performed a geospatial analysis of recreation [from Global Positioning System (GPS) points, n = 1,233,449] in the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area to identify areas of mixed non-motorized and motorized use. We then surveyed non-motorized recreationists ( n = 199) to test whether reported conflict is higher for respondents who traveled in areas of mixed-use, compared with respondents traveling outside areas of mixed-use. Results from the geospatial analysis showed that only 0.7 % of the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Area contained recreation from both groups, however that area contained 14.8 % of all non-motorized recreation and 49.1 % of all motorized recreation. Survey analysis results showed higher interpersonal conflict for all five standard conflict variables among non-motorized respondents who traveled in areas of mixed-use, compared with those traveling outside mixed-use areas. Management implications and recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of zoning are provided.

Personality, relationship conflict, and teamwork-related mental models.

PubMed

Vîrgă, Delia; Curşeu, Petru Lucian; CurŞeu, Petru Lucian; Maricuţoiu, Laurenţiu; Sava, Florin A; Macsinga, Irina; Măgurean, Silvia

2014-01-01

This study seeks to explore whether neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness moderate the influence of relationship conflict experienced in groups on changes in group members' evaluative cognitions related to teamwork quality (teamwork-related mental models). Data from 216 students, nested in 48 groups were analyzed using a multilevel modeling approach. Our results show that the experience of relationship conflict leads to a negative shift from the pre-task to the post-task teamwork-related mental models. Moreover, the results indicate that conscientiousness buffered the negative association between relationship conflict and the change in teamwork-related mental models. Our results did not support the hypothesized moderating effect of agreeableness and show that the detrimental effect of relationship conflict on the shift in teamwork-related mental models is accentuated for group members scoring low rather than high on neuroticism. These findings open new research venues for exploring the association between personality, coping styles and change in teamwork-related mental models.

Personality, Relationship Conflict, and Teamwork-Related Mental Models

PubMed Central

Vîrgă, Delia; CurŞeu, Petru Lucian; Maricuţoiu, Laurenţiu; Sava, Florin A.; Macsinga, Irina; Măgurean, Silvia

2014-01-01

This study seeks to explore whether neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness moderate the influence of relationship conflict experienced in groups on changes in group members' evaluative cognitions related to teamwork quality (teamwork-related mental models). Data from 216 students, nested in 48 groups were analyzed using a multilevel modeling approach. Our results show that the experience of relationship conflict leads to a negative shift from the pre-task to the post-task teamwork-related mental models. Moreover, the results indicate that conscientiousness buffered the negative association between relationship conflict and the change in teamwork-related mental models. Our results did not support the hypothesized moderating effect of agreeableness and show that the detrimental effect of relationship conflict on the shift in teamwork-related mental models is accentuated for group members scoring low rather than high on neuroticism. These findings open new research venues for exploring the association between personality, coping styles and change in teamwork-related mental models. PMID:25372143

Varieties of Organizational Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pondy, Louis R.

1969-01-01

The viewpoints and findings of the seven empirical studies of organizational conflict contained in this issue are compared and contrasted. A distinction is made between conflict within a stable organization structure and conflict aimed at changing the organization structure. (Author)

Play or Learn: European-American and Chinese Kindergartners' Perceptions about the Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Jin

2016-01-01

Background: Kindergarten is the age at which children's future time perspective emerges. This capacity enables them to form goals based on past and ongoing experiences and project themselves in the future. This development may play an important role in guiding children in self-regulated learning. When faced with the conflict between their need to…

Conflict transformation, stigma, and HIV-preventive structural change

PubMed Central

Miller, Robin Lin; Reed, Sarah J.; Francisco, Vincent T.; Ellen, Jonathan M.

2012-01-01

Over the prior decade, structural change efforts have become an important component of community-based HIV prevention initiatives. However, these efforts may not succeed when structural change initiatives encounter political resistance or invoke conflicting values, which may be likely when changes are intended to benefit a stigmatized population. The current study sought to examine the impact of target population stigma on the ability of 13 community coalitions to achieve structural change objectives. Results indicated that coalitions working on behalf of highly stigmatized populations had to abandon objectives more often than did coalitions working for less stigmatized populations because of external opposition to coalition objectives and resultant internal conflict over goals. Those coalitions that were most successful in meeting external challenges used opposition and conflict as transformative occasions by targeting conflicts directly and attempting to neutralize oppositional groups or turn them into strategic allies; less successful coalitions working on behalf of stigmatized groups struggled to determine an appropriate response to opposition. The role of conflict transformation as a success strategy for working on behalf of stigmatized groups is discussed. PMID:21805217

Interpersonal Conflicts and Styles of Managing Conflicts among Students at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bazezew, Arega; Neka, Mulugeta

2017-01-01

Interpersonal conflict happens everywhere and at any time and is inherent in all societies. However, the methods of managing such conflict are quite different from one organisation to the other. The general objective of the study was to assess interpersonal conflicts and styles of managing conflicts among students at Bahir Dar University.…

Learning About Conflict and Conflict Management Through Drama in Nursing Education.

PubMed

Arveklev, Susanna H; Berg, Linda; Wigert, Helena; Morrison-Helme, Morag; Lepp, Margret

2018-04-01

In the health care settings in which nurses work, involvement in some form of conflict is inevitable. The ability to manage conflicts is therefore necessary for nursing students to learn during their education. A qualitative analysis of 43 written group assignments was undertaken using a content analysis approach. Three main categories emerged in the analysis-to approach and integrate with the theoretical content, to step back and get an overview, and to concretize and practice-together with the overall theme, to learn by oscillating between closeness and distance. Learning about conflict and conflict management through drama enables nursing students to form new knowledge by oscillating between closeness and distance, to engage in both the fictional world and the real world at the same time. This helps students to form a personal understanding of theoretical concepts and a readiness about how to manage future conflicts. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(4):209-216.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

The Conflict Management Strategies of School Administrators While Conflicting with Their Supervisors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Özyildirim, Gülnar; Kayikçi, Kemal

2017-01-01

Conflict is everywhere as there are conflicts at educational organizations. One of the most affected groups from conflicts is administrators who are bridges between teachers and parents, supervisors. The aims of this study are to determine which strategies the school administrators use and how often they use these strategies and whether their…

Conflict behaviors and their relationship to popularity.

PubMed

Tezer, E

2001-01-01

This study examined conflict behaviors (self, other) among 127 Turkish college students. Differences in five conflict behaviors (forcing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating) were then explored in relation to popularity and unpopularity. Results indicated that the students engaged in more avoiding and compromising behaviors, while perceiving more forcing behavior in others. Further, the unpopular group was found to engage in more compromising behavior, and perceived more forcing behavior in others, as compared with the popular group. Constructive and destructive conflict strategies, and their implications for popularity, are discussed.

Multiple Cognitive Control Effects of Error Likelihood and Conflict

PubMed Central

Brown, Joshua W.

2010-01-01

Recent work on cognitive control has suggested a variety of performance monitoring functions of the anterior cingulate cortex, such as errors, conflict, error likelihood, and others. Given the variety of monitoring effects, a corresponding variety of control effects on behavior might be expected. This paper explores whether conflict and error likelihood produce distinct cognitive control effects on behavior, as measured by response time. A change signal task (Brown & Braver, 2005) was modified to include conditions of likely errors due to tardy as well as premature responses, in conditions with and without conflict. The results discriminate between competing hypotheses of independent vs. interacting conflict and error likelihood control effects. Specifically, the results suggest that the likelihood of premature vs. tardy response errors can lead to multiple distinct control effects, which are independent of cognitive control effects driven by response conflict. As a whole, the results point to the existence of multiple distinct cognitive control mechanisms and challenge existing models of cognitive control that incorporate only a single control signal. PMID:19030873

Childhood Abuse and Current Family Conflict: The Role of Shame

PubMed Central

Kim, Jungmeen; Talbot, Nancy L.; Cicchetti, Dante

2014-01-01

Objective To examine whether shame-proneness mediates the relationship between women's histories of childhood sexual abuse and their current partner and family conflict and child maltreatment. Previous research has found that women with childhood sexual abuse histories experience heightened shame and interpersonal conflict. However, research examining the relationship of shame to interpersonal conflict is lacking. Method Participants were 129 mothers of children enrolled in a summer camp program for at-risk children from financially disadvantaged families. Data were collected on women's childhood abuse histories, shame in daily life, and current interpersonal conflict involving family conflict, intimate partner conflict (verbal and physical aggression), and child maltreatment. Results Consistent with our hypothesis, the results of hierarchical regressions and logistic regression indicated that shame significantly mediated the association between childhood sexual abuse and interpersonal conflict. Women with sexual abuse histories reported more shame in their daily lives, which in turn was associated with higher levels of conflicts with intimate partners (self-verbal aggression and partner-physical aggression) and in the family. Shame did not mediate the relationship between mothers' histories of sexual abuse and child maltreatment. Conclusion The role of shame in the intimate partner and family conflicts of women with sexual abuse histories has not been examined. The current findings indicate that childhood sexual abuse was related to interpersonal conflicts indirectly through the emotion of shame. Practical Implications These findings highlight the importance of investigating the role of shame in the interpersonal conflicts of women with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Healthcare professionals in medical and mental health settings frequently treat women with abuse histories who are involved in family and partner conflicts. Assessing and addressing the links of

Petri net-based modelling of human-automation conflicts in aviation.

PubMed

Pizziol, Sergio; Tessier, Catherine; Dehais, Frédéric

2014-01-01

Analyses of aviation safety reports reveal that human-machine conflicts induced by poor automation design are remarkable precursors of accidents. A review of different crew-automation conflicting scenarios shows that they have a common denominator: the autopilot behaviour interferes with the pilot's goal regarding the flight guidance via 'hidden' mode transitions. Considering both the human operator and the machine (i.e. the autopilot or the decision functions) as agents, we propose a Petri net model of those conflicting interactions, which allows them to be detected as deadlocks in the Petri net. In order to test our Petri net model, we designed an autoflight system that was formally analysed to detect conflicting situations. We identified three conflicting situations that were integrated in an experimental scenario in a flight simulator with 10 general aviation pilots. The results showed that the conflicts that we had a-priori identified as critical had impacted the pilots' performance. Indeed, the first conflict remained unnoticed by eight participants and led to a potential collision with another aircraft. The second conflict was detected by all the participants but three of them did not manage the situation correctly. The last conflict was also detected by all the participants but provoked typical automation surprise situation as only one declared that he had understood the autopilot behaviour. These behavioural results are discussed in terms of workload and number of fired 'hidden' transitions. Eventually, this study reveals that both formal and experimental approaches are complementary to identify and assess the criticality of human-automation conflicts. Practitioner Summary: We propose a Petri net model of human-automation conflicts. An experiment was conducted with general aviation pilots performing a scenario involving three conflicting situations to test the soundness of our formal approach. This study reveals that both formal and experimental approaches

Institutional Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ostar, Allan W.

1995-01-01

One way universities have served society since the Middle Ages is by providing an environment giving students and faculty freedom to explore new ideas without fear of retribution. Properly used, conflict can be the catalyst for advancing wisdom. However, the university is at risk when rational discourse is replaced by conflict as the means of…

Language Policy, Ethnic Conflict, and Conflict Resolution: Albanian in the Former Yugoslavia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Daniel

2016-01-01

The 1990s disintegration of Yugoslavia was marked by vicious ethnic conflict in several parts of the region. In this paper, I consider the role of policy towards the Albanian language in promoting and perpetuating conflict. I take three case studies from the former Yugoslavia in which conflict between ethnic Albanians and the dominant group…

The emergence of the Activity Reduces Conflict Associated Strain (ARCAS) model: a test of a conditional mediation model of workplace conflict and employee strain.

PubMed

Dijkstra, Maria T M; Beersma, Bianca; Cornelissen, Roosmarijn A W M

2012-07-01

To test and extend the emerging Activity Reduces Conflict-Associated Strain (ARCAS) model, we predicted that the relationship between task conflict and employee strain would be weakened to the extent that people experience high organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). A survey among Dutch employees demonstrated that, consistent with the model, the conflict-employee strain relationship was weaker the higher employees' OBSE and the more they engaged in active problem-solving conflict management. Our data also revealed that higher levels of OBSE were related to more problem-solving conflict management. Moreover, consistent with the ARCAS model, we could confirm a conditional mediation model in which organization-based self-esteem through its relationship with problem-solving conflict management weakened the relationship between task conflict and employee strain. Potential applications of the results are discussed.

Conflicts and conflict management in the collaboration between nurses and physicians - a qualitative study.

PubMed

Leever, A M; Hulst, M V D; Berendsen, A J; Boendemaker, P M; Roodenburg, J L N; Pols, J

2010-11-01

In health care, optimal collaboration between nurses and physicians is crucial in the quality of the care process – but not self-generating. Little is known about how health-care professionals cope with conflicts within their collaboration. This qualitative study investigates the way nurses and physicians cope with conflict and clarifies the determinants of conflict management styles. All respondents formulate clear expectations which in their opinion are essential to collaboration. When collaboration leads to disagreement, physicians and nurses choose between ignoring the conflict or engaging in it. Choice is determined by five factors: the influence of oneself, the influence of the other, the nature of the conflict, the context of conflict, and personal motives.

Dysfunctional Effects of a Conflict in a Healthcare Organization.

PubMed

Raykova, Ekaterina L; Semerjieva, Mariya A; Yordanov, Georgi Y; Cherkezov, Todor D

2015-01-01

Conflicts in healthcare settings are quite common events because of the continuous changes and transformations today's healthcare organizations are undergoing and the vigorous interaction between the medical professionals working in them. To survey the opinions of medical professionals about the possible destructive effects of conflicts on them in the workplace. We conducted a direct individual survey of 279 medical employees at four general hospitals. We used a set of questions that reflect the negative effects and consequences of conflict on healthcare professionals as direct or indirect participants. All data were analysed using the descriptive statistics and non-parametric analysis at a significance level for the null hypothesis of p < 0.05. Workplace conflicts contribute a lot to the stress, psychological tension and emotional exhaustion medical professionals are exposed to. The confrontation the conflict brings the participants into acts as a catalyst of the conflict and enhances the manifestation of hostile actions. A conflict generates a situation which has an impact on the behaviour of all participants involved in it giving rise to emotional states such as anger, aggression and reproaches. The destructive consequences resulting from a conflict are seen in the reduced work satisfaction and demotivation to perform the work activity. The contradictions that arise as a result affect negatively the team cooperation and obstruct the collaborative efforts in solving the problems in the healthcare setting. A conflict in a healthcare setting exerts a considerable destructive effect on an employee, therefore it requires prompt identification and effective intervention to minimise its unfavourable outcomes.

Information Fusion of Conflicting Input Data.

PubMed

Mönks, Uwe; Dörksen, Helene; Lohweg, Volker; Hübner, Michael

2016-10-29

Sensors, and also actuators or external sources such as databases, serve as data sources in order to realise condition monitoring of industrial applications or the acquisition of characteristic parameters like production speed or reject rate. Modern facilities create such a large amount of complex data that a machine operator is unable to comprehend and process the information contained in the data. Thus, information fusion mechanisms gain increasing importance. Besides the management of large amounts of data, further challenges towards the fusion algorithms arise from epistemic uncertainties (incomplete knowledge) in the input signals as well as conflicts between them. These aspects must be considered during information processing to obtain reliable results, which are in accordance with the real world. The analysis of the scientific state of the art shows that current solutions fulfil said requirements at most only partly. This article proposes the multilayered information fusion system MACRO (multilayer attribute-based conflict-reducing observation) employing the μ BalTLCS (fuzzified balanced two-layer conflict solving) fusion algorithm to reduce the impact of conflicts on the fusion result. The performance of the contribution is shown by its evaluation in the scope of a machine condition monitoring application under laboratory conditions. Here, the MACRO system yields the best results compared to state-of-the-art fusion mechanisms. The utilised data is published and freely accessible.

Information Fusion of Conflicting Input Data

PubMed Central

Mönks, Uwe; Dörksen, Helene; Lohweg, Volker; Hübner, Michael

2016-01-01

Sensors, and also actuators or external sources such as databases, serve as data sources in order to realise condition monitoring of industrial applications or the acquisition of characteristic parameters like production speed or reject rate. Modern facilities create such a large amount of complex data that a machine operator is unable to comprehend and process the information contained in the data. Thus, information fusion mechanisms gain increasing importance. Besides the management of large amounts of data, further challenges towards the fusion algorithms arise from epistemic uncertainties (incomplete knowledge) in the input signals as well as conflicts between them. These aspects must be considered during information processing to obtain reliable results, which are in accordance with the real world. The analysis of the scientific state of the art shows that current solutions fulfil said requirements at most only partly. This article proposes the multilayered information fusion system MACRO (multilayer attribute-based conflict-reducing observation) employing the μBalTLCS (fuzzified balanced two-layer conflict solving) fusion algorithm to reduce the impact of conflicts on the fusion result. The performance of the contribution is shown by its evaluation in the scope of a machine condition monitoring application under laboratory conditions. Here, the MACRO system yields the best results compared to state-of-the-art fusion mechanisms. The utilised data is published and freely accessible. PMID:27801874

Adaptation in conflict: are conflict-triggered control adjustments protected in the presence of motivational distractors?

PubMed

Becker, Daniela; Jostmann, Nils B; Holland, Rob W

2018-06-06

Solving a conflict between two response options in an interference task has been found to increase control in a subsequent conflict situation. The present research examined whether such conflict adaptation persists in the presence of distractors that have motivational relevance and are therefore competing for attentional resources (i.e. they signal opportunities for monetary gains or losses contingent on overall task performance). In an adjusted flanker task, motivational (versus neutral versus no) distractors were presented together with the current trial while the previous trial never included any distractor. Accumulated evidence across three studies showed that motivational distractors reduced the conflict adaptation effect. This was found irrespective of the location at which the distractor occurred (Study 1), and independent of its valence (i.e. reward or loss, Study 2). Study 3 and a merged data analysis ruled out low-level alternative explanations. In line with a dual competition account (Pessoa, L. (2009). How do emotion and motivation direct executive control? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(4), 160-166. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.01.006 ), our results show that conflict adaptation is not fully protected in the presence of motivational distractors. We discuss whether this should be interpreted as a limitation, or as reflecting the flexibility of the control system in dealing with motivationally relevant information.

Toward Developing Laboratory-Based Parent-Adolescent Conflict Discussion Tasks that Consistently Elicit Adolescent Conflict-Related Stress Responses: Support from Physiology and Observed Behavior.

PubMed

Thomas, Sarah A; Wilson, Tristan; Jain, Anjali; Deros, Danielle E; Um, Miji; Hurwitz, Joanna; Jacobs, Irene; Myerberg, Lindsay; Ehrlich, Katherine B; Dunn, Emily J; Aldao, Amelia; Stadnik, Ryan; De Los Reyes, Andres

2017-12-01

Parent-adolescent conflict poses risk for youth maladjustment. One potential mechanism of this risk is that stress in the form of increased arousal during conflict interactions results in adolescents' impaired decision-making. However, eliciting consistent adolescent stress responses within laboratory-based tasks of parent-adolescent conflict (i.e., conflict discussion tasks) is hindered by task design. This limitation may stem from how conflict topics are assessed and selected for discussion. Within a sample of 47 adolescents (ages 14-17) and parents, we investigated whether a modified version of a conflict discussion task could elicit physiological (i.e., arousal) and behavioral (i.e., hostility) displays of adolescents' conflict-related stress responses. We assessed parent-adolescent conflict via structured interview to identify topics for dyads to discuss during the task. We randomly assigned dyads to complete a 5-minute task to discuss either a putatively benign topic (i.e., control condition) or a conflict topic while undergoing direct assessments of continuous arousal. Trained raters coded dyad members' hostile behavior during the task. Adolescents in the conflict condition exhibited significantly greater levels of arousal than adolescents in the control condition. We observed an interaction between discussion condition and baseline conflict. Specifically, higher baseline conflict predicted greater hostile behavior for adolescents in the conflict condition, yet we observed the inverse relation for adolescents in the control condition. Our modified laboratory discussion task successfully elicited both physiological and behavioral displays of adolescent conflict-related stress. These findings have important implications for leveraging experimental paradigms to understand causal links between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent psychopathology, and their underlying mechanisms.

The Conflict Pyramid: A Holistic Approach to Structuring Conflict Resolution in Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakvoort, Ilse

2010-01-01

This paper examines how the conflict pyramid, originally defined and used by Richard Cohen, can be used as a model to describe the relations between different conflict resolution education programs and activities included in the programs. The central questions posed in the paper are: How can Richard Cohen's conflict pyramid be used as a model for…

Visual-Vestibular Conflict Detection Depends on Fixation.

PubMed

Garzorz, Isabelle T; MacNeilage, Paul R

2017-09-25

Visual and vestibular signals are the primary sources of sensory information for self-motion. Conflict among these signals can be seriously debilitating, resulting in vertigo [1], inappropriate postural responses [2], and motion, simulator, or cyber sickness [3-8]. Despite this significance, the mechanisms mediating conflict detection are poorly understood. Here we model conflict detection simply as crossmodal discrimination with benchmark performance limited by variabilities of the signals being compared. In a series of psychophysical experiments conducted in a virtual reality motion simulator, we measure these variabilities and assess conflict detection relative to this benchmark. We also examine the impact of eye movements on visual-vestibular conflict detection. In one condition, observers fixate a point that is stationary in the simulated visual environment by rotating the eyes opposite head rotation, thereby nulling retinal image motion. In another condition, eye movement is artificially minimized via fixation of a head-fixed fixation point, thereby maximizing retinal image motion. Visual-vestibular integration performance is also measured, similar to previous studies [9-12]. We observe that there is a tradeoff between integration and conflict detection that is mediated by eye movements. Minimizing eye movements by fixating a head-fixed target leads to optimal integration but highly impaired conflict detection. Minimizing retinal motion by fixating a scene-fixed target improves conflict detection at the cost of impaired integration performance. The common tendency to fixate scene-fixed targets during self-motion [13] may indicate that conflict detection is typically a higher priority than the increase in precision of self-motion estimation that is obtained through integration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional connectivity patterns reflect individual differences in conflict adaptation.

PubMed

Wang, Xiangpeng; Wang, Ting; Chen, Zhencai; Hitchman, Glenn; Liu, Yijun; Chen, Antao

2015-04-01

Individuals differ in the ability to utilize previous conflict information to optimize current conflict resolution, which is termed the conflict adaptation effect. Previous studies have linked individual differences in conflict adaptation to distinct brain regions. However, the network-based neural mechanisms subserving the individual differences of the conflict adaptation effect have not been studied. The present study employed a psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis with a color-naming Stroop task to examine this issue. The main results were as follows: (1) the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)-seeded PPI revealed the involvement of the salience network (SN) in conflict adaptation, while the posterior parietal cortex (PPC)-seeded PPI revealed the engagement of the central executive network (CEN). (2) Participants with high conflict adaptation effect showed higher intra-CEN connectivity and lower intra-SN connectivity; while those with low conflict adaptation effect showed higher intra-SN connectivity and lower intra-CEN connectivity. (3) The PPC-centered intra-CEN connectivity positively predicted the conflict adaptation effect; while the ACC-centered intra-SN connectivity had a negative correlation with this effect. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that conflict adaptation is likely supported by the CEN and the SN, providing a new perspective on studying individual differences in conflict adaptation on the basis of large-scale networks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating conflict in ICUs - Is the clinicians’ perspective enough?

PubMed Central

Schuster, Rachel A.; Hong, Seo Yeon; Arnold, Robert M.; White, Douglas B.

2013-01-01

Objective Most studies have assessed conflict between clinicians and surrogate decision makers in ICUs from only clinicians’ perspectives. It is unknown if surrogates’ perceptions differ from clinicians’. We sought to determine the degree of agreement between physicians and surrogates about conflict, and to identify predictors of physician-surrogate conflict. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Four ICUs of two hospitals in San Francisco, California. Patients 230 surrogate decision makers and 100 physicians of 175 critically ill patients. Measurements Questionnaires addressing participants’ perceptions of whether there was physician-surrogate conflict, as well as attitudes and preferences about clinician-surrogate communication; kappa scores to quantify physician-surrogate concordance about the presence of conflict; and hierarchical multivariate modeling to determine predictors of conflict. Main Results Either the physician or surrogate identified conflict in 63% of cases. Physicians were less likely to perceive conflict than surrogates (27.8% vs 42.3%; p=0.007). Agreement between physicians and surrogates about conflict was poor (kappa = 0.14). Multivariable analysis with surrogate-assessed conflict as the outcome revealed that higher levels of surrogates’ satisfaction with physicians’ bedside manner were associated with lower odds of conflict (OR: 0.75 per 1 point increase in satisfaction, 95% CI 0.59–0.96). Multivariable analysis with physician-assessed conflict as the outcome revealed that the surrogate having felt discriminated against in the healthcare setting was associated with higher odds of conflict (OR 17.5, 95% CI 1.6–190.1) while surrogates’ satisfaction with physicians’ bedside manner was associated with lower odds of conflict (0–10 scale, OR 0.76 per 1 point increase, 95% CI 0.58–0.99). Conclusions Conflict between physicians and surrogates is common in ICUs. There is little agreement between physicians and surrogates

Conflict management styles used by nurse managers in the Sultanate of Oman.

PubMed

Al-Hamdan, Zaid; Shukri, Raghda; Anthony, Denis

2011-02-01

The study aimed at investigating the conflict management styles used by nurse managers in the Sultanate of Oman. Conflict is inevitable in daily nursing work. Several styles are used to manage conflict situations. In previous studies conducted in Western countries, avoiding and compromising conflict management styles appear to be the first choices for the nurses. In Arab countries, no study to date has examined the conflict management styles used by nurse managers to compare with the results from studies conducted in Western countries. Survey. A questionnaire was distributed to all nurse managers working in the three-management levels from nine referral hospitals in Sultanate of Oman, 271 were returned, a response rate of 86%. The results were analysed using spss version 16. Nurse managers in Oman used all five conflict management styles, with integrating style as the first choice followed in order by compromising, obliging, dominating and avoiding. These results differ from the results of the studies conducted on nurses in other countries. The results of this study have implications for people who work in the hospitals, whether practitioners or policy makers. Recommendations are offered to improve nurse managers' work environment. Conflict can affect patient care if handled badly. Poorly handled conflict results in lower staff morale and poorer retention, both adversely affect patient care. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A computerized resolution of scheduling conflicts.

PubMed

Bolinger, R E; McFarlane, M J

1989-01-01

Residency training programs in Internal Medicine require resident attendance in a continuity clinic. This inevitably engenders conflicts between scheduling in the ambulatory clinic and the required teaching activities of the in-patient services. Some of the conflicts can be resolved by allowing the in-patient service directors to indicate preferred plans for their residents to attend in the continuity clinic. With this plan, scheduling becomes quite complicated. A computer program is presented with coordinates these service requests with ambulatory clinic scheduling. As a result, a given resident may have his/her clinic day changed on different rotations. The program automatically arbitrates conflicts and publishes the attendance dates for the entire academic year. This information is supplied to the appointment desk so that patients can be scheduled accordingly. This system has resulted in a 74% continuity rate and improved satisfaction by both residents and staff.

Successful contextual integration of loose mental associations as evidenced by emotional conflict-processing.

PubMed

Zimmer, Ulrike; Koschutnig, Karl; Ebner, Franz; Ischebeck, Anja

2014-01-01

Often we cannot resist emotional distraction, because emotions capture our attention. For example, in TV-commercials, tempting emotional voices add an emotional expression to a formerly neutral product. Here, we used a Stroop-like conflict paradigm as a tool to investigate whether emotional capture results in contextual integration of loose mental associations. Specifically, we tested whether the associatively connected meaning of an ignored auditory emotion with a non-emotional neutral visual target would yield a modulation of activation sensitive to emotional conflict in the brain. In an fMRI-study, nineteen participants detected the presence or absence of a little worm hidden in the picture of an apple, while ignoring a voice with an emotional sound of taste (delicious/disgusting). Our results indicate a modulation due to emotional conflict, pronounced most strongly when processing conflict in the context of disgust (conflict: disgust/no-worm vs. no conflict: disgust/worm). For conflict in the context of disgust, insula activity was increased, with activity correlating positively with reaction time in the conflict case. Conflict in the context of deliciousness resulted in increased amygdala activation, possibly due to the resulting "negative" emotion in incongruent versus congruent combinations. These results indicate that our associative stimulus-combinations showed a conflict-dependent modulation of activity in emotional brain areas. This shows that the emotional sounds were successfully contextually integrated with the loosely associated neutral pictures.

Conflict and convention in dynamic networks.

PubMed

Foley, Michael; Forber, Patrick; Smead, Rory; Riedl, Christoph

2018-03-01

An important way to resolve games of conflict (snowdrift, hawk-dove, chicken) involves adopting a convention: a correlated equilibrium that avoids any conflict between aggressive strategies. Dynamic networks allow individuals to resolve conflict via their network connections rather than changing their strategy. Exploring how behavioural strategies coevolve with social networks reveals new dynamics that can help explain the origins and robustness of conventions. Here, we model the emergence of conventions as correlated equilibria in dynamic networks. Our results show that networks have the tendency to break the symmetry between the two conventional solutions in a strongly biased way. Rather than the correlated equilibrium associated with ownership norms (play aggressive at home, not away), we usually see the opposite host-guest norm (play aggressive away, not at home) evolve on dynamic networks, a phenomenon common to human interaction. We also show that learning to avoid conflict can produce realistic network structures in a way different than preferential attachment models. © 2017 The Author(s).

ENSO influences the onset of violent conflicts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, K. C.; Hsiang, S. M.

2009-12-01

Climatic changes are frequently cited as a possible external driver of violent conflict in human societies. Qualitative studies suggest that climatic shifts may stress populations and be conducive to violent conflict. Statistical evidence has shown that anomalous local rainfall is correlated with the onset of conflict. This study finds that in addition to idiosyncratic weather events, climatic states also play a role in triggering violent conflict. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the semi-periodic, oceanic Kelvin wave in the tropical Pacific, induces remote temperatures in the tropical free troposphere to rise. This ``ENSO teleconnection'' is not globally uniform and is felt most strongly in the tropical regions during the boreal winter. To determine the degree in which country-level climatic conditions are affected by ENSO, an absolute correlation measure between surface temperature and two ENSO indices was calculated for every country for the period 1949-2009. Countries with high levels of correlation are labeled “ENSO affected,” while countries with low correlation are labeled “ENSO unaffected”. Thus, historical variation in ENSO serves as a ``natural experiment'': if the state of ENSO influences conflict onset, it should be apparent for ENSO affected countries but not for unaffected countries. Using the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset, we find evidence of a large and statistically significant influence of ENSO on the onset of violent conflict. Between 1949-2009, the average probability of a conflict beginning in any country was 0.03. For the ENSO affected countries, we find that a 1°C rise in either NINO12 or NINO34 is associated with an increased probability of conflict onset by 0.015 (or 50% of the global country average). A relationship was not detected for the ENSO unaffected group of countries. This result is robust to a range of statistical models. Nonparametric methods (see figure) also indicate a marked difference in the response of ENSO

[The prevalence of suicide ideas and their psychosocial backgrounds among physicians].

PubMed

Gyorffy, Zsuzsa; Adám, Szilvia; Csoboth, Csilla; Kopp, Mária

2005-01-01

A growing body of evidence in the literature suggests that the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity including suicide is high among physicians. Suicidal ideas are the most important predictors of suicides and suicide attempts. The prevalence of suicidal ideas is higher among physicians compared to the general population. Our goal was to search the factors of suicidal ideas among Hungarian physicians on basis of nationwide representative survey, helping to elaborate prevention programs. Data were collected from 298 female and 109 male physicians using questionnaires. 1,754 white-collar workers from a representative survey (Hungarostudy 2002) served as controls. Statistical analysis examined background factors of suicidal thoughts. We found that the prevalence of suicidal ideas among both female (20,3%) and male physicians (12,1%) was significantly higher than that in the respective control groups (12,3% - 7,6%). Female physicians also exhibited significantly higher prevalence of suicidal ideas (p=0.0058 és OR=1,901). Suicidal ideas were associated with work-related stress. Correlation analyses confirmed a significant relationship between high prevalence of suicidal ideas and long working hours (>8 hours), severe anxiety and work-related stress, and role conflict. Further examination of the background factors of suicidal thoughts may help to elaborate more effective health-prevention and conflict-dealing methods.

Accounting for sequential trial effects in the flanker task: conflict adaptation or associative priming?

PubMed

Nieuwenhuis, Sander; Stins, John F; Posthuma, Danielle; Polderman, Tinca J C; Boomsma, Dorret I; de Geus, Eco J

2006-09-01

The conflict-control loop theory proposes that the detection of conflict in information processing triggers an increase in cognitive control, resulting in improved performance on the subsequent trial. This theory seems consistent with the robust finding that conflict susceptibility is reduced following correct trials associated with high conflict: the conflict adaptation effect. However, despite providing favorable conditions for eliciting and detecting conflict-triggered performance adjustments, none of the five experiments reported here provide unequivocal evidence of such adjustments. Instead, the results corroborate and extend earlier findings by demonstrating that the conflict adaptation effect, at least in the flanker task, is only present for a specific subset of trial sequences that is characterized by a response repetition. This pattern of results provides strong evidence that the conflict adaptation effect reflects associative stimulus-response priming instead of conflict-driven adaptations in cognitive control.

Investigation of a Brownfield Conflict Considering the Strength of Preferences

PubMed Central

Yu, Jing; Pei, Ling-Ling

2018-01-01

By employing the Graph Model for Conflict Resolution methodology, this paper models and analyzes a brownfield conflict that occurred at the Changzhou Foreign Language School in Jiangsu, China, in 2016. This conflict made national headlines when news reports revealed that a large number of students and staff suffered from health issues after the school moved to a new site that is built on recently restored land adjacent to the original “Chang Long Chemical” block. Since stakeholders in the conflict hold different strengths of preference, a new option prioritization technique is employed to elicit both crisp preferences and the strength of preferences for the decision-makers (DMs) in the conflict. The conflict analysis result is consistent with the actual trajectory of the conflict and provides strategic insights into the conflict. More specifically, equilibrium results suggest that the firm should have been required to thoroughly clean the site, the local government should not have relocated the school, and the environmental agency and other stakeholders should have closely monitored the firm’s activities. In short, strategic insights garnered from this case study indicate that positive interactions should be fostered among the local government, the enterprise, and the public to ensure sustainable brownfield land redevelopment in the future. PMID:29495314

Searching for climate-conflict links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendrix, Cullen S.

2018-03-01

Environmental scarcity caused by climate change has been implicated as a driver of violent conflict. Now, research shows significant bias in the regions analysed for climate-conflict links. This may limit understanding of the socioeconomic and political conditions in which such conflict occurs, and how these conflicts could be prevented.

Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Weingart, Laurie R

2003-08-01

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated.

Work-family conflicts and self-rated health among middle-aged municipal employees in Finland.

PubMed

Winter, Torsten; Roos, Eva; Rahkonen, Ossi; Martikainen, Pekka; Lahelma, Eero

2006-01-01

Work-family conflicts are common, but their effects on health are not well known. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between work-family conflicts and self-rated health among middle-aged municipal employees. In addition, the effect of social background factors on the association between work-family conflicts and self-rated health were examined. The data were based on cross-sectional postal surveys, which were carried out in 2001 and 2002, among female and male employees of the city of Helsinki, Finland. The participants were aged 40-60, and the response rate for women was 69%, and for men 60%. In the final analysis, 3,443 women and 875 men were included. For men and woman alike, work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts were associated with poor self-rated health. The association remained after adjusting for sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. This study shows that a better balance between family life and work outside the home would probably have a health promoting effect.

Strategies for Resolving Conflicts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ragin, Nancy W.; And Others

Conflict is a phenomenon of human relationships that occurs when an individual's needs are not being satisfied. This paper explains why it is crucial to recognize and deal with conflict on different levels of education. Chapter 1 discusses coping with conflict. It describes several management styles (competition; collaboration; avoidance;…

Influence of Conflict between Adults on the Emotions and Aggression of Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cummings, E. Mark; And Others

1985-01-01

Influence of others' emotions on the emotions and aggression of 2-year-olds was examined. Dyads of familiar peers were exposed during play to a sequence of experimental manipulations of background emotions of warmth and anger. Theoretical and practical implications of sensitivity to others' conflicts and interpersonal problems in toddlers are also…

Properties of Air Traffic Conflicts for Free and Structured Routing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bilimoria, Karl D.; Lee, Hilda Q.

2001-01-01

This paper analyzes the properties of air traffic conflicts in a future free routing system against those in the current structured routing system. Simulation of en route air traffic operations (above 18,000 ft) over the contiguous United States for a 24-hour period, constructed with initial conditions from actual air traffic data, were conducted using the Future ATM Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET). Free routes were modeled as great circle (direct) routes from origin to destination, and structured routes were derived from actual flight plans along the current system of air routes. The conflict properties analyzed in this study include: (1) Total number of conflicts; (2) Distributions of key conflict parameters; and, (3) Categorization of conflicts into independent conflicts and two types of interacting conflicts. Preliminary results (for Denver Center traffic) indicate that conflict properties in a free routing system are different from those in the current structured routing system. In particular, a free routing system has significantly fewer conflicts, involving a correspondingly smaller number of aircraft, compared to the current structured routing system. Additionally, the conflict parameter distributions indicate that free routing conflicts are less intrusive than structured routing conflicts, and would therefore require small trajectory deviations for resolution.

Weapons injuries during and after periods of conflict: retrospective analysis.

PubMed Central

Meddings, D. R.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relative frequency of weapon injuries during conflict and after periods of conflict in the absence of disarmament. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of a database of war wounds. SETTING: Region with a protracted conflict between rival combatant groups and a subsequent transition to the uncontested military authority of a single power. SUBJECTS: 2332 people who received weapons injuries during the conflict or post-conflict periods and were admitted to hospital within 24 hours of injury. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage change in mean monthly admission rate by weapon type between conflict and post-conflict periods; annual incidence of injury by weapon type during conflict and post-conflict periods; percentage change in annual incidence by weapon type between conflict and post-conflict periods. RESULTS: Mean monthly admission rates for injuries from fragmentation munitions decreased by 8% between conflict and post-conflict periods and by 23% for injuries from mines and 32% for gunshot injuries. The decline in admissions for all injuries was 23%. After adjustment for population growth over the study period, declines in annual incidence were 22% for fragmentation munitions injuries, 34% for mine injuries, and 40% for gunshot injuries. The decline in incidence for all injuries was 33%. In-hospital mortality from weapons related injuries increased from 2.5% to 6.1% (P < 0.001) between conflict and post-conflict periods. CONCLUSIONS: In this setting, continued availability of weapons is associated with increased mortality and a level of injuries from weapons that is only somewhat reduced from that observed during a period of conflict. PMID:9418089

Automating the conflict resolution process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wike, Jeffrey S.

1991-01-01

The purpose is to initiate a discussion of how the conflict resolution process at the Network Control Center can be made more efficient. Described here are how resource conflicts are currently resolved as well as the impacts of automating conflict resolution in the ATDRSS era. A variety of conflict resolution strategies are presented.

Transforming Negative Emotions: A Case Study of Intergroup Conflict among Conflict Resolution Practitioners of Color.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carvalho, Millicent

2003-01-01

Examined how conflict affected internalized oppression and conflict-handling methods utilized during a facilitated meeting that attempted to resolve or manage intergroup conflict. Data on diverse conflict-resolution practitioners and mentors at a training session on how to overcome the effects of oppression in the writing process illuminated how…

Rebound from marital conflict and divorce prediction.

PubMed

Gottman, J M; Levenson, R W

1999-01-01

Marital interaction has primarily been examined in the context of conflict resolution. This study investigated the predictive ability of couples to rebound from marital conflict in a subsequent positive conversation. Results showed that there was a great deal of consistency in affect across both conversations. Also examined was the ability of affective interaction to predict divorce over a 4-year period, separately in each of the two conversations. It was possible to predict divorce using affective variables from each conversation, with 82.6% accuracy from the conflict conversation and with 92.7% accuracy from the positive rebound conversation.

Changes in Adolescents' Conflict Responses Associated with Consecutive Presentation of Hypothetical Conflict Situations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, H. Durell; LaVoie, Joseph C.; Eggenburg, Erin; Mahoney, Molly A.; Pounds, Lea

2001-01-01

One frequently used research protocol involves presenting several conflict scenarios to participants during a single session. However, in real-life situations multiple conflicts rarely occur within short periods of time, and the nature of presentation may change adolescents' reports of conflict behaviors. Trend analyses of responses suggest that…

Neural communication patterns underlying conflict detection, resolution, and adaptation.

PubMed

Oehrn, Carina R; Hanslmayr, Simon; Fell, Juergen; Deuker, Lorena; Kremers, Nico A; Do Lam, Anne T; Elger, Christian E; Axmacher, Nikolai

2014-07-30

In an ever-changing environment, selecting appropriate responses in conflicting situations is essential for biological survival and social success and requires cognitive control, which is mediated by dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). How these brain regions communicate during conflict processing (detection, resolution, and adaptation), however, is still unknown. The Stroop task provides a well-established paradigm to investigate the cognitive mechanisms mediating such response conflict. Here, we explore the oscillatory patterns within and between the DMPFC and DLPFC in human epilepsy patients with intracranial EEG electrodes during an auditory Stroop experiment. Data from the DLPFC were obtained from 12 patients. Thereof four patients had additional DMPFC electrodes available for interaction analyses. Our results show that an early θ (4-8 Hz) modulated enhancement of DLPFC γ-band (30-100 Hz) activity constituted a prerequisite for later successful conflict processing. Subsequent conflict detection was reflected in a DMPFC θ power increase that causally entrained DLPFC θ activity (DMPFC to DLPFC). Conflict resolution was thereafter completed by coupling of DLPFC γ power to DMPFC θ oscillations. Finally, conflict adaptation was related to increased postresponse DLPFC γ-band activity and to θ coupling in the reverse direction (DLPFC to DMPFC). These results draw a detailed picture on how two regions in the prefrontal cortex communicate to resolve cognitive conflicts. In conclusion, our data show that conflict detection, control, and adaptation are supported by a sequence of processes that use the interplay of θ and γ oscillations within and between DMPFC and DLPFC. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3410438-15$15.00/0.

The Management of Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, M. J., Jr.

1985-01-01

While educational institutions and industry share some common elements of the administrative decision-making process, a major point of divergence is the treatment of conflict. In higher education, conflict is seen as destructive and should be avoided, but it can be handled positively. Types, common elements, and styles of conflict are reviewed.…

Coparenting Conflict and Academic Readiness in Children of Teen Mothers: Effortful Control as a Mediator.

PubMed

Jahromi, Laudan B; Zeiders, Katharine H; Updegraff, Kimberly A; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J; Bayless, Sara Douglass

2017-04-24

Children's exposure to coparenting conflict has important implications for their developmental functioning, yet limited work has focused on such processes in families with diverse structures or ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. This longitudinal study examined the processes by which Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their 3-year-old children's grandmothers and biological fathers (N = 133 families) were linked to children's academic and social skills at 5 years of age, and whether children's effortful control at 4 years of age mediated the link between coparenting conflict and indices of children's academic readiness. Findings revealed that adolescent mothers' coparenting conflict with their child's biological father was linked to indices of children's academic and social school readiness through children's effortful control among girls, but not boys, whereas conflict with grandmothers was directly linked to boys' and girls' social functioning 2 years later. Findings offer information about different mechanisms by which multiple coparenting units in families of adolescent mothers are related to their children's outcomes, and this work has important implications for practitioners working with families of adolescent mothers. © 2017 Family Process Institute.

Conflict resolution styles in the nursing profession.

PubMed

Losa Iglesias, Marta Elena; Becerro de Bengoa Vallejo, Ricardo

2012-12-01

Managers, including those in nursing environments, may spend much of their time addressing employee conflicts. If not handled properly, conflict may significantly affect employee morale, increase turnover, and even result in litigation, ultimately affecting the overall well-being of the organization. A clearer understanding of the factors that underlie conflict resolution styles could lead to the promotion of better management strategies. The aim of this research was to identify the predominant conflict resolution styles used by a sample of Spanish nurses in two work settings, academic and clinical, in order to determine differences between these environments. The effects of employment level and demographic variables were explored as well. Descriptive cross-sectional survey study. Our sample consisted of professional nurses in Madrid, Spain, who worked in either a university setting or a clinical care setting. Within each of these environments, nurses worked at one of three levels: full professor, assistant professor, or scholarship professor in the academic setting; and nursing supervisor, registered staff nurse, or nursing assistant in the clinical setting. Conflict resolution style was examined using the standardized Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, a dual-choice questionnaire that assesses a respondent's predominant style of conflict resolution. Five styles are defined: accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, competing, and compromising. Participants were asked to give answers that characterized their dominant response in a conflict situation involving either a superior or a subordinate. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine the relationship between workplace setting and conflict resolution style. The most common style used by nurses overall to resolve workplace conflict was compromising, followed by competing, avoiding, accommodating, and collaborating. There was a significant overall difference in styles between nurses who worked

Early relationships and marriage in conflict and post-conflict settings: vulnerability of youth in Uganda.

PubMed

Schlecht, Jennifer; Rowley, Elizabeth; Babirye, Juliet

2013-05-01

While there is increased attention to child marriage, defined as marriage before 18 years of age, in countries where the practice is especially prevalent, less attention has been directed at understanding the factors affecting relationships, marriage and cohabitation among adolescents affected by conflict and displacement. This article presents factors which contribute to early relationships and informal marriages in conflict and post-conflict settings, based on qualitative research undertaken among two distinct populations in Uganda: internally displaced persons in Mucwini transit camp in northern Uganda and Congolese refugees in the Nakivale refugee settlement in southwestern Uganda. Themes were examined through a social-ecological framework. Findings indicate that fundamental shifts in economies, family relationships, and communication combined with structural changes encountered in settlements resulted in changed relationships and marriage patterns. Participants reported that poverty, splintering of family, and lack of education - which they believed to be exacerbated by conflict in both settings - had profoundly affected the views, perceptions and behaviours of youth around relationships and marriage. We identify interventions applicable to humanitarian settings that would offer refugee and internally displaced adolescents greater and more meaningful opportunities for development. Copyright © 2013 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 776.6 - Conflict.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Conflict. 776.6 Section 776.6 National Defense... Conflict. To the extent that a conflict exists between this part and the rules of other jurisdictions that... conflict between the rules contained in subpart B of this part and the rules of other jurisdictions shall...

Ethical conflicts and moral distress experienced by paediatric residents during their training

PubMed Central

Hilliard, RI; Harrison, C; Madden, S

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND Paediatric residents experience numerous ethical conflicts; some of these are experienced by all paediatricians, while others are specifically related to residency training. It has been reported that medical students often feel that they are placed in positions that compromise their own ethical principles. A study in the United States showed that interns frequently face examples of unethical and/or unprofessional conduct among staff. OBJECTIVES To identify the ethical conflicts and moral distress experienced by paediatric residents during their training. METHODOLOGY Data were collected from four focus groups, which were organized according to the four separate years of residency training. Focus groups consisting of four to 10 participants were led by a research assistant. The focus groups were recorded by an audio device and transcribed verbatim; all data that would identify any of the participants or staff were eliminated. Data analysis involved a modified thematic analysis. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Board at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario. RESULTS While residents occasionally face traditional paediatric ethical issues, such as ‘do not resuscitate’ orders, more often they experience conflicts because of their inexperience and their place in the hierarchy of the medical care team, particularly when there is disagreement between trainees and senior staff. Their ability to deal and cope with these issues changes as they go through their training. Many residents in the first part of their training were more frustrated and confused with ethical conflicts. In these cases, residents found their best support from their peers and other senior residents. Residents in the later years of training seemed more accustomed to ethical issues. Furthermore, almost all of the residents believed that other members of their health care team have acted in an unethical or unprofessional way. CONCLUSION Paediatric residents experience

Conflict Management: Cues and Implications for Managers from Conflict Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Joey A.

A literature review, intended to help in the development and assessment of effective manager training programs, explored development of conflict management research with respect to managers and their subordinates and examined individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors that affect the management of conflict. Although limited in scope,…

Mismatch and Conflict: Neurophysiological and Behavioral Evidence for Conflict Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mager, Ralph; Meuth, Sven G.; Krauchi, Kurt; Schmidlin, Maria; Muller-Spahn, Franz; Falkenstein, Michael

2009-01-01

Conflict-related cognitive processes are critical for adapting to sudden environmental changes that confront the individual with inconsistent or ambiguous information. Thus, these processes play a crucial role to cope with daily life. Generally, conflicts tend to accumulate especially in complex and threatening situations. Therefore, the question…

Small Group Conflict: A Look at Equity, Satisfaction, and Styles of Conflict Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Victor D., Jr.; Nolan, Linda L.

1987-01-01

Study of 71 task-oriented groups revealed that perceived inequity was negatively related to amount of expressed satisfaction with the group and positively related to amount of perceived conflict within the group. Inequity was associated more strongly with conflict centered around people than with conflict centered around task; least associated…

Successful Contextual Integration of Loose Mental Associations As Evidenced by Emotional Conflict-Processing

PubMed Central

Zimmer, Ulrike; Koschutnig, Karl; Ebner, Franz; Ischebeck, Anja

2014-01-01

Often we cannot resist emotional distraction, because emotions capture our attention. For example, in TV-commercials, tempting emotional voices add an emotional expression to a formerly neutral product. Here, we used a Stroop-like conflict paradigm as a tool to investigate whether emotional capture results in contextual integration of loose mental associations. Specifically, we tested whether the associatively connected meaning of an ignored auditory emotion with a non-emotional neutral visual target would yield a modulation of activation sensitive to emotional conflict in the brain. In an fMRI-study, nineteen participants detected the presence or absence of a little worm hidden in the picture of an apple, while ignoring a voice with an emotional sound of taste (delicious/disgusting). Our results indicate a modulation due to emotional conflict, pronounced most strongly when processing conflict in the context of disgust (conflict: disgust/no-worm vs. no conflict: disgust/worm). For conflict in the context of disgust, insula activity was increased, with activity correlating positively with reaction time in the conflict case. Conflict in the context of deliciousness resulted in increased amygdala activation, possibly due to the resulting “negative” emotion in incongruent versus congruent combinations. These results indicate that our associative stimulus-combinations showed a conflict-dependent modulation of activity in emotional brain areas. This shows that the emotional sounds were successfully contextually integrated with the loosely associated neutral pictures. PMID:24618674

Background characterization of an ultra-low background liquid scintillation counter

DOE PAGES

Erchinger, J. L.; Orrell, John L.; Aalseth, C. E.; ...

2017-01-26

The Ultra-Low Background Liquid Scintillation Counter developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will expand the application of liquid scintillation counting by enabling lower detection limits and smaller sample volumes. By reducing the overall count rate of the background environment approximately 2 orders of magnitude below that of commercially available systems, backgrounds on the order of tens of counts per day over an energy range of ~3–3600 keV can be realized. Finally, initial test results of the ULB LSC show promising results for ultra-low background detection with liquid scintillation counting.

Everyday marital conflict and child aggression.

PubMed

Cummings, E Mark; Goeke-Morey, Marcie C; Papp, Lauren M

2004-04-01

Children's immediate aggressive responding to exposure to marital conflict was examined. Participants were 108 families with 8- to 16-year-old children (53 boys, 55 girls), with diary records of children's reactions to marital conflict in the home completed by 103 mothers (n = 578 records) and 95 fathers (n = 377 records) during a 15-day period. Child responses to analog presentations of marital conflict tactics were also obtained. Exposure to destructive conflict tactics and negative parental emotionality increased the likelihood of aggressive behavior in children when they witnessed marital conflict, whereas constructive conflict tactics and positive parental emotionality decreased the probability of aggression. Conflict topics presumed to be threatening to the child (child- or marital-related) also heightened the likelihood of aggression. Aggressive responding to conflict in both home and laboratory predicted externalizing behavior problems. Fathers' and mothers' separate diary reports, and child responses to analog presentation of conflict, provided generally consistent findings. An exposure hypothesis for marital conflict as an influence on child aggression is discussed.

Conflict Resolution Automation and Pilot Situation Awareness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dao, Arik-Quang V.; Brandt, Summer L.; Bacon, Paige; Kraut, Josh; Nguyen, Jimmy; Minakata, Katsumi; Raza, Hamzah; Rozovski, David; Johnson, Walter W.

2010-01-01

This study compared pilot situation awareness across three traffic management concepts. The Concepts varied in terms of the allocation of traffic avoidance responsibility between the pilot on the flight deck, the air traffic controllers, and a conflict resolution automation system. In Concept 1, the flight deck was equipped with conflict resolution tools that enable them to fully handle the responsibility of weather avoidance and maintaining separation between ownship and surrounding traffic. In Concept 2, pilots were not responsible for traffic separation, but were provided tools for weather and traffic avoidance. In Concept 3, flight deck tools allowed pilots to deviate for weather, but conflict detection tools were disabled. In this concept pilots were dependent on ground based automation for conflict detection and resolution. Situation awareness of the pilots was measured using online probes. Results showed that individual situation awareness was highest in Concept 1, where the pilots were most engaged, and lowest in Concept 3, where automation was heavily used. These findings suggest that for conflict resolution tasks, situation awareness is improved when pilots remain in the decision-making loop.

Dissociating proportion congruent and conflict adaptation effects in a Simon-Stroop procedure.

PubMed

Torres-Quesada, Maryem; Funes, Maria Jesús; Lupiáñez, Juan

2013-02-01

Proportion congruent and conflict adaptation are two well known effects associated with cognitive control. A critical open question is whether they reflect the same or separate cognitive control mechanisms. In this experiment, in a training phase we introduced a proportion congruency manipulation for one conflict type (i.e. Simon), whereas in pre-training and post-training phases two conflict types (e.g. Simon and Spatial Stroop) were displayed with the same incongruent-to-congruent ratio. The results supported the sustained nature of the proportion congruent effect, as it transferred from the training to the post-training phase. Furthermore, this transfer generalized to both conflict types. By contrast, the conflict adaptation effect was specific to conflict type, as it was only observed when the same conflict type (either Simon or Stroop) was presented on two consecutive trials (no effect was observed on conflict type alternation trials). Results are interpreted as supporting the reactive and proactive control mechanisms distinction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional imaging of decision conflict.

PubMed

Pochon, Jean-Baptiste; Riis, Jason; Sanfey, Alan G; Nystrom, Leigh E; Cohen, Jonathan D

2008-03-26

Decision conflict occurs when people feel uncertain as to which option to choose from a set of similarly attractive (or unattractive) options, with many studies demonstrating that this conflict can lead to suboptimal decision making. In this article, we investigate the neurobiological underpinnings of decision conflict, in particular, the involvement of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Previous studies have implicated the ACC in conflict monitoring during perceptual tasks, but there is considerable controversy as to whether the ACC actually indexes conflict related to choice, or merely conflict related to selection of competing motor responses. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we dissociate the decision and response phases of a decision task, and show that the ACC does indeed index conflict at the decision stage. Furthermore, we show that it does so for a complex decision task, one that requires the integration of beliefs and preferences and not just perceptual judgments.

Dissociating Perception from Action during Conscious and Unconscious Conflict Adaptation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atas, Anne; Desender, Kobe; Gevers, Wim; Cleeremans, Axel

2016-01-01

The detection of a conflict between relevant and irrelevant information on a given trial typically results in a smaller conflict effect on the next trial. This sequential effect has been interpreted as an expression of cognitive control implemented to resolve conflict. In this context, 2 different but related issues have received increasing…

Starting and Stopping Spontaneous Family Conflicts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vuchinich, Samuel

1987-01-01

Examined how 52 nondistressed families managed spontaneous verbal conflicts during family dinners. Found conflict initiation to be evenly distributed across family roles. Extension of conflict was constrained by constant probability of a next conflict move occurring. Most conflicts ended with no resolution. Mothers were most active in closing…

Effect of Conflict Resolution Maneuver Execution Delay on Losses of Separation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cone, Andrew C.

2010-01-01

This paper examines uncertainty in the maneuver execution delay for data linked conflict resolution maneuvers. This uncertainty could cause the previously cleared primary conflict to reoccur or a secondary conflict to appear. Results show that the likelihood of a primary conflict reoccurring during a horizontal conflict resolution maneuver increases with larger initial turn-out angles and with shorter times until loss of separation. There is also a significant increase in the probability of a primary conflict reoccurring when the time until loss falls under three minutes. Increasing horizontal separation by an additional 1.5 nmi lowers the risk, but does not completely eliminate it. Secondary conflicts were shown to have a small probability of occurring in all tested configurations.

Abacus of Frozen Conflicts

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS ABACUS OF FROZEN CONFLICTS by Reshad Karimov June 2010 Thesis...SUBTITLE Abacus of Frozen Conflicts 6. AUTHOR(S) Reshad Karimov 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval...PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited ABACUS OF FROZEN CONFLICTS Reshad Karimov Research

Conflict Resolution Communications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lincoln, Melinda G.

2002-01-01

Suggests that, due to escalating violence in contemporary society, community colleges should offer certificate or degree programs in conflict resolution. Describes a conflict resolution communication program, which teaches communication skills, mediation processes, and coping strategies to prospective mediators. (NB)

Conflict: an imperative for success.

PubMed

Wenzel, F J

1986-04-01

Conflict in organizations of any type is inevitable. Medical institutions, particularly multispecialty clinics, are no exception. This paper presents an examination of the anatomy of conflict in group practice settings. Several case studies, including the "Hunterdon Experiment," are presented to illustrate the outcome of conflict situations where management was unable to direct its energy to productive ends. Recommendations are made for identifying, considering, and resolving conflicts in a proactive fashion. The conflict management role of the top management of the organization is described, with particular emphasis on the pivotal position of the Medical Director.

The Perceived Impact of Conflict on Adolescent Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laursen, Brett

1993-01-01

Examined adolescents' perceptions of their daily conflicts in relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, friends, romantic partners, and other peers and adults. Most adolescent conflicts were perceived as benign events with few positive or negative consequences for the relationship. Results suggest that adolescents recognize the fluidity and…

International System and Foreign Policy Approaches: Implications for Conflict Modelling and Management

DTIC Science & Technology

tool for conflict management , preliminary version of which is the Computer Aided Conflict Information System. Using expert judgments to describe...1961. The combined model is more relevant during the crisis phase. The results have implications for conflict modelling. With respect to conflict ... management , there is an important implication. Since the organizational processes model may be more valid than an event interaction model, then conflict

Dissociable neural systems resolve conflict from emotional versus nonemotional distracters.

PubMed

Egner, Tobias; Etkin, Amit; Gale, Seth; Hirsch, Joy

2008-06-01

The human brain protects the processing of task-relevant stimuli from interference ("conflict") by task-irrelevant stimuli via attentional biasing mechanisms. The lateral prefrontal cortex has been implicated in resolving conflict between competing stimuli by selectively enhancing task-relevant stimulus representations in sensory cortices. Conversely, recent data suggest that conflict from emotional distracters may be resolved by an alternative route, wherein the rostral anterior cingulate cortex inhibits amygdalar responsiveness to task-irrelevant emotional stimuli. Here we tested the proposal of 2 dissociable, distracter-specific conflict resolution mechanisms, by acquiring functional magnetic resonance imaging data during resolution of conflict from either nonemotional or emotional distracters. The results revealed 2 distinct circuits: a lateral prefrontal "cognitive control" system that resolved nonemotional conflict and was associated with enhanced processing of task-relevant stimuli in sensory cortices, and a rostral anterior cingulate "emotional control" system that resolved emotional conflict and was associated with decreased amygdalar responses to emotional distracters. By contrast, activations related to both emotional and nonemotional conflict monitoring were observed in a common region of the dorsal anterior cingulate. These data suggest that the neuroanatomical networks recruited to overcome conflict vary systematically with the nature of the conflict, but that they may share a common conflict-detection mechanism.

Conflict Inhibitory Control Facilitates Pretense Quality in Young Preschoolers

PubMed Central

Van Reet, Jennifer

2013-01-01

The present research explores the role of inhibitory control in young preschoolers’ pretense ability using an ego depletion paradigm. In Experiment 1 (N = 56), children’s pretense ability was assessed either before or after participating in conflict inhibitory control or control tasks, and in Experiment 2 (N = 36), pretense ability was measured after children engaged in either conflict or delay inhibitory control tasks. In both experiments, pretense scores were significantly higher only after engaging in conflict inhibitory control tasks. Further, pretense scores were positively correlated with inhibitory control scores when conflict inhibitory control was not experienced first. This pattern of results suggests that inhibitory control may underlie pretense, and conflict inhibitory control can boost the quality of children’s subsequent pretending. PMID:26074736

Conflict and HIV: A framework for risk assessment to prevent HIV in conflict-affected settings in Africa

PubMed Central

Mock, Nancy B; Duale, Sambe; Brown, Lisanne F; Mathys, Ellen; O'Maonaigh, Heather C; Abul-Husn, Nina KL; Elliott, Sterling

2004-01-01

In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS and violent conflict interact to shape population health and development in dramatic ways. HIV/AIDS can create conditions conducive to conflict. Conflict can affect the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS. Conflict is generally understood to accelerate HIV transmission, but this view is simplistic and disregards complex interrelationships between factors that can inhibit and accelerate the spread of HIV in conflict and post conflict settings, respectively. This paper provides a framework for understanding these factors and discusses their implications for policy formulation and program planning in conflict-affected settings. PMID:15679919

Let's Resolve Conflicts Together: Elementary School Classroom Activities. Conflict Management Week, May 1-7, 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, Columbus.

With heightened awareness to issues of school safety, it is important for elementary schools to take an active role in promoting constructive responses to conflict. The week of May 1-7, 2000 has been designated as Conflict Management Week by the Governor of Ohio. Conflict is a natural and inevitable part of living; however, managing conflict is…

Let's Resolve Conflicts Together: High School Classroom Activities. Conflict Management Week, May 1-7, 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, Columbus.

The week of May 1-7, 2000 has been designated by the Governor of Ohio to be Conflict Management Week With heightened awareness to issues of school safety, it is important for high schools to take an active role in promoting constructive responses to conflict. Conflict is a natural and inevitable part of living, but managing conflict is difficult…

Clarifying conflict of interest.

PubMed

Brody, Howard

2011-01-01

As the debate over how to manage or discourage physicians' financial conflicts of interest with the drug and medical device industries has become more heated, critics have questioned or dismissed the concept of "conflict of interest" itself. A satisfactory definition relates conflict of interest to concerns about maintaining social trust and distinguishes between breaches of ethical duty and temptations to breach duty. Numerous objections to such a definition have been offered, none of which prevails on further analysis. Those concerned about conflicts of interest have contributed to misunderstandings, however, by failing to demonstrate when social arrangements leading to temptations to breach duties are in themselves morally blameworthy. Clarifying "conflict of interest" is important if we are eventually going to develop productive modes of engagement between medicine and for-profit industry that avoid the serious ethical pitfalls now in evidence.

Conflict in medical teams: opportunity or danger?

PubMed

Greer, Lindred L; Saygi, Ozum; Aaldering, Hillie; de Dreu, Carsten K W

2012-10-01

  Intragroup conflicts often occur when people are called upon to collaborate in the accomplishment of a task. For example, when surgeons and nurses work together during an operation, conflicts may emerge because of differences in functional understanding. Whether these conflicts are beneficial or detrimental to team outcomes has been the source of much debate. From one perspective, a conflict that stems from differences in members' functional understanding may enhance team members' understanding and performance of the task at hand. By contrast, such a conflict may cause hostility, emotionality and distraction from actual task accomplishment.   This study reviews findings on the relationships between intragroup conflict and team outcomes, discusses potential conflict resolution strategies for intragroup conflicts and explores how these link to the field of medical education.   Three primary types of conflict have been distinguished, involving, respectively, task-, process- and relationship-associated conflict. Both process conflict, or conflict about the logistics of task accomplishment, and relationship conflict, or conflict about interpersonal incompatibilities, have been shown to detract from effective team functioning. Task conflict, or conflict about the content of the task itself, is also generally negative for team functioning, but under certain conditions its negative effects may be minimised. For example, when teams can clearly separate task issues from relationship issues, task conflicts are less destructive for team outcomes. However, achieving such a separation in practice, and thereby realising the benefits of task conflict, is quite difficult to achieve.   Intragroup conflicts pose a challenge to effective team functioning. In the education of medical professionals, effective training in conflict management skills and their application to specific team conflict dynamics, such as with reference to how to resolve task as opposed to relationship

Conflict management: importance and implications.

PubMed

McKibben, Laurie

2017-01-26

Conflict is a consistent and unavoidable issue within healthcare teams. Despite training of nurse leaders and managers around areas of conflict resolution, the problem of staff relations, stress, sickness and retention remain. Conflict arises from issues with interpersonal relationships, change and poor leadership. New members of staff entering an already established healthcare team should be supported and integrated, to encourage mutual role respect between all team members and establish positive working relationships, in order to maximise patient care. This paper explores the concept of conflict, the importance of addressing causes of conflict, effective management, and the relevance of positive approaches to conflict resolution. Good leadership, nurturing positive team dynamics and communication, encourages shared problem solving and acceptance of change. Furthermore mutual respect fosters a more positive working environment for those in healthcare teams. As conflict has direct implications for patients, positive resolution is essential, to promote safe and effective delivery of care, whilst encouraging therapeutic relationships between colleagues and managers.

Context, not conflict, drives cognitive control.

PubMed

Schlaghecken, Friederike; Martini, Paolo

2012-04-01

Theories of cognitive control generally assume that perceived conflict acts as a signal to engage inhibitory mechanisms that suppress subsequent conflicting information. Crucially, an absence of conflict is not regarded as being a relevant signal for cognitive control. Using a cueing, a priming, and a Simon task, we provide evidence that conflict does not have this unique signal status: Encountering a conflict does not lead to behavioral adjustments on subsequent conflict trials, whereas encountering a nonconflict trial does lead to behavioral adjustments on subsequent nonconflict trials. We propose that this apparent role-reversal can be explained by a mechanism that responds to both the presence and the absence of conflict, down-regulating the visuomotor system following conflict, and up-regulating it following nonconflict.

Longevity suppresses conflict in animal societies

PubMed Central

Port, Markus; Cant, Michael A.

2013-01-01

Models of social conflict in animal societies generally assume that within-group conflict reduces the value of a communal resource. For many animals, however, the primary cost of conflict is increased mortality. We develop a simple inclusive fitness model of social conflict that takes this cost into account. We show that longevity substantially reduces the level of within-group conflict, which can lead to the evolution of peaceful animal societies if relatedness among group members is high. By contrast, peaceful outcomes are never possible in models where the primary cost of social conflict is resource depletion. Incorporating mortality costs into models of social conflict can explain why many animal societies are so remarkably peaceful despite great potential for conflict. PMID:24088564

Task conflict effect in task switching.

PubMed

Braverman, Ami; Meiran, Nachshon

2010-11-01

A part of action preparation is deciding what the relevant task is. This task-decision process is conceptually separate from response selection. To show this, the authors manipulated task conflict in a spatial task-switching paradigm, using conflict stimuli that appeared during trials with univalent targets (affording 1 task). The conflict stimuli afforded task identity because they were used as task cues with bivalent targets (affording 2 tasks) that were intermixed with the univalent targets. Thus, for univalent targets, irrelevant stimuli either caused low task conflict or high task conflict. In three experiments, the authors found poorer performance in high task conflict trials than in low task conflict trials. Task conflict was introduced during target appearance (Experiment 1) or task preparation (Experiments 2 and 3). In the latter case, the task conflict effect decreased with increasing task preparation time showing that task preparation involves task decision.

The neural networks of subjectively evaluated emotional conflicts.

PubMed

Rohr, Christiane S; Villringer, Arno; Solms-Baruth, Carolina; van der Meer, Elke; Margulies, Daniel S; Okon-Singer, Hadas

2016-06-01

Previous work on the neural underpinnings of emotional conflict processing has largely focused on designs that instruct participants to ignore a distracter which conflicts with a target. In contrast, this study investigated the noninstructed experience and evaluation of an emotional conflict, where positive or negative cues can be subjectively prioritized. To this end, healthy participants freely watched short film scenes that evoked emotional conflicts while their BOLD responses were measured. Participants' individual ratings of conflict and valence perception during the film scenes were collected immediately afterwards, and the individual ratings were regressed against the BOLD data. Our analyses revealed that (a) amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex were significantly involved in prioritizing positive or negative cues, but not in subjective evaluations of conflict per se, and (b) superior temporal sulcus (STS) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), which have been implicated in social cognition and emotion control, were involved in both prioritizing positive or negative cues and subjectively evaluating conflict, and may thus constitute "hubs" or "switches" in emotional conflict processing. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses further revealed stronger functional connectivity between IPL and ventral prefrontal-medial parietal areas in prioritizing negative cues, and stronger connectivity between STS and dorsal-rostral prefrontal-medial parietal areas in prioritizing positive cues. In sum, our results suggest that IPL and STS are important in the subjective evaluation of complex conflicts and influence valence prioritization via prefrontal and parietal control centers. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2234-2246, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Impact of Conflict on Forests in South Sudan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorsevski, V.; Kasischke, E. S.; Dempewolf, J.; Loboda, T. V.; Geores, M.

2014-12-01

The impacts of armed conflict on ecosystems are complex and difficult to assess due to restricted access to affected areas making satellite remote sensing a useful tool for studying direct and indirect effects of conflict on the landscape. The Imatong Central Forest Reserve (ICFR) in South Sudan together with the nearby Dongotana Hills and the Agoro-Agu Forest Reserve (AFR) in Northern Uganda share a boundary and encompass a biologically diverse montane ecosystem. This study used satellite data combined with general human population trends to examine the impact of armed conflict and its outcome on similar forest ecosystems both during and after hostilities. A Disturbance Index (DI) was used to investigate the location and extent of forest cover loss and gain in three areas for two key time periods. Results indicate that the rate of forest recovery was significantly higher than the rate of disturbance both during and after wartime in and around the ICFR. In contrast, the nearby Dongotana Hills experienced relatively high rates of disturbance during both periods; however, post war period losses were largely offset by some gains in forest cover. Discussions with local inhabitants confirmed these findings and provided further insights into the underlying causes impacting forest cover and wildlife. South Sudan is the latest nation to join the Global Environment Facility (GEF). While the GEF does not explicitly address conflict, many of the projects it supports occur in conflict and post-conflict zones with wide-ranging repercussions for both people and the environment. In an effort to assess best practices for working in conflict and post-conflict areas, the GEF Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) will undertake an analysis of GEF-funded projects over the last two decades to identify where the GEF has promoted cooperation between groups and states, and/or made a positive contribution toward conflict avoidance resulting in shared environmental benefits.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex affects stimulus conflict but not response conflict.

PubMed

Zmigrod, S; Zmigrod, L; Hommel, B

2016-05-13

When the human brain encounters a conflict, performance is often impaired. Two tasks that are widely used to induce and measure conflict-related interference are the Eriksen flanker task, whereby the visual target stimulus is flanked by congruent or incongruent distractors, and the Simon task, where the location of the required spatial response is either congruent or incongruent with the location of the target stimulus. Interestingly, both tasks share the characteristic of inducing response conflict but only the flanker task induces stimulus conflict. We used a non-invasive brain stimulation technique to explore the role of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in dealing with conflict in the Eriksen flanker and Simon tasks. In different sessions, participants received anodal, cathodal, or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) (2 mA, 20 min) on the right DLPFC while performing these tasks. The results indicate that cathodal tDCS over the right DLPFC increased the flanker interference effect while having no impact on the Simon effect. This finding provides empirical support for the role of the right DLPFC in stimulus-stimulus rather than stimulus-response conflict, which suggests the existence of multiple, domain-specific control mechanisms underlying conflict resolution. In addition, methodologically, the study also demonstrates the way in which brain stimulation techniques can reveal subtle yet important differences between experimental paradigms that are often assumed to tap into a single process. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic Conflict and National Security Research

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-02-22

international affairs, such as a change in rules governing international financial prac- tices (i.e., repayment of debts, free movement of assets, etc...conflict. This step subsumes such questions as whether or n-ot an act of economic conflict will result in a hot war, the collapse of international financial ...disrupt an adver- sary’s economy; * Wrecking a nation’s financial institutions by flooding the country with counterfeit money and/or duplicate credit cardst

Temporal and spectral profiles of stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflict processing.

PubMed

Wang, Kai; Li, Qi; Zheng, Ya; Wang, Hongbin; Liu, Xun