Comparing approaches for using climate projections in assessing water resources investments for systems with multiple stakeholder groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurford, Anthony; Harou, Julien

2015-04-01

Climate change has challenged conventional methods of planning water resources infrastructure investment, relying on stationarity of time-series data. It is not clear how to best use projections of future climatic conditions. Many-objective simulation-optimisation and trade-off analysis using evolutionary algorithms has been proposed as an approach to addressing complex planning problems with multiple conflicting objectives. The search for promising assets and policies can be carried out across a range of climate projections, to identify the configurations of infrastructure investment shown by model simulation to be robust under diverse future conditions. Climate projections can be used in different ways within a simulation model to represent the range of possible future conditions and understand how optimal investments vary according to the different hydrological conditions. We compare two approaches, optimising over an ensemble of different 20-year flow and PET timeseries projections, and separately for individual future scenarios built synthetically from the original ensemble. Comparing trade-off curves and surfaces generated by the two approaches helps understand the limits and benefits of optimising under different sets of conditions. The comparison is made for the Tana Basin in Kenya, where climate change combined with multiple conflicting objectives of water management and infrastructure investment mean decision-making is particularly challenging.

A framework for multi-stakeholder decision-making and ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

We propose a decision-making framework to compute compromise solutions that balance conflicting priorities of multiple stakeholders on multiple objectives. In our setting, we shape the stakeholder dis-satisfaction distribution by solving a conditional-value-at-risk (CVaR) minimization problem. The CVaR problem is parameterized by a probability level that shapes the tail of the dissatisfaction distribution. The proposed approach allows us to compute a family of compromise solutions and generalizes multi-stakeholder settings previously proposed in the literature that minimize average and worst-case dissatisfactions. We use the concept of the CVaR norm to give a geometric interpretation to this problem +and use the properties of this norm to prove that the CVaR minimization problem yields Pareto optimal solutions for any choice of the probability level. We discuss a broad range of potential applications of the framework that involve complex decision-making processes. We demonstrate the developments using a biowaste facility location case study in which we seek to balance stakeholder priorities on transportation, safety, water quality, and capital costs. This manuscript describes the methodology of a new decision-making framework that computes compromise solutions that balance conflicting priorities of multiple stakeholders on multiple objectives as needed for SHC Decision Science and Support Tools project. A biowaste facility location is employed as the case study

Policy challenges and approaches for the conservation of mangrove forests in Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Friess, Daniel A; Thompson, Benjamin S; Brown, Ben; Amir, A Aldrie; Cameron, Clint; Koldewey, Heather J; Sasmito, Sigit D; Sidik, Frida

2016-10-01

Many drivers of mangrove forest loss operate over large scales and are most effectively addressed by policy interventions. However, conflicting or unclear policy objectives exist at multiple tiers of government, resulting in contradictory management decisions. To address this, we considered four approaches that are being used increasingly or could be deployed in Southeast Asia to ensure sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. First, a stronger incorporation of mangroves into marine protected areas (that currently focus largely on reefs and fisheries) could resolve some policy conflicts and ensure that mangroves do not fall through a policy gap. Second, examples of community and government comanagement exist, but achieving comanagement at scale will be important in reconciling stakeholders and addressing conflicting policy objectives. Third, private-sector initiatives could protect mangroves through existing and novel mechanisms in degraded areas and areas under future threat. Finally, payments for ecosystem services (PES) hold great promise for mangrove conservation, with carbon PES schemes (known as blue carbon) attracting attention. Although barriers remain to the implementation of PES, the potential to implement them at multiple scales exists. Closing the gap between mangrove conservation policies and action is crucial to the improved protection and management of this imperiled coastal ecosystem and to the livelihoods that depend on them. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

[Conflict of interest in medical practice and research].

PubMed

Youn, Young Hoon; Lee, Ilhak

2012-09-25

In recent years, medical professionals are in charge with multiple roles. They have to work as an educator, researcher, and administrator, as well as medical practitioner. In addition, they experience a conflict between the primary responsibilities that each role requires of them. A conflict of interest (COI) is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgment or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest. It occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other. The COI should be managed appropriately to preserve the value of public trust, scientific objectivity, and the benefit and safety of patients. Primary interest of medical professionals refers to the principal goals of the medical profession, such as the health and safety of patients, and the integrity of research. Secondary interest includes not only financial gain but also such motives as the desire for professional advancement and the wish to do favors for family and friends, but COI rules usually focus on financial relationships because they are relatively more objective, fungible, and quantifiable. This article will briefly review the COI in medical practice and research, discuss about what is COI, why we should manage it, and how we can manage it.

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 words:Dentistry, dentition, meta-analysis, quantitative review. PMID:25136431

Spatial Attention Modulates the Precedence Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

London, Sam; Bishop, Christopher W.; Miller, Lee M.

2012-01-01

Communication and navigation in real environments rely heavily on the ability to distinguish objects in acoustic space. However, auditory spatial information is often corrupted by conflicting cues and noise such as acoustic reflections. Fortunately the brain can apply mechanisms at multiple levels to emphasize target information and mitigate such…

The Politics of Cultural Difference in Second Language Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kubota, Ryuko

2004-01-01

Cultural difference is an important topic of discussion in second language education. Yet cultural difference is often conceptualized as fixed, objective, and apolitical based on an essentialist and normative understanding of culture. This article challenges such conceptualizations by examining and politicizing multiple and conflicting meanings of…

Study on dynamic multi-objective approach considering coal and water conflict in large scale coal group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Qing; Lu, Li

2018-01-01

In the process of coal mining, destruction and pollution of groundwater in has reached an imminent time, and groundwater is not only related to the ecological environment, but also affect the health of human life. Similarly, coal and water conflict is still one of the world's problems in large scale coal mining regions. Based on this, this paper presents a dynamic multi-objective optimization model to deal with the conflict of the coal and water in the coal group with multiple subordinate collieries and arrive at a comprehensive arrangement to achieve environmentally friendly coal mining strategy. Through calculation, this paper draws the output of each subordinate coal mine. And on this basis, we continue to adjust the environmental protection parameters to compare the coal production at different collieries at different stages under different attitude of the government. At last, the paper conclude that, in either case, it is the first arrangement to give priority to the production of low-drainage, high-yield coal mines.

Use of multicriteria decision analysis to address conservation conflicts.

PubMed

Davies, A L; Bryce, R; Redpath, S M

2013-10-01

Conservation conflicts are increasing on a global scale and instruments for reconciling competing interests are urgently needed. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a structured, decision-support process that can facilitate dialogue between groups with differing interests and incorporate human and environmental dimensions of conflict. MCDA is a structured and transparent method of breaking down complex problems and incorporating multiple objectives. The value of this process for addressing major challenges in conservation conflict management is that MCDA helps in setting realistic goals; entails a transparent decision-making process; and addresses mistrust, differing world views, cross-scale issues, patchy or contested information, and inflexible legislative tools. Overall we believe MCDA provides a valuable decision-support tool, particularly for increasing awareness of the effects of particular values and choices for working toward negotiated compromise, although an awareness of the effect of methodological choices and the limitations of the method is vital before applying it in conflict situations. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Constructing probability boxes and Dempster-Shafer structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferson, Scott; Kreinovich, Vladik; Grinzburg, Lev

This report summarizes a variety of the most useful and commonly applied methods for obtaining Dempster-Shafer structures, and their mathematical kin probability boxes, from empirical information or theoretical knowledge. The report includes a review of the aggregation methods for handling agreement and conflict when multiple such objects are obtained from different sources.

Impact of Conflict Avoidance Responsibility Allocation on Pilot Workload in a Distributed Air Traffic Management System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ligda, Sarah V.; Dao, Arik-Quang V.; Vu, Kim-Phuong; Strybel, Thomas Z.; Battiste, Vernol; Johnson, Walter W.

2010-01-01

Pilot workload was examined during simulated flights requiring flight deck-based merging and spacing while avoiding weather. Pilots used flight deck tools to avoid convective weather and space behind a lead aircraft during an arrival into Louisville International airport. Three conflict avoidance management concepts were studied: pilot, controller or automation primarily responsible. A modified Air Traffic Workload Input Technique (ATWIT) metric showed highest workload during the approach phase of flight and lowest during the en-route phase of flight (before deviating for weather). In general, the modified ATWIT was shown to be a valid and reliable workload measure, providing more detailed information than post-run subjective workload metrics. The trend across multiple workload metrics revealed lowest workload when pilots had both conflict alerting and responsibility of the three concepts, while all objective and subjective measures showed highest workload when pilots had no conflict alerting or responsibility. This suggests that pilot workload was not tied primarily to responsibility for resolving conflicts, but to gaining and/or maintaining situation awareness when conflict alerting is unavailable.

Mess management in microbial ecology: Rhetorical processes of disciplinary integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCracken, Christopher W.

As interdisciplinary work becomes more common in the sciences, research into the rhetorical processes mediating disciplinary integration becomes more vital. This dissertation, which takes as its subject the integration of microbiology and ecology, combines a postplural approach to rhetoric of science research with Victor Turner's "social drama" analysis and a third-generation activity theory methodological framework to identify conceptual and practical conflicts in interdisciplinary work and describe how, through visual and verbal communication, scientists negotiate these conflicts. First, to understand the conflicting disciplinary principles that might impede integration, the author conducts a Turnerian analysis of a disciplinary conflict that took place in the 1960s and 70s, during which American ecologists and biologists debated whether they should participate in the International Biological Program (IBP). Participation in the IBP ultimately contributed to the emergence of ecology as a discipline distinct from biology, and Turnerian social drama analysis of the debate surrounding participation lays bare the conflicting principles separating biology and ecology. Second, to answer the question of how these conflicting principles are negotiated in practice, the author reports on a yearlong qualitative study of scientists working in a microbial ecology laboratory. Focusing specifically on two case studies from this fieldwork that illustrate the key concept of textually mediated disciplinary integration, the author's analysis demonstrates how scientific objects emerge in differently situated practices, and how these objects manage to cohere despite their multiplicity through textually mediated rhetorical processes of calibration and alignment.

Auditory Conflict Resolution Correlates with Medial–Lateral Frontal Theta/Alpha Phase Synchrony

PubMed Central

Huang, Samantha; Rossi, Stephanie; Hämäläinen, Matti; Ahveninen, Jyrki

2014-01-01

When multiple persons speak simultaneously, it may be difficult for the listener to direct attention to correct sound objects among conflicting ones. This could occur, for example, in an emergency situation in which one hears conflicting instructions and the loudest, instead of the wisest, voice prevails. Here, we used cortically-constrained oscillatory MEG/EEG estimates to examine how different brain regions, including caudal anterior cingulate (cACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC), work together to resolve these kinds of auditory conflicts. During an auditory flanker interference task, subjects were presented with sound patterns consisting of three different voices, from three different directions (45° left, straight ahead, 45° right), sounding out either the letters “A” or “O”. They were asked to discriminate which sound was presented centrally and ignore the flanking distracters that were phonetically either congruent (50%) or incongruent (50%) with the target. Our cortical MEG/EEG oscillatory estimates demonstrated a direct relationship between performance and brain activity, showing that efficient conflict resolution, as measured with reduced conflict-induced RT lags, is predicted by theta/alpha phase coupling between cACC and right lateral frontal cortex regions intersecting the right frontal eye fields (FEF) and DLPFC, as well as by increased pre-stimulus gamma (60–110 Hz) power in the left inferior fontal cortex. Notably, cACC connectivity patterns that correlated with behavioral conflict-resolution measures were found during both the pre-stimulus and the pre-response periods. Our data provide evidence that, instead of being only transiently activated upon conflict detection, cACC is involved in sustained engagement of attentional resources required for effective sound object selection performance. PMID:25343503

Auditory conflict resolution correlates with medial-lateral frontal theta/alpha phase synchrony.

PubMed

Huang, Samantha; Rossi, Stephanie; Hämäläinen, Matti; Ahveninen, Jyrki

2014-01-01

When multiple persons speak simultaneously, it may be difficult for the listener to direct attention to correct sound objects among conflicting ones. This could occur, for example, in an emergency situation in which one hears conflicting instructions and the loudest, instead of the wisest, voice prevails. Here, we used cortically-constrained oscillatory MEG/EEG estimates to examine how different brain regions, including caudal anterior cingulate (cACC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC), work together to resolve these kinds of auditory conflicts. During an auditory flanker interference task, subjects were presented with sound patterns consisting of three different voices, from three different directions (45° left, straight ahead, 45° right), sounding out either the letters "A" or "O". They were asked to discriminate which sound was presented centrally and ignore the flanking distracters that were phonetically either congruent (50%) or incongruent (50%) with the target. Our cortical MEG/EEG oscillatory estimates demonstrated a direct relationship between performance and brain activity, showing that efficient conflict resolution, as measured with reduced conflict-induced RT lags, is predicted by theta/alpha phase coupling between cACC and right lateral frontal cortex regions intersecting the right frontal eye fields (FEF) and DLPFC, as well as by increased pre-stimulus gamma (60-110 Hz) power in the left inferior fontal cortex. Notably, cACC connectivity patterns that correlated with behavioral conflict-resolution measures were found during both the pre-stimulus and the pre-response periods. Our data provide evidence that, instead of being only transiently activated upon conflict detection, cACC is involved in sustained engagement of attentional resources required for effective sound object selection performance.

Negotiating designs of multi-purpose reservoir systems in international basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geressu, Robel; Harou, Julien

2016-04-01

Given increasing agricultural and energy demands, coordinated management of multi-reservoir systems could help increase production without further stressing available water resources. However, regional or international disputes about water-use rights pose a challenge to efficient expansion and management of many large reservoir systems. Even when projects are likely to benefit all stakeholders, agreeing on the design, operation, financing, and benefit sharing can be challenging. This is due to the difficulty of considering multiple stakeholder interests in the design of projects and understanding the benefit trade-offs that designs imply. Incommensurate performance metrics, incomplete knowledge on system requirements, lack of objectivity in managing conflict and difficulty to communicate complex issue exacerbate the problem. This work proposes a multi-step hybrid multi-objective optimization and multi-criteria ranking approach for supporting negotiation in water resource systems. The approach uses many-objective optimization to generate alternative efficient designs and reveal the trade-offs between conflicting objectives. This enables informed elicitation of criteria weights for further multi-criteria ranking of alternatives. An ideal design would be ranked as best by all stakeholders. Resource-sharing mechanisms such as power-trade and/or cost sharing may help competing stakeholders arrive at designs acceptable to all. Many-objective optimization helps suggests efficient designs (reservoir site, its storage size and operating rule) and coordination levels considering the perspectives of multiple stakeholders simultaneously. We apply the proposed approach to a proof-of-concept study of the expansion of the Blue Nile transboundary reservoir system.

Application of model predictive control for optimal operation of wind turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; Cao, Pei; Tang, J.

2017-04-01

For large-scale wind turbines, reducing maintenance cost is a major challenge. Model predictive control (MPC) is a promising approach to deal with multiple conflicting objectives using the weighed sum approach. In this research, model predictive control method is applied to wind turbine to find an optimal balance between multiple objectives, such as the energy capture, loads on turbine components, and the pitch actuator usage. The actuator constraints are integrated into the objective function at the control design stage. The analysis is carried out in both the partial load region and full load region, and the performances are compared with those of a baseline gain scheduling PID controller. The application of this strategy achieves enhanced balance of component loads, the average power and actuator usages in partial load region.

Similarly Torn, Differentially Shorn? The Experience and Management of Conflict between Multiple Roles, Relationships, and Social Categories

PubMed Central

Jones, Janelle M.; Hynie, Michaela

2017-01-01

In three studies we examined the experience and management of conflict between different types of multiple identities. Participants described a conflict between pairs of role, relational, or social identities before rating the experience (i.e., magnitude, stress, and growth) and management of conflict on a newly developed scale assessing four strategies: reconciliation, where identities are integrated, realignment, where one identity is chosen over another, retreat, where both identities are avoided, and reflection, where fit (with others, situation) determines identity selection. In general, the types of identities mattered for conflict management but not its experience: Magnitude and growth did not differ, however, stress was greater for role identity conflicts (Study 3 only) and participants endorsed the use of more realignment for role conflicts (Study 2) and more retreat for relational conflicts (Study 3) relative to other types of identity conflicts. Furthermore, findings suggested that the perceived flexibility of identities, not their importance or valence, were associated with realignment and retreat for roles and with retreat for relationships. Experiencing conflicts between multiple identities leaves people similarly torn, but multiple roles and relationships may be differentially shorn to manage conflict. PMID:29051744

Similarly Torn, Differentially Shorn? The Experience and Management of Conflict between Multiple Roles, Relationships, and Social Categories.

PubMed

Jones, Janelle M; Hynie, Michaela

2017-01-01

In three studies we examined the experience and management of conflict between different types of multiple identities. Participants described a conflict between pairs of role, relational, or social identities before rating the experience (i.e., magnitude, stress, and growth) and management of conflict on a newly developed scale assessing four strategies: reconciliation , where identities are integrated, realignment , where one identity is chosen over another, retreat , where both identities are avoided, and reflection , where fit (with others, situation) determines identity selection. In general, the types of identities mattered for conflict management but not its experience: Magnitude and growth did not differ, however, stress was greater for role identity conflicts ( Study 3 only ) and participants endorsed the use of more realignment for role conflicts ( Study 2 ) and more retreat for relational conflicts ( Study 3 ) relative to other types of identity conflicts. Furthermore, findings suggested that the perceived flexibility of identities, not their importance or valence, were associated with realignment and retreat for roles and with retreat for relationships. Experiencing conflicts between multiple identities leaves people similarly torn, but multiple roles and relationships may be differentially shorn to manage conflict.

Organizational Infrastructure in the Collegiate Athletic Training Setting, Part III: Benefits of and Barriers in the Medical and Academic Models

PubMed Central

Eason, Christianne M.; Mazerolle, Stephanie M.; Goodman, Ashley

2017-01-01

Context: Academic and medical models are emerging as alternatives to the athletics model, which is the more predominant model in the collegiate athletic training setting. Little is known about athletic trainers' (ATs') perceptions of these models. Objective: To investigate the perceived benefits of and barriers in the medical and academic models. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions I, II, and III. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 16 full-time ATs (10 men, 6 women; age = 32 ± 6 years, experience = 10 ± 6 years) working in the medical (n = 8) or academic (n = 8) models. Data Collection and Analysis: We conducted semistructured telephone interviews and evaluated the qualitative data using a general inductive approach. Multiple-analyst triangulation and peer review were completed to satisfy data credibility. Results: In the medical model, role congruency and work-life balance emerged as benefits, whereas role conflict, specifically intersender conflict with coaches, was a barrier. In the academic model, role congruency emerged as a benefit, and barriers were role strain and work-life conflict. Subscales of role strain included role conflict and role ambiguity for new employees. Role conflict stemmed from intersender conflict with coaches and athletics administrative personnel and interrole conflict with fulfilling multiple overlapping roles (academic, clinical, administrative). Conclusions: The infrastructure in which ATs provide medical care needs to be evaluated. We found that the medical model can support better alignment for both patient care and the wellbeing of ATs. Whereas the academic model has perceived benefits, role incongruence exists, mostly because of the role complexity associated with balancing teaching, patient-care, and administrative duties. PMID:27977302

Education and Countering Violent Extremism: Western Logics from South to North?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Novelli, Mario

2017-01-01

This paper explores the way education and conflict have become entangled during the post-9/11 "war on terror" response to "radical Islam" at home and abroad. The paper charts the complex ways that education has been deployed to serve Western military and security objectives in multiple locations in the global south and how…

Optimizing the Shunting Schedule of Electric Multiple Units Depot Using an Enhanced Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

PubMed Central

Jin, Junchen

2016-01-01

The shunting schedule of electric multiple units depot (SSED) is one of the essential plans for high-speed train maintenance activities. This paper presents a 0-1 programming model to address the problem of determining an optimal SSED through automatic computing. The objective of the model is to minimize the number of shunting movements and the constraints include track occupation conflicts, shunting routes conflicts, time durations of maintenance processes, and shunting running time. An enhanced particle swarm optimization (EPSO) algorithm is proposed to solve the optimization problem. Finally, an empirical study from Shanghai South EMU Depot is carried out to illustrate the model and EPSO algorithm. The optimization results indicate that the proposed method is valid for the SSED problem and that the EPSO algorithm outperforms the traditional PSO algorithm on the aspect of optimality. PMID:27436998

Contribution of the Multi Attribute Value Theory to conflict resolution in groundwater management. Application to the Mancha Oriental groundwater system, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apperl, B.; Andreu, J.; Karjalainen, T. P.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.

2014-09-01

The implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive demands participatory water resource management approaches. Decision making in groundwater quantity and quality management is complex because of the existence of many independent actors, heterogeneous stakeholder interests, multiple objectives, different potential policies, and uncertain outcomes. Conflicting stakeholder interests have been often identified as an impediment to the realization and success of water regulations and policies. The management of complex groundwater systems requires clarifying stakeholders' positions (identifying stakeholders preferences and values), improving transparency with respect to outcomes of alternatives, and moving the discussion from the selection of alternatives towards definition of fundamental objectives (value-thinking approach), what facilitates negotiation. The aims of the study are to analyse the potential of the multi attribute value theory for conflict resolution in groundwater management and to evaluate the benefit of stakeholder incorporation in the different stages of the planning process to find an overall satisfying solution for groundwater management. The research was conducted in the Mancha Oriental groundwater system (Spain), subject to an intensive use of groundwater for irrigation. A complex set of objectives and attributes were defined, and the management alternatives were created by a combination of different fundamental actions, considering different implementation stages and future changes in water resources availability. Interviews were conducted with representative stakeholder groups using an interactive platform, showing simultaneously the consequences of changes of preferences to the alternative ranking. Results show that the acceptation of alternatives depends strongly on the combination of measures and the implementation stages. Uncertainties of the results were notable but did not influence heavily on the alternative ranking. The expected reduction of future groundwater resources by climate change increases the conflict potential. The implementation of the method to a very complex case study, with many conflicting objectives and alternatives and uncertain outcomes, including future scenarios under water limiting conditions, illustrate the potential of the method for supporting management decisions.

Contribution of the multi-attribute value theory to conflict resolution in groundwater management - application to the Mancha Oriental groundwater system, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apperl, B.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Andreu, J.; Karjalainen, T. P.

2015-03-01

The implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive demands participatory water resource management approaches. Decision making in groundwater quantity and quality management is complex because of the existence of many independent actors, heterogeneous stakeholder interests, multiple objectives, different potential policies, and uncertain outcomes. Conflicting stakeholder interests have often been identified as an impediment to the realisation and success of water regulations and policies. The management of complex groundwater systems requires the clarification of stakeholders' positions (identifying stakeholder preferences and values), improving transparency with respect to outcomes of alternatives, and moving the discussion from the selection of alternatives towards the definition of fundamental objectives (value-thinking approach), which facilitates negotiation. The aims of the study are to analyse the potential of the multi-attribute value theory for conflict resolution in groundwater management and to evaluate the benefit of stakeholder incorporation into the different stages of the planning process, to find an overall satisfying solution for groundwater management. The research was conducted in the Mancha Oriental groundwater system (Spain), subject to intensive use of groundwater for irrigation. A complex set of objectives and attributes was defined, and the management alternatives were created by a combination of different fundamental actions, considering different implementation stages and future changes in water resource availability. Interviews were conducted with representative stakeholder groups using an interactive platform, showing simultaneously the consequences of changes in preferences to the alternative ranking. Results show that the approval of alternatives depends strongly on the combination of measures and the implementation stages. Uncertainties in the results were notable, but did not influence the alternative ranking heavily. The expected reduction in future groundwater resources by climate change increases the conflict potential. The implementation of the method in a very complex case study, with many conflicting objectives and alternatives and uncertain outcomes, including future scenarios under water limiting conditions, illustrates the potential of the method for supporting management decisions.

There is No Free Lunch: Tradeoffs in the Utility of Learned Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kedar, Smadar T.; McKusick, Kathleen B.

1992-01-01

With the recent introduction of learning in integrated systems, there is a need to measure the utility of learned knowledge for these more complex systems. A difficulty arrises when there are multiple, possibly conflicting, utility metrics to be measured. In this paper, we present schemes which trade off conflicting utility metrics in order to achieve some global performance objectives. In particular, we present a case study of a multi-strategy machine learning system, mutual theory refinement, which refines world models for an integrated reactive system, the Entropy Reduction Engine. We provide experimental results on the utility of learned knowledge in two conflicting metrics - improved accuracy and degraded efficiency. We then demonstrate two ways to trade off these metrics. In each, some learned knowledge is either approximated or dynamically 'forgotten' so as to improve efficiency while degrading accuracy only slightly.

Outcome following therapeutic abortion.

PubMed

Payne, E C; Kravitz, A R; Notman, M T; Anderson, J V

1976-06-01

Psychological outcome of abortion was studied in 102 patients, measuring multiple variables over four time intervals. Five measured affects--anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, and shame-were significantly lower six months after the preabortion period. The following variables describe subgroups of patients with significant variations in patterns of responses as indicated by changes in affects: marital status, personality diagnosis, character of object relations, past psychopathologic factors, relationship to husband or lover, relationship to mother, ambivalence about abortion, religion, and previous parity. A complex multivariate model, based on conflict and conflict resolution, is appropriate to conceptualize, the unwanted pregnancy and abortion experience. Data suggest that women most vulnerable to conflict are those who are single and nulliparous, those with previous history of serious emotional problems, conflictual relationships to lovers, past negative relationships to mother, strong ambivalence toward abortion, or negative religious or cultural attitudes about abortion.

Interactive Reference Point Procedure Based on the Conic Scalarizing Function

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

In multiobjective optimization methods, multiple conflicting objectives are typically converted into a single objective optimization problem with the help of scalarizing functions. The conic scalarizing function is a general characterization of Benson proper efficient solutions of non-convex multiobjective problems in terms of saddle points of scalar Lagrangian functions. This approach preserves convexity. The conic scalarizing function, as a part of a posteriori or a priori methods, has successfully been applied to several real-life problems. In this paper, we propose a conic scalarizing function based interactive reference point procedure where the decision maker actively takes part in the solution process and directs the search according to her or his preferences. An algorithmic framework for the interactive solution of multiple objective optimization problems is presented and is utilized for solving some illustrative examples. PMID:24723795

Optimal Wastewater Loading under Conflicting Goals and Technology Limitations in a Riverine System.

PubMed

Rafiee, Mojtaba; Lyon, Steve W; Zahraie, Banafsheh; Destouni, Georgia; Jaafarzadeh, Nemat

2017-03-01

  This paper investigates a novel simulation-optimization (S-O) framework for identifying optimal treatment levels and treatment processes for multiple wastewater dischargers to rivers. A commonly used water quality simulation model, Qual2K, was linked to a Genetic Algorithm optimization model for exploration of relevant fuzzy objective-function formulations for addressing imprecision and conflicting goals of pollution control agencies and various dischargers. Results showed a dynamic flow dependence of optimal wastewater loading with good convergence to near global optimum. Explicit considerations of real-world technological limitations, which were developed here in a new S-O framework, led to better compromise solutions between conflicting goals than those identified within traditional S-O frameworks. The newly developed framework, in addition to being more technologically realistic, is also less complicated and converges on solutions more rapidly than traditional frameworks. This technique marks a significant step forward for development of holistic, riverscape-based approaches that balance the conflicting needs of the stakeholders.

Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects

PubMed Central

Boag, Simon

2014-01-01

This paper addresses the relationship between the ego, id, and internal objects. While ego psychology views the ego as autonomous of the drives, a less well-known alternative position views the ego as constituted by the drives. Based on Freud’s ego-instinct account, this position has developed into a school of thought which postulates that the drives act as knowers. Given that there are multiple drives, this position proposes that personality is constituted by multiple knowers. Following on from Freud, the ego is viewed as a composite sub-set of the instinctual drives (ego-drives), whereas those drives cut off from expression form the id. The nature of the “self” is developed in terms of identification and the possibility of multiple personalities is also established. This account is then extended to object-relations and the explanatory value of the ego-drive account is discussed in terms of the addressing the nature of ego-structures and the dynamic nature of internal objects. Finally, the impact of psychological conflict and the significance of repression for understanding the nature of splits within the psyche are also discussed. PMID:25071640

Attention and perceptual implicit memory: effects of selective versus divided attention and number of visual objects.

PubMed

Mulligan, Neil W

2002-08-01

Extant research presents conflicting results on whether manipulations of attention during encoding affect perceptual priming. Two suggested mediating factors are type of manipulation (selective vs divided) and whether attention is manipulated across multiple objects or within a single object. Words printed in different colors (Experiment 1) or flanked by colored blocks (Experiment 2) were presented at encoding. In the full-attention condition, participants always read the word, in the unattended condition they always identified the color, and in the divided-attention conditions, participants attended to both word identity and color. Perceptual priming was assessed with perceptual identification and explicit memory with recognition. Relative to the full-attention condition, attending to color always reduced priming. Dividing attention between word identity and color, however, only disrupted priming when these attributes were presented as multiple objects (Experiment 2) but not when they were dimensions of a common object (Experiment 1). On the explicit test, manipulations of attention always affected recognition accuracy.

Does conflict between home and work explain the effect of multiple roles on mental health? A comparative study of Finland, Japan, and the UK.

PubMed

Chandola, Tarani; Martikainen, Pekka; Bartley, Mel; Lahelma, Eero; Marmot, Michael; Michikazu, Sekine; Nasermoaddeli, Ali; Kagamimori, Sadanobu

2004-08-01

Although there have been a number of studies on the effects of multiple roles on health and how a combination of work and family roles may be either advantageous (role enhancement) or disadvantageous (role strain) for health, there has been relatively little investigation on the psychosocial content of such roles. Work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict could arise from inability to combine multiple roles and result in stress and ill health. The question of whether both types of conflict mediate between the association of multiple roles with health has not been analysed before. This paper sets out to investigate whether: (1) work-to-family conflict or family-to-work conflict contributes towards explaining the association of multiple roles with mental health; (2) the effect of work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict on mental health varies by gender; (3) the effect of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict on mental health vary between countries with different welfare state arrangements and social norms. Cross-sectional data of economically active male and female public sector employees aged 35-60 in London (UK), Helsinki (Finland), and the West Coast of Japan. Linear regression models (separate for each gender and cohort) of SF-36 mental component scores were analysed with role combinations, family-to-work and work-to-family conflict as explanatory variables. Single fathers in all three cohorts and of single mothers in the Helsinki cohort had poor mental health, and this was partly explained by their higher levels family-to-work conflict. Both types of conflict affect the mental health of men and women independently of each other. Japanese women had the greatest conflict and poorest mental health while Helsinki women had the lowest conflict and best mental health. Both work-to-family and family-to-work conflict affect the mental health of men and women in three different countries. Work and family roles and the balance between the two may be important for the mental health of men and women in industrialized societies. Any analysis of the effect of multiple roles on health needs to take into account the psychosocial content of such roles.

Pareto-front shape in multiobservable quantum control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qiuyang; Wu, Re-Bing; Rabitz, Herschel

2017-03-01

Many scenarios in the sciences and engineering require simultaneous optimization of multiple objective functions, which are usually conflicting or competing. In such problems the Pareto front, where none of the individual objectives can be further improved without degrading some others, shows the tradeoff relations between the competing objectives. This paper analyzes the Pareto-front shape for the problem of quantum multiobservable control, i.e., optimizing the expectation values of multiple observables in the same quantum system. Analytic and numerical results demonstrate that with two commuting observables the Pareto front is a convex polygon consisting of flat segments only, while with noncommuting observables the Pareto front includes convexly curved segments. We also assess the capability of a weighted-sum method to continuously capture the points along the Pareto front. Illustrative examples with realistic physical conditions are presented, including NMR control experiments on a 1H-13C two-spin system with two commuting or noncommuting observables.

"Notice of Violation of IEEE Publication Principles" Multiobjective Reinforcement Learning: A Comprehensive Overview.

PubMed

Liu, Chunming; Xu, Xin; Hu, Dewen

2013-04-29

Reinforcement learning is a powerful mechanism for enabling agents to learn in an unknown environment, and most reinforcement learning algorithms aim to maximize some numerical value, which represents only one long-term objective. However, multiple long-term objectives are exhibited in many real-world decision and control problems; therefore, recently, there has been growing interest in solving multiobjective reinforcement learning (MORL) problems with multiple conflicting objectives. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of MORL. In this paper, the basic architecture, research topics, and naive solutions of MORL are introduced at first. Then, several representative MORL approaches and some important directions of recent research are reviewed. The relationships between MORL and other related research are also discussed, which include multiobjective optimization, hierarchical reinforcement learning, and multi-agent reinforcement learning. Finally, research challenges and open problems of MORL techniques are highlighted.

HWDA: A coherence recognition and resolution algorithm for hybrid web data aggregation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Shuhang; Wang, Jian; Wang, Tong

2017-09-01

Aiming at the object confliction recognition and resolution problem for hybrid distributed data stream aggregation, a distributed data stream object coherence solution technology is proposed. Firstly, the framework was defined for the object coherence conflict recognition and resolution, named HWDA. Secondly, an object coherence recognition technology was proposed based on formal language description logic and hierarchical dependency relationship between logic rules. Thirdly, a conflict traversal recognition algorithm was proposed based on the defined dependency graph. Next, the conflict resolution technology was prompted based on resolution pattern matching including the definition of the three types of conflict, conflict resolution matching pattern and arbitration resolution method. At last, the experiment use two kinds of web test data sets to validate the effect of application utilizing the conflict recognition and resolution technology of HWDA.

The Stratway Program for Strategic Conflict Resolution: User's Guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagen, George E.; Butler, Ricky W.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.

2016-01-01

Stratway is a strategic conflict detection and resolution program. It provides both intent-based conflict detection and conflict resolution for a single ownship in the presence of multiple traffic aircraft and weather cells defined by moving polygons. It relies on a set of heuristic search strategies to solve conflicts. These strategies are user configurable through multiple parameters. The program can be called from other programs through an application program interface (API) and can also be executed from a command line.

Interparental Conflict and Parental Divorce: The Individual, Relative, and Interactive Effects on Adolescents across Four Years.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forehand, Rex; And Others

1994-01-01

Describes investigation examining individual, relative, and interactive influences of parental divorce and interparental conflict on adolescent functioning. Results demonstrate that multiple areas of functioning in multiple years were predicted by parental divorce, current interparental conflict, and interaction of both variables. (CRR)

Analysing the diffusion and adoption of mobile IT across social worlds.

PubMed

Nielsen, Jeppe Agger; Mengiste, Shegaw Anagaw

2014-06-01

The diffusion and adoption of information technology innovations (e.g. mobile information technology) in healthcare organizations involves a dynamic process of change with multiple stakeholders with competing interests, varying commitments, and conflicting values. Nevertheless, the extant literature on mobile information technology diffusion and adoption has predominantly focused on organizations and individuals as the unit of analysis, with little emphasis on the environment in which healthcare organizations are embedded. We propose the social worlds approach as a promising theoretical lens for dealing with this limitation together with reports from a case study of a mobile information technology innovation in elderly home care in Denmark including both the sociopolitical and organizational levels in the analysis. Using the notions of social worlds, trajectories, and boundary objects enables us to show how mobile information technology innovation in Danish home care can facilitate negotiation and collaboration across different social worlds in one setting while becoming a source of tension and conflicts in others. The trajectory of mobile information technology adoption was shaped by influential stakeholders in the Danish home care sector. Boundary objects across multiple social worlds legitimized the adoption, but the use arrangement afforded by the new technology interfered with important aspects of home care practices, creating resistance among the healthcare personnel.

Comprehending Multiple Documents on Scientific Controversies: Effects of Reading Goals and Signaling Rhetorical Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stadtler, Marc; Scharrer, Lisa; Skodzik, Timo; Bromme, Rainer

2014-01-01

Understanding conflicts between sources is an inherent part of science text comprehension. We examined whether readers' memories for conflicts and their situational interpretation of conflicts would be affected by reading goals and lexical cue phrases that signal rhetorical relationships. To this end, 198 undergraduates read multiple documents on…

Design of an Evolutionary Approach for Intrusion Detection

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

A novel evolutionary approach is proposed for effective intrusion detection based on benchmark datasets. The proposed approach can generate a pool of noninferior individual solutions and ensemble solutions thereof. The generated ensembles can be used to detect the intrusions accurately. For intrusion detection problem, the proposed approach could consider conflicting objectives simultaneously like detection rate of each attack class, error rate, accuracy, diversity, and so forth. The proposed approach can generate a pool of noninferior solutions and ensembles thereof having optimized trade-offs values of multiple conflicting objectives. In this paper, a three-phase, approach is proposed to generate solutions to a simple chromosome design in the first phase. In the first phase, a Pareto front of noninferior individual solutions is approximated. In the second phase of the proposed approach, the entire solution set is further refined to determine effective ensemble solutions considering solution interaction. In this phase, another improved Pareto front of ensemble solutions over that of individual solutions is approximated. The ensemble solutions in improved Pareto front reported improved detection results based on benchmark datasets for intrusion detection. In the third phase, a combination method like majority voting method is used to fuse the predictions of individual solutions for determining prediction of ensemble solution. Benchmark datasets, namely, KDD cup 1999 and ISCX 2012 dataset, are used to demonstrate and validate the performance of the proposed approach for intrusion detection. The proposed approach can discover individual solutions and ensemble solutions thereof with a good support and a detection rate from benchmark datasets (in comparison with well-known ensemble methods like bagging and boosting). In addition, the proposed approach is a generalized classification approach that is applicable to the problem of any field having multiple conflicting objectives, and a dataset can be represented in the form of labelled instances in terms of its features. PMID:24376390

Conflict between object structural and functional affordances in peripersonal space.

PubMed

Kalénine, Solène; Wamain, Yannick; Decroix, Jérémy; Coello, Yann

2016-10-01

Recent studies indicate that competition between conflicting action representations slows down planning of object-directed actions. The present study aims to assess whether similar conflict effects exist during manipulable object perception. Twenty-six young adults performed reach-to-grasp and semantic judgements on conflictual objects (with competing structural and functional gestures) and non-conflictual objects (with similar structural and functional gestures) presented at difference distances in a 3D virtual environment. Results highlight a space-dependent conflict between structural and functional affordances. Perceptual judgments on conflictual objects were slower that perceptual judgments on non-conflictual objects, but only when objects were presented within reach. Findings demonstrate that competition between structural and functional affordances during object perception induces a processing cost, and further show that object position in space can bias affordance competition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Decomposition-Based Decision Making for Aerospace Vehicle Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borer, Nicholas K.; Mavris, DImitri N.

2005-01-01

Most practical engineering systems design problems have multiple and conflicting objectives. Furthermore, the satisfactory attainment level for each objective ( requirement ) is likely uncertain early in the design process. Systems with long design cycle times will exhibit more of this uncertainty throughout the design process. This is further complicated if the system is expected to perform for a relatively long period of time, as now it will need to grow as new requirements are identified and new technologies are introduced. These points identify a need for a systems design technique that enables decision making amongst multiple objectives in the presence of uncertainty. Traditional design techniques deal with a single objective or a small number of objectives that are often aggregates of the overarching goals sought through the generation of a new system. Other requirements, although uncertain, are viewed as static constraints to this single or multiple objective optimization problem. With either of these formulations, enabling tradeoffs between the requirements, objectives, or combinations thereof is a slow, serial process that becomes increasingly complex as more criteria are added. This research proposal outlines a technique that attempts to address these and other idiosyncrasies associated with modern aerospace systems design. The proposed formulation first recasts systems design into a multiple criteria decision making problem. The now multiple objectives are decomposed to discover the critical characteristics of the objective space. Tradeoffs between the objectives are considered amongst these critical characteristics by comparison to a probabilistic ideal tradeoff solution. The proposed formulation represents a radical departure from traditional methods. A pitfall of this technique is in the validation of the solution: in a multi-objective sense, how can a decision maker justify a choice between non-dominated alternatives? A series of examples help the reader to observe how this technique can be applied to aerospace systems design and compare the results of this so-called Decomposition-Based Decision Making to more traditional design approaches.

Comprehension of Multiple Documents with Conflicting Information: A Two-Step Model of Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richter, Tobias; Maier, Johanna

2017-01-01

In this article, we examine the cognitive processes that are involved when readers comprehend conflicting information in multiple texts. Starting from the notion of routine validation during comprehension, we argue that readers' prior beliefs may lead to a biased processing of conflicting information and a one-sided mental model of controversial…

A method for optimizing multi-objective reservoir operation upon human and riverine ecosystem demands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ai, Xueshan; Dong, Zuo; Mo, Mingzhu

2017-04-01

The optimal reservoir operation is in generally a multi-objective problem. In real life, most of the reservoir operation optimization problems involve conflicting objectives, for which there is no single optimal solution which can simultaneously gain an optimal result of all the purposes, but rather a set of well distributed non-inferior solutions or Pareto frontier exists. On the other hand, most of the reservoirs operation rules is to gain greater social and economic benefits at the expense of ecological environment, resulting to the destruction of riverine ecology and reduction of aquatic biodiversity. To overcome these drawbacks, this study developed a multi-objective model for the reservoir operating with the conflicting functions of hydroelectric energy generation, irrigation and ecological protection. To solve the model with the objectives of maximize energy production, maximize the water demand satisfaction rate of irrigation and ecology, we proposed a multi-objective optimization method of variable penalty coefficient (VPC), which was based on integrate dynamic programming (DP) with discrete differential dynamic programming (DDDP), to generate a well distributed non-inferior along the Pareto front by changing the penalties coefficient of different objectives. This method was applied to an existing China reservoir named Donggu, through a course of a year, which is a multi-annual storage reservoir with multiple purposes. The case study results showed a good relationship between any two of the objectives and a good Pareto optimal solutions, which provide a reference for the reservoir decision makers.

43 CFR 3802.4-3 - Multiple-use conflicts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR MINERALS MANAGEMENT (3000) MINING CLAIMS UNDER THE GENERAL MINING LAWS Exploration and Mining, Wilderness Review Program § 3802.4-3 Multiple-use conflicts. In the event that uses...

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…

Youth Reports of Parents’ Romantic Relationship Quality: Links to Physical Health

PubMed Central

Abbas, Tazeen; Zilioli, Samuele; Tobin, Erin T.; Imami, Ledina; Kane, Heidi S.; Saleh, Daniel J.; Slatcher, Richard B.

2016-01-01

Objective Prior work has shown that negative aspects (e.g., conflict) of marriage or marriage-like relationships are associated with poor health of offspring, but much less is known about the effects of positive aspects (e.g., affection) of parental romantic relationships. This study investigated links between conflict and affection within parents’ romantic relationships and the health of youth with asthma. Method Eighty youths with asthma aged 10-17 answered daily questions over a 4-day period about conflict and affection within their parents’ romantic relationship, as well as their own daily mood, asthma symptoms, and expiratory peak flow. Results Multiple regression analyses revealed that romantic affection—but not conflict—was directly associated with higher expiratory peak flow. Further, there was a significant indirect effect of romantic affection via youth positive affect on lower asthma symptoms. Conclusion These results are the first to our knowledge to demonstrate that youth-reported positive characteristics of parents’ romantic relationships are associated with better health among youth with asthma. PMID:26998733

Game Theoretic Resolution of Water Conflicts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyagi, H.; Gosain, A. K.; Khosa, R.

2017-12-01

Water disputes are of multi-disciplinary nature and involve an array of natural, hydrological,social, political and economic issues. Operations Research based decision making methodshave been found to facilitate mathematical analysis of such multifaceted problems thatconsist of multiple stakeholders and their conflicting objectives. Game Theoretic techniqueslike Metagame and Hypergame Analysis can provide a framework for conceptualizing waterconflicts and envisaging their potential solutions. In the present research, firstly a Metagamemodel has been developed to identify range of plausible equilibrium outcomes for resolvingconflicts pertaining to water apportionments in a transboundary watercourse. Further, it hasbeen observed that the contenders often hide their strategies from other players to getfavorable water allocations. Consequently, there are widespread misinterpretations about thetactics of the competitors and contenders have to formulate their strategies entirely based ontheir perception about others. Accordingly, a Hypergame study has also been conducted tomodel the probable misperceptions that may exist amongst the river riparians. Thus, thecurrent study assesses the efficacy of Game Theoretic techniques as possible redressalmechanism for water conflicts.

[The power of the notion of resistance in the mental health field: a case study on the life of rural communities whitin the Colombian armed conflict].

PubMed

Arias López, Beatriz Elena

2014-08-01

The objective of this study is to identify individual, family and/or community responses of resistance within protracted armed conflict. We conducted a case study with members of rural communities in the municipality of San Francisco, in the eastern area of Antioquia, Colombia, combining biographical and ethnographical approaches. The primary results show that, along with the suffering generated by the experience of armed conflict, rural community members also display a repertoire of multiple and diverse resistance strategies. Resistance is for them an active response and a way to re-weave the fabric torn by the experience. As a type of affirmative opposition, resistance is a powerful category for the entire mental health field, in that it highlights the creativity and capacity for transformation of individuals. In this way, the category allows for overcoming the limits of the conventional biomedical view that tends to pathologize individual and social responses in scenarios of severe distress.

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

Games With Estimation of Non-Damage Objectives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Canavan, G.H.

1998-09-14

Games against nature illustrate the role of non-damage objectives in producing conflict with uncertain rewards and the role of probing and estimation in reducing that uncertainty and restoring optimal strategies. This note discusses two essential elements of the analysis of crisis stability omitted from current treatments based on first strike stability: the role of an objective that motivates conflicts sufficiently serious to lead to conflicts, and the process of sequential interactions that could cause those conflicts to deepen. Games against nature illustrate role of objectives and uncertainty that are at the core of detailed treatments of crisis stability. These modelsmore » can also illustrate how these games processes can generate and deepen crises and the optimal strategies that might be used to end them. This note discusses two essential elements of the analysis of crisis stability that are omitted from current treatments based on first strike stability: anon-damage objective that motivates conflicts sufficiently serious to lead to conflicts, and the process of sequential tests that could cause those conflicts to deepen. The model used is a game against nature, simplified sufficiently to make the role of each of those elements obvious.« less

MONSS: A multi-objective nonlinear simplex search approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapotecas-Martínez, Saúl; Coello Coello, Carlos A.

2016-01-01

This article presents a novel methodology for dealing with continuous box-constrained multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). The proposed algorithm adopts a nonlinear simplex search scheme in order to obtain multiple elements of the Pareto optimal set. The search is directed by a well-distributed set of weight vectors, each of which defines a scalarization problem that is solved by deforming a simplex according to the movements described by Nelder and Mead's method. Considering an MOP with n decision variables, the simplex is constructed using n+1 solutions which minimize different scalarization problems defined by n+1 neighbor weight vectors. All solutions found in the search are used to update a set of solutions considered to be the minima for each separate problem. In this way, the proposed algorithm collectively obtains multiple trade-offs among the different conflicting objectives, while maintaining a proper representation of the Pareto optimal front. In this article, it is shown that a well-designed strategy using just mathematical programming techniques can be competitive with respect to the state-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms against which it was compared.

Conflict in object affordance revealed by grip force

PubMed Central

McBride, Jennifer; Sumner, Petroc; Husain, Masud

2011-01-01

Viewing objects can result in automatic, partial activation of motor plans associated with them—“object affordance”. Here, we recorded grip force simultaneously from both hands in an object affordance task to investigate the effects of conflict between coactivated responses. Participants classified pictures of objects by squeezing force transducers with their left or right hand. Responses were faster on trials where the object afforded an action with the same hand that was required to make the response (congruent trials) compared to the opposite hand (incongruent trials). In addition, conflict between coactivated responses was reduced if it was experienced on the preceding trial, just like Gratton adaptation effects reported in “conflict” tasks (e.g., Eriksen flanker). This finding suggests that object affordance demonstrates conflict effects similar to those shown in other stimulus–response mapping tasks and thus could be integrated into the wider conceptual framework on overlearnt stimulus–response associations. Corrected erroneous responses occurred more frequently when there was conflict between the afforded response and the response required by the task, providing direct evidence that viewing an object activates motor plans appropriate for interacting with that object. Recording continuous grip force, as here, provides a sensitive way to measure coactivated responses in affordance tasks. PMID:21824035

Collaborative environmental projects in a multicultural society: working from within separate or mutual landscapes?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tal, Tali; Alkaher, Iris

2010-06-01

A multicultural socio-environmental project that is framed in the ideas of education for sustainability brought together Jew and Arab students was investigated to identify the participants' views of the program's objectives and their accomplishments. We investigated the project's strengths and weaknesses according to the participants' views and the way culturally diverse students addressed the main local socio-environmental conflict related to conservation versus development of a local creek. The participants agreed that the environmental objectives were properly attained, while the social objectives were accomplished to a limited extent. All the participants emphasized the importance of multicultural knowledge and expected to learn and work together. We found different views of the Jewish and the Arab participants regarding expectations, collaboration and overall satisfaction, with higher expectations of the Arab students and leaders. The students' views of the local conflict varied but were not associated with their ethnic background. We suggest that the differences between the groups result from the different positions and needs of each community, and mainly as a consequence of the difficulties that the Arab minority faces in Israel. Overall, we found that the project allowed the expression of multiple voices of both groups, and suggested an applicable program for education for sustainability in a multicultural society. [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.][InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.

Evaluating a collaborative IT based research and development project.

PubMed

Khan, Zaheer; Ludlow, David; Caceres, Santiago

2013-10-01

In common with all projects, evaluating an Information Technology (IT) based research and development project is necessary in order to discover whether or not the outcomes of the project are successful. However, evaluating large-scale collaborative projects is especially difficult as: (i) stakeholders from different countries are involved who, almost inevitably, have diverse technological and/or application domain backgrounds and objectives; (ii) multiple and sometimes conflicting application specific and user-defined requirements exist; and (iii) multiple and often conflicting technological research and development objectives are apparent. In this paper, we share our experiences based on the large-scale integrated research project - The HUMBOLDT project - with project duration of 54 months, involving contributions from 27 partner organisations, plus 4 sub-contractors from 14 different European countries. In the HUMBOLDT project, a specific evaluation methodology was defined and utilised for the user evaluation of the project outcomes. The user evaluation performed on the HUMBOLDT Framework and its associated nine application scenarios from various application domains, resulted in not only an evaluation of the integrated project, but also revealed the benefits and disadvantages of the evaluation methodology. This paper presents the evaluation methodology, discusses in detail the process of applying it to the HUMBOLDT project and provides an in-depth analysis of the results, which can be usefully applied to other collaborative research projects in a variety of domains. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient perspectives on physician conflict of interest in industry-sponsored clinical trials for multiple sclerosis therapeutics.

PubMed

Solomon, Andrew J; Klein, Eran P; Corboy, John R; Bernat, James L

2015-10-01

Pharmaceutical industry financial support of physicians, physician practices, and academic departments involved in multicenter industry-sponsored clinical trials of novel therapeutic agents is a relatively new and infrequently acknowledged source of potential physician conflict of interest. Detailed disclosure of these relationships to study participants is not uniformly a part of informed consent and documentation practices. To understand attitudes of patients with multiple sclerosis concerning disclosure of potential physician-industry conflicts of interest created by clinical trials and how such disclosures may influence study participation An anonymous online instrument was developed. 597 people with multiple sclerosis participated in the study. The study found that detailed disclosure of conflicts of interest is important to potential participants in industry-sponsored clinical trials for multiple sclerosis therapies and that the presence of these conflicts of interest may influence patients' decisions to participate in these studies. Findings from this study support a call for uniform guidelines regarding disclosure of physician-industry relationships to prospective research participants for industry-sponsored clinical trials. © The Author(s), 2015.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zitney, S.E.

This paper highlights the use of the CAPE-OPEN (CO) standard interfaces in the Advanced Process Engineering Co-Simulator (APECS) developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The APECS system uses the CO unit operation, thermodynamic, and reaction interfaces to provide its plug-and-play co-simulation capabilities, including the integration of process simulation with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. APECS also relies heavily on the use of a CO COM/CORBA bridge for running process/CFD co-simulations on multiple operating systems. For process optimization in the face of multiple and some time conflicting objectives, APECS offers stochastic modeling and multi-objective optimization capabilities developed to complymore » with the CO software standard. At NETL, system analysts are applying APECS to a wide variety of advanced power generation systems, ranging from small fuel cell systems to commercial-scale power plants including the coal-fired, gasification-based FutureGen power and hydrogen production plant.« less

Who is 'who' in dissociation?: A plea for psychodynamics in a time of trauma.

PubMed

Gullestad, Siri Erika

2005-06-01

Contemporary theories of dissociation and trauma for the most part have evolved outside of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalytic writings have also been regarded as being in opposition to trauma-based notions of human psychopathology. The specific psychoanalytic contribution--the emphasis on unconscious conflict and meaning--is for the most part excluded from the discourse on dissociation, often resulting in a 'mechanic' conceptualisation of trauma. In this paper, based on clinical material, the author argues in favour of including conflict, unconscious intention and personal meaning in understanding the kind of dissociation we see in cases of multiple personality pathology. Textual analysis of letters written to the analyst illustrates how events of abuse are defensively elaborated. The author demonstrates that patterns of affect regulation and dominant object-relational strategies can be captured through analysis of the discourse structure. She focuses on how an organised character pattern, revealed mainly through narrative style and the analyst's countertransference, serves protective purposes as well as wish-fulfillment. She argues that dissociation in the form of multiple personalities may imply an active, strategic agent.

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…

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)…

Addressing wild turkey population declines using structured decision making

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, Kelly F.; Fuller, Angela K.; Schiavone, Michael V.; Swift, Bryan L.; Diefenbach, Duane R.; Siemer, William F.; Decker, Daniel J.

2017-01-01

We present a case study from New York, USA, of the use of structured decision making (SDM) to identify fall turkey harvest regulations that best meet stakeholder objectives, in light of recent apparent declines in abundance of wild turkeys in the northeastern United States. We used the SDM framework to incorporate the multiple objectives associated with turkey hunting, stakeholder desires, and region-specific ecological and environmental factors that could influence fall harvest. We identified a set of 4 fall harvest regulations, composed of different season lengths and bag limits, and evaluated their relative achievement of the objectives. We used a stochastic turkey population model, statistical modeling, and expert elicitation to evaluate the consequences of each harvest regulation on each of the objectives. We conducted a statewide mail survey of fall turkey hunters in New York to gather the necessary information to evaluate tradeoffs among multiple objectives associated with hunter satisfaction. The optimal fall harvest regulation was a 2-week season and allowed for the harvest of 1 bird/hunter. This regulation was the most conservative of those evaluated, reflecting the concerns about recent declines in turkey abundance among agency wildlife biologists and the hunting public. Depending on the region of the state, the 2-week, 1-bird regulation was predicted to result in 7–32% more turkeys on the landscape after 5 years. The SDM process provided a transparent framework for setting fall turkey harvest regulations and reduced potential stakeholder conflict by explicitly taking the multiple objectives of different stakeholder groups into account.

Task-dependent response conflict monitoring and cognitive control in anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices.

PubMed

Kim, Chobok; Chung, Chongwook; Kim, Jeounghoon

2013-11-06

Previous experience affects our behavior in terms of adjustments. It has been suggested that the conflict monitor-controller system implemented in the prefrontal cortex plays a critical role in such adjustments. Previous studies suggested that there exists multiple conflict monitor-controller systems associated with the level of information (i.e., stimulus and response levels). In this study, we sought to test whether different types of conflicts occur at the same information processing level (i.e., response level) are independently processed. For this purpose, we designed a task paradigm to measure two different types of response conflicts using color-based and location-based conflict stimuli and measured the conflict adaptation effects associated with the two types of conflicts either independently (i.e., single conflict conditions) or simultaneously (i.e., a double-conflict condition). The behavioral results demonstrated that performance on current incongruent trials was faster only when the preceding trial was the same type of response conflict regardless of whether they included a single- or double-conflict. Imaging data also showed that anterior cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices operate in a task-specific manner. These findings suggest that there may be multiple monitor-controller loops for color-based and location-based conflicts even at the same response level. Importantly, our results suggest that double-conflict processing is qualitatively different from single-conflict processing although double-conflict shares the same sources of conflict with two single-conflict conditions. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.

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

Integrating Multiple Criteria Evaluation and GIS in Ecotourism: a Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohd, Z. H.; Ujang, U.

2016-09-01

The concept of 'Eco-tourism' is increasingly heard in recent decades. Ecotourism is one adventure that environmentally responsible intended to appreciate the nature experiences and cultures. Ecotourism should have low impact on environment and must contribute to the prosperity of local residents. This article reviews the use of Multiple Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and Geographic Information System (GIS) in ecotourism. Multiple criteria evaluation mostly used to land suitability analysis or fulfill specific objectives based on various attributes that exist in the selected area. To support the process of environmental decision making, the application of GIS is used to display and analysis the data through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Integration between MCE and GIS tool is important to determine the relative weight for the criteria used objectively. With the MCE method, it can resolve the conflict between recreation and conservation which is to minimize the environmental and human impact. Most studies evidences that the GIS-based AHP as a multi criteria evaluation is a strong and effective in tourism planning which can aid in the development of ecotourism industry effectively.

A comparison of recreation conflict factors for different water-based recreation activities

Treesearch

Cheng-Ping Wang; Chad P. Dawson

2001-01-01

Previous studies point out recreation conflict may be affected by recreation goals, resource specificity, activity style, mode of experience, lifestyle tolerance, norms, problems perceived, visitor values and conflict sensitivity. However, people engaging in single or multiple activities may have different patterns when considering recreation conflict. A study of...

Marine Spatial Planning Makes Room for Offshore Aquaculture in a Crowded Coastal Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, J.

2016-12-01

Offshore aquaculture is an emerging industry predicted to contribute significantly to global seafood production and food security. However, aquaculture farms can generate conflicts by displacing existing ocean user groups and impacting ecosystems. Further, there are multiple farm types with different seafood species, productivity levels and impacts. Thus, it is important to strategically and simultaneously plan farm type and location in relation to the seascape in order to most effectively maximize aquaculture value while also minimizing conflicts and environmental impacts. We address this problem and demonstrate the value of multi-objective planning with a case study that integrates bioeconomic modeling with ecosystem service tradeoff analysis to inform the marine spatial planning (MSP) of mussel, finfish and kelp aquaculture farms in the already-crowded Southern California Bight (SCB) ecosystem. We considered four user groups predicted to conflict with or be impacted by the three types of aquaculture: wild-capture fisheries, ocean viewshed from coastal properties, marine benthic habitat protection, and risk of disease outbreak between farms. Results indicate that significant conflicts and impacts, expected under conventional planning, can be reduced by strategic planning. For example, 28% of potential mussel farm sites overlap with wild-capture halibut fishery grounds, yet MSP can enable mussel aquaculture to generate up to a third of its total potential industry value without impacting halibut fishery yield. Results also highlight hotspot areas in the SCB most appropriate for each type of aquaculture under MSP, as well as particular mussel, finfish and kelp aquaculture spatial plans that align with legislative regulations on allowable impacts from future aquaculture farms in California. This study comprehensively informs aquaculture farm design in the SCB, and demonstrates the value of multi-objective simultaneous planning as a key component in MSP.

Marine Spatial Planning Makes Room for Offshore Aquaculture in a Crowded Coastal Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, J.

2016-02-01

Offshore aquaculture is an emerging industry predicted to contribute significantly to global seafood production and food security. However, aquaculture farms can generate conflicts by displacing existing ocean user groups and impacting ecosystems. Further, there are multiple farm types with different seafood species, productivity levels and impacts. Thus, it is important to strategically and simultaneously plan farm type and location in relation to the seascape in order to most effectively maximize aquaculture value while also minimizing conflicts and environmental impacts. We address this problem and demonstrate the value of multi-objective planning with a case study that integrates bioeconomic modeling with ecosystem service tradeoff analysis to inform the marine spatial planning (MSP) of mussel, finfish and kelp aquaculture farms in the already-crowded Southern California Bight (SCB) ecosystem. We considered four user groups predicted to conflict with or be impacted by the three types of aquaculture: wild-capture fisheries, ocean viewshed from coastal properties, marine benthic habitat protection, and risk of disease outbreak between farms. Results indicate that significant conflicts and impacts, expected under conventional planning, can be reduced by strategic planning. For example, 28% of potential mussel farm sites overlap with wild-capture halibut fishery grounds, yet MSP can enable mussel aquaculture to generate up to a third of its total potential industry value without impacting halibut fishery yield. Results also highlight hotspot areas in the SCB most appropriate for each type of aquaculture under MSP, as well as particular mussel, finfish and kelp aquaculture spatial plans that align with legislative regulations on allowable impacts from future aquaculture farms in California. This study comprehensively informs aquaculture farm design in the SCB, and demonstrates the value of multi-objective simultaneous planning as a key component in MSP.

Robust cue integration: a Bayesian model and evidence from cue-conflict studies with stereoscopic and figure cues to slant.

PubMed

Knill, David C

2007-05-23

Most research on depth cue integration has focused on stimulus regimes in which stimuli contain the small cue conflicts that one might expect to normally arise from sensory noise. In these regimes, linear models for cue integration provide a good approximation to system performance. This article focuses on situations in which large cue conflicts can naturally occur in stimuli. We describe a Bayesian model for nonlinear cue integration that makes rational inferences about scenes across the entire range of possible cue conflicts. The model derives from the simple intuition that multiple properties of scenes or causal factors give rise to the image information associated with most cues. To make perceptual inferences about one property of a scene, an ideal observer must necessarily take into account the possible contribution of these other factors to the information provided by a cue. In the context of classical depth cues, large cue conflicts most commonly arise when one or another cue is generated by an object or scene that violates the strongest form of constraint that makes the cue informative. For example, when binocularly viewing a slanted trapezoid, the slant interpretation of the figure derived by assuming that the figure is rectangular may conflict greatly with the slant suggested by stereoscopic disparities. An optimal Bayesian estimator incorporates the possibility that different constraints might apply to objects in the world and robustly integrates cues with large conflicts by effectively switching between different internal models of the prior constraints underlying one or both cues. We performed two experiments to test the predictions of the model when applied to estimating surface slant from binocular disparities and the compression cue (the aspect ratio of figures in an image). The apparent weight that subjects gave to the compression cue decreased smoothly as a function of the conflict between the cues but did not shrink to zero; that is, subjects did not fully veto the compression cue at large cue conflicts. A Bayesian model that assumes a mixed prior distribution of figure shapes in the world, with a large proportion being very regular and a smaller proportion having random shapes, provides a good quantitative fit for subjects' performance. The best fitting model parameters are consistent with the sensory noise to be expected in measurements of figure shape, further supporting the Bayesian model as an account of robust cue integration.

Prospective relations between family conflict and adolescent maladjustment: security in the family system as a mediating process.

PubMed

Cummings, E Mark; Koss, Kalsea J; Davies, Patrick T

2015-04-01

Conflict in specific family systems (e.g., interparental, parent-child) has been implicated in the development of a host of adjustment problems in adolescence, but little is known about the impact of family conflict involving multiple family systems. Furthermore, questions remain about the effects of family conflict on symptoms of specific disorders and adjustment problems and the processes mediating these effects. The present study prospectively examines the impact of family conflict and emotional security about the family system on adolescent symptoms of specific disorders and adjustment problems, including the development of symptoms of anxiety, depression, conduct problems, and peer problems. Security in the family system was examined as a mediator of these relations. Participants included 295 mother-father-adolescent families (149 girls) participating across three annual time points (grades 7-9). Including auto-regressive controls for initial levels of emotional insecurity and multiple adjustment problems (T1), higher-order emotional insecurity about the family system (T2) mediated relations between T1 family conflict and T3 peer problems, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Further analyses supported specific patterns of emotional security/insecurity (i.e., security, disengagement, preoccupation) as mediators between family conflict and specific domains of adolescent adjustment. Family conflict was thus found to prospectively predict the development of symptoms of multiple specific adjustment problems, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, conduct problems, and peer problems, by elevating in in adolescent's emotional insecurity about the family system. The clinical implications of these findings are considered.

THE ROLE OF THE HIPPOCAMPUS IN OBJECT DISCRIMINATION BASED ON VISUAL FEATURES.

PubMed

Levcik, David; Nekovarova, Tereza; Antosova, Eliska; Stuchlik, Ales; Klement, Daniel

2018-06-07

The role of rodent hippocampus has been intensively studied in different cognitive tasks. However, its role in discrimination of objects remains controversial due to conflicting findings. We tested whether the number and type of features available for the identification of objects might affect the strategy (hippocampal-independent vs. hippocampal-dependent) that rats adopt to solve object discrimination tasks. We trained rats to discriminate 2D visual objects presented on a computer screen. The objects were defined either by their shape only or by multiple-features (a combination of filling pattern and brightness in addition to the shape). Our data showed that objects displayed as simple geometric shapes are not discriminated by trained rats after their hippocampi had been bilaterally inactivated by the GABA A -agonist muscimol. On the other hand, objects containing a specific combination of non-geometric features in addition to the shape are discriminated even without the hippocampus. Our results suggest that the involvement of the hippocampus in visual object discrimination depends on the abundance of object's features. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

[Multiple-Victimisation due to Armed Conflict and Emotional Distress in the State of Magdalena, Colombia].

PubMed

Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Sanabria, Adriana R; Ospino, Anyelly; Guerra, Valeria M; Caamaño, Beatriz H

Emotional distress is common in Colombian armed conflict victims. Multiple-victimisation is associated with an increase in emotional distress than victimisation due a single event. However, the association between poly-victimisation and emotional distress among victims of the armed conflict in Colombia has not been documented. To study the association between multiple-victimisation and emotional distress in victims of armed conflict in the State of Magdalena, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was designed, with a secondary analysis of registration of the Psychosocial Care Program and Victim Integral Health (PAPSIVI) in the State of Magdalena, from 2013 to 2014. The profile formula grouped demographic variables, victimising events, and a set of symptoms of emotional distress (perceived discrimination, depressive and anxiety-stress). Odds ratio (OR, 95%CI) were established as measures of association. A total of 943 people were included, with 67.4% women, and ages between18 and 94 years (mean 47.9±14.2). A total of 109 (11.7%) suffered from multiple victimisation. Multiple victimisation events were associated with more emotional distress, depressive symptoms (OR=1.5; 95%CI, 1.3-1.8), perceived stigma (OR=1.3; 95%CI, 1.1-1.5), and anxiety-stress (OR=1.2; 95%CI 1.0-1.4) than a single event. There is more emotional distress in multiple victimisations than in a single victimisation event during armed conflict in this region of Colombia. Further studies are required on this topic. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

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.…

Conflict Resolution and Peace Education: Transformations across Disciplines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Candice C., Ed.

2012-01-01

Peace education includes lessons about conflict sources, transformation and resolution. While featuring field-based examples in multiple disciplines, including political science, anthropology, communication, psychology, sociology, counseling, law and teacher training, this book presents real cases of conflict work. Explained are concepts…

Toward a Multiple Perspective in Family Theory and Practice: The Case of Social Exchange Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Conflict Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rank, Mark R.; LeCroy, Craig W.

1983-01-01

Examines the complementarity of three often-used theories in family research: social exchange theory, symbolic interactionism, and conflict theory. Provides a case example in which a multiple perspective is applied to a problem of marital discord. Discusses implications for the clinician. (Author/WAS)

Conflict Frequency within Mother-Child Dyads across Contexts: Links with Attachment Security and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Panfile, Tia M.; Laible, Deborah J.; Eye, Jessica L.

2012-01-01

The current study examined context, attachment, temperament, and gender as predictors of conflict frequency between mothers and their young children. Conflict between 40 mothers and their 36-month-old children was observed during multiple laboratory tasks with varying levels of structure, and the number of dyadic conflict episodes was totaled for…

Road displacement model based on structural mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Xiuqin; Guo, Qingsheng; Zhang, Yi

2006-10-01

Spatial conflict resolution is an important part of cartographic generalization, and it can deal with the problems of having too much information competing for too little space, while feature displacement is a primary operator of map generalization, which aims at resolving the spatial conflicts between neighbor objects especially road features. Considering the road object, this paper explains an idea of displacement based on structural mechanics. In view of spatial conflict problem after road symbolization, it is the buffer zones that are used to detect conflicts, then we focus on each conflicting region, with the finite element method, taking every triangular element for analysis, listing stiffness matrix, gathering system equations and calculating with iteration strategy, and we give the solution to road symbol conflicts. Being like this until all the conflicts in conflicting regions are solved, then we take the whole map into consideration again, conflicts are detected by reusing the buffer zones and solved by displacement operator, so as to all of them are handled.

Multi-criteria decision models for forestry and natural resources management: an annotated bibliography

Treesearch

Joseph E. de Steiguer; Leslie Liberti; Albert Schuler; Bruce Hansen

2003-01-01

Foresters and natural resource managers must balance conflicting objectives when developing land-management plans. Conflicts may encompass economic, environmental, social, cultural, technical, and aesthetic objectives. Selecting the best combination of management uses from numerous objectives is difficult and challenging. Multi-Criteria Decision Models (MCDM) provide a...

Improving Multiple Fault Diagnosability using Possible Conflicts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daigle, Matthew J.; Bregon, Anibal; Biswas, Gautam; Koutsoukos, Xenofon; Pulido, Belarmino

2012-01-01

Multiple fault diagnosis is a difficult problem for dynamic systems. Due to fault masking, compensation, and relative time of fault occurrence, multiple faults can manifest in many different ways as observable fault signature sequences. This decreases diagnosability of multiple faults, and therefore leads to a loss in effectiveness of the fault isolation step. We develop a qualitative, event-based, multiple fault isolation framework, and derive several notions of multiple fault diagnosability. We show that using Possible Conflicts, a model decomposition technique that decouples faults from residuals, we can significantly improve the diagnosability of multiple faults compared to an approach using a single global model. We demonstrate these concepts and provide results using a multi-tank system as a case study.

A conflict analysis of 4D descent strategies in a metered, multiple-arrival route environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Izumi, K. H.; Harris, C. S.

1990-01-01

A conflict analysis was performed on multiple arrival traffic at a typical metered airport. The Flow Management Evaluation Model (FMEM) was used to simulate arrival operations using Denver Stapleton's arrival route structure. Sensitivities of conflict performance to three different 4-D descent strategies (clear-idle Mach/Constant AirSpeed (CAS), constant descent angle Mach/CAS and energy optimal) were examined for three traffic mixes represented by those found at Denver Stapleton, John F. Kennedy and typical en route metering (ERM) airports. The Monte Carlo technique was used to generate simulation entry point times. Analysis results indicate that the clean-idle descent strategy offers the best compromise in overall performance. Performance measures primarily include susceptibility to conflict and conflict severity. Fuel usage performance is extrapolated from previous descent strategy studies.

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.

Universal approximators for multi-objective direct policy search in water reservoir management problems: a comparative analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuliani, Matteo; Mason, Emanuele; Castelletti, Andrea; Pianosi, Francesca

2014-05-01

The optimal operation of water resources systems is a wide and challenging problem due to non-linearities in the model and the objectives, high dimensional state-control space, and strong uncertainties in the hydroclimatic regimes. The application of classical optimization techniques (e.g., SDP, Q-learning, gradient descent-based algorithms) is strongly limited by the dimensionality of the system and by the presence of multiple, conflicting objectives. This study presents a novel approach which combines Direct Policy Search (DPS) and Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) to solve high-dimensional state and control space problems involving multiple objectives. DPS, also known as parameterization-simulation-optimization in the water resources literature, is a simulation-based approach where the reservoir operating policy is first parameterized within a given family of functions and, then, the parameters optimized with respect to the objectives of the management problem. The selection of a suitable class of functions to which the operating policy belong to is a key step, as it might restrict the search for the optimal policy to a subspace of the decision space that does not include the optimal solution. In the water reservoir literature, a number of classes have been proposed. However, many of these rules are based largely on empirical or experimental successes and they were designed mostly via simulation and for single-purpose reservoirs. In a multi-objective context similar rules can not easily inferred from the experience and the use of universal function approximators is generally preferred. In this work, we comparatively analyze two among the most common universal approximators: artificial neural networks (ANN) and radial basis functions (RBF) under different problem settings to estimate their scalability and flexibility in dealing with more and more complex problems. The multi-purpose HoaBinh water reservoir in Vietnam, accounting for hydropower production and flood control, is used as a case study. Preliminary results show that the RBF policy parametrization is more effective than the ANN one. In particular, the approximated Pareto front obtained with RBF control policies successfully explores the full tradeoff space between the two conflicting objectives, while most of the ANN solutions results to be Pareto-dominated by the RBF ones.

Development and validation of the work-family-school role conflicts and role-related social support scales among registered nurses with multiple roles.

PubMed

Xu, Lijuan; Song, Rhayun

2013-10-01

The purpose of this study was to develop work-family-school role conflicts and role-related social support scales, and to validate the psychometrics of those scales among registered nurses with multiple roles. The concepts, generation of items, and the scale domains of work-family-school role conflicts and role-related social support scales were constructed based on a review of the literature. The validity and reliability of the scales were examined by administering them to 201 registered nurses who were recruited from 8 university hospitals in South Korea. The content validity was examined by nursing experts using a content validity index. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to establish the construct validity. The correlation with depression was examined to assess concurrent validity. Finally, internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficients. The work-family-school role conflicts scale comprised ten items with three factors: work-school-to-family conflict (three items), family-school-to-work conflict (three items), and work-family-to-school conflict (four items). The role-related social support scale comprised nine items with three factors: support from family (three items), support from work (three items), and support from school (three items). Cronbach's alphas were 0.83 and 0.76 for the work-family-school role conflicts and role-related social support scales, respectively. Both instruments exhibited acceptable construct and concurrent validity. The validity and reliability of the developed scales indicate their potential usefulness for the assessment of work-family-school role conflict and role-related social support among registered nurses with multiple roles in Korea. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural Optimization for Reliability Using Nonlinear Goal Programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

El-Sayed, Mohamed E.

1999-01-01

This report details the development of a reliability based multi-objective design tool for solving structural optimization problems. Based on two different optimization techniques, namely sequential unconstrained minimization and nonlinear goal programming, the developed design method has the capability to take into account the effects of variability on the proposed design through a user specified reliability design criterion. In its sequential unconstrained minimization mode, the developed design tool uses a composite objective function, in conjunction with weight ordered design objectives, in order to take into account conflicting and multiple design criteria. Multiple design criteria of interest including structural weight, load induced stress and deflection, and mechanical reliability. The nonlinear goal programming mode, on the other hand, provides for a design method that eliminates the difficulty of having to define an objective function and constraints, while at the same time has the capability of handling rank ordered design objectives or goals. For simulation purposes the design of a pressure vessel cover plate was undertaken as a test bed for the newly developed design tool. The formulation of this structural optimization problem into sequential unconstrained minimization and goal programming form is presented. The resulting optimization problem was solved using: (i) the linear extended interior penalty function method algorithm; and (ii) Powell's conjugate directions method. Both single and multi-objective numerical test cases are included demonstrating the design tool's capabilities as it applies to this design problem.

Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process

PubMed Central

Cummings, E. Mark; Koss, Kalsea J.; Davies, Patrick T.

2018-01-01

Conflict in specific family systems (e.g., interparental, parent-child) has been implicated in the development of a host of adjustment problems in adolescence, but little is known about the impact of family conflict involving multiple family systems. Furthermore, questions remain about the effects of family conflict on symptoms of specific disorders and adjustment problems and the processes mediating these effects. The present study prospectively examines the impact of family conflict and emotional security about the family system on adolescent symptoms of specific disorders and adjustment problems, including the development of symptoms of anxiety, depression, conduct problems, and peer problems. Security in the family system was examined as a mediator of these relations. Participants included 295 mother-father-adolescent families (149 girls) participating across three annual time points (grades 7–9). Including auto-regressive controls for initial levels of emotional insecurity and multiple adjustment problems (T1), higher-order emotional insecurity about the family system (T2) mediated relations between T1 family conflict and T3 peer problems, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Further analyses supported specific patterns of emotional security/insecurity (i.e., security, disengagement, preoccupation) as mediators between family conflict and specific domains of adolescent adjustment. Family conflict was thus found to prospectively predict the development of symptoms of multiple specific adjustment problems, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, conduct problems, and peer problems, by elevating in in adolescent’s emotional insecurity about the family system. The clinical implications of these findings are considered. PMID:25131144

Conflicting Community Commitments: A Dialogical Analysis of a British Woman's World War II Diaries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillespie, Alex; Cornish, Flora; Aveling, Emma-Louise; Zittoun, Tania

2008-01-01

Recent developments of the concept of "sense of community" have highlighted the multiplicity of people's senses of community. In this article, the authors introduce the theory of the dialogical self as a means of theorizing the conflicts that can arise between a person's commitments to multiple communities. They ask the question,…

Multi-physics optimization of three-dimensional microvascular polymeric components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aragón, Alejandro M.; Saksena, Rajat; Kozola, Brian D.; Geubelle, Philippe H.; Christensen, Kenneth T.; White, Scott R.

2013-01-01

This work discusses the computational design of microvascular polymeric materials, which aim at mimicking the behavior found in some living organisms that contain a vascular system. The optimization of the topology of the embedded three-dimensional microvascular network is carried out by coupling a multi-objective constrained genetic algorithm with a finite-element based physics solver, the latter validated through experiments. The optimization is carried out on multiple conflicting objective functions, namely the void volume fraction left by the network, the energy required to drive the fluid through the network and the maximum temperature when the material is subjected to thermal loads. The methodology presented in this work results in a viable alternative for the multi-physics optimization of these materials for active-cooling applications.

Robust design of multiple trailing edge flaps for helicopter vibration reduction: A multi-objective bat algorithm approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallick, Rajnish; Ganguli, Ranjan; Seetharama Bhat, M.

2015-09-01

The objective of this study is to determine an optimal trailing edge flap configuration and flap location to achieve minimum hub vibration levels and flap actuation power simultaneously. An aeroelastic analysis of a soft in-plane four-bladed rotor is performed in conjunction with optimal control. A second-order polynomial response surface based on an orthogonal array (OA) with 3-level design describes both the objectives adequately. Two new orthogonal arrays called MGB2P-OA and MGB4P-OA are proposed to generate nonlinear response surfaces with all interaction terms for two and four parameters, respectively. A multi-objective bat algorithm (MOBA) approach is used to obtain the optimal design point for the mutually conflicting objectives. MOBA is a recently developed nature-inspired metaheuristic optimization algorithm that is based on the echolocation behaviour of bats. It is found that MOBA inspired Pareto optimal trailing edge flap design reduces vibration levels by 73% and flap actuation power by 27% in comparison with the baseline design.

Children's representations of multiple family relationships: organizational structure and development in early childhood.

PubMed

Schermerhorn, Alice C; Cummings, E Mark; Davies, Patrick T

2008-02-01

The authors examine mutual family influence processes at the level of children's representations of multiple family relationships, as well as the structure of those representations. From a community sample with 3 waves, each spaced 1 year apart, kindergarten-age children (105 boys and 127 girls) completed a story-stem completion task, tapping representations of multiple family relationships. Structural equation modeling with autoregressive controls indicated that representational processes involving different family relationships were interrelated over time, including links between children's representations of marital conflict and reactions to conflict, between representations of security about marital conflict and parent-child relationships, and between representations of security in father-child and mother-child relationships. Mixed support was found for notions of increasing stability in representations during this developmental period. Results are discussed in terms of notions of transactional family dynamics, including family-wide perspectives on mutual influence processes attributable to multiple family relationships.

Conflict adaptation in prefrontal cortex: now you see it, now you don't.

PubMed

Kim, Chobok; Johnson, Nathan F; Gold, Brian T

2014-01-01

Daily life requires people to monitor and resolve conflict arising from distracting information irrelevant to current goals. The highly influential conflict monitoring theory (CMT) holds that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) detects conflict and subsequently triggers the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to regulate that conflict. Multiple lines of evidence have provided support for CMT. For example, performance is faster on incongruent trials that follow other incongruent trials (iI), and is accompanied by reduced ACC and increased DLPFC activation (the conflict adaptation effect). In this fMRI study, we explored whether ACC-DLPFC conflict signaling can result in behavioral adjustments beyond on-line contexts. Participants completed a modified version of the Stroop conflict adaptation paradigm which tested for conflict adaptation effects on the current (N) trial associated with not only the immediately preceding (N - 1) trial, but also 2-back (N - 2) trials. Results demonstrated evidence for direct relationships between ACC activity on N - 2 trials and both N trial DLPFC activity and behavioral adjustment when intervening trials were congruent (i.e., icI). In contrast, when N - 1 trials were incongruent (i.e., iiI), ACC-DLPFC signaling failed and conflict adaptation was absent. These results provide new evidence demonstrating that the conflict monitor-controller maintains previously experienced conflict in the service of subsequent behavioral adjustment. However, the processing of multiple, temporally proximal conflict signals takes a toll on the working memory (WM) system, which appears to require resetting in order to adapt our behavior to frequently changing environmental demands. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

Identifying potential conflict associated with oil and gas exploration in Texas state coastal waters: A multicriteria spatial analysis.

PubMed

Brody, Samuel D; Grover, Himanshu; Bernhardt, Sarah; Tang, Zhenghong; Whitaker, Bianca; Spence, Colin

2006-10-01

Recent interest in expanding offshore oil production within waters of the United States has been met with opposition by groups concerned with recreational, environmental, and aesthetic values associated with the coastal zone. Although the proposition of new oil platforms off the coast has generated conflict over how coastal resources should be utilized, little research has been conducted on where these user conflicts might be most intense and which sites might be most suitable for locating oil production facilities in light of the multiple, and often times, competing interests. In this article, we develop a multiple-criteria spatial decision support tool that identifies the potential degree of conflict associated with oil and gas production activities for existing lease tracts in the coastal margin of Texas. We use geographic information systems to measure and map a range of potentially competing representative values impacted by establishing energy extraction infrastructure and then spatially identify which leased tracts are the least contentious sites for oil and gas production in Texas state waters. Visual and statistical results indicate that oil and gas lease blocks within the study area vary in their potential to generate conflict among multiple stakeholders.

The nature of conflict between hikers and recreational stock users in the John Muir wilderness

Treesearch

Alan E. Watson; M. J. Niccolucci; Daniel R. Williams

1994-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine the extent of conflict between hikers and recreational stock users in a Sierra Nevada wilderness and to test the relative importance of various hypothetical predictors of conflict using multiple conflict measures. A survey of hikers and recreational stock users of the John Muir Wilderness in California revealed the ability...

Improving the Flexibility of Optimization-Based Decision Aiding Frameworks for Integrated Water Resource Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guillaume, J. H.; Kasprzyk, J. R.

2013-12-01

Deep uncertainty refers to situations in which stakeholders cannot agree on the full suite of risks for their system or their probabilities. Additionally, systems are often managed for multiple, conflicting objectives such as minimizing cost, maximizing environmental quality, and maximizing hydropower revenues. Many objective analysis (MOA) uses a quantitative model combined with evolutionary optimization to provide a tradeoff set of potential solutions to a planning problem. However, MOA is often performed using a single, fixed problem conceptualization. Focus on development of a single formulation can introduce an "inertia" into the problem solution, such that issues outside the initial formulation are less likely to ever be addressed. This study uses the Iterative Closed Question Methodology (ICQM) to continuously reframe the optimization problem, providing iterative definition and reflection for stakeholders. By using a series of directed questions to look beyond a problem's existing modeling representation, ICQM seeks to provide a working environment within which it is easy to modify the motivating question, assumptions, and model identification in optimization problems. The new approach helps identify and reduce bottle-necks introduced by properties of both the simulation model and optimization approach that reduce flexibility in generation and evaluation of alternatives. It can therefore help introduce new perspectives on the resolution of conflicts between objectives. The Lower Rio Grande Valley portfolio planning problem is used as a case study.

The SYMLOG Dimensions and Small Group Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Victor D., Jr.; Galanes, Gloria J.

1986-01-01

Explores the potential usefulness of R.F. Bales' systematic method for the multiple level observation of groups (SYMLOG) by testing the predictive capability of the three SYMLOG dimensions and the amount of member dispersion on each dimension with the amounts of conflict, reported satisfaction, styles of conflict management, and quality of…

Multiple Systems for Cognitive Control: Evidence from a Hybrid Prime-Simon Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlaghecken, Friederike; Refaat, Malik; Maylor, Elizabeth A.

2011-01-01

Cognitive control resolves conflicts between appropriate and inappropriate response tendencies. Is this achieved by a unitary all-purpose conflict control system, or do independent subsystems deal with different aspects of conflicting information? In a fully factorial hybrid prime-Simon task, participants responded to the identity of targets…

Evolutionary Agent-based Models to design distributed water management strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.; Reed, P. M.

2012-12-01

There is growing awareness in the scientific community that the traditional centralized approach to water resources management, as described in much of the water resources literature, provides an ideal optimal solution, which is certainly useful to quantify the best physically achievable performance, but is generally inapplicable. Most real world water resources management problems are indeed characterized by the presence of multiple, distributed and institutionally-independent decision-makers. Multi-Agent Systems provide a potentially more realistic alternative framework to model multiple and self-interested decision-makers in a credible context. Each decision-maker can be represented by an agent who, being self-interested, acts according to local objective functions and produces negative externalities on system level objectives. Different levels of coordination can potentially be included in the framework by designing coordination mechanisms to drive the current decision-making structure toward the global system efficiency. Yet, the identification of effective coordination strategies can be particularly complex in modern institutional contexts and current practice is dependent on largely ad-hoc coordination strategies. In this work we propose a novel Evolutionary Agent-based Modeling (EAM) framework that enables a mapping of fully uncoordinated and centrally coordinated solutions into their relative "many-objective" tradeoffs using multiobjective evolutionary algorithms. Then, by analysing the conflicts between local individual agent and global system level objectives it is possible to more fully understand the causes, consequences, and potential solution strategies for coordination failures. Game-theoretic criteria have value for identifying the most interesting alternatives from a policy making point of view as well as the coordination mechanisms that can be applied to obtain these interesting solutions. The proposed approach is numerically tested on a synthetic case study, representing a Y-shaped system composed by two regulated lakes, whose releases merge just upstream of a city. Each reservoir is operated by an agent in order to prevent floods along the lake shores (local objective). However, the optimal operation of the reservoirs with respect to the local objectives is conflicting with the minimization of floods in the city (global objective). The evolution of the Agent-based Model from individualistic management strategies of the reservoirs toward a global compromise that reduces the costs for the city is analysed.

Conflict Trends and Conflict Drivers: An Empirical Assessment of Historical Conflict Patterns and Future Conflict Projections

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

group may speak multiple languages. It can also be difficult to determine when certain identities in a society are increasing in salience, and when ...Degree of U.S. Preeminence The high relative power of the United States vis-à-vis other major powers in the international state system since the end...also evidence linking phenomena such as high population density, internal migration, and youth bulges with intrastate conflict.47 When combined with

Towards Robust Designs Via Multiple-Objective Optimization Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Man Mohan, Rai

2006-01-01

Fabricating and operating complex systems involves dealing with uncertainty in the relevant variables. In the case of aircraft, flow conditions are subject to change during operation. Efficiency and engine noise may be different from the expected values because of manufacturing tolerances and normal wear and tear. Engine components may have a shorter life than expected because of manufacturing tolerances. In spite of the important effect of operating- and manufacturing-uncertainty on the performance and expected life of the component or system, traditional aerodynamic shape optimization has focused on obtaining the best design given a set of deterministic flow conditions. Clearly it is important to both maintain near-optimal performance levels at off-design operating conditions, and, ensure that performance does not degrade appreciably when the component shape differs from the optimal shape due to manufacturing tolerances and normal wear and tear. These requirements naturally lead to the idea of robust optimal design wherein the concept of robustness to various perturbations is built into the design optimization procedure. The basic ideas involved in robust optimal design will be included in this lecture. The imposition of the additional requirement of robustness results in a multiple-objective optimization problem requiring appropriate solution procedures. Typically the costs associated with multiple-objective optimization are substantial. Therefore efficient multiple-objective optimization procedures are crucial to the rapid deployment of the principles of robust design in industry. Hence the companion set of lecture notes (Single- and Multiple-Objective Optimization with Differential Evolution and Neural Networks ) deals with methodology for solving multiple-objective Optimization problems efficiently, reliably and with little user intervention. Applications of the methodologies presented in the companion lecture to robust design will be included here. The evolutionary method (DE) is first used to solve a relatively difficult problem in extended surface heat transfer wherein optimal fin geometries are obtained for different safe operating base temperatures. The objective of maximizing the safe operating base temperature range is in direct conflict with the objective of maximizing fin heat transfer. This problem is a good example of achieving robustness in the context of changing operating conditions. The evolutionary method is then used to design a turbine airfoil; the two objectives being reduced sensitivity of the pressure distribution to small changes in the airfoil shape and the maximization of the trailing edge wedge angle with the consequent increase in airfoil thickness and strength. This is a relevant example of achieving robustness to manufacturing tolerances and wear and tear in the presence of other objectives.

Work-Family Conflict, Part I: Antecedents of Work-Family Conflict in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A Certified Athletic Trainers

PubMed Central

Mazerolle, Stephanie M; Bruening, Jennifer E; Casa, Douglas J

2008-01-01

Context: Work-family conflict (WFC) involves discord that arises when the demands of work interfere with the demands of family or home life. Long work hours, minimal control over work schedules, and time spent away from home are antecedents to WFC. To date, few authors have examined work-family conflict within the athletic training profession. Objective: To investigate the occurrence of WFC in certified athletic trainers (ATs) and to identify roots and factors leading to quality-of-life issues for ATs working in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A setting. Design: Survey questionnaire and follow-up, in-depth, in-person interviews. Setting: Division I-A universities sponsoring football. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 587 ATs (324 men, 263 women) responded to the questionnaire. Twelve ATs (6 men, 6 women) participated in the qualitative portion: 2 head ATs, 4 assistant ATs, 4 graduate assistant ATs, and 2 AT program directors. Data Collection and Analysis: Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine whether workload and travel predicted levels of WFC. Analyses of variance were calculated to investigate differences among the factors of sex, marital status, and family status. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using computer software as well as member checks and peer debriefing. The triangulation of the data collection and multiple sources of qualitative analysis were utilized to limit potential researcher prejudices. Results: Regression analyses revealed that long work hours and travel directly contributed to WFC. In addition to long hours and travel, inflexible work schedules and staffing patterns were discussed by the interview participants as antecedents to WFC. Regardless of sex (P  =  .142), marital status (P  =  .687), family status (P  =  .055), or age of children (P  =  .633), WFC affected Division I-A ATs. Conclusions: No matter their marital or family status, ATs employed at the Division I-A level experienced difficulties balancing their work and home lives. Sources of conflict primarily stemmed from the consuming nature of the profession, travel, inflexible work schedules, and lack of full-time staff members. PMID:18833313

Collaboration Mechanism for Equipment Instruction of Multiple Energy Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dong; Wang, Tuo; Wang, Qi; Zhang, Zhao; Zhao, Mingyu; Wang, Yinghui

2018-01-01

When multiple energy systems execute optimization instructions simultaneously, and the same equipment is Shared, the instruction conflict may occur. Aiming at the above problems, taking into account the control objectives of each system, the characteristics of different systems, such as comprehensive clean energy, energy efficiency, and peak filling, etc., designed the instruction coordination mechanism for the daemon. This mechanism mainly acts on the main station of the system, and form a final optimization instruction. For some specific scenarios, the collaboration mechanism of unlocking the terminal is supplemented. The mechanism determines the specific execution instructions based on the arrival time of the instruction. Finally, the experiment in Tianjin eco-city shows that this algorithm can meet the instruction and collaboration requirements of multi-energy systems, and ensure the safe operation of the equipment.

Conflicts of interest in divisions of general practice

PubMed Central

Palmer, N; Braunack‐Mayer, A; Rogers, W; Provis, C; Cullity, G

2006-01-01

Community‐based healthcare organisations manage competing, and often conflicting, priorities. These conflicts can arise from the multiple roles these organisations take up, and from the diverse range of stakeholders to whom they must be responsive. Often such conflicts may be titled conflicts of interest; however, what precisely constitutes such conflicts and what should be done about them is not always clear. Clarity about the duties owed by organisations and the roles they assume can help identify and manage some of these conflicts. Taking divisions of general practice in Australia as an example, this paper sets out to distinguish two main types of conflicts of interest, so that they may be more clearly identified and more effectively managed. PMID:17145912

How Team-Level and Individual-Level Conflict Influences Team Commitment: A Multilevel Investigation.

PubMed

Lee, Sanghyun; Kwon, Seungwoo; Shin, Shung J; Kim, MinSoo; Park, In-Jo

2017-01-01

We investigate how two different types of conflict (task conflict and relationship conflict) at two different levels (individual-level and team-level) influence individual team commitment. The analysis was conducted using data we collected from 193 employees in 31 branch offices of a Korean commercial bank. The relationships at multiple levels were tested using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The results showed that individual-level relationship conflict was negatively related to team commitment while individual-level task conflict was not. In addition, both team-level task and relationship conflict were negatively associated with team commitment. Finally, only team-level relationship conflict significantly moderated the relationship between individual-level relationship conflict and team commitment. We further derive theoretical implications of these findings.

How Team-Level and Individual-Level Conflict Influences Team Commitment: A Multilevel Investigation

PubMed Central

Lee, Sanghyun; Kwon, Seungwoo; Shin, Shung J.; Kim, MinSoo; Park, In-Jo

2018-01-01

We investigate how two different types of conflict (task conflict and relationship conflict) at two different levels (individual-level and team-level) influence individual team commitment. The analysis was conducted using data we collected from 193 employees in 31 branch offices of a Korean commercial bank. The relationships at multiple levels were tested using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The results showed that individual-level relationship conflict was negatively related to team commitment while individual-level task conflict was not. In addition, both team-level task and relationship conflict were negatively associated with team commitment. Finally, only team-level relationship conflict significantly moderated the relationship between individual-level relationship conflict and team commitment. We further derive theoretical implications of these findings. PMID:29387033

Design philosophy and operating experience with the WNRE Hot Cell Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hart, R.G.; Seymour, C.G.; Ryz, M.A.

1969-10-15

The objective of radiation safety and operating efficiency often conflict. The key to preventing this conflict is proper design. In this paper we discuss how both objectives have been met in the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment (WNRE) Hot Cell Facilities.

An Analysis of Student Affairs Professionals' Management of Role Conflict and Multiple Roles in Relation to Work/Life Balance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Nicole Lepone

2013-01-01

The purpose of this inquiry is to study how student affairs professionals manage role conflict in relation to work/life balance based on the challenging culture of the field. The underlying goals are to identify the barriers or challenges of managing multiple roles as a student affairs administrator and identify strategies to assist employees in…

One for All and All for One: Using Multiple Identification Theory Simulations to Build Cooperative Attitudes and Behaviors in a Middle Eastern Conflict Scenario

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Robert Howard; Williams, Alexander Jonathan

2010-01-01

The authors previously developed multiple identification theory (MIT) as a system of simulation game design intended to promote attitude change. The present study further tests MIT's effectiveness. The authors created a game (CULTURE & CREED) via MIT as a complex simulation of Middle Eastern conflict resolution, designed to change attitudes…

Memory for Textual Conflicts Predicts Sourcing When Adolescents Read Multiple Expository Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stang Lund, Elisabeth; Bråten, Ivar; Brante, Eva W.; Strømsø, Helge I.

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether memory for conflicting information predicted mental representation of source-content links (i.e., who said what) in a sample of 86 Norwegian adolescent readers. Participants read four texts presenting conflicting claims about sun exposure and health. With differences in gender, prior knowledge, and interest…

Factors of Role Conflict among Livestock Extension Professionals in Andhra Pradesh, India

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasidhar, P. V. K.; Rao, B. Sudhakar; Sreeramulu, Piedy

2008-01-01

To know the factors of role conflict among livestock extension professionals in Andhra Pradesh, India. Study was conducted following ex-post facto research design. Data were collected from 180 respondents through survey questionnaires. The data were subjected to multiple regression and path analyses to know the factors of role conflict.…

Fighting Fair: Adaptive Marital Conflict Strategies as Predictors of Future Adolescent Peer and Romantic Relationship Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miga, Erin M.; Gdula, Julie Ann; Allen, Joseph P.

2012-01-01

This study examined the associations between reasoning during inter-parental conflict and autonomous adolescent conflict negotiation with peers over time. Participants included 133 adolescents and their parents, peers, and romantic partners in a multimethod, multiple reporter, longitudinal study. Inter-parental reasoning at adolescent age of 13…

Conscientious objection: a call to nursing leadership.

PubMed

Ford, Natalie J; Fraser, Kimberly D; Marck, Patricia B

2010-09-01

In this paper we argue that nurse leaders need to work actively to create morally supportive environments for nurses in Canada that provide adequate room to exercise conscientious objection. Morally supportive environments engender a safe atmosphere to engage in open dialogue and action regarding conflict of conscience. The CNA's 2008 Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses has recognized the importance of conscientious objection in nursing and has created key guidelines for the registered nurse to follow when a conflict in conscience is being considered or declared. Nurse leaders need to further develop the understanding of conflicts of conscience through education, well-written guidelines for conscientious objection in workplaces and engagement in research to uncover underlying barriers to the enactment of conscientious objections. With advancements in technology, changing healthcare policies and increasing scope of practice, both reflection and dialogue on conscientious objection are critical for the continuing moral development of nurses in Canada.

Conflict Resolution Unit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busselle, Tish

This 7-day unit, intended for use with secondary students, contains a statement of rationale and objectives, lesson plans, class assignments, teacher and student bibliographies, and suggestions for instructional materials on conflict resolution between individuals, groups, and nations. Among the six objectives listed for the unit are: 1) explain…

Coastal aquifer management under parameter uncertainty: Ensemble surrogate modeling based simulation-optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janardhanan, S.; Datta, B.

2011-12-01

Surrogate models are widely used to develop computationally efficient simulation-optimization models to solve complex groundwater management problems. Artificial intelligence based models are most often used for this purpose where they are trained using predictor-predictand data obtained from a numerical simulation model. Most often this is implemented with the assumption that the parameters and boundary conditions used in the numerical simulation model are perfectly known. However, in most practical situations these values are uncertain. Under these circumstances the application of such approximation surrogates becomes limited. In our study we develop a surrogate model based coupled simulation optimization methodology for determining optimal pumping strategies for coastal aquifers considering parameter uncertainty. An ensemble surrogate modeling approach is used along with multiple realization optimization. The methodology is used to solve a multi-objective coastal aquifer management problem considering two conflicting objectives. Hydraulic conductivity and the aquifer recharge are considered as uncertain values. Three dimensional coupled flow and transport simulation model FEMWATER is used to simulate the aquifer responses for a number of scenarios corresponding to Latin hypercube samples of pumping and uncertain parameters to generate input-output patterns for training the surrogate models. Non-parametric bootstrap sampling of this original data set is used to generate multiple data sets which belong to different regions in the multi-dimensional decision and parameter space. These data sets are used to train and test multiple surrogate models based on genetic programming. The ensemble of surrogate models is then linked to a multi-objective genetic algorithm to solve the pumping optimization problem. Two conflicting objectives, viz, maximizing total pumping from beneficial wells and minimizing the total pumping from barrier wells for hydraulic control of saltwater intrusion are considered. The salinity levels resulting at strategic locations due to these pumping are predicted using the ensemble surrogates and are constrained to be within pre-specified levels. Different realizations of the concentration values are obtained from the ensemble predictions corresponding to each candidate solution of pumping. Reliability concept is incorporated as the percent of the total number of surrogate models which satisfy the imposed constraints. The methodology was applied to a realistic coastal aquifer system in Burdekin delta area in Australia. It was found that all optimal solutions corresponding to a reliability level of 0.99 satisfy all the constraints and as reducing reliability level decreases the constraint violation increases. Thus ensemble surrogate model based simulation-optimization was found to be useful in deriving multi-objective optimal pumping strategies for coastal aquifers under parameter uncertainty.

Feasibility of neuro-morphic computing to emulate error-conflict based decision making.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Branch, Darren W.

2009-09-01

A key aspect of decision making is determining when errors or conflicts exist in information and knowing whether to continue or terminate an action. Understanding the error-conflict processing is crucial in order to emulate higher brain functions in hardware and software systems. Specific brain regions, most notably the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) are known to respond to the presence of conflicts in information by assigning a value to an action. Essentially, this conflict signal triggers strategic adjustments in cognitive control, which serve to prevent further conflict. The most probable mechanism is the ACC reports and discriminates different types of feedback,more » both positive and negative, that relate to different adaptations. Unique cells called spindle neurons that are primarily found in the ACC (layer Vb) are known to be responsible for cognitive dissonance (disambiguation between alternatives). Thus, the ACC through a specific set of cells likely plays a central role in the ability of humans to make difficult decisions and solve challenging problems in the midst of conflicting information. In addition to dealing with cognitive dissonance, decision making in high consequence scenarios also relies on the integration of multiple sets of information (sensory, reward, emotion, etc.). Thus, a second area of interest for this proposal lies in the corticostriatal networks that serve as an integration region for multiple cognitive inputs. In order to engineer neurological decision making processes in silicon devices, we will determine the key cells, inputs, and outputs of conflict/error detection in the ACC region. The second goal is understand in vitro models of corticostriatal networks and the impact of physical deficits on decision making, specifically in stressful scenarios with conflicting streams of data from multiple inputs. We will elucidate the mechanisms of cognitive data integration in order to implement a future corticostriatal-like network in silicon devices for improved decision processing.« less

Imposture, inauthenticity, and feeling fraudulent.

PubMed

Gediman, H K

1985-01-01

This paper deals with imposturous tendencies as ubiquitous and heterogeneous. They may enter into neurotic conflict and compromise, and also reflect an ego function disturbance involving multiple, shifting identities and subsequent problems in the subjective sense of reality of the self and objects. Imposture in a person undergoing analysis is, however, not only a function of individual character and psychopathology; it is also a function of certain inevitable requirements of the analytic situation which constitute a "pull" for its emergence. Vulnerable individuals will respond to this pull in revealing ways. Three case summaries illustrate the spectrum of imposturous tendencies.

Are care plans suitable for the management of multiple conditions?

PubMed Central

Young, Charlotte E.; Boyle, Frances M.; Mutch, Allyson J.

2016-01-01

Background Care plans have been part of the primary care landscape in Australia for almost two decades. With an increasing number of patients presenting with multiple chronic conditions, it is timely to consider whether care plans meet the needs of patients and clinicians. Objectives To review and benchmark existing care plan templates that include recommendations for comorbid conditions, against four key criteria: (i) patient preferences, (ii) setting priorities, (iii) identifying conflicts and synergies between conditions, and (iv) setting dates for reviewing the care plan. Design Document analysis of Australian care plan templates published from 2006 to 2014 that incorporated recommendations for managing comorbid conditions in primary care. Results Sixteen templates were reviewed. All of the care plan templates addressed patient preference, but this was not done comprehensively. Only three templates included setting priorities. None assisted in identifying conflicts and synergies between conditions. Fifteen templates included setting a date for reviewing the care plan. Conclusions Care plans are a well-used tool in primary care practice, but their current format perpetuates a single-disease approach to care, which works contrary to their intended purpose. Restructuring care plans to incorporate shared decision-making and attention to patient preferences may assist in shifting the focus back to the patient and their care needs. PMID:29090181

Integration trumps selection in object recognition.

PubMed

Saarela, Toni P; Landy, Michael S

2015-03-30

Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several "cues" (color, luminance, texture, etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1-3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5-8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10, 11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11, 12], imaging [13-16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17, 18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19-21]. Objects are among the suggested "units" of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19-21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration trumps selection in object recognition

PubMed Central

Saarela, Toni P.; Landy, Michael S.

2015-01-01

Summary Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several “cues” (color, luminance, texture etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1–3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue-invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5–8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10,11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11,12], imaging [13–16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17,18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19–21]. Objects are among the suggested “units” of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19–21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near-optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. PMID:25802154

Adrenocortical Underpinnings of Children's Psychological Reactivity to Interparental Conflict

PubMed Central

Davies, Patrick T.; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L.; Cicchetti, Dante; Cummings, E. Mark

2008-01-01

This study examined interrelationships among children's cortisol reactivity and their psychological reactivity to interparental conflict in a sample of 208 first-graders (mean age = 6.6 years). Assessments of children's psychological reactivity to conflict distinguished among their distress, hostile, and involvement responses across multiple methods (i.e., observation, questionnaire) and informants (i.e., observer, parent). Relative to other forms of conflict reactivity, children's distress responses to interparental conflict were consistent, unique predictors of their elevated cortisol reactivity to interparental conflict even after inclusion of demographic factors as moderators and covariates. Moderator analyses further revealed that associations between distress and elevated cortisol levels in response to interparental conflict were particularly pronounced when children exhibited high levels of involvement in conflicts. PMID:19037943

Balancing multiple roles among a group of urban midlife American Indian working women.

PubMed

Napholz, L

2000-06-01

Presented are the results of a secondary analysis of group data from a study of a six-week role conflict reduction intervention among a group of urban American Indian women (n = 8). The specific aim of this researcher was to understand the process of balancing multiple roles as expressed in the participants' daily lived experiences as mothers, wives, and workers. A construction of the process of balancing multiple roles was accomplished through the use of narratives. Balancing multiple roles represented a major current attempt on the part of the participants to integrate and balance traditional and contemporary feminine strengths in a positive, culturally consistent manner. The study themes included: traditional sex role expectation conflicts, family guilt, guilt management, transitioning inner conflict and stress, breaking the silence-learning to say no, and healing the spirit to reclaim the self. Further support for retraditionalization of roles for this group of Indian women was maintained as an effective means of balancing roles and achieving Indian self-determination.

The Factor Structure of the Work-Family Conflict Multidimensional Scale: Exploring the Expectations of College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaffey, Abigail R.; Rottinghaus, Patrick J.

2009-01-01

Work-family conflict (WFC) has been examined from a unidimensional approach, yet recent research has revealed three types (i.e., time, strain, and behavior) and two directions of work-family conflict. Previous researchers suggested that college students are unable to discern between the multiple-facets of WFC, thus measured anticipated WFC…

Dissociating Conflict Adaptation from Feature Integration: A Multiple Regression Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Notebaert, Wim; Verguts, Tom

2007-01-01

Congruency effects are typically smaller after incongruent than after congruent trials. One explanation is in terms of higher levels of cognitive control after detection of conflict (conflict adaptation; e.g., M. M. Botvinick, T. S. Braver, D. M. Barch, C. S. Carter, & J. D. Cohen, 2001). An alternative explanation for these results is based on…

Students' Consideration of Source Information during the Reading of Multiple Texts and Its Effect on Intertextual Conflict Resolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobayashi, Keiichi

2014-01-01

This study investigated students' spontaneous use of source information for the resolution of conflicts between texts. One-hundred fifty-four undergraduate students read two conflicting explanations concerning the relationship between blood type and personality under two conditions: either one explanation with a higher credibility source and…

Balancing exploration, uncertainty and computational demands in many objective reservoir optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zatarain Salazar, Jazmin; Reed, Patrick M.; Quinn, Julianne D.; Giuliani, Matteo; Castelletti, Andrea

2017-11-01

Reservoir operations are central to our ability to manage river basin systems serving conflicting multi-sectoral demands under increasingly uncertain futures. These challenges motivate the need for new solution strategies capable of effectively and efficiently discovering the multi-sectoral tradeoffs that are inherent to alternative reservoir operation policies. Evolutionary many-objective direct policy search (EMODPS) is gaining importance in this context due to its capability of addressing multiple objectives and its flexibility in incorporating multiple sources of uncertainties. This simulation-optimization framework has high potential for addressing the complexities of water resources management, and it can benefit from current advances in parallel computing and meta-heuristics. This study contributes a diagnostic assessment of state-of-the-art parallel strategies for the auto-adaptive Borg Multi Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) to support EMODPS. Our analysis focuses on the Lower Susquehanna River Basin (LSRB) system where multiple sectoral demands from hydropower production, urban water supply, recreation and environmental flows need to be balanced. Using EMODPS with different parallel configurations of the Borg MOEA, we optimize operating policies over different size ensembles of synthetic streamflows and evaporation rates. As we increase the ensemble size, we increase the statistical fidelity of our objective function evaluations at the cost of higher computational demands. This study demonstrates how to overcome the mathematical and computational barriers associated with capturing uncertainties in stochastic multiobjective reservoir control optimization, where parallel algorithmic search serves to reduce the wall-clock time in discovering high quality representations of key operational tradeoffs. Our results show that emerging self-adaptive parallelization schemes exploiting cooperative search populations are crucial. Such strategies provide a promising new set of tools for effectively balancing exploration, uncertainty, and computational demands when using EMODPS.

25 CFR 900.236 - May an Indian tribe elect to negotiate contract provisions on conflict of interest to take the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES CONTRACTS UNDER THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE ACT Conflicts of... Indian tribe's own written code of ethics satisfies the objectives of the personal conflicts provisions...

25 CFR 900.236 - May an Indian tribe elect to negotiate contract provisions on conflict of interest to take the...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES CONTRACTS UNDER THE INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE ACT Conflicts of... Indian tribe's own written code of ethics satisfies the objectives of the personal conflicts provisions...

Solving multi-objective optimization problems in conservation with the reference point method

PubMed Central

Dujardin, Yann; Chadès, Iadine

2018-01-01

Managing the biodiversity extinction crisis requires wise decision-making processes able to account for the limited resources available. In most decision problems in conservation biology, several conflicting objectives have to be taken into account. Most methods used in conservation either provide suboptimal solutions or use strong assumptions about the decision-maker’s preferences. Our paper reviews some of the existing approaches to solve multi-objective decision problems and presents new multi-objective linear programming formulations of two multi-objective optimization problems in conservation, allowing the use of a reference point approach. Reference point approaches solve multi-objective optimization problems by interactively representing the preferences of the decision-maker with a point in the criteria (objectives) space, called the reference point. We modelled and solved the following two problems in conservation: a dynamic multi-species management problem under uncertainty and a spatial allocation resource management problem. Results show that the reference point method outperforms classic methods while illustrating the use of an interactive methodology for solving combinatorial problems with multiple objectives. The method is general and can be adapted to a wide range of ecological combinatorial problems. PMID:29293650

Detecting misinformation and knowledge conflicts in relational data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levchuk, Georgiy; Jackobsen, Matthew; Riordan, Brian

2014-06-01

Information fusion is required for many mission-critical intelligence analysis tasks. Using knowledge extracted from various sources, including entities, relations, and events, intelligence analysts respond to commander's information requests, integrate facts into summaries about current situations, augment existing knowledge with inferred information, make predictions about the future, and develop action plans. However, information fusion solutions often fail because of conflicting and redundant knowledge contained in multiple sources. Most knowledge conflicts in the past were due to translation errors and reporter bias, and thus could be managed. Current and future intelligence analysis, especially in denied areas, must deal with open source data processing, where there is much greater presence of intentional misinformation. In this paper, we describe a model for detecting conflicts in multi-source textual knowledge. Our model is based on constructing semantic graphs representing patterns of multi-source knowledge conflicts and anomalies, and detecting these conflicts by matching pattern graphs against the data graph constructed using soft co-reference between entities and events in multiple sources. The conflict detection process maintains the uncertainty throughout all phases, providing full traceability and enabling incremental updates of the detection results as new knowledge or modification to previously analyzed information are obtained. Detected conflicts are presented to analysts for further investigation. In the experimental study with SYNCOIN dataset, our algorithms achieved perfect conflict detection in ideal situation (no missing data) while producing 82% recall and 90% precision in realistic noise situation (15% of missing attributes).

Shared processing in multiple object tracking and visual working memory in the absence of response order and task order confounds

PubMed Central

Howe, Piers D. L.

2017-01-01

To understand how the visual system represents multiple moving objects and how those representations contribute to tracking, it is essential that we understand how the processes of attention and working memory interact. In the work described here we present an investigation of that interaction via a series of tracking and working memory dual-task experiments. Previously, it has been argued that tracking is resistant to disruption by a concurrent working memory task and that any apparent disruption is in fact due to observers making a response to the working memory task, rather than due to competition for shared resources. Contrary to this, in our experiments we find that when task order and response order confounds are avoided, all participants show a similar decrease in both tracking and working memory performance. However, if task and response order confounds are not adequately controlled for we find substantial individual differences, which could explain the previous conflicting reports on this topic. Our results provide clear evidence that tracking and working memory tasks share processing resources. PMID:28410383

Shared processing in multiple object tracking and visual working memory in the absence of response order and task order confounds.

PubMed

Lapierre, Mark D; Cropper, Simon J; Howe, Piers D L

2017-01-01

To understand how the visual system represents multiple moving objects and how those representations contribute to tracking, it is essential that we understand how the processes of attention and working memory interact. In the work described here we present an investigation of that interaction via a series of tracking and working memory dual-task experiments. Previously, it has been argued that tracking is resistant to disruption by a concurrent working memory task and that any apparent disruption is in fact due to observers making a response to the working memory task, rather than due to competition for shared resources. Contrary to this, in our experiments we find that when task order and response order confounds are avoided, all participants show a similar decrease in both tracking and working memory performance. However, if task and response order confounds are not adequately controlled for we find substantial individual differences, which could explain the previous conflicting reports on this topic. Our results provide clear evidence that tracking and working memory tasks share processing resources.

Optimization of Multiple and Multipurpose Reservoir System Operations by Using Matrix Structure (Case Study: Karun and Dez Reservoir Dams)

PubMed Central

Othman, Faridah; Taghieh, Mahmood

2016-01-01

Optimal operation of water resources in multiple and multipurpose reservoirs is very complicated. This is because of the number of dams, each dam’s location (Series and parallel), conflict in objectives and the stochastic nature of the inflow of water in the system. In this paper, performance optimization of the system of Karun and Dez reservoir dams have been studied and investigated with the purposes of hydroelectric energy generation and providing water demand in 6 dams. On the Karun River, 5 dams have been built in the series arrangements, and the Dez dam has been built parallel to those 5 dams. One of the main achievements in this research is the implementation of the structure of production of hydroelectric energy as a function of matrix in MATLAB software. The results show that the role of objective function structure for generating hydroelectric energy in weighting method algorithm is more important than water supply. Nonetheless by implementing ε- constraint method algorithm, we can both increase hydroelectric power generation and supply around 85% of agricultural and industrial demands. PMID:27248152

Advanced CLIPS capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riley, Gary

1991-01-01

The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) is a forward chaining rule based language developed by NASA. CLIPS was designed specifically to provide high portability, low cost, and easy integration with external systems. The current release of CLIPS, version 4.3, is being used by over 2500 users throughout the public and private community. The primary addition to the next release of CLIPS, version 5.0, will be the CLIPS Object Oriented Language (COOL). The major capabilities of COOL are: class definition with multiple inheritance and no restrictions on the number, types, or cardinality of slots; message passing which allows procedural code bundled with an object to be executed; and query functions which allow groups of instances to be examined and manipulated. In addition to COOL, numerous other enhancements were added to CLIPS including: generic functions (which allow different pieces of procedural code to be executed depending upon the types or classes of the arguments); integer and double precision data type support; multiple conflict resolution strategies; global variables; logical dependencies; type checking on facts; full ANSI compiler support; and incremental reset for rules.

Conflicting health information: a critical research need.

PubMed

Carpenter, Delesha M; Geryk, Lorie L; Chen, Annie T; Nagler, Rebekah H; Dieckmann, Nathan F; Han, Paul K J

2016-12-01

Conflicting health information is increasing in amount and visibility, as evidenced most recently by the controversy surrounding the risks and benefits of childhood vaccinations. The mechanisms through which conflicting information affects individuals are poorly understood; thus, we are unprepared to help people process conflicting information when making important health decisions. In this viewpoint article, we describe this problem, summarize insights from the existing literature on the prevalence and effects of conflicting health information, and identify important knowledge gaps. We propose a working definition of conflicting health information and describe a conceptual typology to guide future research in this area. The typology classifies conflicting information according to four fundamental dimensions: the substantive issue under conflict, the number of conflicting sources (multiplicity), the degree of evidence heterogeneity and the degree of temporal inconsistency. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Point of Conflict: Risking Worth through the Multiple Potentialities of Reflected Selves

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weddington, Hank S.

2008-01-01

This article adopts an existentialist lens to examine the phenomenon of entering conflict with other human beings and the potential effects of such engagement on identity. In particular, it explores a teacher's active engagement (or lack thereof) in conflict as a response to the humiliation or degradation of a student. The comfort of a secure…

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.

An Objective Instrument for Assessment of Erikson's Developmental Conflicts. Presentation Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speisman, Joseph C.; And Others

An objective measure of Erikson's ego-identity construct is being developed. The total scale includes seven relatively independent subscales designed to reflect the residuals (part conflicts) of Erikson's psychosocial stages of development. An initial item pool of 194 items has been reduced to 113 items by means of judgemental and statistical…

Improving the Performance of Highly Constrained Water Resource Systems using Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms and RiverWare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, R.; Kasprzyk, J. R.; Zagona, E. A.

2015-12-01

Instead of building new infrastructure to increase their supply reliability, water resource managers are often tasked with better management of current systems. The managers often have existing simulation models that aid their planning, and lack methods for efficiently generating and evaluating planning alternatives. This presentation discusses how multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) decision support can be used with the sophisticated water infrastructure model, RiverWare, in highly constrained water planning environments. We first discuss a study that performed a many-objective tradeoff analysis of water supply in the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) in Texas. RiverWare is combined with the Borg MOEA to solve a seven objective problem that includes systemwide performance objectives and individual reservoir storage reliability. Decisions within the formulation balance supply in multiple reservoirs and control pumping between the eastern and western parts of the system. The RiverWare simulation model is forced by two stochastic hydrology scenarios to inform how management changes in wet versus dry conditions. The second part of the presentation suggests how a broader set of RiverWare-MOEA studies can inform tradeoffs in other systems, especially in political situations where multiple actors are in conflict over finite water resources. By incorporating quantitative representations of diverse parties' objectives during the search for solutions, MOEAs may provide support for negotiations and lead to more widely beneficial water management outcomes.

The impact of subjective cognitive fatigue and depression on cognitive function in patients with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Golan, Daniel; Doniger, Glen M; Wissemann, Karl; Zarif, Myassar; Bumstead, Barbara; Buhse, Marijean; Fafard, Lori; Lavi, Idit; Wilken, Jeffrey; Gudesblatt, Mark

2018-02-01

The association between subjective cognitive fatigue and objective cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) has been studied, with conflicting results. To explore the impact of fatigue on cognitive function, while controlling for the influence of depression, disability, comorbidities, and psychotropic medications. PwMS completed a computerized cognitive testing battery with age- and education-adjusted cognitive domain scores. Disability (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)), cognitive fatigue, and depression were concurrently evaluated. In all, 699 PwMS were included. Both cognitive fatigue and depression were significantly and negatively correlated with the same cognitive domains: information processing speed, executive function, attention, motor function, and memory (-0.15 ⩽ r ⩽ -0.14 for cognitive fatigue; -0.24 ⩽ r ⩽ -0.19 for depression). Multivariate analysis revealed significant but small independent correlations only between depression and neuropsychological test results, while cognitive fatigue had no independent correlation with objective cognitive function except for a trend toward impaired motor function in highly fatigued PwMS. Depression and cognitive fatigue accounted for no more than 6% of the variance in objective cognitive domain scores. Cognitive fatigue is not independently related to objective cognitive impairment. Depression may influence cognitive function of PwMS primarily when it is severe. Cognitive impairment in PwMS should not be ascribed to fatigue or mild depression.

A conceptual model to empower software requirements conflict detection and resolution with rule-based reasoning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Sabrina; Jalil, Intan Ermahani A.; Ahmad, Sharifah Sakinah Syed

2016-08-01

It is seldom technical issues which impede the process of eliciting software requirements. The involvement of multiple stakeholders usually leads to conflicts and therefore the need of conflict detection and resolution effort is crucial. This paper presents a conceptual model to further improve current efforts. Hence, this paper forwards an improved conceptual model to assist the conflict detection and resolution effort which extends the model ability and improves overall performance. The significant of the new model is to empower the automation of conflicts detection and its severity level with rule-based reasoning.

25 CFR 1000.465 - May a Tribe/Consortium negotiate AFA provisions on conflicts of interest to take the place of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... personal or organizational conflicts, that: (1) Address the issues specific to the program and activities... code of ethics satisfies the objectives of the personal conflicts provisions of subpart, in whole or in...

Factors influencing decision regret regarding placement of a PEG among substitute decision-makers of older persons in Japan: a prospective study.

PubMed

Kuraoka, Yumiko; Nakayama, Kazuhiro

2017-06-28

A tube feeding decision aid designed at the Ottawa Health Research Institute was specifically created for substitute decision-makers who must decide whether to allow placement of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube in a cognitively impaired older person. We developed a Japanese version and found that the decision aid promoted the decision-making process of substitute decision-makers to decrease decisional conflict and increase knowledge. However, the factors that influence decision regret among substitute decision-makers were not measured after the decision was made. The objective of this study was to explore the factors that influence decision regret among substitute decision-makers 6 months after using a decision aid for PEG placement. In this prospective study, participants comprised substitute decision-makers for 45 inpatients aged 65 years and older who were being considered for placement of a PEG tube in hospitals, nursing homes and patients' homes in Japan. The Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) was used to evaluate decisional conflict among substitute decision-makers immediately after deciding whether to introduce tube feeding and the Decision Regret Scale (DRS) was used to evaluate decisional regret among substitute decision-makers 6 months after they made their decision. Normalized scores were evaluated and analysis of variance was used to compare groups. The results of the multiple regression analysis suggest that PEG placement (P < .01) and decision conflict (P < .001) are explanatory factors of decision regret regarding placement of a PEG among substitute decision-makers. PEG placement and decision conflict immediately after deciding whether to allow PEG placement have an influence on decision regret among substitute decision-makers after 6 months.

Background Report on Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Warren, Tracy A

Each month, approximately 45,000 people die from violence, hunger, disease, and other effects of displacement as a result of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country is often said to be plagued by a 'resource curse.' During each period in history since its discovery by the West, the DRC has possessed the resources the world craves and the world has sought these without regard for the consequences to the Congolese people. The catastrophic consequences of Congo's history of natural resource exploitation are the direct and indirect death of millions of Congolese people. The current war inmore » Congo is multi-causal in nature but explanations are often reduced to describing it as an ethic conflict based on objective grievance. Objective grievance such as inequality, ethnic tensions, land disputes, and lack of democracy do exist, but they are neither necessary nor sufficient to explain the cause of the violent conflict, and more importantly, they fall short in explaining why this conflict has continued for years. The reality is the conflict is an economic war in which the trade of conflict minerals, gold and the 3Ts (tin, tantalum, tungsten), is directly linked to the financial sustainability of the groups fighting each other in eastern DRC. Objective grievance is a by-product of the conflict, used to create a false but plausible moral justification to continue violence. This paper examines the history of conflict in the DRC and the socio-economic variables contributing to the current war fought over conflict minerals.« less

Physician compensation for industry-sponsored clinical trials in multiple sclerosis influences patient trust.

PubMed

Klein, E; Solomon, A J; Corboy, J; Bernat, J

2016-07-01

Perceived physician financial conflicts of interest of can affect patient trust. Payment to physicians for industry sponsored clinical trials in multiple sclerosis is a relatively new potential source of physician conflict of interest. There is limited available data on how physician payment for trial involvement in multiple sclerosis clinical trials may influence patient trust. To understand how patient trust is influenced by information about physician payment for multiple sclerosis clinical trials. An anonymous online instrument was developed. 597 people with multiple sclerosis participated in the study. The study found that 61% of patients who had not previously participated in a clinical trial estimated that they would have lower levels of trust in their physician if the physician was paid for involvement in their clinical trial. Among former clinical trial participants, 38% self-reported a lower level of trust. Other potential physician-industry relationships, such as industry consulting or giving industry-sponsored talks, also adversely affected trust, though to a lesser extent than physician payment for subject participation in clinical trials. Results of this study demonstrate that physician payment for study participation in multiple sclerosis clinical trials is a potential conflict that can adversely affect patient trust. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relations of husbands and wives dysphoria to marital conflict resolution strategies.

PubMed

Du Rocher Schudlich, Tina D; Papp, Lauren M; Cummings, E Mark

2004-03-01

This study investigated relations between spouses' dysphoria and constructive and destructive emotions and tactics displayed by husbands and wives throughout marital conflicts. Behavioral observations were made of 267 couples' interactions during marital conflict resolution tasks. Husbands' and wives' dysphoria levels were related to particular negative marital conflict expressions and the absence of positive strategies, even after taking into account couples' marital satisfaction and their partners' levels of dysphoria. Moreover, in comparison with wives' dysphoria, husbands' dysphoria was associated with more pervasive impairments in couples" conflict strategies evident in multiple contexts of conflict resolution, including discussion of relatively minor sources of disagreement. Implications for the treatment of depressed or maritally discordant couples are discussed.

Children and marital conflict resolution: implications for emotional security and adjustment.

PubMed

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

2007-12-01

This study addresses multiple gaps in understanding the implications of marital conflict resolution for children. Mothers' diary home reports (N = 102 mothers, N = 578 reports) of marital conflict resolution (i.e., compromise, apology, submission, agreement to disagree, withdrawal) and of children's responses, along with the reactions of children (N = 163) to analogue presentations of the same conflict endings in the laboratory, were examined. The significance of specific marital conflict endings, including the emotionality of endings, was supported and demonstrated for the first time in the home. Parents' and children's appraisals of resolution were generally similar, although for some endings these appraisals differed, supporting the notion that children are sensitive to the broader implications of conflict endings for interparental relations and family functioning. Children's responses to conflict resolution were related to their broader adjustment, further indicating the significance of conflict endings to understanding the impact of marital conflict.

Childhood Abuse and Current Interpersonal Conflict: The Role of Shame

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2009-01-01

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…

Members' needs, intragroup conflict, and group performance.

PubMed

Chun, Jinseok S; Choi, Jin Nam

2014-05-01

Focusing on "what people want in their group" as a critical antecedent of intragroup conflict, the present study theorizes and empirically investigates the relationships among the psychological needs of group members, intragroup conflict, and group performance. It attends to the within-group average and dispersion of members' psychological needs and examines the effects stemming from group composition of needs on multiple types of conflict. The analyses based on multisource data from 145 organizational teams revealed significant relationships between the groups' composition with respect to the members' need for achievement and task conflict, need for affiliation and relationship conflict, and need for power and status conflict. Some of these relationships were moderated by open communication among members. The analyses also demonstrated that when the 3 types of conflict were considered together, task conflict was a positive predictor of group performance, whereas relationship conflict was a negative predictor. The findings highlight the motivational aspects of intragroup conflict, revealing the multilevel dynamics of the psychological needs in social settings. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Children, Education and War: Reaching Education for All (EFA) Objectives in Countries Affected by Conflict. Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommers, Marc

Conflict's path of devastation and chaos has dramatically slowed the ability of war-torn countries to reach the Education for All (EFA) goals adopted in Dakar (April 2000). This paper describes the situation confronting children, their families, and governments in conflict countries and describes the challenges of reaching universal primary…

Implications of Preference and Problem Formulation on the Operating Policies of Complex Multi-Reservoir Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, J.; Reed, P. M.; Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.

2016-12-01

Optimizing the operations of multi-reservoir systems poses several challenges: 1) the high dimension of the problem's states and controls, 2) the need to balance conflicting multi-sector objectives, and 3) understanding how uncertainties impact system performance. These difficulties motivated the development of the Evolutionary Multi-Objective Direct Policy Search (EMODPS) framework, in which multi-reservoir operating policies are parameterized in a given family of functions and then optimized for multiple objectives through simulation over a set of stochastic inputs. However, properly framing these objectives remains a severe challenge and a neglected source of uncertainty. Here, we use EMODPS to optimize operating policies for a 4-reservoir system in the Red River Basin in Vietnam, exploring the consequences of optimizing to different sets of objectives related to 1) hydropower production, 2) meeting multi-sector water demands, and 3) providing flood protection to the capital city of Hanoi. We show how coordinated operation of the reservoirs can differ markedly depending on how decision makers weigh these concerns. Moreover, we illustrate how formulation choices that emphasize the mean, tail, or variability of performance across objective combinations must be evaluated carefully. Our results show that these choices can significantly improve attainable system performance, or yield severe unintended consequences. Finally, we show that satisfactory validation of the operating policies on a set of out-of-sample stochastic inputs depends as much or more on the formulation of the objectives as on effective optimization of the policies. These observations highlight the importance of carefully considering how we abstract stakeholders' objectives and of iteratively optimizing and visualizing multiple problem formulation hypotheses to ensure that we capture the most important tradeoffs that emerge from different stakeholder preferences.

Treatment selection of early stage non-small cell lung cancer: the role of the patient in clinical decision making.

PubMed

Mokhles, S; Nuyttens, J J M E; de Mol, M; Aerts, J G J V; Maat, A P W M; Birim, Ö; Bogers, A J J C; Takkenberg, J J M

2018-01-15

The objective of this study is to investigate the role and experience of early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient in decision making process concerning treatment selection in the current clinical practice. Stage I-II NSCLC patients (surgery 55 patients, SBRT 29 patients, median age 68) were included in this prospective study and completed a questionnaire that explored: (1) perceived patient knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment options, (2) experience with current clinical decision making, and (3) the information that the patient reported to have received from their treating physician. This was assessed by multiple-choice, 1-5 Likert Scale, and open questions. The Decisional Conflict Scale was used to assess the decisional conflict. Health related quality of life (HRQoL) was measured with SF-36 questionnaire. In 19% of patients, there was self-reported perceived lack of knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment options. Seventy-four percent of patients felt that they were sufficiently involved in decision-making by their physician, and 81% found it important to be involved in decision making. Forty percent experienced decisional conflict, and one-in-five patients to such an extent that it made them feel unsure about the decision. Subscores with regard to feeling uninformed and on uncertainty, contributed the most to decisional conflict, as 36% felt uninformed and 17% of patients were not satisfied with their decision. HRQoL was not influenced by patient experience with decision-making or patient preferences for shared decision making. Dutch early-stage NSCLC patients find it important to be involved in treatment decision making. Yet a substantial proportion experiences decisional conflict and feels uninformed. Better patient information and/or involvement in treatment-decision-making is needed in order to improve patient knowledge and hopefully reduce decisional conflict.

Investigation of Primary Class Teachers' Conflict Approaches by Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Habaci, Ibrahim

2015-01-01

The objective of this study is to identify the relationships between disagreements and conflicts that surface with respect to gender in educational institutions and the reasons behind them; to expose the relationship between personal variables and conflict management strategies; to determine how individuals adopt a particular attitude in regard to…

Teaching Communication and Conflict as a Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoshimura, Christina G.

2017-01-01

Courses: Communication and Conflict. Objectives: Through the use of a game-based framework, students will build intrinsic motivation to engage with course material and course content, and will engage their critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills in relation to conflict management over the length of the course. A list of…

Youth and Violent Conflict. Study Guide for Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United States Institute of Peace, 2006

2006-01-01

The objectives of this study guide are: (1) to increase student understanding of the prevalence of youth participation in violent conflict and the challenges to addressing this global issue; (2) to familiarize students with strategies for conflict prevention, management, and resolution; (3) to develop students' analytical reading, writing, and…

Sampling artifacts in perspective and stereo displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfautz, Jonathan D.

2001-06-01

The addition of stereo cues to perspective displays is generally expected to improve the perception of depth. However, the display's pixel array samples both perspective and stereo depth cues, introducing inaccuracies and inconsistencies into the representation of an object's depth. The position, size and disparity of an object will be inaccurately presented and size and disparity will be inconsistently presented across depth. These inconsistencies can cause the left and right edges of an object to appear at different stereo depths. This paper describes how these inconsistencies result in conflicts between stereo and perspective depth information. A relative depth judgement task was used to explore these conflicts. Subjects viewed two objects and reported which appeared closer. Three conflicts resulting from inconsistencies caused by sampling were examined: (1) Perspective size and location versus stereo disparity. (2) Perspective size versus perspective location and stereo disparity. (3) Left and right edge disparity versus perspective size and location. In the first two cases, subjects achieved near-perfect accuracy when perspective and disparity cues were complementary. When size and disparity were inconsistent and thus in conflict, stereo dominated perspective. Inconsistency between the disparities of the horizontal edges of an object confused the subjects, even when complementary perspective and stereo information was provided. Since stereo was the dominant cue and was ambiguous across the object, this led to significantly reduced accuracy. Edge inconsistencies also led to more complaints about visual fatigue and discomfort.

Air traffic surveillance and control using hybrid estimation and protocol-based conflict resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Inseok

The continued growth of air travel and recent advances in new technologies for navigation, surveillance, and communication have led to proposals by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide reliable and efficient tools to aid Air Traffic Control (ATC) in performing their tasks. In this dissertation, we address four problems frequently encountered in air traffic surveillance and control; multiple target tracking and identity management, conflict detection, conflict resolution, and safety verification. We develop a set of algorithms and tools to aid ATC; These algorithms have the provable properties of safety, computational efficiency, and convergence. Firstly, we develop a multiple-maneuvering-target tracking and identity management algorithm which can keep track of maneuvering aircraft in noisy environments and of their identities. Secondly, we propose a hybrid probabilistic conflict detection algorithm between multiple aircraft which uses flight mode estimates as well as aircraft current state estimates. Our algorithm is based on hybrid models of aircraft, which incorporate both continuous dynamics and discrete mode switching. Thirdly, we develop an algorithm for multiple (greater than two) aircraft conflict avoidance that is based on a closed-form analytic solution and thus provides guarantees of safety. Finally, we consider the problem of safety verification of control laws for safety critical systems, with application to air traffic control systems. We approach safety verification through reachability analysis, which is a computationally expensive problem. We develop an over-approximate method for reachable set computation using polytopic approximation methods and dynamic optimization. These algorithms may be used either in a fully autonomous way, or as supporting tools to increase controllers' situational awareness and to reduce their work load.

Physicians' and nurses' expectations and objections toward a clinical ethics committee.

PubMed

Jansky, Maximiliane; Marx, Gabriella; Nauck, Friedemann; Alt-Epping, Bernd

2013-11-01

The study aimed to explore the subjective need of healthcare professionals for ethics consultation, their experience with ethical conflicts, and expectations and objections toward a Clinical Ethics Committee. Staff at a university hospital took part in a survey (January to June 2010) using a questionnaire with open and closed questions. Descriptive data for physicians and nurses (response rate = 13.5%, n = 101) are presented. Physicians and nurses reported similar high frequencies of ethical conflicts but rated the relevance of ethical issues differently. Nurses stated ethical issues as less important to physicians than to themselves. Ethical conflicts were mostly discussed with staff from one's own profession. Respondents predominantly expected the Clinical Ethics Committee to provide competent support. Mostly, nurses feared it might have no influence on clinical practice. Findings suggest that experiences of ethical conflicts might reflect interprofessional communication patterns. Expectations and objections against Clinical Ethics Committees were multifaceted, and should be overcome by providing sufficient information. The Clinical Ethics Committee needs to take different perspectives of professions into account.

Conflict on interprofessional primary health care teams--can it be resolved?

PubMed

Brown, Judith; Lewis, Laura; Ellis, Kathy; Stewart, Moira; Freeman, Thomas R; Kasperski, M Janet

2011-01-01

Increasingly, primary health care teams (PHCTs) depend on the contributions of multiple professionals. However, conflict is inevitable on teams. This article examines PHCTs members' experiences with conflict and responses to conflict. This phenomenological study was conducted using in-depth interviews with 121 participants from 16 PHCTs (10 urban and 6 rural) including a wide range of health care professionals. An iterative analysis process was used to examine the verbatim transcripts. The analysis revealed three main themes: sources of team conflict; barriers to conflict resolution; and strategies for conflict resolution. Sources of team conflict included: role boundary issues; scope of practice; and accountability. Barriers to conflict resolution were: lack of time and workload; people in less powerful positions; lack of recognition or motivation to address conflict; and avoiding confrontation for fear of causing emotional discomfort. Team strategies for conflict resolution included interventions by team leaders and the development of conflict management protocols. Individual strategies included: open and direct communication; a willingness to find solutions; showing respect; and humility. Conflict is inherent in teamwork. However, understanding the potential barriers to conflict resolution can assist PHCTs in developing strategies to resolve conflict in a timely fashion.

CALFED--An experiment in science and decisionmaking

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, Kimberly A.; Jacobs, Katharine L.; Luoma, Samuel N.

2003-01-01

The CALFED Bay-Delta Program faces a challenging assignment: to develop a collaborative state-federal management plan for the complex river system and involve multiple stakeholders (primarily municipal, agricultural, and environmental entities) whose interests frequently are in direct conflict. Although many resource-management issues involve multiple stakeholders and conflict is integral to their discussion, the CALFED experience is unique because of its shared state and federal roles, the magnitude and significance of stakeholder participation, and the complexity of the scientific issues involved.

Adult attachment, hostile conflict, and relationship adjustment among couples facing multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Crangle, Cassandra J; Hart, Tae L

2017-11-01

Couples facing multiple sclerosis (MS) report significantly elevated rates of relationship distress, yet the effects of attachment have never been examined in this population. We examined whether hostile conflict mediated the dyadic effects of attachment on relationship adjustment in couples facing MS and whether these associations were moderated by gender or role. We also explored whether dyadic adjustment mediated the relationship between attachment and hostile conflict. The study was cross-sectional and included 103 couples in which one partner had been diagnosed with MS. Participants completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Aversive Interactions Scale, as well as demographic variables. We used the actor-partner interdependence model for data analysis. There were significant actor and partner effects of greater anxious attachment and worse dyadic adjustment. Actor and partner effects of anxious attachment were significantly mediated by greater hostile conflict. Gender significantly moderated the effects between avoidant attachment and dyadic adjustment. The actor effect was significant for males and females; the partner effect was only significant for females. The actor effect for females but not males was significantly mediated by greater hostile conflict. Role was not a significant moderator. Exploratory analyses also showed that dyadic adjustment mediated the relationship between anxious and avoidant attachment and hostile conflict. Findings highlight the important effects of attachment on relationship adjustment in MS couples. Both hostile conflict and dyadic adjustment appear to be mechanisms through which insecure attachment has a detrimental effect. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Despite higher-than-normal rates of marital distress and separation/divorce, the effects of attachment on relationship adjustment among couples facing multiple sclerosis have never been examined. Prior studies within healthy populations have supported within-person and cross-dyadic associations between attachment and relationship adjustment; however, they have failed to use dyadic analyses. Hostile conflict has been associated with both insecure attachment and relationship adjustment and therefore may be an important mediator to help understand these relationships. What does this study add? Women were more negatively affected by their partner's avoidant attachment then men. Hostile conflict mediated the effects of anxious attachment on dyadic adjustment for individuals and across dyads. Hostile conflict accounted for the individual effect of avoidant attachment on dyadic adjustment for women. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Choice of conflict resolution strategy is linked to sociability in dog puppies.

PubMed

Riemer, Stefanie; Müller, Corsin; Virányi, Zsófia; Huber, Ludwig; Range, Friederike

2013-12-01

Measures that are likely to increase sociability in dog puppies, such as appropriate socialisation, are considered important in preventing future fear or aggression related problems. However, the interplay between sociability and conflict behaviour has rarely been investigated. Moreover, while many studies have addressed aggression in domestic dogs, alternative, non-aggressive conflict resolution strategies have received less scientific attention. Here we tested 134 Border collie puppies, aged 40-50 days, in a personality test which included friendly interactions with an unfamiliar person, exposure to a novel object, and three brief restraint tests. Considering the latter to be mild 'conflict' situations, we analysed whether the puppies' behaviour in the restraint tests was related to their sociability or to their boldness towards the novel object. Strategies employed by the puppies during restraint tests included trying to interact socially with the experimenter, remaining passive, and attempting to move away. In line with findings from humans and goats, puppies scoring high on sociability were more likely to adopt an interactive conflict resolution strategy, while those with low sociability scores tended to react passively. In contrast, avoidance behaviours were unrelated to sociability, possibly reflecting inconsistency in the flight strategy in dogs. Boldness towards a novel object was not related to sociability or to puppies' reactions in restraint tests. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate a link between sociability and conflict resolution strategies in non-human animals.

Gray Matter Is Targeted in First-Attack Multiple Sclerosis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schutzer, Steven E.; Angel, Thomas E.; Liu, Tao

The cause of multiple sclerosis (MS), its driving pathogenesis at the earliest stages, and what factors allow the first clinical attack to manifest remain unknown. Some imaging studies suggest gray rather than white matter may be involved early, and some postulate this may be predictive of developing MS. Other imaging studies are in conflict. To determine if there was objective molecular evidence of gray matter involvement in early MS we used high-resolution mass spectrometry to identify proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of first-attack MS patients (two independent groups) compared to established relapsing remitting (RR) MS and controls. We foundmore » that the CSF proteins in first-attack patients were differentially enriched for gray matter components (axon, neuron, synapse). Myelin components did not distinguish these groups. The results support that gray matter dysfunction is involved early in MS, and also may be integral for the initial clinical presentation.« less

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.

Conflicts Management Model in School: A Mixed Design Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dogan, Soner

2016-01-01

The object of this study is to evaluate the reasons for conflicts occurring in school according to perceptions and views of teachers and resolution strategies used for conflicts and to build a model based on the results obtained. In the research, explanatory design including quantitative and qualitative methods has been used. The quantitative part…

Examining the Conflict and Interconnectedness of Young People's Ideas about Environmental Issues, Responsibility and Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilks, Leigh; Harris, Neil

2016-01-01

Objective: Young people's environmental views are typically conflicted, with little recognition of the links between environmental issues or between environmental responsibility and action. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether young people's understanding of the environment is in conflict or whether they are forming interconnections…

Family Conflict Interacts with Genetic Liability in Predicting Childhood and Adolescent Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Frances; Harold, Gordon T.; Shelton, Katherine H.; Thapar, Anita

2006-01-01

Objective: To test for gene-environment interaction with depressive symptoms and family conflict. Specifically, to first examine whether the influence of family conflict in predicting depressive symptoms is increased in individuals at genetic risk of depression. Second, to test whether the genetic component of variance in depressive symptoms…

Validation of the School Conflict Negotiation Effectiveness Questionnaire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunha, Pedro; Lourenço, Abílio; Paiva, Maria Olímpia; Monteiro, Ana Paula

2017-01-01

This research aimed to construct and validate the School Conflict Negotiation Effectiveness Questionnaire (SCNEQ). This objective is both based on the increasing relevance of the area of constructive conflict management in schools and also in the scarcity of instruments that try to measure these dimensions in the educational context. We used two…

Resolving Conflicts Between Syntax and Plausibility in Sentence Comprehension

PubMed Central

Andrews, Glenda; Ogden, Jessica E.; Halford, Graeme S.

2017-01-01

Comprehension of plausible and implausible object- and subject-relative clause sentences with and without prepositional phrases was examined. Undergraduates read each sentence then evaluated a statement as consistent or inconsistent with the sentence. Higher acceptance of consistent than inconsistent statements indicated reliance on syntactic analysis. Higher acceptance of plausible than implausible statements reflected reliance on semantic plausibility. There was greater reliance on semantic plausibility and lesser reliance on syntactic analysis for more complex object-relatives and sentences with prepositional phrases than for less complex subject-relatives and sentences without prepositional phrases. Comprehension accuracy and confidence were lower when syntactic analysis and semantic plausibility yielded conflicting interpretations. The conflict effect on comprehension was significant for complex sentences but not for less complex sentences. Working memory capacity predicted resolution of the syntax-plausibility conflict in more and less complex items only when sentences and statements were presented sequentially. Fluid intelligence predicted resolution of the conflict in more and less complex items under sequential and simultaneous presentation. Domain-general processes appear to be involved in resolving syntax-plausibility conflicts in sentence comprehension. PMID:28458748

Multi-objective optimization for generating a weighted multi-model ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, H.

2017-12-01

Many studies have demonstrated that multi-model ensembles generally show better skill than each ensemble member. When generating weighted multi-model ensembles, the first step is measuring the performance of individual model simulations using observations. There is a consensus on the assignment of weighting factors based on a single evaluation metric. When considering only one evaluation metric, the weighting factor for each model is proportional to a performance score or inversely proportional to an error for the model. While this conventional approach can provide appropriate combinations of multiple models, the approach confronts a big challenge when there are multiple metrics under consideration. When considering multiple evaluation metrics, it is obvious that a simple averaging of multiple performance scores or model ranks does not address the trade-off problem between conflicting metrics. So far, there seems to be no best method to generate weighted multi-model ensembles based on multiple performance metrics. The current study applies the multi-objective optimization, a mathematical process that provides a set of optimal trade-off solutions based on a range of evaluation metrics, to combining multiple performance metrics for the global climate models and their dynamically downscaled regional climate simulations over North America and generating a weighted multi-model ensemble. NASA satellite data and the Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) software toolkit are used for assessment of the climate simulations. Overall, the performance of each model differs markedly with strong seasonal dependence. Because of the considerable variability across the climate simulations, it is important to evaluate models systematically and make future projections by assigning optimized weighting factors to the models with relatively good performance. Our results indicate that the optimally weighted multi-model ensemble always shows better performance than an arithmetic ensemble mean and may provide reliable future projections.

Do sleep disturbances mediate the association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among nurses? A cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Zhang, Y; Duffy, J F; De Castillero, E Ronan

2017-10-01

Nurses are at a high risk for work-family conflict due to long and irregular work hours and multiple physical and psychosocial stressors in their work environment. Nurses report higher rates of depressive symptoms than the general public, leading to a high rate of burnout, absenteeism, and turnover. Work-family conflict is associated with negative consequences in nurses including physical illnesses and mental disorders. Past research on this topic has not examined the mechanisms for the effect of work family conflict on depression. Studies rarely examine the influence of health behaviors such as sleep in explaining this association. Our study identified significant association of sleep disturbances with both work-family conflict and depressive symptoms in nurses. Our main contribution is reporting the important role of sleep disturbances in translating the effect of work-family conflict on depressive symptoms among nurses. Nurses need to receive training in best practices for maintaining their own sleep and mental health. Organizations should include sleep health education and training in workplace health programs. Evidence-based interventions to promote healthy sleep practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy and complementary and integrative approaches should be evaluated for their effectiveness in addressing the impact of work-family conflict on the mental health of nurses. Healthcare organizations should incorporate mental health services as part of their Employee Assistance Program for nurses and include psychological and sleep disorders screening, counseling, and follow-up. Introduction Depression has been identified as the leading cause of disability worldwide. Nurses report higher rates of depression than the general public. Work-family conflict is challenging for nurses and may lead to depression and poor health. However, the mechanisms for the effect of work-family conflict on depression have not been well understood. Aim The objective is to use a cross-sectional design to examine the role of sleep disturbances in the association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms in nurses. Methods Questionnaires, measuring working conditions, work-family conflict, sleep disturbances and depressive symptoms were collected from 397 nurses at a not-for-profit community hospital in the north-eastern United States. Results We observed a significant association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms (β = 2.22, p < .001) among nurses. Sleep disturbances partially mediated this association by 40.54%. Discussion Sleep disturbances play an important role in translating work-family conflict into depressive symptoms. Implications Evidence-based interventions to promote healthy sleep practices should be evaluated for their effectiveness in addressing the impact of work-family conflict on mental health. Organizations should include sleep education and training as a component of workplace health promotion and employee assistance programmes to mitigate the effect of work-family conflict and promote overall health in nurses. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Uncertainty-Based Multi-Objective Optimization of Groundwater Remediation Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, A.; Minsker, B.

2003-12-01

Management of groundwater contamination is a cost-intensive undertaking filled with conflicting objectives and substantial uncertainty. A critical source of this uncertainty in groundwater remediation design problems comes from the hydraulic conductivity values for the aquifer, upon which the prediction of flow and transport of contaminants are dependent. For a remediation solution to be reliable in practice it is important that it is robust over the potential error in the model predictions. This work focuses on incorporating such uncertainty within a multi-objective optimization framework, to get reliable as well as Pareto optimal solutions. Previous research has shown that small amounts of sampling within a single-objective genetic algorithm can produce highly reliable solutions. However with multiple objectives the noise can interfere with the basic operations of a multi-objective solver, such as determining non-domination of individuals, diversity preservation, and elitism. This work proposes several approaches to improve the performance of noisy multi-objective solvers. These include a simple averaging approach, taking samples across the population (which we call extended averaging), and a stochastic optimization approach. All the approaches are tested on standard multi-objective benchmark problems and a hypothetical groundwater remediation case-study; the best-performing approach is then tested on a field-scale case at Umatilla Army Depot.

Bridging the Divide: Cross-Cultural Mediation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahan, Laura N.; Mahuna, Joshua M.

2017-01-01

The article strives to contribute to the growing field of conflict resolution by analyzing contrasting cross-cultural perceptions through insights from multiple areas to resolve intercultural conflicts and disputes. Western-centric mediation techniques are dissected in juxtaposition to indigenous methodologies in degrees of (1) substantiality and…

A Mathematical Basis for the Safety Analysis of Conflict Prevention Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

2009-01-01

In air traffic management systems, a conflict prevention system examines the traffic and provides ranges of guidance maneuvers that avoid conflicts. This guidance takes the form of ranges of track angles, vertical speeds, or ground speeds. These ranges may be assembled into prevention bands: 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 all maneuvers. Without conflict prevention information, a pilot might perform a maneuver that causes a near-term conflict. Because near-term conflicts can lead to safety concerns, strong verification of correct operation is required. This paper presents a mathematical framework to analyze the correctness of algorithms that produce conflict prevention information. This paper examines multiple mathematical approaches: iterative, vector algebraic, and trigonometric. The correctness theories are structured first to analyze conflict prevention information for all aircraft. Next, these theories are augmented to consider aircraft which will create a conflict within a given lookahead time. Certain key functions for a candidate algorithm, which satisfy this mathematical basis are presented; however, the proof that a full algorithm using these functions completely satisfies the definition of safety is not provided.

Simulation-based process windows simultaneously considering two and three conflicting criteria in injection molding

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Yáñez, Alicia Berenice; Méndez-Vázquez, Yaileen

2014-01-01

Process windows in injection molding are habitually built with only one performance measure in mind. In reality, a more realistic picture can be obtained when considering multiple performance measures at a time, especially in the presence of conflict. In this work, the construction of process windows for injection molding (IM) is undertaken considering two and three performance measures in conflict simultaneously. The best compromises between the criteria involved are identified through the direct application of the concept of Pareto-dominance in multiple criteria optimization. The aim is to provide a formal and realistic strategy to set processing conditions in IM operations. The resulting optimization approach is easily implementable in MS Excel. The solutions are presented graphically to facilitate their use in manufacturing plants. PMID:25530927

Simulation-based process windows simultaneously considering two and three conflicting criteria in injection molding.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Yáñez, Alicia Berenice; Méndez-Vázquez, Yaileen; Cabrera-Ríos, Mauricio

2014-01-01

Process windows in injection molding are habitually built with only one performance measure in mind. In reality, a more realistic picture can be obtained when considering multiple performance measures at a time, especially in the presence of conflict. In this work, the construction of process windows for injection molding (IM) is undertaken considering two and three performance measures in conflict simultaneously. The best compromises between the criteria involved are identified through the direct application of the concept of Pareto-dominance in multiple criteria optimization. The aim is to provide a formal and realistic strategy to set processing conditions in IM operations. The resulting optimization approach is easily implementable in MS Excel. The solutions are presented graphically to facilitate their use in manufacturing plants.

Patterns of split sex ratio in ants have multiple evolutionary causes based on different within-colony conflicts

PubMed Central

Kümmerli, Rolf; Keller, Laurent

2009-01-01

Split sex ratio—a pattern where colonies within a population specialize in either male or queen production—is a widespread phenomenon in ants and other social Hymenoptera. It has often been attributed to variation in colony kin structure, which affects the degree of queen–worker conflict over optimal sex allocation. However, recent findings suggest that split sex ratio is a more diverse phenomenon, which can evolve for multiple reasons. Here, we provide an overview of the main conditions favouring split sex ratio. We show that each split sex-ratio type arises due to a different combination of factors determining colony kin structure, queen or worker control over sex ratio and the type of conflict between colony members. PMID:19457886

Adaptation as a political process: adjusting to drought and conflict in Kenya's drylands.

PubMed

Eriksen, Siri; Lind, Jeremy

2009-05-01

In this article, we argue that people's adjustments to multiple shocks and changes, such as conflict and drought, are intrinsically political processes that have uneven outcomes. Strengthening local adaptive capacity is a critical component of adapting to climate change. Based on fieldwork in two areas in Kenya, we investigate how people seek to access livelihood adjustment options and promote particular adaptation interests through forming social relations and political alliances to influence collective decision-making. First, we find that, in the face of drought and conflict, relations are formed among individuals, politicians, customary institutions, and government administration aimed at retaining or strengthening power bases in addition to securing material means of survival. Second, national economic and political structures and processes affect local adaptive capacity in fundamental ways, such as through the unequal allocation of resources across regions, development policy biased against pastoralism, and competition for elected political positions. Third, conflict is part and parcel of the adaptation process, not just an external factor inhibiting local adaptation strategies. Fourth, there are relative winners and losers of adaptation, but whether or not local adjustments to drought and conflict compound existing inequalities depends on power relations at multiple geographic scales that shape how conflicting interests are negotiated locally. Climate change adaptation policies are unlikely to be successful or minimize inequity unless the political dimensions of local adaptation are considered; however, existing power structures and conflicts of interests represent political obstacles to developing such policies.

[Work-family conflict in call center].

PubMed

Ghislieri, Chiara; Ricotta, Simona; Colombo, Lara

2012-01-01

The working environment of call centers, which have seen a significant growth in recent years, has been the subject of several studies aiming at understanding its specific dynamics, with particular attention to the possible causes of stress and discomfort. Despite the fact that the work-family conflict is considered a source of stress responsible for undermining workers' well-being, and as such has been explored in many work environments, there is still very little research specific to call centers. This study had the following aims: to explore work-family conflict perceived by call-center operators taking account of any differences related to respondents'professional and personal characteristics; to understand which demands and resources can have an impact on work-family conflict in this context. The study was carried out on a sample of 898 call center operators in a telecommunications company through the administration of a self-reporting questionnaire. Data analysis included: t-test, one-way analysis of variance, linear correlations and multiple regressions. A higher perception of work-family conflict among workers having a full-time contract was observed compared to those having part-time contracts. Multiple regression analysis identified as sources of influence on work-family conflict: emotional dissonance, uneasiness due customer dissatisfaction, workload, avoidance coping and working hours. Work-family conflict in the context studied is not particularly critical: it is in part influenced by professional and personal characteristics of respondents and primarily caused by work demands. Managerial implications are discussed, especially referred to training activities.

Adaptation as a Political Process: Adjusting to Drought and Conflict in Kenya's Drylands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eriksen, Siri; Lind, Jeremy

2009-05-01

In this article, we argue that people’s adjustments to multiple shocks and changes, such as conflict and drought, are intrinsically political processes that have uneven outcomes. Strengthening local adaptive capacity is a critical component of adapting to climate change. Based on fieldwork in two areas in Kenya, we investigate how people seek to access livelihood adjustment options and promote particular adaptation interests through forming social relations and political alliances to influence collective decision-making. First, we find that, in the face of drought and conflict, relations are formed among individuals, politicians, customary institutions, and government administration aimed at retaining or strengthening power bases in addition to securing material means of survival. Second, national economic and political structures and processes affect local adaptive capacity in fundamental ways, such as through the unequal allocation of resources across regions, development policy biased against pastoralism, and competition for elected political positions. Third, conflict is part and parcel of the adaptation process, not just an external factor inhibiting local adaptation strategies. Fourth, there are relative winners and losers of adaptation, but whether or not local adjustments to drought and conflict compound existing inequalities depends on power relations at multiple geographic scales that shape how conflicting interests are negotiated locally. Climate change adaptation policies are unlikely to be successful or minimize inequity unless the political dimensions of local adaptation are considered; however, existing power structures and conflicts of interests represent political obstacles to developing such policies.

The influence of family stress and conflict on depressive symptoms among working married women: A longitudinal study.

PubMed

Ju, Yeong Jun; Park, Eun-Cheol; Ju, Hyun-Jun; Lee, Sang Ah; Lee, Joo Eun; Kim, Woorim; Chun, Sung-Youn; Kim, Tae Hyun

2018-03-01

In the present study, researchers examined the association between depressive symptoms and family stress and conflict from multiple roles, along with the combined effect of family stress and family-work conflict. We used data from the 2008-2012 Korean Welfare Panel Study, consisting of 4,663 baseline participants. We measured depressive symptoms using the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. There was a significant relationship between depressive symptoms and family stress and conflict among working married women. With regard to the combined analysis, working married women who reported both family stress and family-work conflict exhibited the highest odds of depressive symptoms.

Managing work, family, and school roles: disengagement strategies can help and hinder.

PubMed

Cheng, Bonnie Hayden; McCarthy, Julie M

2013-07-01

The extent to which individuals manage multiple role domains has yet to be fully understood. We advance past research by examining the effect of interrole conflict among three very common and critically important life roles-work, family, and school-on three corresponding types of satisfaction. Further, we examine individual-based techniques that can empower people to manage multiple roles. In doing so, we integrate the disengagement strategies from the work recovery and coping literatures. These strategies focus on taking your mind off the problems at hand and include cognitive disengagement (psychological detachment, cognitive avoidance coping), as well as cognitive distortion (escape avoidance coping). We examine these strategies in a two-wave study of 178 individuals faced with the challenge of managing work, family, and school responsibilities. Findings demonstrated a joint offsetting effect of psychological detachment and cognitive avoidance coping on the relationship between work conflict and work satisfaction. Findings also indicated an exacerbating effect of escape avoidance coping on the relationship between work conflict and work satisfaction, school conflict and school satisfaction, and between family conflict and family satisfaction. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

A combined MOIP-MCDA approach to building and screening atmospheric pollution control strategies in urban regions.

PubMed

Mavrotas, George; Ziomas, Ioannis C; Diakouaki, Danae

2006-07-01

This article presents a methodological approach for the formulation of control strategies capable of reducing atmospheric pollution at the standards set by European legislation. The approach was implemented in the greater area of Thessaloniki and was part of a project aiming at the compliance with air quality standards in five major cities in Greece. The methodological approach comprises two stages: in the first stage, the availability of several measures contributing to a certain extent to reducing atmospheric pollution indicates a combinatorial problem and favors the use of Integer Programming. More specifically, Multiple Objective Integer Programming is used in order to generate alternative efficient combinations of the available policy measures on the basis of two conflicting objectives: public expenditure minimization and social acceptance maximization. In the second stage, these combinations of control measures (i.e., the control strategies) are then comparatively evaluated with respect to a wider set of criteria, using tools from Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, namely, the well-known PROMETHEE method. The whole procedure is based on the active involvement of local and central authorities in order to incorporate their concerns and preferences, as well as to secure the adoption and implementation of the resulting solution.

A Combined MOIP-MCDA Approach to Building and Screening Atmospheric Pollution Control Strategies in Urban Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mavrotas, George; Ziomas, Ioannis C.; Diakouaki, Danae

2006-07-01

This article presents a methodological approach for the formulation of control strategies capable of reducing atmospheric pollution at the standards set by European legislation. The approach was implemented in the greater area of Thessaloniki and was part of a project aiming at the compliance with air quality standards in five major cities in Greece. The methodological approach comprises two stages: in the first stage, the availability of several measures contributing to a certain extent to reducing atmospheric pollution indicates a combinatorial problem and favors the use of Integer Programming. More specifically, Multiple Objective Integer Programming is used in order to generate alternative efficient combinations of the available policy measures on the basis of two conflicting objectives: public expenditure minimization and social acceptance maximization. In the second stage, these combinations of control measures (i.e., the control strategies) are then comparatively evaluated with respect to a wider set of criteria, using tools from Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, namely, the well-known PROMETHEE method. The whole procedure is based on the active involvement of local and central authorities in order to incorporate their concerns and preferences, as well as to secure the adoption and implementation of the resulting solution.

Work-Family Conflict, Family-Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB), and Sleep Outcomes

PubMed Central

Crain, Tori L.; Hammer, Leslie B.; Bodner, Todd; Kossek, Ellen Ernst; Moen, Phyllis; Lilienthal, Richard; Buxton, Orfeu M.

2014-01-01

Although critical to health and well-being, relatively little research has been conducted in the organizational literature on linkages between the work-family interface and sleep. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, we use a sample of 623 information technology workers to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, family-supportive supervisor behaviors (FSSB), and sleep quality and quantity. Validated wrist actigraphy methods were used to collect objective sleep quality and quantity data over a one week period of time, and survey methods were used to collect information on self-reported work-family conflict, FSSB, and sleep quality and quantity. Results demonstrated that the combination of predictors (i.e., work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, FSSB) was significantly related to both objective and self-report measures of sleep quantity and quality. Future research should further examine the work-family interface to sleep link and make use of interventions targeting the work-family interface as a means for improving sleep health. PMID:24730425

[Play therapy for a child with separation anxiety disorder].

PubMed

Wu, Y Y; Chiu, Y N; Soong, W T

1995-06-01

Separation anxiety disorder is characterized by severe and exceeding anxiety and fear when a child is facing separation with attachment objects. More over, it affected the child in language, emotional and social interest and development. These children usually brought to physician's attention due to refusal to go to school, social withdraw or multiple somatic complaints with attachment behavior wanted to be nearby or closed to the attachment objects. A child's early attachment relationship and previous separation experience play a major role in the formation of separation anxiety disorder. This report presents a psychoanalytically-oriented play therapy for a 2-year-8-month-old boy in 17 months period total of 54 sessions. According to the main themes in each session the process can be divided into 4 stages, namely establishing therapeutic relationship, expressing repressed emotions, management of transference, attachment and conflict in therapy, and self growth and termination. The formulation of this case and management were discussed.

An Evaluation of Multiple Perceptions of Digital Rights Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stott, Allyn D.; Taneja, Aakash

Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions have generated much interest because of their influence on the expectations and responsibilities of customers and related organizations. It was created to restrict piracy and enhance digital media sales, however, it is found to be unable to fulfill its objectives. We find the protections by DRM lack an understanding of the end user and the evolving nature of copyright and fair use. The potential motives for pirating appear to increase as DRM becomes more intrusive causing a conflict in the objectives of DRM. Thus, adjustments must be made to the current DRM model in order for it to become beneficial for both the producer and the consumer. Our research identifies the needs, desires, and responsibilities of the various DRM stakeholders so that a successful use of DRM technologies can be modeled: a challenge faced by the media industry.

Fighting fair: Adaptive Marital Conflict Strategies as Predictors of Future Adolescent Peer and Romantic Relationship Quality.

PubMed

Miga, Erin M; Gdula, Julie Ann; Allen, Joseph P

2012-08-01

This study examined the associations between reasoning during interparental conflict and autonomous adolescent conflict negotiation with peers over time. Participants included 133 adolescents and their parents, peers, and romantic partners in a multi-method, multiple reporter, longitudinal study. Interparental reasoning at adolescent age 13 predicted greater autonomy and relatedness in observed adolescent-peer conflict one year later and lower levels of autonomy undermining during observed romantic partner conflict five years later. Interparental reasoning also predicted greater satisfaction and affection in adolescent romantic relationships seven years later. Findings suggest that autonomy promoting behaviors exhibited in the interparental context may influence adolescents' own more autonomous approaches to subsequent peer and romantic conflict. Possible explanatory models are discussed, including social learning theory and attachment theory.

78 FR 21959 - Center for Scientific Review ; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-12

... personal privacy. Name of Committee: Center for Scientific Review Special Emphasis Panel; Member Conflict... Panel; RFA DA13-003: Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science for Research, Relevant to the Family Smoking... Special Emphasis Panel; Member Conflict: Behavioral Interventions to Address Multiple Chronic Health...

Stable and variable affordances are both automatic and flexible

PubMed Central

Borghi, Anna M.; Riggio, Lucia

2015-01-01

The mere observation of pictures or words referring to manipulable objects is sufficient to evoke their affordances since objects and their nouns elicit components of appropriate motor programs associated with object interaction. While nobody doubts that objects actually evoke motor information, the degree of automaticity of this activation has been recently disputed. Recent evidence has indeed revealed that affordances activation is flexibly modulated by the task and by the physical and social context. It is therefore crucial to understand whether these results challenge previous evidence showing that motor information is activated independently from the task. The context and the task can indeed act as an early or late filter. We will review recent data consistent with the notion that objects automatically elicit multiple affordances and that top-down processes select among them probably inhibiting motor information that is not consistent with behavior goals. We will therefore argue that automaticity and flexibility of affordances are not in conflict. We will also discuss how language can incorporate affordances showing similarities, but also differences, between the motor information elicited by vision and language. Finally we will show how the distinction between stable and variable affordances can accommodate all these effects. PMID:26150778

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.

Understanding healthcare professionals' self-efficacy to resolve interprofessional conflict.

PubMed

Sexton, Martha; Orchard, Carole

2016-05-01

Conflict within interprofessional healthcare teams, when not effectively resolved, has been linked to detrimental consequences; however, effective conflict resolution has been shown to enhance team performance, increase patient safety, and improve patient outcomes. Alarmingly, knowledge of healthcare professionals' ability to resolve conflict has been limited, largely due to the challenges that arise when researchers attempt to observe a conflict occurring in real time. Research literature has identified three central components that seem to influence healthcare professional's perceived ability to resolve conflict: communication competence, problem-solving ability, and conflict resolution education and training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of communication competence, problem-solving ability, and conflict resolution education and training on healthcare professionals' perceived ability to resolve conflicts. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that two of the three central components-conflict resolution education and training and communication competence-were found to be statistically significant predictors of healthcare professionals' perceived ability to resolve conflict. Implications include a call to action for clinicians and academicians to recognize the importance of communication competence and conflict resolution education and training as a vital area in interprofessional pre- and post-licensure education and collaborative practice.

Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Guidelines: Update of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Policies and Procedures.

PubMed

Ngo-Metzger, Quyen; Moyer, Virginia; Grossman, David; Ebell, Mark; Woo, Meghan; Miller, Therese; Brummer, Tana; Chowdhury, Joya; Kato, Elisabeth; Siu, Albert; Phillips, William; Davidson, Karina; Phipps, Maureen; Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten

2018-01-01

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) provides independent, objective, and scientifically rigorous recommendations for clinical preventive services. A primary concern is to avoid even the appearance of members having special interests that might influence their ability to judge evidence and formulate unbiased recommendations. The conflicts of interest policy for the USPSTF is described, as is the formal process by which best practices were incorporated to update the policy. The USPSTF performed a literature review, conducted key informant interviews, and reviewed conflicts of interest policies of ten similar organizations. Important findings included transparency and public accessibility; full disclosure of financial relationships; disclosure of non-financial relationships (that create the potential for bias and compromise a member's objective judgment); disclosure of family members' conflicts of interests; and establishment of appropriate reporting periods. Controversies in best practices include the threshold of financial disclosures, ease of access to conflicts of interest policies and declarations, vague definition of non-financial biases, and request for family members' conflicts of interests (particularly those that are non-financial in nature). The USPSTF conflicts of interest policy includes disclosures for immediate family members, a clear non-financial conflicts of interest definition, long look-back period and application of the policy to prospective members. Conflicts of interest is solicited from all members every 4 months, formally reviewed, adjudicated, and made publicly available. The USPSTF conflicts of interest policy is publicly available as part of the USPSTF Procedure Manual. A continuous improvement process can be applied to conflicts of interest policies to enhance public trust in members of panels, such as the USPSTF, that produce clinical guidelines and recommendations. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reporting of conflicts of interest in oral presentations at medical conferences: a delegate-based prospective observational study

PubMed Central

Grey, Andrew; Avenell, Alison; Dalbeth, Nicola; Stewart, Fiona; Bolland, Mark J

2017-01-01

Objective To assess the prevalence, location, presentation and consistency of conflict of interest statements in oral presentations at medical conferences Design Prospective, delegate-based observational study Sample 201 oral presentations at 5 medical conferences in 2016 Main outcome measures Presence of a conflict of interest statement, its location within the presentation and its duration of display. Concordance between conflict of interest disclosures in oral presentations and written abstracts or meeting speaker information Results Conflict of interest statements were present in 143/201 (71%) presentations (range for conferences 26%–100%). 118 of the 141 evaluable statements (84%) were reported on a specific slide. Slides containing conflict of interest statements were displayed for a median (IQR) 2 s (1–5), range for conferences 1.25–7.5 s. Duration of display was shorter when the slide contained only the conflict of interest statement, 2 s (1–3.5), than when it contained other information, 8 s (3–17), but was not affected by type of presentation or whether a conflict of interest was disclosed. When a conflict of interest was disclosed, 27/84 (32%) presenters discussed an aspect of it. Discordance between the presence of a conflict of interest disclosure in the oral presentation and written formats occurred for 22% of presentations. Conclusion In oral presentations at the medical conferences we assessed, conflict of interest statements were often missing, displayed too briefly to be read and understood, or not discussed/explained by the presenter. They were sometimes discordant with statements in the corresponding written formats. Conference delegates’ ability to assess the objectivity and quality of the information in oral presentations may therefore have been diminished. PMID:28939580

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.

Categories and continua of destructive and constructive marital conflict tactics from the perspective of U.S. and Welsh children.

PubMed

Goeke-Morey, Marcie C; Cummings, E Mark; Harold, Gordon T; Shelton, Katherine H

2003-09-01

Categories and continua of parents' marital conflict tactics based on multiple, conceptually grounded criteria were tested. Participants were 175 U.S. children, ages 8-16 years (88 boys, 87 girls) and 327 Welsh children, ages 11-12 years (159 boys, 168 girls). Children's responses (affective, cognitive, behavioral) to analog presentations of 10 everyday marital conflict tactics enacted by fathers or mothers showed substantial variation as a function of tactic used. Orderings of conflict tactics on the various response criteria varied as a function of moderators, particularly the gender of the parent expressing the conflict tactic. Conflict tactics were classified as either constructive or destructive according to criteria derived from the emotional security hypothesis. Except for calm discussion, classifications did not change regardless of cultural group, parent gender, or child age or gender. Recommendations for negotiating everyday marital conflict for the children's sake are discussed.

Heart rate variability is differentially altered in multiple sclerosis: implications for acute, worsening and progressive disability.

PubMed

Studer, Valeria; Rocchi, Camilla; Motta, Caterina; Lauretti, Benedetta; Perugini, Jacopo; Brambilla, Laura; Pareja-Gutierrez, Lorena; Camera, Giorgia; Barbieri, Francesca Romana; Marfia, Girolama A; Centonze, Diego; Rossi, Silvia

2017-01-01

Sympathovagal imbalance has been associated with poor prognosis in chronic diseases, but there is conflicting evidence in multiple sclerosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the autonomic nervous system dysfunction correlation with inflammation and progression in multiple sclerosis. Heart rate variability was analysed in 120 multiple sclerosis patients and 60 healthy controls during supine rest and head-up tilt test; the normalised units of low frequency and high frequency power were considered to assess sympathetic and vagal components, respectively. Correlation analyses with clinical and radiological markers of disease activity and progression were performed. Sympathetic dysfunction was closely related to the progression of disability in multiple sclerosis: progressive patients showed altered heart rate variability with respect to healthy controls and relapsing-remitting patients, with higher rest low frequency power and lacking the expected low frequency power increase during the head-up tilt test. In relapsing-remitting patients, disease activity, even subclinical, was associated with lower rest low frequency power, whereas stable relapsing-remitting patients did not differ from healthy controls. Less sympathetic reactivity and higher low frequency power at rest were associated with incomplete recovery from relapse. Autonomic balance appears to be intimately linked with both the inflammatory activity of multiple sclerosis, which is featured by an overall hypoactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, and its compensatory plastic processes, which appear inefficient in case of worsening and progressive multiple sclerosis.

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis for Health Care Decision Making--Emerging Good Practices: Report 2 of the ISPOR MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force.

PubMed

Marsh, Kevin; IJzerman, Maarten; Thokala, Praveen; Baltussen, Rob; Boysen, Meindert; Kaló, Zoltán; Lönngren, Thomas; Mussen, Filip; Peacock, Stuart; Watkins, John; Devlin, Nancy

2016-01-01

Health care decisions are complex and involve confronting trade-offs between multiple, often conflicting objectives. Using structured, explicit approaches to decisions involving multiple criteria can improve the quality of decision making. A set of techniques, known under the collective heading, multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), are useful for this purpose. In 2014, ISPOR established an Emerging Good Practices Task Force. The task force's first report defined MCDA, provided examples of its use in health care, described the key steps, and provided an overview of the principal methods of MCDA. This second task force report provides emerging good-practice guidance on the implementation of MCDA to support health care decisions. The report includes: a checklist to support the design, implementation and review of an MCDA; guidance to support the implementation of the checklist; the order in which the steps should be implemented; illustrates how to incorporate budget constraints into an MCDA; provides an overview of the skills and resources, including available software, required to implement MCDA; and future research directions. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What Does It Mean to Do Something Randomly?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Yating; Enderson, Mary C.

2016-01-01

A mysterious conflict of solutions emerged when a group of tenth- and eleventh-grade students were studying a seemingly ordinary problem on combination and probability. By investigating the mysterious "conflicts" caused by multiple randomization procedures, students will gain a deeper understanding of what it means to perform a task…

Culture and Caregiving: Goals, Expectations, & Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenichel, Emily, Ed.

2003-01-01

"Zero to Three" is a single-focus bulletin of the National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families providing insight from multiple disciplines on the development of infants, toddlers, and their families. This issue focuses on the goals, expectations, and conflict in the relationship between culture and child caregiving and other care…

Making Peace: A Narrative Study of a Bilingual Liaison, a School and a Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hones, Donald F.

1999-01-01

Explores the role of bilingual liaisons in resolving conflicts and building bridges of understanding between schools and diverse communities, discussing the representation of individuals' voices and narrative forms that engage readers aesthetically and critically; addressing multiple conflicts affecting the lives of minority language students,…

Early Design Choices: Capture, Model, Integrate, Analyze, Simulate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.

2004-01-01

I. Designs are constructed incrementally to meet requirements and solve problems: a) Requirements types: objectives, scenarios, constraints, ilities. etc. b) Problem/issue types: risk/safety, cost/difficulty, interaction, conflict, etc. II. Capture requirements, problems and solutions: a) Collect design and analysis products and make them accessible for integration and analysis; b) Link changes in design requirements, problems and solutions; and c) Harvest design data for design models and choice structures. III. System designs are constructed by multiple groups designing interacting subsystems a) Diverse problems, choice criteria, analysis methods and point solutions. IV. Support integration and global analysis of repercussions: a) System implications of point solutions; b) Broad analysis of interactions beyond totals of mass, cost, etc.

A Distributed Trajectory-Oriented Approach to Managing Traffic Complexity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idris, Husni; Wing, David J.; Vivona, Robert; Garcia-Chico, Jose-Luis

2007-01-01

In order to handle the expected increase in air traffic volume, the next generation air transportation system is moving towards a distributed control architecture, in which ground-based service providers such as controllers and traffic managers and air-based users such as pilots share responsibility for aircraft trajectory generation and management. While its architecture becomes more distributed, the goal of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system remains to achieve objectives such as maintaining safety and efficiency. It is, therefore, critical to design appropriate control elements to ensure that aircraft and groundbased actions result in achieving these objectives without unduly restricting user-preferred trajectories. This paper presents a trajectory-oriented approach containing two such elements. One is a trajectory flexibility preservation function, by which aircraft plan their trajectories to preserve flexibility to accommodate unforeseen events. And the other is a trajectory constraint minimization function by which ground-based agents, in collaboration with air-based agents, impose just-enough restrictions on trajectories to achieve ATM objectives, such as separation assurance and flow management. The underlying hypothesis is that preserving trajectory flexibility of each individual aircraft naturally achieves the aggregate objective of avoiding excessive traffic complexity, and that trajectory flexibility is increased by minimizing constraints without jeopardizing the intended ATM objectives. The paper presents conceptually how the two functions operate in a distributed control architecture that includes self separation. The paper illustrates the concept through hypothetical scenarios involving conflict resolution and flow management. It presents a functional analysis of the interaction and information flow between the functions. It also presents an analytical framework for defining metrics and developing methods to preserve trajectory flexibility and minimize its constraints. In this framework flexibility is defined in terms of robustness and adaptability to disturbances and the impact of constraints is illustrated through analysis of a trajectory solution space with limited degrees of freedom and in simple constraint situations involving meeting multiple times of arrival and resolving a conflict.

Improving the Defense Acquisition System and Reducing System Costs

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-03-30

The need for this specific commitment results from the competition among the conflicting objectives of high perform- ance, lower cost, shorter... conflict with initiatives to improve reliability and support. Whereas the fastest acquisition approach involves initiating production prxor to...their Individual thrusts result in confusion on the part of OASD who tries to implement conflicting programs, and of defense contractors performing

Aggression and Withdrawal Related Behavior within Conflict Management Progression in Preschool Boys with Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horowitz, Laura; Westlund, Karolina; Ljungberg, Tomas

2007-01-01

Objective: This study examined conflict behavior in naturalistic preschool settings to better understand the role of non-affiliative behavior and language in conflict management. Method: Free-play at preschool was filmed among 20 boys with typically developing language (TL) and among 11 boys with Language Impairment (LI); the boys 4-7 years old.…

Social role conflict predicts stimulated cytokine production among men, not women.

PubMed

Schreier, Hannah M C; Hoffer, Lauren C; Chen, Edith

2016-11-01

To assess whether perceived role conflict is associated with stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokine production and glucocorticoid sensitivity, and whether these associations are moderated by sex. 153 healthy adults (aged 45.8±5.5years, 78% female) listed their 3 main social roles and indicated the amount of role conflict they perceived between each pair of social roles. Subsequently, participants underwent blood draws and leukocyte response to microbial challenge and glucocorticoid sensitivity were assessed by incubating whole blood with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence or absence of hydrocortisone. Stimulated levels of Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) were measured. Multiple regression analyses controlling for sociodemographics revealed significant sex×role conflict interactions for LPS-stimulated production of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα (all interaction ps<0.05), and a marginal interaction on LPS-stimulated IL-8 production (interaction p<0.10). Greater perceived role conflict was associated with greater pro-inflammatory cytokine production in response to microbial stimulation only among men, not women. There also were significant sex×role conflict interactions with respect to glucocorticoid sensitivity for IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα production (all interaction ps<0.05) and a marginal interaction for IL-8 (interaction p<0.10). Greater perceived role conflict was unrelated to glucocorticoid sensitivity among women, but associated with less sensitivity to glucocorticoid signaling among men. Perceived social role conflict, indicating greater perceived demand across multiple social roles, may take a greater toll on the regulation of inflammatory processes among men compared to women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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.

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.

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

Imaging of hemifacial spasm.

PubMed

Hermier, M

2018-04-25

Almost all primary hemifacial spasms are associated with one or more neurovascular conflicts, most often at the root exit zone in the immediate vicinity of the brainstem. Imaging has first to exclude a secondary hemifacial spasm and secondly to search for and characterize the responsible neurovascular conflict(s). Magnetic resonance imaging should include high-resolution anatomical hyper T2-weighted sequences and magnetic resonance angiography by using 1.5 or even better 3 Tesla magnets. The most frequent vascular compressions are from the anterior-inferior cerebellar artery, the posterior-inferior cerebellar artery and the vertebrobasilar artery; venous conflicts are very rare. Conflicts are often multiple; also, the same vessel may compress the facial nerve in two places. Also, conflicts may be aided by particular anatomical circumstances, including arterial dolichoectasia, posterior fossa with a small volume or bony malformations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Conjugal conflict and violence: a review and theoretical paradigm.

PubMed

Smilkstein, G; Aspy, C B; Quiggins, P A

1994-02-01

Conjugal violence has been described as having multiple etiologies. The variables are so numerous that intervention and research protocols are difficult to effect. This paper proposes a paradigm that establishes conjugal conflict and violence as separate entities. According to the paradigm, conjugal conflict is viewed as "an inevitable part of human association," whereas conjugal violence is determined to be a learned behavioral tactic that is employed as a coping strategy when an individual's conflict threshold potential is exceeded. Evidence will be offered that violence is learned from family of origin and from observing what is common or accepted practice in the community. Use of this paradigm would give primacy to community education programs that advance the concept of conflict resolution through rational discourse.

Divided loyalties and ambiguous relationships.

PubMed

Toulmin, S

1986-01-01

The author argues that conflicts of obligation may, but need not, give rise to issues of divided loyalties. Given this, the question then becomes under what circumstances and conditions a simple internal conflict may escalate into the problem of divided loyalties or fiduciary ambiguities. After discussing conflicts of obligation, it is asserted that loyalties are divided only when the demands of the various relationships involved are irreconcilable. As this is an extreme, the major problematic issues fall, then, in between, on multiple loyalties and ambiguous loyalties. How and where multiple loyalties arise, and under what conditions they may become ambiguous loyalties lead to the recognition that moral problems are created by leaving in ambiguity things about the relationships involved that would be better sorted out. Finally the author looks at situations in which physicians are systematically exposed to irresoluble ambiguity.

Effects of the Inter-Parental Relationship on Adolescents’ Emotional Security and Adjustment: The Important Role of Fathers

PubMed Central

Suh, Go Woon; Fabricius, William V.; Stevenson, Matthew M.; Parke, Ross D.; Cookston, Jeffrey T.; Braver, Sanford L.; Saenz, Delia S.

2016-01-01

We examined the mediational roles of multiple types of adolescents’ emotional security in relations between multiple aspects of the inter-parental relationship and adolescents’ mental health from ages 13 to 16 (N = 392). General marital quality, non-violent parent conflict, and physical intimate partner violence independently predicted mental health. Security in the father-adolescent relationship, over and above security with the mother and security in regard to parent conflict, mediated the link from general marital quality to adolescents’ mental health. With two exceptions, paths were stable for boys and girls, biological- and step-fathers, and Anglo- and Mexican-Americans. The findings reveal the need to expand the traditional foci on parent conflict and relationships with mothers to include general marital quality and relationships with fathers. PMID:27690497

Effects of the interparental relationship on adolescents' emotional security and adjustment: The important role of fathers.

PubMed

Suh, Go Woon; Fabricius, William V; Stevenson, Matthew M; Parke, Ross D; Cookston, Jeffrey T; Braver, Sanford L; Saenz, Delia S

2016-10-01

We examined the mediational roles of multiple types of adolescents' emotional security in relations between multiple aspects of the interparental relationship and adolescents' mental health from ages 13 to 16 (N = 392). General marital quality, nonviolent parent conflict, and physical intimate partner violence independently predicted mental health. Security in the father-adolescent relationship, over and above security with the mother and security in regard to parent conflict, mediated the link from general marital quality to adolescents' mental health. With 2 exceptions, paths were stable for boys and girls, biological- and stepfathers, and Anglo- and Mexican Americans. The findings reveal the need to expand the traditional foci on parent conflict and relationships with mothers to include general marital quality and relationships with fathers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Hydrologic Model Development and Calibration: Contrasting a Single- and Multi-Objective Approach for Comparing Model Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asadzadeh, M.; Maclean, A.; Tolson, B. A.; Burn, D. H.

2009-05-01

Hydrologic model calibration aims to find a set of parameters that adequately simulates observations of watershed behavior, such as streamflow, or a state variable, such as snow water equivalent (SWE). There are different metrics for evaluating calibration effectiveness that involve quantifying prediction errors, such as the Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) coefficient and bias evaluated for the entire calibration period, on a seasonal basis, for low flows, or for high flows. Many of these metrics are conflicting such that the set of parameters that maximizes the high flow NS differs from the set of parameters that maximizes the low flow NS. Conflicting objectives are very likely when different calibration objectives are based on different fluxes and/or state variables (e.g., NS based on streamflow versus SWE). One of the most popular ways to balance different metrics is to aggregate them based on their importance and find the set of parameters that optimizes a weighted sum of the efficiency metrics. Comparing alternative hydrologic models (e.g., assessing model improvement when a process or more detail is added to the model) based on the aggregated objective might be misleading since it represents one point on the tradeoff of desired error metrics. To derive a more comprehensive model comparison, we solved a bi-objective calibration problem to estimate the tradeoff between two error metrics for each model. Although this approach is computationally more expensive than the aggregation approach, it results in a better understanding of the effectiveness of selected models at each level of every error metric and therefore provides a better rationale for judging relative model quality. The two alternative models used in this study are two MESH hydrologic models (version 1.2) of the Wolf Creek Research basin that differ in their watershed spatial discretization (a single Grouped Response Unit, GRU, versus multiple GRUs). The MESH model, currently under development by Environment Canada, is a coupled land-surface and hydrologic model. Results will demonstrate the conclusions a modeller might make regarding the value of additional watershed spatial discretization under both an aggregated (single-objective) and multi-objective model comparison framework.

Individuation of objects and events: a developmental study.

PubMed

Wagner, Laura; Carey, Susan

2003-12-01

This study investigates children's ability to use language to guide their choice of individuation criterion in the domains of objects and events. Previous work (Shipley, E. F., & Shepperson, B. (1990). Countable entities: developmental changes. Cognition, 34, 109-136.) has shown that children have a strong bias to use a spatio-temporal individuation strategy when counting objects and that children will ignore a conflicting linguistic description in favor of this spatio-temporal bias. Experiment 1 asked children (3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) and adults to count objects and events under different linguistic descriptions. In the object task, subjects counted pictures of familiar objects split into multiple pieces (as in Shipley, E. F., & Shepperson, B. (1990). Countable entities: developmental changes. Cognition, 34, 109-136.) and described either using an appropriate kind label (e.g. "car") or the general term "thing". In the event task, subjects watched short animated movies consisting of a goal-oriented event achieved via multiple, temporally separated steps. The events were described either with an appropriate telic predicate targeting the goal (e.g. "paint a flower") or with an atelic predicate targeting the steps in the process (e.g. "paint") and the subjects' task was to count the events. Relative to adults, children preferred a spatio-temporal counting strategy in both tasks; there was no difference among the three groups of children. However, children were able to significantly change their counting strategy to follow the linguistic description in the event but not the object task. Experiment 2 extended the object task to include counting of other types of non-spatio-temporal units such as sub-parts of objects and collections. Results showed that children could use the linguistic descriptions to guide their counting strategy for these new items, though they continued to show a bias for a spatio-temporal individuation strategy with the collections. We suggest potential cognitive origins for the spatio-temporal individuation bias and how it interacts with children's developing linguistic knowledge.

Family conflict and depression in HIV-negative heterosexuals: the role of methamphetamine use.

PubMed

Semple, Shirley J; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Zians, Jim; Patterson, Thomas L

2009-06-01

Previous research has reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms among methamphetamine users, but little attention has been paid to possible links between family environment and psychological distress. This study examined relationships between family conflict, substance use, and depressive symptoms in a sample of 104 heterosexual methamphetamine users in San Diego, California. Eighty-nine percent of the sample reported conflict with a family member in the past year. Conflict was reported most often with parents and siblings. Sources of conflict included drug use, lifestyle issues, interpersonal and communication issues, and concern for other family members. In regression analyses, being female, being a polydrug user, and facing social and legal stressors were associated with higher levels of family conflict. Multiple regression analyses also revealed a positive association between family conflict and depressive symptoms. Contrary to expectation, methamphetamine dose did not moderate the relationship between family conflict and depressive symptoms. Reducing family conflict may be an important first step toward ameliorating depressive symptoms and creating more supportive environments for methamphetamine users who are in urgent need of effective interventions. Copyright (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Family conflict and depression in HIV-negative heterosexuals: The role of methamphetamine use

PubMed Central

Semple, Shirley J.; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Zians, Jim; Patterson, Thomas L.

2009-01-01

Previous research has reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms among methamphetamine users, but little attention has been paid to possible links between family environment and psychological distress. This study examined relationships between family conflict, substance use, and depressive symptoms in a sample of 104 heterosexual methamphetamine users in San Diego, CA. Eighty-nine percent of the sample reported conflict with a family member in the past year. Conflict was reported most often with parents and siblings. Sources of conflict included drug use, lifestyle issues, interpersonal and communication issues, and concern for other family members. In regression analyses, being female, being a polydrug user, and facing social and legal stressors were associated with higher levels of family conflict. Multiple regression analyses also revealed a positive association between family conflict and depressive symptoms. Contrary to expectation, methamphetamine dose did not moderate the relationship between family conflict and depressive symptoms. Reducing family conflict may be an important first step toward ameliorating depressive symptoms and creating more supportive environments for methamphetamine users who are in urgent need of effective interventions. PMID:19586151

Epistemic Cognition when Students Read Multiple Documents Containing Conflicting Scientific Evidence: A Think-Aloud Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Leila E.; Braten, Ivar; Stromso, Helge I.

2012-01-01

This study used think-aloud methodology to investigate 51 Norwegian undergraduates' topic-specific epistemic cognition while working with six documents presenting conflicting views on the issue of cell phones and potential health risks. Results showed that students' epistemic cognition was represented by one dimension concerning the certainty and…

Work Social Supports, Role Stressors, and Work-Family Conflict: The Moderating Effect of Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Russell A.; Bulger, Carrie A.; Barnes-Farrell, Janet L.

2010-01-01

The current study examined whether important distinctions are masked if participant age is ignored when modeling relationships among constructs associated with the work-family interface. An initial omnibus model of social support, work role stressors, and work-family conflict was tested. Multiple groups analyses were then conducted to investigate…

Network Financial Support and Conflict as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms among a Highly Disadvantaged Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knowlton, Amy R.; Latkin, Carl A.

2007-01-01

The study examined multiple dimensions of social support as predictors of depressive symptoms among a highly vulnerable population. Social network analysis was used to assess perceived and enacted dimensions of support (emotional, financial, instrumental), network conflict, closeness, and composition. Participants were 393 current and former…

Minimizing conflict between recreation and nature conservation

Treesearch

David N. Cole

1993-01-01

Most greenways are created with multiple goals in mind. Two of the foremost are providing recreational opportunities and conserving nature. Although these two goals frequently enhance each other, sometimes pursuing both simultaneously can result in conflicts. In some cases, recreational use can so severely degrade an area that not only is the environment damaged but...

The Effects of Racial Conflict on Organizational Performance: A Search for Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd, Marilyn Y.

2007-01-01

This article addresses the effect of racial conflict on organizational performance as an issue that needs theoretical support in the foundational theories of human resource development (HRD). While the field of HRD recognizes theories from multiple disciplines, the field lacks a theoretical framework to inform leadership in managing racial…

Interparental Conflict and Children's School Adjustment: The Explanatory Role of Children's Internal Representations of Interparental and Parent-Child Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturge-Apple, Melissa L.; Davies, Patrick T.; Winter, Marcia A.; Cummings, E. Mark; Schermerhorn, Alice

2008-01-01

This study examined how children's insecure internal representations of interparental and parent-child relationships served as explanatory mechanisms in multiple pathways linking interparental conflict and parent emotional unavailability with the emotional and classroom engagement difficulties the children had in their adjustment to school. With…

Impact of Armed Conflicts of Children, Families, and Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ntakiyimana, Felicien

2005-01-01

With the multiplication of armed conflicts around the world, especially in Africa, there are more and more children who are exposed to war related violence. War sows the seeds of fear, restlessness, uncertainty, and despair. Families are scattered, and children are left without care; parents are detained, killed, or disappear. No wonder children…

Racial Conflict in the United States: What Should Be Done? Grade Twelve. [Resource Unit V.] Project Social Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis. Project Social Studies Curriculum Center.

This is the fifth of seven resource units for a twelfth grade course on value conflicts and policy decisions. The topic for this unit is racial conflict in the United States. The introduction explains how this unit coincides with other units of the K-12 series which have treated intergroup relations. The objectives are listed as to…

Agropastoral Mobility and Rangelands Multiple Uses in the Miombo Frontier Ecozone of Tabora Region, Western Tanzania.

PubMed

Masanja, George Felix

2017-01-01

This study aimed to examine the argument of environmental resource-use conflict as the primary cause of crop farmers and agropastoralists conflicts in Tabora Region, Tanzania. It explored the multiple interdependent phenomena that affect livelihoods relationships between crop farmers and agropastoralists and the nature of their continuing conflicts over the ecozonal resources. A primary dataset of the two groups' conflicts was used. An ex post facto and multistage sampling design was adopted. A total of 252 respondents were interviewed in three separate villages drawn from agroecological zones fringing the miombo woodland where such tensions are high. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Results indicate that education ( β = -1.215, .297; p = .050), household size ( β = .958, 2.607; p = .017), herd size ( β = 4.276, 7.197; p = 0.001), farm size ( β = -1.734, .048; p = .176), the police ( β = -.912, 4.582; p = .043), and village leaders ( β = -.122, .885; p = .012) were the most potent predictors of causes of conflicts. The study found no support for demographic variables, like age, sex, marital status, income, duration of residence, and distance to resource base. The study recommends population growth control and strengthening of local institutions and recommends local communities to sustain management of natural resources base in the area.

Frequency-dependent and correlational selection pressures have conflicting consequences for assortative mating in a color-polymorphic lizard, Uta stansburiana.

PubMed

Lancaster, Lesley T; McAdam, Andrew G; Hipsley, Christy A; Sinervo, Barry R

2014-08-01

Genetically determined polymorphisms incorporating multiple traits can persist in nature under chronic, fluctuating, and sometimes conflicting selection pressures. Balancing selection among morphs preserves equilibrium frequencies, while correlational selection maintains favorable trait combinations within each morph. Under negative frequency-dependent selection, females should mate (often disassortatively) with rare male morphotypes to produce conditionally fit offspring. Conversely, under correlational selection, females should mate assortatively to preserve coadapted gene complexes and avoid ontogenetic conflict. Using controlled breeding designs, we evaluated consequences of assortative mating patterns in color-polymorphic side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana), to identify conflict between these sources of selection. Females who mated disassortatively, and to conditionally high-quality males in the context of frequency-dependent selection, experienced highest fertility rates. In contrast, assortatively mated females experienced higher fetal viability rates. The trade-off between fertility and egg viability resulted in no overall fitness benefit to either assortative or disassortative mating patterns. These results suggest that ongoing conflict between correlational and frequency dependent selection in polymorphic populations may generate a trade-off between rare-morph advantage and phenotypic integration and between assortative and disassortative mating decisions. More generally, interactions among multiple sources of diversity-promoting selection can alter adaptations and dynamics predicted to arise under any of these regimes alone.

Post-traumatic stress disorder in the context of terrorism and other civil conflict in Northern Ireland: randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Gillespie, Kate; Clark, David M

2007-01-01

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder related to terrorism and other civil conflict in Northern Ireland. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Community treatment centre, Northern Ireland. Participants 58 consecutive patients with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (median 5.2 years, range 3 months to 32 years) mostly resulting from multiple traumas linked to terrorism and other civil conflict. Interventions Immediate cognitive therapy compared with a waiting list control condition for 12 weeks followed by treatment. Treatment comprised a mean of 5.9 sessions during 12 weeks and 2.0 sessions thereafter. Main outcome measures Primary outcome measures were patients' scores for post-traumatic stress disorder (post-traumatic stress diagnostic scale) and depression (Beck depression inventory). The secondary outcome measure was scores for occupational and social functioning (work related disability, social disability, and family related disability) on the Sheehan disability scale. Results At 12 weeks after randomisation, immediate cognitive therapy was associated with significantly greater improvement than the waiting list control group in the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (mean difference 9.6, 95% confidence interval 3.6 to 15.6), depression (mean difference 10.1, 4.8 to 15.3), and self reported occupational and social functioning (mean difference 1.3, 0.3 to 2.5). Effect sizes from before to after treatment were large: post-traumatic stress disorder 1.25, depression 1.05, and occupational and social functioning 1.17. No change was observed in the control group. Conclusion Cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder related to terrorism and other civil conflict. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN16228473. PMID:17495988

Exploring emerging learning needs: a UK-wide consultation on environmental sustainability learning objectives for medical education.

PubMed

Walpole, Sarah C; Mortimer, Frances; Inman, Alice; Braithwaite, Isobel; Thompson, Trevor

2015-12-24

This study aimed to engage wide-ranging stakeholders and develop consensus learning objectives for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. A UK-wide consultation garnered opinions of healthcare students, healthcare educators and other key stakeholders about environmental sustainability in medical education. The policy Delphi approach informed this study. Draft learning objectives were revised iteratively during three rounds of consultation: online questionnaire or telephone interview, face-to-face seminar and email consultation. Twelve draft learning objectives were developed based on review of relevant literature. In round one, 64 participants' median ratings of the learning objectives were 3.5 for relevance and 3.0 for feasibility on a Likert scale of one to four. Revisions were proposed, e.g. to highlight relevance to public health and professionalism. Thirty three participants attended round two. Conflicting opinions were explored. Added content areas included health benefits of sustainable behaviours. To enhance usability, restructuring provided three overarching learning objectives, each with subsidiary points. All participants from rounds one and two were contacted in round three, and no further edits were required. This is the first attempt to define consensus learning objectives for medical students about environmental sustainability. Allowing a wide range of stakeholders to comment on multiple iterations of the document stimulated their engagement with the issues raised and ownership of the resulting learning objectives.

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

Contribution of the Multi-attribute Value Theory to conflict resolution in groundwater management. Application to the Mancha Oriental system (Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apperl, B.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Andreu, J.; Llopis-Albert, C.

2012-04-01

The implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, with consideration of environmental, economic and social objectives, claims for participatory water resource management methods. To deal with different conflicting objectives it is necessary to apply a method for clarifying stakeholders' positions (identifying values and opinions of stakeholders, and quantifying their valuations), improving transparency with respect to outcomes of alternatives, and moving the discussion from alternatives towards fundamental objectives (value-thinking approach) and valuing trade-offs, facilitating negotiation. The method allows the incorporation of stakeholders in the planning process, which should guarantee a higher acceptance of the policies to be implemented. This research has been conducted in the Mancha Oriental groundwater system Spain, subject to an intensive use of groundwater for irrigation. The main goals according to the WFD are: a good qualitative and quantitative status of the aquifer and a good quantitative and ecological status of related surface water resources (mainly the Jucar river and dependent ecosystems). The aim is to analyze the contribution of the MAVT for conflict resolution and a sustainable groundwater management, involving the stakeholders in the valuation process. A complex set of objectives and attributes has been defined. The alternatives have been evaluated according to the compliance of ecological, economic and social interests. Results show that the acceptation of alternatives depends strongly on the combination of measures and the implementation status. A high conflict potential is expected from alternatives consisting of one unique measure. Uncertainties of the results are notable, but do not influence heavily on the alternative ranking. Different future scenarios also influence on the preference of alternatives. For instance, an expected reduction of future groundwater resources by climate change increases the conflict potential, with two observed reactions: acceptance of more rigorous measures, on one hand, and a tendency to soft measures with the same cost, as a reaction to the decreased effectiveness of the alternatives. The implementation of the method to a very complex case study, with many conflicting objectives and alternatives and uncertain outcomes, including future scenarios (climate change) illustrate the potential of the method for supporting management decisions.

An Airborne Conflict Resolution Approach Using a Genetic Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mondoloni, Stephane; Conway, Sheila

2001-01-01

An airborne conflict resolution approach is presented that is capable of providing flight plans forecast to be conflict-free with both area and traffic hazards. This approach is capable of meeting constraints on the flight plan such as required times of arrival (RTA) at a fix. The conflict resolution algorithm is based upon a genetic algorithm, and can thus seek conflict-free flight plans meeting broader flight planning objectives such as minimum time, fuel or total cost. The method has been applied to conflicts occurring 6 to 25 minutes in the future in climb, cruise and descent phases of flight. The conflict resolution approach separates the detection, trajectory generation and flight rules function from the resolution algorithm. The method is capable of supporting pilot-constructed resolutions, cooperative and non-cooperative maneuvers, and also providing conflict resolution on trajectories forecast by an onboard FMC.

When Goals Conflict But People Prosper: The Case of Dispositional Optimism

PubMed Central

Segerstrom, Suzanne C.; Nes, Lise Solberg

2005-01-01

Optimistic persistence in pursuing goals may have beneficial consequences such as protection against negative affect and greater likelihood of goal attainment, but persistence can also result in greater likelihood of goal conflict, which can have negative consequences. Two studies, one cross-sectional (N = 100) and one longitudinal (N = 77), found that optimism associated with higher goal conflict. However, objectively rated goal conflict did not significantly undermine adjustment, and when balance among goal value, expectancy, and conflict was considered, optimism associated with better balance. In turn, balance accounted for part of optimists’ better goal progress over the course of a semester. Although goal conflict may have costs, these costs appear to be offset by accompanying benefits, particularly for optimists. PMID:17016545

Mechanisms of Identity Conflict: Uncertainty, Anxiety, and the Behavioral Inhibition System.

PubMed

Hirsh, Jacob B; Kang, Sonia K

2016-08-01

Social identities are associated with normative standards for thought and action, profoundly influencing the behavioral choices of individual group members. These social norms provide frameworks for identifying the most appropriate actions in any situation. Given the increasing complexity of the social world, however, individuals are more and more likely to identify strongly with multiple social groups simultaneously. When these groups provide divergent behavioral norms, individuals can experience social identity conflict. The current manuscript examines the nature and consequences of this socially conflicted state, drawing upon advances in our understanding of the neuropsychology of conflict and uncertainty. Identity conflicts are proposed to involve activity in the Behavioral Inhibition System, which in turn produces high levels of anxiety and stress. Building upon this framework, four strategies for resolving identity conflict are reviewed. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Linkages between spouses' psychological distress and marital conflict in the home.

PubMed

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

2007-09-01

To elucidate the processes that underlie the established association between psychopathology and marital functioning, researchers have given attention to how symptomatic individuals manage their interpersonal contexts, particularly during the handling of disagreements. In the current study, the authors evaluate the role of marital conflict strategies in relation to wives' and husbands' psychological distress levels. A sample of 100 community-based couples completed assessments of psychological distress and diaries describing marital conflict that occurred at home during a 15-day reporting period. Findings from multilevel modeling of dyadic data revealed associations between both spouses' psychological distress and multiple behavioral and emotional conflict expressions in the home. Psychological symptoms uniquely predicted the occurrence of certain conflict expressions, even when accounting for global negative marital sentiments. The findings encourage subsequent consideration of marital conflict expressions and resolution strategies when studying processes involved in the marriage-psychological adjustment link. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved

Effects of work-family-school role conflicts and role-related social support on burnout in Registered Nurses: a structural equation modelling approach.

PubMed

Goong, Hwasoo; Xu, Lijuan; Li, Chun-Yu

2016-11-01

To examine the effects of work-family-school role conflicts and role-related social support (RRSS) on burnout of nurses pursuing an advanced degree. A predictive correlational cross-sectional study design was used. Nurses were found to be a high-risk group for burnout, even more so among nurses pursuing an advanced degree. When nurses with a professional career marry and decide to become students, inter-role conflicts and burnout are possible outcomes of the resulting multiple roles. Using convenience sampling, data were collected from October 2011-May 2012. A questionnaire about work-family-school role conflicts, RRSS, burnout and general information was completed by 286 nurses pursuing an advanced degree at 12 hospitals in Korea. Data were analysed using SPSS and structural equation modelling with the Analysis of Moment Structures program. The proposed model provided a good fit to the obtained data. Work-family-school role conflicts and social support exerted significant effects on burnout. Role-related social support was found to play a partial mediating role between work-family-school role conflicts and burnout. The findings of this study imply that RRSS significantly directly and indirectly influences burnout among the nurses pursuing an advanced degree. It is necessary for nursing managers to consider implementing family- and school-friendly policies (e.g. flexible work schedules) to help nurses to manage their multiple roles and thereby decrease their burnout rate. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Modeling the frequency of opposing left-turn conflicts at signalized intersections using generalized linear regression models.

PubMed

Zhang, Xin; Liu, Pan; Chen, Yuguang; Bai, Lu; Wang, Wei

2014-01-01

The primary objective of this study was to identify whether the frequency of traffic conflicts at signalized intersections can be modeled. The opposing left-turn conflicts were selected for the development of conflict predictive models. Using data collected at 30 approaches at 20 signalized intersections, the underlying distributions of the conflicts under different traffic conditions were examined. Different conflict-predictive models were developed to relate the frequency of opposing left-turn conflicts to various explanatory variables. The models considered include a linear regression model, a negative binomial model, and separate models developed for four traffic scenarios. The prediction performance of different models was compared. The frequency of traffic conflicts follows a negative binominal distribution. The linear regression model is not appropriate for the conflict frequency data. In addition, drivers behaved differently under different traffic conditions. Accordingly, the effects of conflicting traffic volumes on conflict frequency vary across different traffic conditions. The occurrences of traffic conflicts at signalized intersections can be modeled using generalized linear regression models. The use of conflict predictive models has potential to expand the uses of surrogate safety measures in safety estimation and evaluation.

A Labor of Love

PubMed Central

Ross, Alyson; Sundaramurthi, Thiruppavai; Bevans, Margaret

2014-01-01

Background Evidence suggests that emotional distress and objective demands of cancer caregiving are comparable to those of dementia caregiving, yet little research has focused on the physical health of cancer caregivers. Whether the stress leads directly to changes in health or whether the stress leads to changes in health behaviors, which in turn affect health, has not been systematically examined. Objective The objective of this study was to review the research literature regarding changes in health behaviors associated with caring for an individual with cancer. Methods Literature was reviewed from multiple databases including CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), CINAHL Plus, PsycNET, PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Key words included “health behavior,” “health promotion,” ”caregivers/caregiving,” “cancer/oncology,” “diet/nutrition,” “exercise/physical activity,” “stress management,” “smoking” and “alcohol.” Studies were included if they involved informal adult caregivers and at least 1 behavior associated with a healthy lifestyle. Of the 866 studies identified, 8 met the criteria. Results Studies revealed conflicting information, with some suggesting deleterious changes in behaviors, whereas others found the changes protective. Conclusions The lack of uniformity of terminology and conflicting findings make it difficult to conclude the impact of the caregiving experience on the health behaviors of cancer caregivers. Something is placing caregivers at risk for illness and early death, but the mechanisms behind the risk and the role of unhealthy behaviors are not clear. Implications for Practice At a minimum, cancer caregivers should be screened for behavior changes and disease risk. Developing standardized measures for future research including controlled, longitudinal studies is needed. PMID:23132126

Coping with employee, family, and student roles: evidence of dispositional conflict and facilitation tendencies.

PubMed

Hecht, Tracy D; McCarthy, Julie M

2010-07-01

Balancing multiple roles is a challenge for individuals in many sectors of the population. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that individuals have dispositional tendencies to experience interrole conflict and facilitation. We also aimed to show that coping styles and life satisfaction are correlates of dispositional conflict and facilitation tendencies. Two survey studies were conducted with individuals involved in 3 life roles (i.e., employee, student, and family member; Study 1: N = 193; Study 2: N = 284). The hierarchical structure of conflict and facilitation was examined in both studies. Support for the dispositional model was found in both cases through the use of hierarchical confirmatory factor analyses. In Study 2, a longitudinal assessment of the nomological network surrounding conflict and facilitation tendencies was conducted with structural equation modeling analyses; we found that coping styles had synchronous relations with dispositional conflict and facilitation; dispositional conflict had a lagged and negative relation with life satisfaction.

Multi-Objective Design Of Optimal Greenhouse Gas Observation Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, D. D.; Bergmann, D. J.; Cameron-Smith, P. J.; Gard, E.; Guilderson, T. P.; Rotman, D.; Stolaroff, J. K.

2010-12-01

One of the primary scientific functions of a Greenhouse Gas Information System (GHGIS) is to infer GHG source emission rates and their uncertainties by combining measurements from an observational network with atmospheric transport modeling. Certain features of the observational networks that serve as inputs to a GHGIS --for example, sampling location and frequency-- can greatly impact the accuracy of the retrieved GHG emissions. Observation System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) provide a framework to characterize emission uncertainties associated with a given network configuration. By minimizing these uncertainties, OSSEs can be used to determine optimal sampling strategies. Designing a real-world GHGIS observing network, however, will involve multiple, conflicting objectives; there will be trade-offs between sampling density, coverage and measurement costs. To address these issues, we have added multi-objective optimization capabilities to OSSEs. We demonstrate these capabilities by quantifying the trade-offs between retrieval error and measurement costs for a prototype GHGIS, and deriving GHG observing networks that are Pareto optimal. [LLNL-ABS-452333: This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Multiobjective genetic algorithm conjunctive use optimization for production, cost, and energy with dynamic return flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peralta, Richard C.; Forghani, Ali; Fayad, Hala

2014-04-01

Many real water resources optimization problems involve conflicting objectives for which the main goal is to find a set of optimal solutions on, or near to the Pareto front. E-constraint and weighting multiobjective optimization techniques have shortcomings, especially as the number of objectives increases. Multiobjective Genetic Algorithms (MGA) have been previously proposed to overcome these difficulties. Here, an MGA derives a set of optimal solutions for multiobjective multiuser conjunctive use of reservoir, stream, and (un)confined groundwater resources. The proposed methodology is applied to a hydraulically and economically nonlinear system in which all significant flows, including stream-aquifer-reservoir-diversion-return flow interactions, are simulated and optimized simultaneously for multiple periods. Neural networks represent constrained state variables. The addressed objectives that can be optimized simultaneously in the coupled simulation-optimization model are: (1) maximizing water provided from sources, (2) maximizing hydropower production, and (3) minimizing operation costs of transporting water from sources to destinations. Results show the efficiency of multiobjective genetic algorithms for generating Pareto optimal sets for complex nonlinear multiobjective optimization problems.

A leader-follower-interactive method for regional water resources management with considering multiple water demands and eco-environmental constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yizhong; Lu, Hongwei; Li, Jing; Ren, Lixia; He, Li

2017-05-01

This study presents the mathematical formulation and implementations of a synergistic optimization framework based on an understanding of water availability and reliability together with the characteristics of multiple water demands. This framework simultaneously integrates a set of leader-followers-interactive objectives established by different decision makers during the synergistic optimization. The upper-level model (leader's one) determines the optimal pollutants discharge to satisfy the environmental target. The lower-level model (follower's one) accepts the dispatch requirement from the upper-level one and dominates the optimal water-allocation strategy to maximize economic benefits representing the regional authority. The complicated bi-level model significantly improves upon the conventional programming methods through the mutual influence and restriction between the upper- and lower-level decision processes, particularly when limited water resources are available for multiple completing users. To solve the problem, a bi-level interactive solution algorithm based on satisfactory degree is introduced into the decision-making process for measuring to what extent the constraints are met and the objective reaches its optima. The capabilities of the proposed model are illustrated through a real-world case study of water resources management system in the district of Fengtai located in Beijing, China. Feasible decisions in association with water resources allocation, wastewater emission and pollutants discharge would be sequentially generated for balancing the objectives subject to the given water-related constraints, which can enable Stakeholders to grasp the inherent conflicts and trade-offs between the environmental and economic interests. The performance of the developed bi-level model is enhanced by comparing with single-level models. Moreover, in consideration of the uncertainty in water demand and availability, sensitivity analysis and policy analysis are employed for identifying their impacts on the final decisions and improving the practical applications.

On the specificity of sequential congruency effects in implicit learning of motor and perceptual sequences.

PubMed

D'Angelo, Maria C; Jiménez, Luis; Milliken, Bruce; Lupiáñez, Juan

2013-01-01

Individuals experience less interference from conflicting information following events that contain conflicting information. Recently, Jiménez, Lupiáñez, and Vaquero (2009) demonstrated that such adaptations to conflict occur even when the source of conflict arises from implicit knowledge of sequences. There is accumulating evidence that momentary changes in adaptations made in response to conflicting information are conflict-type specific (e.g., Funes, Lupiáñez, & Humphreys, 2010a), suggesting that there are multiple modes of control. The current study examined whether conflict-specific sequential congruency effects occur when the 2 sources of conflict are implicitly learned. Participants implicitly learned a motor sequence while simultaneously learning a perceptual sequence. In a first experiment, after learning the 2 orthogonal sequences, participants expressed knowledge of the 2 sequences independently of each other in a transfer phase. In Experiments 2 and 3, within each sequence, the presence of a single control trial disrupted the expression of this specific type of learning on the following trial. There was no evidence of cross-conflict modulations in the expression of sequence learning. The results suggest that the mechanisms involved in transient shifts in conflict-specific control, as reflected in sequential congruency effects, are also engaged when the source of conflict is implicit. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Exploring the Climate Change, Migration and Conflict Nexus.

PubMed

Burrows, Kate; Kinney, Patrick L

2016-04-22

The potential link between climate change, migration, and conflict has been widely discussed and is increasingly viewed by policy makers as a security issue. However, considerable uncertainty remains regarding the role that climate variability and change play among the many drivers of migration and conflict. The overall objective of this paper is to explore the potential pathways linking climate change, migration and increased risk of conflict. We review the existing literature surrounding this issue and break the problem into two components: the links between climate change and migration, and those between migration and conflict. We found a large range of views regarding the importance of climate change as a driver for increasing rates of migration and subsequently of conflict. We argue that future research should focus not only on the climate-migration-conflict pathway but also work to understand the other pathways by which climate variability and change might exacerbate conflict. We conclude by proposing five questions to help guide future research on the link between climate change, migration, and conflict.

Exploring the Climate Change, Migration and Conflict Nexus

PubMed Central

Burrows, Kate; Kinney, Patrick L.

2016-01-01

The potential link between climate change, migration, and conflict has been widely discussed and is increasingly viewed by policy makers as a security issue. However, considerable uncertainty remains regarding the role that climate variability and change play among the many drivers of migration and conflict. The overall objective of this paper is to explore the potential pathways linking climate change, migration and increased risk of conflict. We review the existing literature surrounding this issue and break the problem into two components: the links between climate change and migration, and those between migration and conflict. We found a large range of views regarding the importance of climate change as a driver for increasing rates of migration and subsequently of conflict. We argue that future research should focus not only on the climate-migration-conflict pathway but also work to understand the other pathways by which climate variability and change might exacerbate conflict. We conclude by proposing five questions to help guide future research on the link between climate change, migration, and conflict. PMID:27110806

Conflict termination and military strategy: Coercion, persuasion, and war

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cimbala, S.J.; Dunn, K.A.

1987-01-01

The contributors examine a wide variety of topics ranging from superpower views on conflict termination to past, present, and future U.S. military service contributions. They aim to highlight the importance of thinking about conflict termination goals and objectives in peacetime to insure that plans that may be used in war have been carefully evaluated outside the heat of battle, when the emotions created by war might cloud decision making.

Solidarity and Conflict between Adult Children and Parents: A Latent Class Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Gaalen, Ruben I.; Dykstra, Pearl A.

2006-01-01

Using multiple dimensions of solidarity and conflict in a latent class analysis, we develop a typology of adult child-parent relationships. The data (N = 4,990) are from the first wave of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study. In descending order of relationship quality, the 5 types are harmonious (akin to relationships with friends), ambivalent…

Intergroup conflict in wilderness: balancing opportunities for experience with preservation responsibility

Treesearch

Alan E. Watson; Liisa Kajala

1995-01-01

In contrast with the days of the early explorers, when wilderness travel in America was predominantly a solitary activity, the wilderness resource is now shared among many interests. Interaction among these various interests leads to varied amounts of conflict. Studies in the United States, conducted in multiple National Wilderness Preservation System units, across...

Dispensing with conscience: a legal and ethical assessment.

PubMed

Wernow, Jerome R; Grant, Donald G

2008-11-01

For over 30 years, pharmacists have exercised the right to dispense medications in accordance with moral convictions based upon a Judeo-Christian ethic. What many of these practitioners see as an apparent shift away from this time-honored ethic has resulted in a challenge to this right. To review and analyze pharmacy practice standards, legal proceedings, and ethical principles behind conflicts of conscientious objection in dispensing drugs used for emergency contraception. We first searched the terms conscience and clause and Plan B and contraception and abortion using Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft Networks (2006-September 26, 2008). Second, we used Medscape to search professional pharmacy and other medical journals, restricting our terms to conscience, Plan B, contraceptives, and abortifacients. Finally, we employed Loislaw, an online legal archiving service, and did a global search on the phrase conscience clause to determine the status of the legal discussion. To date, conflicts in conscientious objection have arisen when a pharmacist believes that dispensing an oral contraceptive violates his or her moral understanding for the promotion of human life. Up to this time, cases in pharmacy have involved only practitioners from orthodox Christian faith communities, primarily devout Roman Catholics. A pharmacist's right to refuse the dispensing of abortifacients for birth control according to moral conscience over against a woman's right to reproductive birth control has created a conflict that has yet to be reconciled by licensing agents, professional standards, or courts of law. Our analysis of prominent conflicts suggests that the underlying worldviews between factions make compromise improbable. Risks and liabilities are dependent upon compliance with evolving state laws, specific disclosure of a pharmacist's moral objections, and professionalism in the handling of volatile situations. Objecting pharmacists and their employers should have clear policies and procedures in place to minimize workplace conflicts and maximize patient care.

Schedule Optimization of Imaging Missions for Multiple Satellites and Ground Stations Using Genetic Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Junghyun; Kim, Heewon; Chung, Hyun; Kim, Haedong; Choi, Sujin; Jung, Okchul; Chung, Daewon; Ko, Kwanghee

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a method that uses a genetic algorithm for the dynamic schedule optimization of imaging missions for multiple satellites and ground systems. In particular, the visibility conflicts of communication and mission operation using satellite resources (electric power and onboard memory) are integrated in sequence. Resource consumption and restoration are considered in the optimization process. Image acquisition is an essential part of satellite missions and is performed via a series of subtasks such as command uplink, image capturing, image storing, and image downlink. An objective function for optimization is designed to maximize the usability by considering the following components: user-assigned priority, resource consumption, and image-acquisition time. For the simulation, a series of hypothetical imaging missions are allocated to a multi-satellite control system comprising five satellites and three ground stations having S- and X-band antennas. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, simulations are performed via three operation modes: general, commercial, and tactical.

Organizational Infrastructure in the Collegiate Athletic Training Setting, Part III: Benefits of and Barriers in the Medical and Academic Models.

PubMed

Eason, Christianne M; Mazerolle, Stephanie M; Goodman, Ashley

2017-01-01

 Academic and medical models are emerging as alternatives to the athletics model, which is the more predominant model in the collegiate athletic training setting. Little is known about athletic trainers' (ATs') perceptions of these models.  To investigate the perceived benefits of and barriers in the medical and academic models.  Qualitative study.  National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions I, II, and III.  A total of 16 full-time ATs (10 men, 6 women; age = 32 ± 6 years, experience = 10 ± 6 years) working in the medical (n = 8) or academic (n = 8) models.  We conducted semistructured telephone interviews and evaluated the qualitative data using a general inductive approach. Multiple-analyst triangulation and peer review were completed to satisfy data credibility.  In the medical model, role congruency and work-life balance emerged as benefits, whereas role conflict, specifically intersender conflict with coaches, was a barrier. In the academic model, role congruency emerged as a benefit, and barriers were role strain and work-life conflict. Subscales of role strain included role conflict and role ambiguity for new employees. Role conflict stemmed from intersender conflict with coaches and athletics administrative personnel and interrole conflict with fulfilling multiple overlapping roles (academic, clinical, administrative).  The infrastructure in which ATs provide medical care needs to be evaluated. We found that the medical model can support better alignment for both patient care and the wellbeing of ATs. Whereas the academic model has perceived benefits, role incongruence exists, mostly because of the role complexity associated with balancing teaching, patient-care, and administrative duties.

Hierarchical modeling and robust synthesis for the preliminary design of large scale complex systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, Patrick Nathan

Large-scale complex systems are characterized by multiple interacting subsystems and the analysis of multiple disciplines. The design and development of such systems inevitably requires the resolution of multiple conflicting objectives. The size of complex systems, however, prohibits the development of comprehensive system models, and thus these systems must be partitioned into their constituent parts. Because simultaneous solution of individual subsystem models is often not manageable iteration is inevitable and often excessive. In this dissertation these issues are addressed through the development of a method for hierarchical robust preliminary design exploration to facilitate concurrent system and subsystem design exploration, for the concurrent generation of robust system and subsystem specifications for the preliminary design of multi-level, multi-objective, large-scale complex systems. This method is developed through the integration and expansion of current design techniques: (1) Hierarchical partitioning and modeling techniques for partitioning large-scale complex systems into more tractable parts, and allowing integration of subproblems for system synthesis, (2) Statistical experimentation and approximation techniques for increasing both the efficiency and the comprehensiveness of preliminary design exploration, and (3) Noise modeling techniques for implementing robust preliminary design when approximate models are employed. The method developed and associated approaches are illustrated through their application to the preliminary design of a commercial turbofan turbine propulsion system; the turbofan system-level problem is partitioned into engine cycle and configuration design and a compressor module is integrated for more detailed subsystem-level design exploration, improving system evaluation.

Challenges of self-management when living with multiple chronic conditions

PubMed Central

Liddy, Clare; Blazkho, Valerie; Mill, Karina

2014-01-01

Abstract Objective To explore the perspectives of patients who live with multiple chronic conditions as they relate to the challenges of self-management. Data sources On September 30, 2013, we searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL using relevant key words including chronic disease, comorbidity, multimorbidity, multiple chronic conditions, self-care, self-management, perspective, and perception. Study selection Three reviewers assessed and extracted the data from the included studies after study quality was rated. Qualitative thematic synthesis method was then used to identify common themes. Twenty-three articles met the inclusion criteria, with most coming from the United States. Synthesis Important themes raised by people living with multiple chronic conditions related to their ability to self-manage included living with undesirable physical and emotional symptoms, with pain and depression highlighted. Issues with conflicting knowledge, access to care, and communication with health care providers were raised. The use of cognitive strategies, including reframing, prioritizing, and changing beliefs, was reported to improve people’s ability to self-manage their multiple chronic conditions. Conclusion This study provides a unique view into patients’ perspectives of living with multiple chronic conditions, which are clearly linked to common functional challenges as opposed to specific diseases. Future policy and programming in self-management support should be better aligned with patients’ perspectives on living with multiple chronic conditions. This might be achieved by ensuring a more patient-centred approach is adopted by providers and health service organizations. PMID:25642490

Calling-in the Family: Dialogic Performances of Family Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congdon, Mark, Jr.; Herakova, Liliana; Bishop, Jessica

2018-01-01

Courses: Introduction to Communication, Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Small Group Communication, Communication and Listening. Objectives: By this end of this activity, students will be able to identify and practice supportive and defensive communication; understand a dialogic approach to conflict; and…

Parametric effects of syntactic-semantic conflict in Broca's area during sentence processing.

PubMed

Thothathiri, Malathi; Kim, Albert; Trueswell, John C; Thompson-Schill, Sharon L

2012-03-01

The hypothesized role of Broca's area in sentence processing ranges from domain-general executive function to domain-specific computation that is specific to certain syntactic structures. We examined this issue by manipulating syntactic structure and conflict between syntactic and semantic cues in a sentence processing task. Functional neuroimaging revealed that activation within several Broca's area regions of interest reflected the parametric variation in syntactic-semantic conflict. These results suggest that Broca's area supports sentence processing by mediating between multiple incompatible constraints on sentence interpretation, consistent with this area's well-known role in conflict resolution in other linguistic and non-linguistic tasks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Collaborative Resource Allocation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Yeou-Fang; Wax, Allan; Lam, Raymond; Baldwin, John; Borden, Chester

2007-01-01

Collaborative Resource Allocation Networking Environment (CRANE) Version 0.5 is a prototype created to prove the newest concept of using a distributed environment to schedule Deep Space Network (DSN) antenna times in a collaborative fashion. This program is for all space-flight and terrestrial science project users and DSN schedulers to perform scheduling activities and conflict resolution, both synchronously and asynchronously. Project schedulers can, for the first time, participate directly in scheduling their tracking times into the official DSN schedule, and negotiate directly with other projects in an integrated scheduling system. A master schedule covers long-range, mid-range, near-real-time, and real-time scheduling time frames all in one, rather than the current method of separate functions that are supported by different processes and tools. CRANE also provides private workspaces (both dynamic and static), data sharing, scenario management, user control, rapid messaging (based on Java Message Service), data/time synchronization, workflow management, notification (including emails), conflict checking, and a linkage to a schedule generation engine. The data structure with corresponding database design combines object trees with multiple associated mortal instances and relational database to provide unprecedented traceability and simplify the existing DSN XML schedule representation. These technologies are used to provide traceability, schedule negotiation, conflict resolution, and load forecasting from real-time operations to long-range loading analysis up to 20 years in the future. CRANE includes a database, a stored procedure layer, an agent-based middle tier, a Web service wrapper, a Windows Integrated Analysis Environment (IAE), a Java application, and a Web page interface.

Staff countertransference reactions in the hospital treatment of borderline patients.

PubMed

Brown, L J

1980-11-01

The aim of this paper is to elucidate a systematic framework for understanding the nature of the borderline patient's reactions to the hospital milieu and for comprehending the responses of hospital staff to such patients. The theory and principles of the therapeutic milieu or milieu therapy are not the focus of this paper; rather, the unique ways in which borderline patients create their own reality and interact with that reality are examined. The borderline patients considered here constitute a group who present severe character pathology, including pronounced distortions in reality testing, marked paranoid trends, minimal distinction between self and others, and multiple hospitalizations that have proven ineffectual. Overall, these patients are functioning at a level more regressed than most borderline patients and their histories often reveal many psychotic episodes. Because of their severe psychopathology, long-term intensive treatment in a hospital setting, termed "reconstructive hospital treatment" by Zee (1975), is indicated. The goal of such treatment is to augment the patient's failing ego functioning, to help the patient develop constructive alternatives for dealing with conflict, and to aid the patient develop constructive alternatives for dealing with conflict, and to aid the patient in embarking upon a psychoanalytically oriented exploration of his highly conflicted object relations. Without the use of the hospital as a treatment modality these patients tend to continue in a downward spiral of destructive relationships. These remarks, therefore, are addressed to the effect severely ill borderline patients have upon the hospital milieu and to the impact of the milieu upon them.

Substance abuse treatment response in a Latino sample: the influence of family conflict.

PubMed

Fish, Jessica N; Maier, Candice A; Priest, Jacob B

2015-02-01

Latino Americans report underutilization of treatment and poor treatment response for substance use and abuse compared to other racial/ethnic groups; thus, it is important to assess factors that contribute to these disparities. The current study objective was to assess the influence of family conflict on substance abuse treatment response in a sample of Latino Americans using two different yet complementary analyses. First, ordinary least squares regression was used to assess the association between overall family conflict and pre- and post-treatment substance use. Second, repeated measures latent class analysis was used to identify groups based on family member conflict and timing of conflict during treatment. Findings indicated that family conflict contributed unique variance to concurrent substance use; however pre-treatment family conflict was not related to post-treatment outcomes. Results also identified three distinct family conflict groups: no/low conflict, pre-treatment conflict, and post-treatment conflict who differed in pre- and post-treatment substance use. Post hoc investigation revealed that those who experienced pre-treatment conflict but low post-treatment conflict showed the greatest decrease in substance use. Findings highlight the importance of considering family conflict during all stages of treatment for Latino American substance users. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Global Sustainability Index: An Instrument For Assessing The Progress Towards The Sustainable Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grecu, Valentin

2015-09-01

There is rarely an optimal solution in sustainable development but most frequently a need to build compromises between conflicting aspects such as economic, social and environmental ones and different expectations of stakeholders. Moreover, information is rarely available and precise. This paper will focus on how to use indicators to monitor sustainable development, integrating the information provided by many of them into a complex general sustainability index. Having this general indicator is essential for decision makers as it is very complicated to evaluate the performance of the organization based on multiple indicators. The objective of this paper is to find mathematical algorithms for simplifying the decision-making process by offering an instrument for the evaluation of the sustainability progress.

Articulation Management for Intelligent Integration of Information

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maluf, David A.; Tran, Peter B.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

When combining data from distinct sources, there is a need to share meta-data and other knowledge about various source domains. Due to semantic inconsistencies and heterogeneity of representations, problems arise in combining multiple domains when the domains are merged. The knowledge that is irrelevant to the task of interoperation will be included, making the result unnecessarily complex. This heterogeneity problem can be eliminated by mediating the conflicts and managing the intersections of the domains. For interoperation and intelligent access to heterogeneous information, the focus is on the intersection of the knowledge, since intersection will define the required articulation rules. An algebra over domain has been proposed to use articulation rules to support disciplined manipulation of domain knowledge resources. The objective of a domain algebra is to provide the capability for interrogating many domain knowledge resources, which are largely semantically disjoint. The algebra supports formally the tasks of selecting, combining, extending, specializing, and modifying Components from a diverse set of domains. This paper presents a domain algebra and demonstrates the use of articulation rules to link declarative interfaces for Internet and enterprise applications. In particular, it discusses the articulation implementation as part of a production system capable of operating over the domain described by the IDL (interface description language) of objects registered in multiple CORBA servers.

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.

Choice of conflict resolution strategy is linked to sociability in dog puppies

PubMed Central

Riemer, Stefanie; Müller, Corsin; Virányi, Zsófia; Huber, Ludwig; Range, Friederike

2014-01-01

Measures that are likely to increase sociability in dog puppies, such as appropriate socialisation, are considered important in preventing future fear or aggression related problems. However, the interplay between sociability and conflict behaviour has rarely been investigated. Moreover, while many studies have addressed aggression in domestic dogs, alternative, non-aggressive conflict resolution strategies have received less scientific attention. Here we tested 134 Border collie puppies, aged 40-50 days, in a personality test which included friendly interactions with an unfamiliar person, exposure to a novel object, and three brief restraint tests. Considering the latter to be mild ‘conflict’ situations, we analysed whether the puppies’ behaviour in the restraint tests was related to their sociability or to their boldness towards the novel object. Strategies employed by the puppies during restraint tests included trying to interact socially with the experimenter, remaining passive, and attempting to move away. In line with findings from humans and goats, puppies scoring high on sociability were more likely to adopt an interactive conflict resolution strategy, while those with low sociability scores tended to react passively. In contrast, avoidance behaviours were unrelated to sociability, possibly reflecting inconsistency in the flight strategy in dogs. Boldness towards a novel object was not related to sociability or to puppies’ reactions in restraint tests. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate a link between sociability and conflict resolution strategies in non-human animals. PMID:24910487

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.

Work–family conflict as a risk factor for sickness absence

PubMed Central

Jansen, N W H; Kant, IJ; van Amelsvoort, L G P M; Kristensen, T S; Swaen, G M H; Nijhuis, F J N

2006-01-01

Objectives (1) To study both cross‐sectional and prospective relationships between work–family conflict and sickness absence from work; (2) to explore the direction of the relationships between the different types of conflict (work–home interference and home–work interference) and sickness absence; and (3) to explore gender differences in the above relationships. Methods Data from the Maastricht Cohort Study were used with six months of follow up (5072 men and 1015 women at T6). Work–family conflict was measured with the Survey Work–Home Interference Nijmegen (SWING). Sickness absence was assessed objectively through individual record linkage with the company registers on sickness absence. Results In the cross‐sectional analyses, high levels of work–family conflict, work–home interference, and home–work interference were all associated with a higher odds of being absent at the time of completing the questionnaire, after controlling for age and long term disease. Differences in average number of absent days between cases and non‐cases of work–home interference were significant for men and most pronounced in women, where the average number of absent days over six months follow up was almost four days higher in women with high versus low–medium work–home interference. Conclusions A clear relation between work–family conflict and sickness absence was shown. Additionally, the direction of work–family conflict was associated with a different sickness absence pattern. Sickness absence should be added to the list of adverse outcomes for employees struggling to combine their work and family life. PMID:16698806

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.

[Conflict of interest: the World Medical Association statement].

PubMed

Fialová, Lydie; Spacek, Martin; Vychytil, Pavel

2011-01-01

This article presents a translation of the World Medical Association Statement on Conflict of Interest (2009) and Statement concerning the Relationship between Physicians and Commercial Enterprises (2009). The introduction illuminates the objectives of this recommendation in the context of healthcare in the Czech Republic.

Resolving Conflicts Peacefully.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CRADLE: Center for Research and Development in Law-Related Education, Winston-Salem, NC.

Focusing on the theme of conflict resolution, this booklet contains 22 lessons developed and used by classroom teachers at all grade levels. The lessons generally contain a brief overview, goals and objectives, student activities, and corresponding handouts or materials useful in implementing the lessons. Each lesson contains insights into methods…

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis for Health Care Decision Making--An Introduction: Report 1 of the ISPOR MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force.

PubMed

Thokala, Praveen; Devlin, Nancy; Marsh, Kevin; Baltussen, Rob; Boysen, Meindert; Kalo, Zoltan; Longrenn, Thomas; Mussen, Filip; Peacock, Stuart; Watkins, John; Ijzerman, Maarten

2016-01-01

Health care decisions are complex and involve confronting trade-offs between multiple, often conflicting, objectives. Using structured, explicit approaches to decisions involving multiple criteria can improve the quality of decision making and a set of techniques, known under the collective heading multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), are useful for this purpose. MCDA methods are widely used in other sectors, and recently there has been an increase in health care applications. In 2014, ISPOR established an MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force. It was charged with establishing a common definition for MCDA in health care decision making and developing good practice guidelines for conducting MCDA to aid health care decision making. This initial ISPOR MCDA task force report provides an introduction to MCDA - it defines MCDA; provides examples of its use in different kinds of decision making in health care (including benefit risk analysis, health technology assessment, resource allocation, portfolio decision analysis, shared patient clinician decision making and prioritizing patients' access to services); provides an overview of the principal methods of MCDA; and describes the key steps involved. Upon reviewing this report, readers should have a solid overview of MCDA methods and their potential for supporting health care decision making. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

When vision is not an option: children's integration of auditory and haptic information is suboptimal.

PubMed

Petrini, Karin; Remark, Alicia; Smith, Louise; Nardini, Marko

2014-05-01

When visual information is available, human adults, but not children, have been shown to reduce sensory uncertainty by taking a weighted average of sensory cues. In the absence of reliable visual information (e.g. extremely dark environment, visual disorders), the use of other information is vital. Here we ask how humans combine haptic and auditory information from childhood. In the first experiment, adults and children aged 5 to 11 years judged the relative sizes of two objects in auditory, haptic, and non-conflicting bimodal conditions. In , different groups of adults and children were tested in non-conflicting and conflicting bimodal conditions. In , adults reduced sensory uncertainty by integrating the cues optimally, while children did not. In , adults and children used similar weighting strategies to solve audio-haptic conflict. These results suggest that, in the absence of visual information, optimal integration of cues for discrimination of object size develops late in childhood. © 2014 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Suicidal ideation among suburban adolescents: The influence of school bullying and other mediating risk factors.

PubMed

Lardier, David T; Barrios, Veronica R; Garcia-Reid, Pauline; Reid, Robert J

2016-10-01

Prior research has identified multiple factors that influence suicidal ideation (SI) among bullied youth. The effects of school bullying on SI cannot be considered in isolation. In this study, we examined the influence of school bullying on SI, through a constellation of risks, which include depressive and anxiety symptoms, family conflict, and alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use. We also provide recommendations for therapists working with bullied youth. Our sample consisted of 488 adolescents (ages 10-18 years) from a northern New Jersey, United States suburban community. Students were recruited through the district's physical education and health classes. Students responded to multiple measures, which included family cohesion/conflict, ATOD use, mental health indicators, SI, and school bullying experiences. Following preliminary analyses, several logistic regression models were used to assess the direct influence of bullying on SI, as well as the unique effects of family conflict, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and substance use. In addition, a parallel multiple mediating model with the PROCESS macro in SPSS was used to further assess mediating effects. Logistic regression results indicated that school bullying increased the odds of SI among males and females and that when mediating variables were added to the model, bullying no longer had a significant influence on SI. Overall, these results display that for both males and females, school bullying was a significant contributor to SI. Results from the parallel multiple mediating model further illustrated the mediating effects that family conflict, depression, and ATOD use had between bullying and SI. Some variation was noted based on gender. This study draws attention to the multiple experiences associated with school bullying on SI, and how these results may differ by gender. The results of this study are particularly important for those working directly and indirectly with bullied youth. Therapists that engage bullied youth need to consider the multiple spheres of influence that may increase SI among male and female clients. To holistically and adequately assess SI among bullied youth, therapists must also consider how these mechanisms vary between gender groups.

Trading off natural resources and rural livelihoods. A framework for sustainability assessment of small-scale food production in water-limited regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Recanati, Francesca; Castelletti, Andrea; Dotelli, Giovanni; Melià, Paco

2017-12-01

Enhancing local production is key to promoting food security, especially in rural households of low-income countries, but may conflict with limited natural resources and ecosystems preservation. We propose a framework integrating the water-food nexus and a sustainable livelihoods perspective to assess small-scale food production in water-poor regions. We demonstrate it by assessing alternative production scenarios in the Gaza Strip at different spatial scales. At the scale of a single farm, there is a clear conflict among objectives: while cash crops ensure good incomes but contribute scarcely to domestic protein supply, crops performing well from the nutritional and environmental viewpoint are among the worst from the economic one. At the regional scale, domestic production might cover an important fraction of nutritional needs while contributing to household income, but water scarcity impairs the satisfaction of food demand by domestic production alone. Pursuing food security under multiple constraints thus requires a holistic perspective: we discuss how a multidimensional approach can promote the engagement of different stakeholders and allow the exploration of trade-offs between food security, sustainable exploitation of natural resources and economic viability.

Understanding HMIS Implementation in a Developing Country Ministry of Health Context - an Institutional Logics Perspective

PubMed Central

Asangansi, Ime

2012-01-01

Globally, health management information systems (HMIS) have been hailed as important tools for health reform (1). However, their implementation has become a major challenge for researchers and practitioners because of the significant proportion of failure of implementation efforts (2; 3). Researchers have attributed this significant failure of HMIS implementation, in part, to the complexity of meeting with and satisfying multiple (poorly understood) logics in the implementation process. This paper focuses on exploring the multiple logics, including how they may conflict and affect the HMIS implementation process. Particularly, I draw on an institutional logics perspective to analyze empirical findings from an action research project, which involved HMIS implementation in a state government Ministry of Health in (Northern) Nigeria. The analysis highlights the important HMIS institutional logics, where they conflict and how they are resolved. I argue for an expanded understanding of HMIS implementation that recognizes various institutional logics that participants bring to the implementation process, and how these are inscribed in the decision making process in ways that may be conflicting, and increasing the risk of failure. Furthermore, I propose that the resolution of conflicting logics can be conceptualized as involving deinstitutionalization, changeover resolution or dialectical resolution mechanisms. I conclude by suggesting that HMIS implementation can be improved by implementation strategies that are made based on an understanding of these conflicting logics. PMID:23569646

Agropastoral Mobility and Rangelands Multiple Uses in the Miombo Frontier Ecozone of Tabora Region, Western Tanzania

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

This study aimed to examine the argument of environmental resource-use conflict as the primary cause of crop farmers and agropastoralists conflicts in Tabora Region, Tanzania. It explored the multiple interdependent phenomena that affect livelihoods relationships between crop farmers and agropastoralists and the nature of their continuing conflicts over the ecozonal resources. A primary dataset of the two groups' conflicts was used. An ex post facto and multistage sampling design was adopted. A total of 252 respondents were interviewed in three separate villages drawn from agroecological zones fringing the miombo woodland where such tensions are high. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. Results indicate that education (β = −1.215, .297; p = .050), household size (β = .958, 2.607; p = .017), herd size (β = 4.276, 7.197; p = 0.001), farm size (β = −1.734, .048; p = .176), the police (β = −.912, 4.582; p = .043), and village leaders (β = −.122, .885; p = .012) were the most potent predictors of causes of conflicts. The study found no support for demographic variables, like age, sex, marital status, income, duration of residence, and distance to resource base. The study recommends population growth control and strengthening of local institutions and recommends local communities to sustain management of natural resources base in the area. PMID:29201492

Understanding HMIS Implementation in a Developing Country Ministry of Health Context - an Institutional Logics Perspective.

PubMed

Asangansi, Ime

2012-01-01

Globally, health management information systems (HMIS) have been hailed as important tools for health reform (1). However, their implementation has become a major challenge for researchers and practitioners because of the significant proportion of failure of implementation efforts (2; 3). Researchers have attributed this significant failure of HMIS implementation, in part, to the complexity of meeting with and satisfying multiple (poorly understood) logics in the implementation process. This paper focuses on exploring the multiple logics, including how they may conflict and affect the HMIS implementation process. Particularly, I draw on an institutional logics perspective to analyze empirical findings from an action research project, which involved HMIS implementation in a state government Ministry of Health in (Northern) Nigeria. The analysis highlights the important HMIS institutional logics, where they conflict and how they are resolved. I argue for an expanded understanding of HMIS implementation that recognizes various institutional logics that participants bring to the implementation process, and how these are inscribed in the decision making process in ways that may be conflicting, and increasing the risk of failure. Furthermore, I propose that the resolution of conflicting logics can be conceptualized as involving deinstitutionalization, changeover resolution or dialectical resolution mechanisms. I conclude by suggesting that HMIS implementation can be improved by implementation strategies that are made based on an understanding of these conflicting logics.

Sexual conflict arising from extrapair matings in birds.

PubMed

Chaine, Alexis S; Montgomerie, Robert; Lyon, Bruce E

2015-01-20

The discovery that extrapair copulation (EPC) and extrapair paternity (EPP) are common in birds led to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the evolution of mating systems. The prevalence of extrapair matings in pair-bonded species sets the stage for sexual conflict, and a recent focus has been to consider how this conflict can shape variation in extrapair mating rates. Here, we invert the causal arrow and consider the consequences of extrapair matings for sexual conflict. Extrapair matings shift sexual conflict from a simple two-player (male vs. female) game to a game with three or more players, the nature of which we illustrate with simple diagrams that highlight the net costs and benefits of extrapair matings to each player. This approach helps identify the sorts of traits that might be under selection because of sexual conflict. Whether EPP is driven primarily by the extrapair male or the within-pair female profoundly influences which players are in conflict, but the overall pattern of conflict varies little among different mating systems. Different aspects of conflict are manifest at different stages of the breeding cycle and can be profitably considered as distinct episodes of selection caused by conflict. This perspective is illuminating both because conflict between specific players can change across episodes and because the traits that evolve to mediate conflict likely differ between episodes. Although EPP clearly leads to sexual conflict, we suggest that the link between sexual conflict and multiple paternity might be usefully understood by examining how deviations from lifetime sexual monogamy influence sexual conflict. Copyright © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Sexual Conflict Arising from Extrapair Matings in Birds

PubMed Central

Chaine, Alexis S.; Montgomerie, Robert; Lyon, Bruce E.

2015-01-01

The discovery that extrapair copulation (EPC) and extrapair paternity (EPP) are common in birds led to a paradigm shift in our understanding of the evolution of mating systems. The prevalence of extrapair matings in pair-bonded species sets the stage for sexual conflict, and a recent focus has been to consider how this conflict can shape variation in extrapair mating rates. Here, we invert the causal arrow and consider the consequences of extrapair matings for sexual conflict. Extrapair matings shift sexual conflict from a simple two-player (male vs. female) game to a game with three or more players, the nature of which we illustrate with simple diagrams that highlight the net costs and benefits of extrapair matings to each player. This approach helps identify the sorts of traits that might be under selection because of sexual conflict. Whether EPP is driven primarily by the extrapair male or the within-pair female profoundly influences which players are in conflict, but the overall pattern of conflict varies little among different mating systems. Different aspects of conflict are manifest at different stages of the breeding cycle and can be profitably considered as distinct episodes of selection caused by conflict. This perspective is illuminating both because conflict between specific players can change across episodes and because the traits that evolve to mediate conflict likely differ between episodes. Although EPP clearly leads to sexual conflict, we suggest that the link between sexual conflict and multiple paternity might be usefully understood by examining how deviations from lifetime sexual monogamy influence sexual conflict. PMID:25605708

What Klein's "Semantic Gradient" Does and Does Not Really Show: Decomposing Stroop Interference into Task and Informational Conflict Components.

PubMed

Levin, Yulia; Tzelgov, Joseph

2016-01-01

The present study suggests that the idea that Stroop interference originates from multiple components may gain theoretically from integrating two independent frameworks. The first framework is represented by the well-known notion of "semantic gradient" of interference and the second one is the distinction between two types of conflict - the task and the informational conflict - giving rise to the interference (MacLeod and MacDonald, 2000; Goldfarb and Henik, 2007). The proposed integration led to the conclusion that two (i.e., orthographic and lexical components) of the four theoretically distinct components represent task conflict, and the other two (i.e., indirect and direct informational conflict components) represent informational conflict. The four components were independently estimated in a series of experiments. The results confirmed the contribution of task conflict (estimated by a robust orthographic component) and of informational conflict (estimated by a strong direct informational conflict component) to Stroop interference. However, the performed critical review of the relevant literature (see General Discussion), as well as the results of the experiments reported, showed that the other two components expressing each type of conflict (i.e., the lexical component of task conflict and the indirect informational conflict) were small and unstable. The present analysis refines our knowledge of the origins of Stroop interference by providing evidence that each type of conflict has its major and minor contributions. The implications for cognitive control of an automatic reading process are also discussed.

What Klein’s “Semantic Gradient” Does and Does Not Really Show: Decomposing Stroop Interference into Task and Informational Conflict Components

PubMed Central

Levin, Yulia; Tzelgov, Joseph

2016-01-01

The present study suggests that the idea that Stroop interference originates from multiple components may gain theoretically from integrating two independent frameworks. The first framework is represented by the well-known notion of “semantic gradient” of interference and the second one is the distinction between two types of conflict – the task and the informational conflict – giving rise to the interference (MacLeod and MacDonald, 2000; Goldfarb and Henik, 2007). The proposed integration led to the conclusion that two (i.e., orthographic and lexical components) of the four theoretically distinct components represent task conflict, and the other two (i.e., indirect and direct informational conflict components) represent informational conflict. The four components were independently estimated in a series of experiments. The results confirmed the contribution of task conflict (estimated by a robust orthographic component) and of informational conflict (estimated by a strong direct informational conflict component) to Stroop interference. However, the performed critical review of the relevant literature (see General Discussion), as well as the results of the experiments reported, showed that the other two components expressing each type of conflict (i.e., the lexical component of task conflict and the indirect informational conflict) were small and unstable. The present analysis refines our knowledge of the origins of Stroop interference by providing evidence that each type of conflict has its major and minor contributions. The implications for cognitive control of an automatic reading process are also discussed. PMID:26955363

Family-Supportive Organization Perceptions, Multiple Dimensions of Work-Family Conflict, and Employee Satisfaction: A Test of Model across Five Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapierre, Laurent M.; Spector, Paul E.; Allen, Tammy D.; Poelmans, Steven; Cooper, Cary L.; O'Driscoll, Michael P.; Sanchez, Juan I.; Brough, Paula; Kinnunen, Ulla

2008-01-01

Using samples of managers drawn from five Western countries, we tested a theoretical model linking employees' perceptions of their work environment's family-supportiveness to six different dimensions of work-family conflict (WFC), and to their job satisfaction, family satisfaction, and life satisfaction. Our results are consistent with a causal…

A Mixed Exam Format Closes the Gap for Students with a Conflict between Their Religious Belief & the Theory of Evolution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.; Wenner, Julianne A.

2014-01-01

We assessed the performance of students with a self-reported conflict between their religious belief and the theory of evolution in two sections of a large introductory biology course (N = 373 students). Student performance was measured through pretest and posttest evolution essays and multiple- choice (MC) questions (evolution-related and…

How Source Information Shapes Lay Interpretations of Science Conflicts: Interplay between Sourcing, Conflict Explanation, Source Evaluation, and Claim Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomm, Eva; Bromme, Rainer

2016-01-01

When laypeople read controversial scientific information in order to make a personally relevant decision, information on the source is a valuable resource with which to evaluate multiple, competing claims. Due to their bounded understanding, laypeople rely on the expertise of others and need to identify whether sources are credible. The present…

Influence of Child Behavioral Problems and Parenting Stress on Parent-Child Conflict among Low-Income Families: The Moderating Role of Maternal Nativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia, Aileen S.; Ren, Lixin; Esteraich, Jan M.; Raikes, Helen H.

2017-01-01

This study was designed to examine whether parenting stress and child behavioral problems are significant predictors of parent-child conflict in the context of low-income families and how these relations are moderated by maternal nativity. The authors conducted multiple regression analyses to examine relations between teachers' report of…

"Look, Each Side Says Something Different:" The Impact of Competing History Teaching Approaches on Jewish and Arab Adolescents' Discussions of the Jewish-Arab Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldberg, Tsafrir; Ron, Yiftach

2014-01-01

There is growing interest in the impact of Jewish and Arab historical narratives on intergroup relations and conflict. A randomized placement comparative study set out to examine it empirically. Conventional-Authoritative official narrative, Empathetic Dual narrative, and Critical-Disciplinary multiple-source teaching interventions were designed…

The Impact of Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity and Organizational Climate on the Job Satisfaction of Academic Staff in Research-Intensive Universities in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulz, John

2013-01-01

This study focuses on academics in research-intensive universities in the UK and explores their perceptions of organizational climate, role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. The findings suggest that the universities have multiple organizational climates. Three organizational climate types -- the Clan, the Hierarchy and the Adhocracy…

Cooperation in the dark: signalling and collective action in quorum-sensing bacteria.

PubMed

Brown, S P; Johnstone, R A

2001-05-07

The study of quorum-sensing bacteria has revealed a widespread mechanism of coordinating bacterial gene expression with cell density. By monitoring a constitutively produced signal molecule, individual bacteria can limit their expression of group-beneficial phenotypes to cell densities that guarantee an effective group outcome. In this paper, we attempt to move away from a commonly expressed view that these impressive feats of coordination are examples of multicellularity in prokaryotic populations. Here, we look more closely at the individual conflict underlying this cooperation, illustrating that, even under significant levels of genetic conflict, signalling and resultant cooperative behaviour can stably exist. A predictive two-trait model of signal strength and of the extent of cooperation is developed as a function of relatedness (reflecting multiplicity of infection) and basic population demographic parameters. The model predicts that the strength of quorum signalling will increase as conflict (multiplicity of infecting strains) increases, as individuals attempt to coax more cooperative contributions from their competitors, leading to a devaluation of the signal as an indicator of density. Conversely, as genetic conflict increases, the model predicts that the threshold density for cooperation will increase and the subsequent strength of group cooperation will be depressed.

Discrepancies in Mother and Child Perceptions of Spina Bifida Medical Responsibilities During the Transition to Adolescence: Associations With Family Conflict and Medical Adherence

PubMed Central

Psihogios, Alexandra M.

2013-01-01

Objective This study investigated mother–child discrepancies over perceptions of who is responsible for spina bifida (SB) medical tasks in relation to family conflict and medical adherence. Method 140 youth with SB and their mothers completed questionnaires regarding who is responsible for specific SB medical tasks, family conflict, and medical adherence. An observational measure was also used to assess family conflict. Results Although children viewed themselves as more responsible for medical management than mothers did, mother–child discrepancies were not associated with family conflict or medical adherence. Interaction effects revealed that adherence was better when family conflict was low and when parents were responsible for medical tasks. Conclusions Parental involvement in SB medical care is essential for optimal medical adherence during adolescence. The presence of family conflict also plays an influential role on SB medical adherence. Future research should evaluate the relations between discrepancies, family conflict, and medical adherence across time. PMID:23843631

50 CFR 600.305 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., and integrate the diversity of public and private interests. If objectives are in conflict, priorities... and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION... management objectives, and to propose management measures that will achieve the objectives. The Secretary...

Factorial structure of complicated grief: associations with loss-related traumatic events and psychosocial impacts of mass conflict amongst West Papuan refugees.

PubMed

Tay, Alvin Kuowei; Rees, Susan; Chen, Jack; Kareth, Moses; Silove, Derrick

2016-03-01

Definitions of complicated grief vary across diagnostic systems, being represented as persistent complex bereavement (PCB) in DSM-5 and prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in the proposed revision of the ICD system. A past study in a high-income country has identified a six-factor structure for complicated grief, but there are no data testing this or any other model across cultures. The present study reports findings from a survey amongst West Papuan refugees (n = 230, response rate = 92 %) residing in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. We applied culturally adapted measures of conflict-related traumatic event (TEs) (drawing specifically on domains of conflict and loss), symptoms of complicated grief adapted and modified to the culture, and a multidimensional psychosocial index of the broader effects of conflict and displacement. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a single higher order construct of complicated grief comprising six factors of yearning/preoccupation; shock/disbelief; anger/negative appraisal; behavioural change; estrangement from others/impairment; and a novel dimension of confusion/diminished identity. In contrast, our analysis failed to support DSM or ICD models of PCB or PGD. A Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model revealed that traumatic loss and the sense of injustice each were associated with the unitary construct of complicated grief and its subdomains of yearning/preoccupation; shock/disbelief; anger/negative appraisal (exclusive to injustice); and estrangement from others/social impairment (exclusive to TE domain of conflict and loss). Conflict and loss associated with feelings of injustice may be especially pathogenic in generating the anger/negative appraisal component of complicated grief amongst refugees.

Teacher-student relationship quality and academic achievement in elementary school: A longitudinal examination of gender differences.

PubMed

Hajovsky, Daniel B; Mason, Benjamin A; McCune, Luke A

2017-08-01

Multiple group longitudinal cross-lagged panel models were implemented to understand the directional influences between teacher-student closeness and conflict and measured math and reading achievement across elementary grades and gender groups using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development longitudinal sample (N=1133). Specifically, after testing multiple group longitudinal measurement invariance to ensure consistent measurement across genders and time, and tests of equivalence of the latent parameters, we were interested in whether longitudinal changes in teacher-rated closeness and conflict explained longitudinal changes in achievement, and vice versa, and whether those longitudinal influences varied by gender. Latent teacher-student closeness decreased for both genders over time (Cohen's d=-0.15 to -0.32), but latent conflict increased for males (Cohen's d=0.16). There was also increased heterogeneity in teacher-student relationship quality for males relative to females. Math and reading achievement had medium reciprocal effects (β=0.12 to 0.23), and previous math achievement had small to medium effects on subsequent teacher-student closeness (β=0.08 to 0.11) and conflict (β=-0.07 to -0.09). Teacher-student conflict and closeness did not influence subsequent levels of math or reading achievement once previous levels were controlled. Further, these influences were consistent across gender groups despite latent differences in teacher-student closeness and conflict with teachers reporting closer relationships with female students and more conflictual relationships with male students. Copyright © 2017 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-Objective Control Optimization for Greenhouse Environment Using Evolutionary Algorithms

PubMed Central

Hu, Haigen; Xu, Lihong; Wei, Ruihua; Zhu, Bingkun

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the issue of tuning the Proportional Integral and Derivative (PID) controller parameters for a greenhouse climate control system using an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) based on multiple performance measures such as good static-dynamic performance specifications and the smooth process of control. A model of nonlinear thermodynamic laws between numerous system variables affecting the greenhouse climate is formulated. The proposed tuning scheme is tested for greenhouse climate control by minimizing the integrated time square error (ITSE) and the control increment or rate in a simulation experiment. The results show that by tuning the gain parameters the controllers can achieve good control performance through step responses such as small overshoot, fast settling time, and less rise time and steady state error. Besides, it can be applied to tuning the system with different properties, such as strong interactions among variables, nonlinearities and conflicting performance criteria. The results implicate that it is a quite effective and promising tuning method using multi-objective optimization algorithms in the complex greenhouse production. PMID:22163927

Trivariate Modeling of Interparental Conflict and Adolescent Emotional Security: An Examination of Mother-Father-Child Dynamics.

PubMed

Cheung, Rebecca Y M; Cummings, E Mark; Zhang, Zhiyong; Davies, Patrick T

2016-11-01

Recognizing the significance of interacting family subsystems, the present study addresses how interparental conflict is linked to adolescent emotional security as a function of parental gender. A total of 272 families with a child at 12.60 years of age (133 boys, 139 girls) were invited to participate each year for three consecutive years. A multi-informant method was used, along with trivariate models to test the associations among mothers, fathers, and their adolescent children's behaviors. The findings from separate models of destructive and constructive interparental conflict revealed intricate linkages among family members. In the model of destructive interparental conflict, mothers and fathers predicted each other's conflict behaviors over time. Moreover, adolescents' exposure to negativity expressed by either parent dampened their emotional security. Consistent with child effects models, adolescent emotional insecurity predicted fathers' destructive conflict behaviors. As for the model of constructive interparental conflict, fathers predicted mothers' conflict behaviors over time. Adolescents' exposure to fathers' constructive conflict behaviors also enhanced their sense of emotional security. Consistent with child effects models, adolescent emotional security predicted mothers' and fathers' constructive conflict behaviors. These findings extended the family and the adolescent literature by indicating that family processes are multiidirectional, involving multiple dyads in the study of parents' and adolescents' functioning. Contributions of these findings to the understanding of interparental conflict and emotional security in adolescence are discussed.

HERB: A production system for programming with hierarchical expert rule bases: User's manual, HERB Version 1. 0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hummel, K.E.

1987-12-01

Expert systems are artificial intelligence programs that solve problems requiring large amounts of heuristic knowledge, based on years of experience and tradition. Production systems are domain-independent tools that support the development of rule-based expert systems. This document describes a general purpose production system known as HERB. This system was developed to support the programming of expert systems using hierarchically structured rule bases. HERB encourages the partitioning of rules into multiple rule bases and supports the use of multiple conflict resolution strategies. Multiple rule bases can also be placed on a system stack and simultaneously searched during each interpreter cycle. Bothmore » backward and forward chaining rules are supported by HERB. The condition portion of each rule can contain both patterns, which are matched with facts in a data base, and LISP expressions, which are explicitly evaluated in the LISP environment. Properties of objects can also be stored in the HERB data base and referenced within the scope of each rule. This document serves both as an introduction to the principles of LISP-based production systems and as a user's manual for the HERB system. 6 refs., 17 figs.« less

A strategic approach for managing conflict in hospitals: responding to the Joint Commission leadership standard, Part 1.

PubMed

Scott, Charity; Gerardi, Debra

2011-02-01

The Joint Commission's leadership standard for conflict management in hospitals, LD.02.04.01, states, "The hospital manages conflict between leadership groups to protect the quality and safety of care." This standard is one of numerous standards and alerts issued by The Joint Commission that address conflict and communication. They underscore the significant impact of relational dynamics on patient safety and quality of care and the critical need for a strategic approach to conflict in health care organizations. Whether leadership conflicts openly threaten a major disruption of hospital operations or whether unresolved conflicts lurk beneath the surface of daily interactions, unaddressed conflict can undermine a hospital's efforts to ensure safe, high-quality patient care. How leaders manage organizational conflict has a significant impact on achieving strategic objectives. Aligning conflict management approaches with quality and safety goals is the first step in adopting a strategic approach to conflict management. A strategic approach goes beyond reducing costs of litigation or improving grievance processes--it integrates a collaborative mind-set and individual conflict competency with nonadversarial processes. Conflict assessment should determine how conflicts are handled among the leaders at the hospital, the degree of conflict competence already present among the leaders, where the most significant conflicts occur, and how leaders think a conflict management system might work for them. Strategically aligning a conflict management approach that addresses conflict among leadership groups as a means of protecting the quality and safety of patient care is at the heart of LD.02.04.01.

Suggestions for Curriculum Development on Conflict; Part A, K-3 [And] Part B, 4-6. Global Perspectives: A Humanistic Influence on the Curriculum. Number Two in a Series of K-12 Guides.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, David C.

Ideas are outlined for teaching about the universal concept of conflict in grades kindergarten through six. This guide has been prepared to help elementary teachers incorporate concept learning about conflict into any social studies/social science class, no matter what texts or programs are being followed. Major objectives are to help students…

[The physician's conscience, conscience clauses, and religious belief: A Catholic perspective].

PubMed

Pellegrino, Edmund D

2014-01-01

This Essay explores how physicians may handle conflicts or conscience facing Roman Catholic Health practitioners regarding "human life" issues, especially through conscience clauses. In five parts, the author examines "first, why conscientious objection is so important in our day; second, the moral grounding for freedom in the exercise of conscience; third, the components of the physician's conscience; fourth, specific conflicts of conscience for Catholic physicians and institutions; and fifth, competing models of conflict resolution".

Prescribed fire and air quality in the American South: a review of conflicting interests and a technique for incorporating the land manager into regional air quality modeling

Treesearch

Gary L. Achtemeier

2013-01-01

In this paper, conflicting interests in prescribed burn practice and improving air quality in the South are reviewed. Conflicting societal interests and legislative actions threaten to curtail the use of prescribed fire to manage for endangered species and for other land management objectives in the South. This comes at a time when efforts are being made to increase...

Tolerance by Surprise: Evidence for a Generalized Reduction in Prejudice and Increased Egalitarianism through Novel Category Combination

PubMed Central

Vasiljevic, Milica; Crisp, Richard J.

2013-01-01

Prejudices towards different groups are interrelated, but research has yet to find a way to promote tolerance towards multiple outgroups. We devise, develop and implement a new cognitive intervention for achieving generalized tolerance based on scientific studies of social categorization. In five laboratory experiments and one field study the intervention led to a reduction of prejudice towards multiple outgroups (elderly, disabled, asylum seekers, HIV patients, gay men), and fostered generalized tolerance and egalitarian beliefs. Importantly, these effects persisted outside the laboratory in a context marked by a history of violent ethnic conflict, increasing trust and reconciliatory tendencies towards multiple ethnic groups in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We discuss the implications of these findings for intervention strategies focused on reducing conflict and promoting peaceful intergroup relations. PMID:23483895

Weather and resource information as tools for dealing with farmer-pastoralist conflicts in the Sahel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mertz, Ole; Rasmussen, Kjeld; Vang Rasmussen, Laura

2016-12-01

Conflicts between pastoralists and farmers in the Sahel mainly arise from competition over land and water resources or because of livestock damage to crops. Rather than being linked to larger environmental change processes such as climate change, conflicts are often caused by inappropriate zoning of land, governance and unequal power relations between stakeholders. However, conflicts may be affected by more short-term weather and resource information that guide mobility of pastoralists. In this paper, we therefore explore if improved weather and resource information and improvement in its communication could prevent conflicts or reduce their severity. Based on a survey of key stakeholders involved in dissemination of weather and resource information and studies on pastoral access to and use of information, we conclude that improved information may both reduce and increase the level of conflict, depending on the context. Communication of information will need to go beyond just the weather and resource information and also include the multiple options for herd movements as well as providing information on herd crowding and potential conflict areas.

Inductive Game Theory and the Dynamics of Animal Conflict

PubMed Central

DeDeo, Simon; Krakauer, David C.; Flack, Jessica C.

2010-01-01

Conflict destabilizes social interactions and impedes cooperation at multiple scales of biological organization. Of fundamental interest are the causes of turbulent periods of conflict. We analyze conflict dynamics in an monkey society model system. We develop a technique, Inductive Game Theory, to extract directly from time-series data the decision-making strategies used by individuals and groups. This technique uses Monte Carlo simulation to test alternative causal models of conflict dynamics. We find individuals base their decision to fight on memory of social factors, not on short timescale ecological resource competition. Furthermore, the social assessments on which these decisions are based are triadic (self in relation to another pair of individuals), not pairwise. We show that this triadic decision making causes long conflict cascades and that there is a high population cost of the large fights associated with these cascades. These results suggest that individual agency has been over-emphasized in the social evolution of complex aggregates, and that pair-wise formalisms are inadequate. An appreciation of the empirical foundations of the collective dynamics of conflict is a crucial step towards its effective management. PMID:20485557

Inductive game theory and the dynamics of animal conflict.

PubMed

DeDeo, Simon; Krakauer, David C; Flack, Jessica C

2010-05-13

Conflict destabilizes social interactions and impedes cooperation at multiple scales of biological organization. Of fundamental interest are the causes of turbulent periods of conflict. We analyze conflict dynamics in an monkey society model system. We develop a technique, Inductive Game Theory, to extract directly from time-series data the decision-making strategies used by individuals and groups. This technique uses Monte Carlo simulation to test alternative causal models of conflict dynamics. We find individuals base their decision to fight on memory of social factors, not on short timescale ecological resource competition. Furthermore, the social assessments on which these decisions are based are triadic (self in relation to another pair of individuals), not pairwise. We show that this triadic decision making causes long conflict cascades and that there is a high population cost of the large fights associated with these cascades. These results suggest that individual agency has been over-emphasized in the social evolution of complex aggregates, and that pair-wise formalisms are inadequate. An appreciation of the empirical foundations of the collective dynamics of conflict is a crucial step towards its effective management.

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

Predictors of Work-Family Role Conflict and Its Impact on Professional Women in Medicine, Engineering, and Information Technology in Nigeria.

PubMed

Uzoigwe, Anthonia Ginika; Low, Wah Yun; Noor, Siti Nurani Mohd

2016-10-01

This study examines work-family role conflict and the factors predicting it, with a sample of 173 professional women in engineering and information technology (IT) firms, including 2 hospitals-1 public and 1 private. Our findings show no significant difference in the level of work-family role conflict encountered by women across medicine, engineering, and IT, whereas hours of work, family responsibilities, job demand, and work role overload were significantly correlated with work-family role conflict. Multiple linear regression analysis indicates that only work role overload, family responsibilities, and hours of work significantly predicted 45.9% of work-family role conflict. This implies that working women are burdened by work demands, which invariably affects the work-family role conflict they experience and leads to deterioration of their occupational health. It is suggested that employers should create a flexible work schedule and establish family-friendly policies in the workplace to promote a healthy work-life balance for women in science careers.

Neighborhood Collective Efficacy Moderates the Association between Maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences and Marital Conflict.

PubMed

Madigan, Sheri; Wade, Mark; Plamondon, André; Jenkins, Jennifer M

2016-06-01

In a socio-demographically diverse sample of 501 caregivers participating in a longitudinal birth cohort study during the childbearing years, we examined whether neighborhood collective efficacy moderated the association between maternal adverse childhood experience (ACEs) and marital conflict. Maternal ACEs were assessed via retrospective reports. Neighborhood collective efficacy was measured via maternal and paternal reports at 2 months, and maternal reports of marital conflict were collected at infant age 2 and 18 months. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that maternal ACEs were associated with increased marital conflict. Neighborhood collective efficacy moderated the association between early maternal ACEs and marital conflict, such that mothers experiencing ACEs had lower levels of marital conflict when exposed to high levels of neighborhood collective efficacy. Results suggest that extra-familial sources of social support and control, such as feelings of security, trust, order, and connectedness with others, may buffer the effects of early adversity on marital discord. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

Sibling influences on adolescent substance use: the role of modeling, collusion, and conflict.

PubMed

Low, Sabina; Shortt, Joann Wu; Snyder, James

2012-02-01

The longitudinal associations of older sibling substance use as well as dyadic sibling conflict and collusion to younger sibling substance use were examined in a community-based sample of 244 same-sex sibling pairs. Indirect effects of older siblings on younger sibling substance use were hypothesized via younger sibling deviant peer affiliation and conflict with friends. Adolescents, parents, friends, and teachers completed measures of substance use, conflict, and deviant peer involvement. Observational data were used for both measures of collusion and conflict. Findings suggest that older sibling substance use has a direct effect on younger sibling use, but relationship dynamics and reinforcement played a significant role as well. Specifically, collusion and conflict in the sibling relationship both had indirect effects through younger siblings' deviant peer affiliation. Findings validate the powerful socializing role of both siblings and peers, and elucidate the complex mechanisms through which socialization occurs. Furthermore, data underscore the importance of considering how multiple dimensions of socialization operate in the elaboration of antisocial behavior.

Sibling influences on adolescent substance use: The role of modeling, collusion, and conflict

PubMed Central

LOW, SABINA; SHORTT, JOANN WU; SNYDER, JAMES

2013-01-01

The longitudinal associations of older sibling substance use as well as dyadic sibling conflict and collusion to younger sibling substance use were examined in a community-based sample of 244 same-sex sibling pairs. Indirect effects of older siblings on younger sibling substance use were hypothesized via younger sibling deviant peer affiliation and conflict with friends. Adolescents, parents, friends, and teachers completed measures of substance use, conflict, and deviant peer involvement. Observational data were used for both measures of collusion and conflict. Findings suggest that older sibling substance use has a direct effect on younger sibling use, but relationship dynamics and reinforcement played a significant role as well. Specifically, collusion and conflict in the sibling relationship both had indirect effects through younger siblings' deviant peer affiliation. Findings validate the powerful socializing role of both siblings and peers, and elucidate the complex mechanisms through which socialization occurs. Furthermore, data underscore the importance of considering how multiple dimensions of socialization operate in the elaboration of antisocial behavior. PMID:22293010

Zoonoses, One Health and complexity: wicked problems and constructive conflict.

PubMed

Waltner-Toews, David

2017-07-19

Infectious zoonoses emerge from complex interactions among social and ecological systems. Understanding this complexity requires the accommodation of multiple, often conflicting, perspectives and narratives, rooted in different value systems and temporal-spatial scales. Therefore, to be adaptive, successful and sustainable, One Health approaches necessarily entail conflicts among observers, practitioners and scholars. Nevertheless, these integrative approaches have, both implicitly and explicitly, tended to marginalize some perspectives and prioritize others, resulting in a kind of technocratic tyranny. An important function of One Health approaches should be to facilitate and manage those conflicts, rather than to impose solutions.This article is part of the themed issue 'One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being'. © 2017 The Authors.

Individual, interpersonal, and organisational factors of healthcare conflict: A scoping review.

PubMed

Kim, Sara; Bochatay, Naike; Relyea-Chew, Annemarie; Buttrick, Elizabeth; Amdahl, Chris; Kim, Laura; Frans, Elise; Mossanen, Matthew; Khandekar, Azhar; Fehr, Ryan; Lee, Young-Mee

2017-05-01

Unresolved conflicts among healthcare professionals can lead to difficult patient care consequences. This scoping review examines the current healthcare literature that reported sources and consequences of conflict associated with individual, interpersonal, and organisational factors. We identified 99 articles published between 2001 and 2015 from PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Excerpta Medical Database. Most reviewed studies relied on healthcare professionals' perceptions and beliefs associated with conflict sources and consequences, with few studies reporting behavioural or organisational change outcomes. Individual conflict sources included personal traits, such as self-focus, self-esteem, or worldview, as well as individuals' conflict management styles. These conflicts posed threats to one's physical, mental, and emotional health and to one's ability to perform at work. Interpersonal dynamics were hampered by colleagues' uncivil behaviours, such as low degree of support, to more destructive behaviours including bullying or humiliation. Perceptions of disrespectful working environment and weakened team collaboration were the main interpersonal conflict consequences. Organisational conflict sources included ambiguity in professional roles, scope of practice, reporting structure, or workflows, negatively affecting healthcare professionals' job satisfactions and intent to stay. Future inquiries into healthcare conflict research may target the following: shifting from research involving single professions to multiple professions; dissemination of studies via journals that promote interprofessional research; inquiries into the roles of unconscious or implicit bias, or psychological capital (i.e., resilience) in healthcare conflict; and diversification of data sources to include hospital or clinic data with implications for conflict sources.

People Power--Computer Games in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilliard, Ivan

2014-01-01

This article presents a case study in the use of the computer simulation game "People Power," developed by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. The principal objective of the activity was to offer students an opportunity to understand the dynamics of social conflicts, in a format not possible in a traditional classroom…

Where Can Your Passport Take You? Teaching Citizenship, Mobility, and Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawless, Brandi; Tejada, Jimena; Tejada, Xantal

2016-01-01

Courses: Intercultural Communication, Culture and Conflict, International Conflict and Alliance Building. Objectives: After completing this single-class activity, students should be able to (1) describe the concepts of identity, citizenship, and mobility; (2) empathize with the everyday struggles of students who hold citizenship outside of their…

Teaching About War, Peace, Conflict and Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Friends Group, Inc., New York. Center for War/Peace Studies.

This is a description of the objectives, program activities, and policy of an experimental curriculum development project in the war/peace field. Seven major concepts of content are defined: 1) Identity, 2) Obligation, 3) Change, 4) Power, 5) Conflict, 6) Institutions, 7) Interdependence, 8) Values and the Value Process. Rationale is that…

Violence Prevention: A Communication-Based Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rancer, Andrew S.; Kosberg, Roberta L.

This paper first outlines the objectives of programs which focus on conflict management and violence prevention. The paper then describes the application of a model of aggressive communication as a potential component in conflict management and violence prevention programs. The model presented in the paper incorporates training in argument and…

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…

Single-Trial Regression Elucidates the Role of Prefrontal Theta Oscillations in Response Conflict

PubMed Central

Cohen, Michael X; Cavanagh, James F.

2011-01-01

In most cognitive neuroscience experiments there are many behavioral and experimental dynamics, and many indices of brain activity, that vary from trial to trial. For example, in studies of response conflict, conflict is usually treated as a binary variable (i.e., response conflict exists or does not in any given trial), whereas some evidence and intuition suggests that conflict may vary in intensity from trial to trial. Here we demonstrate that single-trial multiple regression of time–frequency electrophysiological activity reveals neural mechanisms of cognitive control that are not apparent in cross-trial averages. We also introduce a novel extension to oscillation phase coherence and synchronization analyses, based on “weighted” phase modulation, that has advantages over standard coherence measures in terms of linking electrophysiological dynamics to trial-varying behavior and experimental variables. After replicating previous response conflict findings using trial-averaged data, we extend these findings using single-trial analytic methods to provide novel evidence for the role of medial frontal–lateral prefrontal theta-band synchronization in conflict-induced response time dynamics, including a role for lateral prefrontal theta-band activity in biasing response times according to perceptual conflict. Given that these methods shed new light on the prefrontal mechanisms of response conflict, they are also likely to be useful for investigating other neurocognitive processes. PMID:21713190

"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.

Objectives of public participation: Which actors should be involved in the decision making for river restorations?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junker, Berit; Buchecker, Mattias; Müller-BöKer, Ulrike

2007-10-01

River restoration as a measure to improve both flood protection and ecological quality has become a common practice in river management. This new practice, however, has also become a source of conflicts arising from a neglect of the social aspects in river restoration projects. Therefore appropriate public involvement strategies have been recommended in recent years as a way of coping with these conflicts. However, an open question remains: Which stakeholders should be involved in the decision-making process? This, in turn, raises the question of the appropriate objectives of public participation. This study aims to answer these questions drawing on two case studies of Swiss river restoration projects and a related representative nationwide survey. Our findings suggest that public involvement should not be restricted to a small circle of influential stakeholder groups. As restoration projects have been found to have a substantial impact on the quality of life of the local population, avoiding conflicts is only one of several objectives of the involvement process. Including the wider public provides a special opportunity to promote social objectives, such as trust building and identification of people with their local environment.

Dealing with Uncertainty: Readers' Memory for and Use of Conflicting Information from Science Texts as Function of Presentation Format and Source Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stadtler, Marc; Scharrer, Lisa; Brummernhenrich, Benjamin; Bromme, Rainer

2013-01-01

Past research has shown that readers often fail to notice conflicts in text. In our present study we investigated whether accessing information from multiple documents instead of a single document might alleviate this problem by motivating readers to integrate information. We further tested whether this effect would be moderated by source…

Multiple Employment Training Programs. Conflicting Requirements Hamper Delivery of Services. Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Employment and Productivity, Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. Senate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Health, Education, and Human Services Div.

The General Accounting Office reviewed the eligibility requirements and annual operating cycles of 38 programs providing employment training (ET) assistance to economically disadvantaged, older, younger, and dislocated workers at a cost of $8.1 billion. The review confirmed that conflicting eligibility requirements and differences in annual…

IMPACT OF SCHOOL-BASED HIV PREVENTION PROGRAM IN POST-CONFLICT LIBERIA

PubMed Central

Atwood, Katharine A.; Kennedy, Stephen B.; Shamblen, Steve; Tegli, Jemee; Garber, Salome; Fahnbulleh, Pearl W.; Korvah, Prince M.; Kolubah, Moses; Mulbah-Kamara, Comfort; Fulton, Shannon

2013-01-01

This paper presents findings of a feasibility study to adapt and evaluate the impact of an evidence-based HIV prevention intervention on sexual risk behaviors of in-school 6th grade youth in post-conflict Liberia (n = 812). The study used an attention-matched, group randomized controlled trial. Four matched pairs of elementary/middle schools in Monrovia, Liberia, were randomly assigned to either an adapted eight-module HIV prevention or a general health curriculum. Three- and nine-month impacts of the intervention on sexual risk behaviors and on mediating variables are presented. The intervention significantly impacted protective peer norms and positive condom attitudes and increased frequency of condom use at the nine-month follow-up. The intervention did not impact sexual initiation or multiple sex partnerships. Future intervention research should address the salient pressures that are unique to post-conflict settings and include longer follow-up time periods and smaller class sizes to meaningfully impact sexual initiation and multiple sex partnerships. PMID:22339146

When Law Students Read Multiple Documents about Global Warming: Examining the Role of Topic-Specific Beliefs about the Nature of Knowledge and Knowing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braten, Ivar; Stromso, Helge I.

2010-01-01

In this study, law students (n = 49) read multiple authentic documents presenting conflicting information on the topic of climate change and responded to verification tasks assessing their superficial as well as their deeper-level within- and across-documents comprehension. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that even after variance…

Physicians in health care management: 10. Managing conflict through negotiation.

PubMed Central

Lemieux-Charles, L

1994-01-01

The recent focus on collaborative relationships in health care means that people and groups must cooperate to accomplish clinical and management tasks. This increasing interdependence may also cause increased organizational conflict. The management of conflicts is critical to the effectiveness of an organization. Negotiating strategies, based on Fisher and Ury's method of "principled negotiation," include establishing superordinate goals, separating the people from the problem, focussing on interests, inventing options, using objective criteria and defining success in terms of gains. PMID:7922944

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

An evolutionary algorithm technique for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance plan optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langton, John T.; Caroli, Joseph A.; Rosenberg, Brad

2008-04-01

To support an Effects Based Approach to Operations (EBAO), Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) planners must optimize collection plans within an evolving battlespace. A need exists for a decision support tool that allows ISR planners to rapidly generate and rehearse high-performing ISR plans that balance multiple objectives and constraints to address dynamic collection requirements for assessment. To meet this need we have designed an evolutionary algorithm (EA)-based "Integrated ISR Plan Analysis and Rehearsal System" (I2PARS) to support Effects-based Assessment (EBA). I2PARS supports ISR mission planning and dynamic replanning to coordinate assets and optimize their routes, allocation and tasking. It uses an evolutionary algorithm to address the large parametric space of route-finding problems which is sometimes discontinuous in the ISR domain because of conflicting objectives such as minimizing asset utilization yet maximizing ISR coverage. EAs are uniquely suited for generating solutions in dynamic environments and also allow user feedback. They are therefore ideal for "streaming optimization" and dynamic replanning of ISR mission plans. I2PARS uses the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) to automatically generate a diverse set of high performing collection plans given multiple objectives, constraints, and assets. Intended end users of I2PARS include ISR planners in the Combined Air Operations Centers and Joint Intelligence Centers. Here we show the feasibility of applying the NSGA-II algorithm and EAs in general to the ISR planning domain. Unique genetic representations and operators for optimization within the ISR domain are presented along with multi-objective optimization criteria for ISR planning. Promising results of the I2PARS architecture design, early software prototype, and limited domain testing of the new algorithm are discussed. We also present plans for future research and development, as well as technology transition goals.

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

Conflict resolution in the parent-child, marital, and peer contexts and children's aggression in the peer group: a process-oriented cultural perspective.

PubMed

Feldman, Ruth; Masalha, Shafiq; Derdikman-Eiron, Ruth

2010-03-01

Theories of socialization propose that children's ability to handle conflicts is learned at home through mechanisms of participation and observation-participating in parent-child conflict and observing the conflicts between parents. We assessed modes of conflict resolution in the parent-child, marriage, and peer-group contexts among 141 Israeli and Palestinian families and their 1st-born toddler. We observed the ecology of parent-child conflict during home visits, the couple's discussion of marital conflicts, and children's conflicts with peers as well as aggressive behavior at child care. Israeli families used more open-ended tactics, including negotiation and disregard, and conflict was often resolved by compromise, whereas Palestinian families tended to consent or object. During marital discussions, Israeli couples showed more emotional empathy, whereas Palestinians displayed more instrumental solutions. Modes of conflict resolution across contexts were interrelated in culture-specific ways. Child aggression was predicted by higher marital hostility, more coparental undermining behavior, and ineffective discipline in both cultures. Greater family compromise and marital empathy predicted lower aggression among Israeli toddlers, whereas more resolution by consent predicted lower aggression among Palestinians. Considering the cultural basis of conflict resolution within close relationships may expand understanding on the roots of aggression.

Conflict escalation in paediatric services: findings from a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Forbat, Liz; Teuten, Bea; Barclay, Sarah

2015-01-01

Objective To explore clinician and family experiences of conflict in paediatric services, in order to map the trajectory of conflict escalation. Design Qualitative interview study, employing extreme-case sampling. Interviews were analysed using an iterative thematic approach to identify common themes regarding the experience and escalation of conflict. Participants Thirty-eight health professionals and eight parents. All participants had direct experience of conflict, including physical assault and court proceedings, at the interface of acute and palliative care. Setting Two teaching hospitals, one district general hospital and two paediatric hospices in England, in 2011. Results Conflicts escalate in a predictable manner. Clearly identifiable behaviours by both clinicians and parents are defined as mild, moderate and severe. Mild describes features like the insensitive use of language and a history of unresolved conflict. Moderate involves a deterioration of trust, and a breakdown of communication and relationships. Severe marks disintegration of working relationships, characterised by behavioural changes including aggression, and a shift in focus from the child's best interests to the conflict itself. Though conflicts may remain at one level, those which escalated tended to move sequentially from one level to the next. Conclusions Understanding how conflicts escalate provides clinicians with a practical, evidence-based framework to identify the warning signs of conflict in paediatrics. PMID:25940425

Ethical Considerations of Patient-Funded Research for Multiple Sclerosis Therapeutics.

PubMed

Amezcua, Lilyana; Nelson, Flavia

2017-10-01

Patient-funded research has started to emerge in multiple sclerosis studies, such as low-dose naltrexone and stem-cell therapy. While these represent greater opportunities for the physician, scientist, and patient, ethical concerns concerning protocol review, conflict of interests, and protection of subjects are reviewed.

Institutional Identity and Organizational Structure in Multi-Campus Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dengerink, Harold A.

2001-01-01

Explores the structure of universities with multiple campuses but no independent central administrative system. Discusses the hybrid missions of branch campuses, which are asked to serve both the overall university and local constituent communities. Explains that these multiple missions may conflict and thus require intentional organizational…

The conflict and process theory of Melanie Klein.

PubMed

Kavaler-Adler, S

1993-09-01

This article depicts the theory of Melanie Klein in both its conflict and process dimensions. In addition, it outlines Klein's strategic place in psychoanalytic history and in psychoanalytic theory formation. Her major contributions are seen in light of their clinical imperatives, and aspects of her metapsychology that seem negligible are differentiated from these clinical imperatives. Klein's role as a dialectical fulcrum between drive and object relations theories is explicated. Within the conflict theory, drive derivatives of sex and aggression are reformulated as object-related passions of love and hate. The process dimensions of Klein's theory are outlined in terms of dialectical increments of depressive position process as it alternates with regressive paranoid-schizoid-position mental phenomenology. The mourning process as a developmental process is particularly high-lighted in terms of self-integrative progression within the working through of the depressive position.

Problems in female development. Comments on the analysis of an early latency-age girl.

PubMed

Frenkel, R S

1993-01-01

A 6 1/2-year-old girl's clinical material relevant to the emergence of clitoral and vaginal masturbation and masturbation fantasies during analytic sessions is presented. The intense genital excitation, which she called "jeebies," often overwhelmed her ego functioning. She assumed the jeebies and the fantasies that precipitated and accompanied them would cause bad things to happen to her. External events and the nature of her object relations reinforced and confirmed her belief that being only female was unacceptable. Her penis envy, a wish to be a boy-girl, had multiple determinants. A detailed description of her evaluation and subsequent treatment reveals how her unconscious conflicts were resolved in analysis through the evolution and resolution of her transference neurosis, validating the psychoanalytic approach.

Conflicting hydropower development and aquatic ecosystem conservation in Bhutan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wi, S.; Yang, Y. C. E.

2017-12-01

Hydropower is one of the clean energy sources that many Himalayan countries are eager to develop to solve their domestic energy deficit issue such as India, Nepal and Pakistan. Like other Himalayan countries, Bhutan also has a great potential for hydropower development. However, Bhutan is one of few countries that has a domestic energy surplus and export its hydropower generation to neighboring countries (mainly to India). Exporting hydropower is one of the major economic sources in Bhutan. However, constructions of dams and reservoirs for hydropower development inevitably involve habitat fragmentation, causing a conflict of interest with the pursuit of value in aquatic ecosystem conservation. The objectives of this study is to 1) develop a distributed hydrologic model with snow and glacier module to simulate the hydrologic regimes of seven major watersheds in Bhutan; 2) apply the hydrologic model to compute hydropower generation for all existing and potential dams; 3) evaluate cascade impacts of each individual dam on downstream regions by employing three hydro-ecological indicators: the River Connectivity Index (RCI), Dendritic Connectivity Index (DCI), total affected river stretch (ARS), and 4) analyze the tradeoffs between hydropower generation and river connectivity at the national scale by means of a multiple objective genetic algorithm. Modeling results of three Pareto Fronts between ecological indicators and hydropower generation accompany with future energy export targets from the government can inform dam selections that maximizing hydropower generation while minimizing the impact on the aquatic ecosystem (Figure 1a). The impacts of climate change on these Pareto front are also explored to identify robust dam selection under changing temperature and precipitation (Figure 1b).

Correlates and Predictors of Conflict at the End of Life Among Families Enrolled in Hospice.

PubMed

Kramer, Betty J; Boelk, Amy Z

2015-08-01

Despite the palliative care mandate to view family as the unit of care, and the high prevalence and detrimental consequences of conflict at the end of life, little research has been conducted with hospice families to understand what contributes to family conflict. Using a recently generated explanatory matrix of family conflict at the end of life, this study sought to identify the correlates and predictors of family conflict. As part of a larger mixed methods cross-sectional study, a 100-item survey was administered to 161 hospice family caregivers enrolled in a Medicare/Medicaid certified non-profit hospice organization located in the Midwest U.S. Although overall levels of conflict were relatively low, 57% of hospice caregivers reported experiencing some family conflict at the end of life. Contextual variables associated with family conflict included a history of family conflict, female gender, younger caregiver age, presence of children in the home, and less advance care planning discussions. Significant main effects in the prediction of family conflict in the final hierarchical multiple regression model included prior family conflict, caregiver age, caregiver gender, advance care planning discussions, family "coming out of the woodwork," communication constraints, and family members asserting control. The model explained 59% of the variance in family conflict. Results support the multidimensional theoretical model of family conflict specifying the importance of the family context, key conditions that set the stage for conflict, and essential contributing factors. Implications for routine assessment and screening to identify families at risk and recommendations for future research are highlighted. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Change-based threat detection in urban environments with a forward-looking camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morton, Kenneth, Jr.; Ratto, Christopher; Malof, Jordan; Gunter, Michael; Collins, Leslie; Torrione, Peter

2012-06-01

Roadside explosive threats continue to pose a significant risk to soldiers and civilians in conflict areas around the world. These objects are easy to manufacture and procure, but due to their ad hoc nature, they are difficult to reliably detect using standard sensing technologies. Although large roadside explosive hazards may be difficult to conceal in rural environments, urban settings provide a much more complicated background where seemingly innocuous objects (e.g., piles of trash, roadside debris) may be used to obscure threats. Since direct detection of all innocuous objects would flag too many objects to be of use, techniques must be employed to reduce the number of alarms generated and highlight only a limited subset of possibly threatening regions for the user. In this work, change detection techniques are used to reduce false alarm rates and increase detection capabilities for possible threat identification in urban environments. The proposed model leverages data from multiple video streams collected over the same regions by first applying video aligning and then using various distance metrics to detect changes based on image keypoints in the video streams. Data collected at an urban warfare simulation range at an Eastern US test site was used to evaluate the proposed approach, and significant reductions in false alarm rates compared to simpler techniques are illustrated.

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.

An analysis of relational complexity in an air traffic control conflict detection task.

PubMed

Boag, Christine; Neal, Andrew; Loft, Shayne; Halford, Graeme S

2006-11-15

Theoretical analyses of air traffic complexity were carried out using the Method for the Analysis of Relational Complexity. Twenty-two air traffic controllers examined static air traffic displays and were required to detect and resolve conflicts. Objective measures of performance included conflict detection time and accuracy. Subjective perceptions of mental workload were assessed by a complexity-sorting task and subjective ratings of the difficulty of different aspects of the task. A metric quantifying the complexity of pair-wise relations among aircraft was able to account for a substantial portion of the variance in the perceived complexity and difficulty of conflict detection problems, as well as reaction time. Other variables that influenced performance included the mean minimum separation between aircraft pairs and the amount of time that aircraft spent in conflict.

Self-Awareness Emotional Learning during Mediation Procedures in the School Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibarrola-García, Sara; Iriarte, Concha; Aznárez-Sanado, Maite

2017-01-01

Introduction: Studies stress the importance of emotions in conflict, describing how they influence any mediation process. Resolving conflicts requires emotional abilities and it usually implies emotional learning. One of the main objectives of this paper is to better understand the role of emotions in mediation processes: how they impact this…

Psychiatric Training Program Engagement with the Pharmaceutical Industry: An Educational Issue, Not Strictly an Ethical One

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohl, Paul C.

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the educational and ethical issues involved in interactions between departments of psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry. METHODS: The author analyzes the history of attitudes toward pharmaceutical companies, various conflicting ethical principles that apply, and areas of confluence and conflict of interest between…

Nosy Neighbors: Third-Party Actors in Central American Conflicts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede; Beardsley, Kyle

2004-01-01

Scholars argue that third parties make rational calculations and intervene to influence interstate dispute outcomes in favor of their own objectives. Third parties affect not only conflict outcomes but also escalation and duration. Theories of third-party involvement are applied to understand the dynamics of intrastate war. An analysis of event…

Conflict of Interest and Disclosure Policies in Psychiatry and Medicine: A Comparative Study of Peer-Reviewed Journals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khurana, Gauri; Henderson, Schuyler; Walter, Garry; Martin, Andres

2012-01-01

Objective: The authors reviewed and characterized conflict of interest (COI) and disclosure policies published in peer-reviewed psychiatric and nonpsychiatric journals. Methods: The authors examined peer-reviewed publications in the psychiatric (N=20) and nonpsychiatric (N=20) literature. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, they…

Parent-Child Conflict and Suicide Rumination in College Students: The Mediating Roles of Depressive Symptoms and Anxiety Sensitivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamis, Dorian A.; Jahn, Danielle R.

2013-01-01

Objective: Parent-child conflict, depressive symptoms, and anxiety sensitivity have each been identified as risk factors for suicide ideation in college students. This study examined the relations among these risk factors and suicide rumination utilizing transition theory to guide the hypothesized relations. Participants: Undergraduate college…

Conflicts between natural resources and structural protection

Treesearch

Stephen Bakken

1995-01-01

Each parcel of government land carries specific land use constraints and objectives. This is also true of private housing and business developments. When government land, which was acquired to protect the natural or cultural resources, borders private land, which was acquired to build and protect houses or businesses, conflicts arise. The flammable native vegetation on...

Managing outdoor recreation conflict on the Squamish, British Columbia Trail Network

Treesearch

Ana Elia Ramón Hidalgo; Howard Harshaw

2012-01-01

Recreationists with high expectations of satisfaction from outdoor recreation activities are increasingly using trails networks near urban areas. But differences in expectations, behaviors and values of trail users may create conflicts resulting in unsatisfactory experiences. The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of management practices that may reduce...

Sex and Employment-Setting Differences in Work-Family Conflict in Athletic Training

PubMed Central

Mazerolle, Stephanie M.; Eason, Christianne M.; Pitney, William A.; Mueller, Megan N.

2015-01-01

Context  Work-family conflict (WFC) has received much attention in athletic training, yet several factors related to this phenomenon have not been examined, specifically a practitioner's sex, occupational setting, willingness to leave the profession, and willingness to use work-leave benefits. Objective  To examine how sex and occupational differences in athletic training affect WFC and to examine willingness to leave the profession and use work-leave benefits. Design  Cross-sectional study. Setting  Multiple occupational settings, including clinic/outreach, education, collegiate, industrial, professional sports, secondary school, and sales. Patients or Other Participants  A total of 246 athletic trainers (ATs) (men = 110, women = 136) participated. Of these, 61.4% (n = 151) were between 20 and 39 years old. Main Outcome Measures(s)  Participants responded to a previously validated and reliable WFC instrument. We created and validated a 3-item instrument that assessed willingness to use work-leave benefits, which demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.88), as well as a single question about willingness to leave the profession. Results  The mean (± SD) WFC score was 16.88 ± 4.4 (range = 5 [least amount of conflict] to 25 [highest amount of conflict]). Men scored 17.01 ± 4.5, and women scored 16.76 ± 4.36, indicating above-average WFC. We observed no difference between men and women based on conflict scores (t244 = 0.492, P = .95) or their willingness to leave the profession (t244 = −1.27, P = .21). We noted differences among ATs in different practice settings (F8,245 = 5.015, P <.001); those in collegiate and secondary school settings had higher reported WFC scores. A negative relationship existed between WFC score and comfort using work-leave benefits (2-tailed r = −0.533, P < .001). Comfort with using work-leave benefits was different among practice settings (F8,245 = 3.01, P = .003). Conclusions  The ATs employed in traditional practice settings reported higher levels of WFC. Male and female ATs had comparable experiences of WFC and willingness to leave the profession. PMID:26381472

[Cooperation and conflict in childbirth care: representations and practices of nurses and obstetricians].

PubMed

Angulo-Tuesta, Antonia; Giffin, Karen; Gama, Andréa de Sousa; d'Orsi, Eleonora; Barbosa, Gisele Peixoto

2003-01-01

In Brazil, where birthing generally occurs in hospitals and under the care of obstetricians, the incorporation of nurses is a strategy that has been used recently in an attempt to improve obstetric care. This study, conducted in two maternity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, focuses on representations of obstetricians and nurses regarding teamwork and analyzes how the dimensions of power, cooperation/conflict, and technical autonomy are permeated by dualistic conceptions which influence the quality of health care for women during childbirth. On the one hand, the results show a consensus regarding the advantages of professional cooperation in the improvement of health care, assuming the existence of a clear definition of professional roles. At the same time, conflicts regarding therapeutic conduct during the birth process reflect the professionals' perceptions of autonomy and the influence of professional hierarchies, in which obstetric care is seen to depend on the "objective observation" of the women giving birth. The degree of conflict is differentiated according to the institutional context and related to dualistic conceptions such as objective/subjective, rational/emotional, and male/female.

Role conflict and satisfaction in the work-family context: Age differences in the moderating effect of role commitment.

PubMed

Chan, Hiu Ching; Jiang, Da; Fung, Helene H

2015-03-01

This study examined age differences in the buffering effects of role commitment on the associations between role conflicts and satisfaction from the within-domain and cross-domain perspectives. Eighty-five working mothers participated in the study. Multiple regression analyses revealed that work conflicts were negatively associated with job satisfaction of younger employees but not older employees. Commitment to both work and family buffered against the negative association between family conflicts and family satisfaction for older employees but not younger employees. These findings highlight the importance of role commitment for working mothers across adulthood to cope with the demands in the work-family interface. © 2015 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Public Health Crisis in War and Conflict - Health Security in Aggregate.

PubMed

Quinn, John; Zelený, Tomáš; Subramaniam, Rammika; Bencko, Vladimír

2017-03-01

Public health status of populations is multifactorial and besides other factors it is linked to war and conflict. Public health crisis can erupt when states go to war or are invaded; health security may be reduced for affected populations. This study reviews in aggregate multiple indices of human security, human development and legitimacy of the state in order to describe a predictable global health portrait. Paradigm shift of large global powers to that non-state actors and proxies impact regional influence through scaled conflict and present major global health challenges for policy makers. Small scale conflict with large scale violence threatens health security for at-risk populations. The paper concludes that health security is directly proportional to state security. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2017

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

What evidence exists for initiatives to reduce risk and incidence of sexual violence in armed conflict and other humanitarian crises? A systematic review.

PubMed

Spangaro, Jo; Adogu, Chinelo; Ranmuthugala, Geetha; Powell Davies, Gawaine; Steinacker, Léa; Zwi, Anthony

2013-01-01

Sexual violence is highly prevalent in armed conflict and other humanitarian crises and attracting increasing policy and practice attention. This systematic review aimed to canvas the extent and impact of initiatives to reduce incidence, risk and harm from sexual violence in conflict, post-conflict and other humanitarian crises, in low and middle income countries. Twenty three bibliographic databases and 26 websites were searched, covering publications from 1990 to September 2011 using database-specific keywords for sexual violence and conflict or humanitarian crisis. The 40 included studies reported on seven strategy types: i) survivor care; ii) livelihood initiatives; iii) community mobilisation; iv) personnel initiatives; v) systems and security responses; vi) legal interventions and vii) multiple component interventions. Conducted in 26 countries, the majority of interventions were offered in African countries. Despite the extensive literature on sexual violence by combatants, most interventions addressed opportunistic forms of sexual violence committed in post-conflict settings. Only one study specifically addressed the disaster setting. Actual implementation of initiatives appeared to be limited as was the quality of outcome studies. No studies prospectively measured incidence of sexual violence, although three studies provided some evidence of reductions in association with firewood distribution to reduce women's exposure, as did one program to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeeping forces. Apparent increases to risk resulted from lack of protection, stigma and retaliation associated with interventions. Multiple-component interventions and sensitive community engagement appeared to contribute to positive outcomes. Significant obstacles prevent women seeking help following sexual violence, pointing to the need to protect anonymity and preventive strategies. This review contributes a conceptual framework for understanding the forms, settings, and interventions for conflict and crisis-related sexual violence. It points to the need for thorough implementation of initiatives that build on local capacity, while avoiding increased risk and re-traumatisation to survivors of sexual violence.

What Evidence Exists for Initiatives to Reduce Risk and Incidence of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict and Other Humanitarian Crises? A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Spangaro, Jo; Adogu, Chinelo; Ranmuthugala, Geetha; Powell Davies, Gawaine; Steinacker, Léa; Zwi, Anthony

2013-01-01

Sexual violence is highly prevalent in armed conflict and other humanitarian crises and attracting increasing policy and practice attention. This systematic review aimed to canvas the extent and impact of initiatives to reduce incidence, risk and harm from sexual violence in conflict, post-conflict and other humanitarian crises, in low and middle income countries. Twenty three bibliographic databases and 26 websites were searched, covering publications from 1990 to September 2011 using database-specific keywords for sexual violence and conflict or humanitarian crisis. The 40 included studies reported on seven strategy types: i) survivor care; ii) livelihood initiatives; iii) community mobilisation; iv) personnel initiatives; v) systems and security responses; vi) legal interventions and vii) multiple component interventions. Conducted in 26 countries, the majority of interventions were offered in African countries. Despite the extensive literature on sexual violence by combatants, most interventions addressed opportunistic forms of sexual violence committed in post-conflict settings. Only one study specifically addressed the disaster setting. Actual implementation of initiatives appeared to be limited as was the quality of outcome studies. No studies prospectively measured incidence of sexual violence, although three studies provided some evidence of reductions in association with firewood distribution to reduce women's exposure, as did one program to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeeping forces. Apparent increases to risk resulted from lack of protection, stigma and retaliation associated with interventions. Multiple-component interventions and sensitive community engagement appeared to contribute to positive outcomes. Significant obstacles prevent women seeking help following sexual violence, pointing to the need to protect anonymity and preventive strategies. This review contributes a conceptual framework for understanding the forms, settings, and interventions for conflict and crisis-related sexual violence. It points to the need for thorough implementation of initiatives that build on local capacity, while avoiding increased risk and re-traumatisation to survivors of sexual violence. PMID:23690945

A New Conflict Resolution Method for Multiple Mobile Robots in Cluttered Environments With Motion-Liveness.

PubMed

Shahriari, Mohammadali; Biglarbegian, Mohammad

2018-01-01

This paper presents a new conflict resolution methodology for multiple mobile robots while ensuring their motion-liveness, especially for cluttered and dynamic environments. Our method constructs a mathematical formulation in a form of an optimization problem by minimizing the overall travel times of the robots subject to resolving all the conflicts in their motion. This optimization problem can be easily solved through coordinating only the robots' speeds. To overcome the computational cost in executing the algorithm for very cluttered environments, we develop an innovative method through clustering the environment into independent subproblems that can be solved using parallel programming techniques. We demonstrate the scalability of our approach through performing extensive simulations. Simulation results showed that our proposed method is capable of resolving the conflicts of 100 robots in less than 1.23 s in a cluttered environment that has 4357 intersections in the paths of the robots. We also developed an experimental testbed and demonstrated that our approach can be implemented in real time. We finally compared our approach with other existing methods in the literature both quantitatively and qualitatively. This comparison shows while our approach is mathematically sound, it is more computationally efficient, scalable for very large number of robots, and guarantees the live and smooth motion of robots.

Native-View Paradigms: Multiple Cultures and Culture Conflicts in Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregory, Kathleen L.

1983-01-01

After reviewing organizational culture studies done in industrial settings, this paper proposes a native-view paradigm from anthropology for exploring the multiple perspectives of participants in large organizations and describes a study--of Silicon Valley technical professionals' native views--that applies the methods of ethnoscience ethnography.…

Epistemological and Reading Beliefs Profiles and Their Role in Multiple Text Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mateos, Mar; Solé, Isabel; Martín, Elena; Castells, Nuria; Cuevas, Isabel; González-Lamas, Jara

2016-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyse the role of epistemological beliefs and reading beliefs in the comprehension of multiple texts which presented conflicting positions about a controversial topic (nuclear energy). More specifically, we investigated the influence of the multidimensional configuration of epistemological and reading…

The Seven Silos of Accountability in Higher Education: Systematizing Multiple Logics and Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Joshua Travis

2017-01-01

Higher education accountability is a field characterized by complexity. Prior frameworks grounded in psychometrics, economics, and history fall short in explaining the persistence and composition of its complexity. This article employs organizational theory to identify the multiple conflicting approaches of higher education accountability and…

Application of game theory for a groundwater conflict in Mexico.

PubMed

Raquel, Salazar; Ferenc, Szidarovszky; Emery, Coppola; Abraham, Rojano

2007-09-01

Exploitation of scarce water resources, particularly in areas of high demand, inevitably produces conflict among disparate stakeholders, each of whom may have their own set of priorities. In order to arrive at a socially acceptable compromise, the decision-makers should seek an optimal trade-off between conflicting objectives that reflect the priorities of the various stakeholders. In this study, game theory was applied to a multiobjective conflict problem for the Alto Rio Lerma Irrigation District, located in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico, where economic benefits from agricultural production should be balanced with associated negative environmental impacts. The short period of rainfall in this area, combined with high groundwater withdrawals from irrigation wells, has produced severe aquifer overdraft. In addition, current agricultural practices of applying high loads of fertilizers and pesticides have contaminated regions of the aquifer. The net economic benefit to this agricultural region in the short-term lies with increasing crop yields, which requires large pumping extractions for irrigation as well as high chemical loading. In the longer term, this can produce economic loss due to higher pumping costs (i.e., higher lift requirements), or even loss of the aquifer as a viable source of water. Negative environmental impacts include continued diminishment of groundwater quality, and declining groundwater levels in the basin, which can damage surface water systems that support environmental habitats. The two primary stakeholders or players, the farmers in the irrigation district and the community at large, must find an optimal balance between positive economic benefits and negative environmental impacts. In this paper, game theory was applied to find the optimal solution between the two conflicting objectives among 12 alternative groundwater extraction scenarios. Different attributes were used to quantify the benefits and costs of the two objectives, and, following generation of the Pareto frontier or trade-off curve, four conflict resolution methods were then applied.

The hologram as a space of illusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Rosa M.

2013-03-01

One of the most interesting aspects of art holography is the study of 3D holographic image. Over the centuries, artists have chased the best way to represent the third dimension as similar to reality as possible. Several steps have been given in this direction, first using perspective, then photography, and later with movies, but all of these representations of reality wouldn't reach the complete objective. The realism of a 3D representation on a 2D support (paper, canvas, celluloid) is completely overcome by holography. In spite of the fact that the holographic plate or film is also a 2D support, the holographic image is a recording of all the information of the object contained in light. Our perception doesn't need to translate the object as real. It is real. Though immaterial, the holographic image is real because it exists in light. The same parallax, the same shape. The representation is no more an imitation of reality but a replacement of the real object or scene. The space where it exists is a space of illusion and multiple objects can occupy the same place in the hologram, depending on the viewer's time and place. This introduces the fourth dimension in the hologram: time, as well as the apparent conflict between the presence and the absence of images, which is just possible in holography.

Developmental delay and emotion dysregulation: Predicting parent-child conflict across early to middle childhood.

PubMed

Marquis, Willa A; Noroña, Amanda N; Baker, Bruce L

2017-04-01

Cumulative risk research has increased understanding of how multiple risk factors impact various socioemotional and interpersonal outcomes across the life span. However, little is known about risk factors for parent-child conflict early in development, where identifying predictors of change could be highly salient for intervention. Given their established association with parent-child conflict, child developmental delay (DD) and emotion dysregulation were examined as predictors of change in conflict across early to middle childhood (ages 3 to 7 years). Participants (n = 211) were part of a longitudinal study examining the development of psychopathology in children with or without DD. Level of parent-child conflict was derived from naturalistic home observations, whereas child dysregulation was measured using an adapted CBCL-Emotion Dysregulation Index. PROCESS was used to examine the conditional interactive effects of delay status (typically developing, DD) and dysregulation on change in conflict from child ages 3 to 5 and 5 to 7 years. Across both of these timeframes, parent-child conflict increased only for families of children with both DD and high dysregulation, providing support for an interactive risk model of parent-child conflict. Findings are considered in the context of developmental transitions, and implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Developmental delay and emotion dysregulation: Predicting parent-child conflict across early to middle childhood

PubMed Central

Marquis, Willa A.; Noroña, Amanda N.; Baker, Bruce L.

2016-01-01

Cumulative risk research has increased understanding of how multiple risk factors impact various socioemotional and interpersonal outcomes across the life span. However, little is known about risk factors for parent-child conflict early in development, where identifying predictors of change could be highly salient for intervention. Given their established association with parent-child conflict, child developmental delay (DD) and emotion dysregulation were examined as predictors of change in conflict across early to middle childhood (ages 3 to 7 years). Participants (n=211) were part of a longitudinal study examining the development of psychopathology in children with or without DD. Level of parent-child conflict was derived from naturalistic home observations, while child dysregulation was measured using an adapted CBCL-Emotion Dysregulation Index. PROCESS was used to examine the conditional interactive effects of delay status (typically developing, DD) and dysregulation on change in conflict from child ages 3 to 5 and 5 to 7 years. Across both of these timeframes, parent-child conflict increased only for families of children with both DD and high dysregulation, providing support for an interactive risk model of parent-child conflict. Findings are considered in the context of developmental transitions, and implications for intervention are discussed. PMID:28054804

Formalized Conflicts Detection Based on the Analysis of Multiple Emails: An Approach Combining Statistics and Ontologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Chahnez; Curé, Olivier; Salzano, Gabriella; Smaïli, Kamel

In Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), it is crucial for project leaders to detect conflicting situations as early as possible. Generally, this task is performed manually by studying a set of documents exchanged between team members. In this paper, we propose a full-fledged automatic solution that identifies documents, subjects and actors involved in relational conflicts. Our approach detects conflicts in emails, probably the most popular type of documents in CSCW, but the methods used can handle other text-based documents. These methods rely on the combination of statistical and ontological operations. The proposed solution is decomposed in several steps: (i) we enrich a simple negative emotion ontology with terms occuring in the corpus of emails, (ii) we categorize each conflicting email according to the concepts of this ontology and (iii) we identify emails, subjects and team members involved in conflicting emails using possibilistic description logic and a set of proposed measures. Each of these steps are evaluated and validated on concrete examples. Moreover, this approach's framework is generic and can be easily adapted to domains other than conflicts, e.g. security issues, and extended with operations making use of our proposed set of measures.

Evolutionary Conflict Between Maternal and Paternal Interests: Integration with Evolutionary Endocrinology.

PubMed

Mokkonen, Mikael; Koskela, Esa; Mappes, Tapio; Mills, Suzanne C

2016-08-01

Conflict between mates, as well as conflict between parents and offspring are due to divergent evolutionary interests of the interacting individuals. Hormone systems provide genetically based proximate mechanisms for mediating phenotypic adaptation and maladaptation characteristic of evolutionary conflict between individuals. Testosterone (T) is among the most commonly studied hormones in evolutionary biology, and as such, its role in shaping sexually dimorphic behaviors and physiology is relatively well understood, but its role in evolutionary conflict is not as clear. In this review, we outline the genomic conflicts arising within the family unit, and incorporate multiple lines of evidence from the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) system to outline how T impacts traits associated with reproduction and survival, resulting in a sexually antagonistic genetic trade-off in fitness. A major prediction arising from this work is that lower T is favored in females, whereas the optimal T level in males fluctuates in relation to social and ecological factors. We additionally discuss future directions to further integrate endocrinology into the study of sexual and parent-offspring conflicts. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Job insecurity and work-family conflict in teachers in Sweden: Examining their relations with longitudinal cross-lagged modeling.

PubMed

Richter, Anne; Näswall, Katharina; Lindfors, Petra; Sverke, Magnus

2015-06-01

Job insecurity and work-family conflict are increasingly prevalent in contemporary working life and numerous studies have documented their antecedents and negative consequences. The present study used longitudinal questionnaire data collected among teachers in Sweden to test the direction of the relation between job insecurity and work-family conflict using cross-lagged modeling. Multiple-group comparisons were conducted to account for the skewed gender composition in the teachers' group. After controlling for baseline levels of job insecurity, work-family conflict, and four potential confounders (age, children under 12 living at home, university education, and relationship status), we found that the reciprocal relationship between job insecurity and work-family conflict over a 1-year time period fitted the data best for the men. For women, however, only the auto regression coefficients were significant. The results provide some empirical support for gender differences in the relation between job insecurity and work-family conflict. Moreover, this study partially supports theoretical assumptions suggesting that job insecurity and work-family conflict influence each other. © 2015 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Correlation between levels of conflict and containment on acute psychiatric wards: the city-128 study.

PubMed

Bowers, Len; Stewart, Duncan; Papadopoulos, Chris; Iennaco, Joanne DeSanto

2013-05-01

OBJECTIVE Attainment of safe, calm inpatient psychiatric wards that are conducive to positive therapeutic care is crucial. On such wards, rates of coerced medication, seclusion, manual restraint and other types of containment are comparatively low, and, usually, rates of conflict-for example, aggression, substance use, and absconding-are also low. Sometimes, however, wards maintain low rates of containment even when conflict rates are high. This study investigated wards with the counterintuitive combination of low containment and high conflict or high containment and low conflict. METHODS The authors conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected from 136 acute psychiatric wards across England in 2004-2005. The wards were categorized into four groups on the basis of median splits of containment and conflict rates: high conflict and high containment, high conflict and low containment, low conflict and low containment, and low conflict and high containment. Features significantly associated with these ward types were identified. RESULTS Among the variables significantly associated with the various typologies, some-for example, environmental quality-were changeable, and others-such as social deprivation of the area served-were fixed. High-conflict, low-containment wards had higher rates of male staff and lower-quality environments than other wards. Low-conflict, high-containment wards had higher numbers of beds. High-conflict, high-containment wards utilized more temporary staff as well as more unqualified staff. No overall differences were associated with low-conflict, low-containment wards. CONCLUSIONS Wards can make positive changes to achieve a low-containment, nonpunitive culture, even when rates of patient conflict are high.

Production possibility frontiers and socioecological tradeoffs for restoration of fire adapted forests.

PubMed

Ager, Alan A; Day, Michelle A; Vogler, Kevin

2016-07-01

We used spatial optimization to analyze alternative restoration scenarios and quantify tradeoffs for a large, multifaceted restoration program to restore resiliency to forest landscapes in the western US. We specifically examined tradeoffs between provisional ecosystem services, fire protection, and the amelioration of key ecological stressors. The results revealed that attainment of multiple restoration objectives was constrained due to the joint spatial patterns of ecological conditions and socioeconomic values. We also found that current restoration projects are substantially suboptimal, perhaps the result of compromises in the collaborative planning process used by federal planners, or operational constraints on forest management activities. The juxtaposition of ecological settings with human values generated sharp tradeoffs, especially with respect to community wildfire protection versus generating revenue to support restoration and fire protection activities. The analysis and methods can be leveraged by ongoing restoration programs in many ways including: 1) integrated prioritization of restoration activities at multiple scales on public and adjoining private lands, 2) identification and mapping of conflicts between ecological restoration and socioeconomic objectives, 3) measuring the efficiency of ongoing restoration projects compared to the optimal production possibility frontier, 4) consideration of fire transmission among public and private land parcels as a prioritization metric, and 5) finding socially optimal regions along the production frontier as part of collaborative restoration planning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiobjective hyper heuristic scheme for system design and optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafique, Amer Farhan

2012-11-01

As system design is becoming more and more multifaceted, integrated, and complex, the traditional single objective optimization trends of optimal design are becoming less and less efficient and effective. Single objective optimization methods present a unique optimal solution whereas multiobjective methods present pareto front. The foremost intent is to predict a reasonable distributed pareto-optimal solution set independent of the problem instance through multiobjective scheme. Other objective of application of intended approach is to improve the worthiness of outputs of the complex engineering system design process at the conceptual design phase. The process is automated in order to provide the system designer with the leverage of the possibility of studying and analyzing a large multiple of possible solutions in a short time. This article presents Multiobjective Hyper Heuristic Optimization Scheme based on low level meta-heuristics developed for the application in engineering system design. Herein, we present a stochastic function to manage meta-heuristics (low-level) to augment surety of global optimum solution. Generic Algorithm, Simulated Annealing and Swarm Intelligence are used as low-level meta-heuristics in this study. Performance of the proposed scheme is investigated through a comprehensive empirical analysis yielding acceptable results. One of the primary motives for performing multiobjective optimization is that the current engineering systems require simultaneous optimization of conflicting and multiple. Random decision making makes the implementation of this scheme attractive and easy. Injecting feasible solutions significantly alters the search direction and also adds diversity of population resulting in accomplishment of pre-defined goals set in the proposed scheme.

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

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

PubMed

Knecht, Michaela K; Bauer, Georg F; Gutzwiller, Felix; Hämmig, Oliver

2011-04-29

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. 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. 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. 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.

Effects of temperature and precipitation variability on the risk of violence in sub-Saharan Africa, 1980–2012

PubMed Central

O’Loughlin, John; Linke, Andrew M.; Witmer, Frank D. W.

2014-01-01

Ongoing debates in the academic community and in the public policy arena continue without clear resolution about the significance of global climate change for the risk of increased conflict. Sub-Saharan Africa is generally agreed to be the region most vulnerable to such climate impacts. Using a large database of conflict events and detailed climatological data covering the period 1980–2012, we apply a multilevel modeling technique that allows for a more nuanced understanding of a climate–conflict link than has been seen heretofore. In the aggregate, high temperature extremes are associated with more conflict; however, different types of conflict and different subregions do not show consistent relationship with temperature deviations. Precipitation deviations, both high and low, are generally not significant. The location and timing of violence are influenced less by climate anomalies (temperature or precipitation variations from normal) than by key political, economic, and geographic factors. We find important distinctions in the relationship between temperature extremes and conflict by using multiple methods of analysis and by exploiting our time-series cross-sectional dataset for disaggregated analyses. PMID:25385621

The intergenerational effects of war on the health of children.

PubMed

Devakumar, Delan; Birch, Marion; Osrin, David; Sondorp, Egbert; Wells, Jonathan C K

2014-04-02

The short- and medium-term effects of conflict on population health are reasonably well documented. Less considered are its consequences across generations and potential harms to the health of children yet to be born. Looking first at the nature and effects of exposures during conflict, and then at the potential routes through which harm may propagate within families, we consider the intergenerational effects of four features of conflict: violence, challenges to mental health, infection and malnutrition. Conflict-driven harms are transmitted through a complex permissive environment that includes biological, cultural and economic factors, and feedback loops between sources of harm and weaknesses in individual and societal resilience to them. We discuss the multiplicative effects of ongoing conflict when hostilities are prolonged. We summarize many instances in which the effects of war can propagate across generations. We hope that the evidence laid out in the article will stimulate research and--more importantly--contribute to the discussion of the costs of war; particularly in the longer-term in post-conflict situations in which interventions need to be sustained and adapted over many years.

The intergenerational effects of war on the health of children

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The short- and medium-term effects of conflict on population health are reasonably well documented. Less considered are its consequences across generations and potential harms to the health of children yet to be born. Discussion Looking first at the nature and effects of exposures during conflict, and then at the potential routes through which harm may propagate within families, we consider the intergenerational effects of four features of conflict: violence, challenges to mental health, infection and malnutrition. Conflict-driven harms are transmitted through a complex permissive environment that includes biological, cultural and economic factors, and feedback loops between sources of harm and weaknesses in individual and societal resilience to them. We discuss the multiplicative effects of ongoing conflict when hostilities are prolonged. Summary We summarize many instances in which the effects of war can propagate across generations. We hope that the evidence laid out in the article will stimulate research and – more importantly – contribute to the discussion of the costs of war; particularly in the longer-term in post-conflict situations in which interventions need to be sustained and adapted over many years. PMID:24694212

How conflict affects land use: agricultural activity in areas seized by the Islamic State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eklund, Lina; Degerald, Michael; Brandt, Martin; Prishchepov, Alexander V.; Pilesjö, Petter

2017-05-01

Socio-economic shocks, technogenic catastrophes, and armed conflicts often have drastic impacts on local and regional food security through disruption of agricultural production and food trade, reduced investments, and deterioration of land and infrastructure. Recently, more research has focused on the effects of armed conflict on land systems, but still little is known about the processes and outcomes of such events. Here we use the case of Syria and Iraq and the seizure of land by the Islamic State (IS) since 2014 as an example of armed conflict, where we investigate the effects on agricultural land use. We apply a reproducible approach using 250 m satellite-based time-series data to quantify the areas under cultivation from 2000 to 2015. Despite a common belief about widespread land abandonment in areas under conflict, results point to multiple trajectories regarding cropland cultivation in the IS seized area: (1) expansion of cropland to formerly un-cultivated areas, (2) cropland abandonment, and (3) decrease of high-intensity cropland. Our study highlights the need to understand these diverse conflict-related and context-dependent changes to the land system.

Reproductive mode and the shifting arenas of evolutionary conflict.

PubMed

Furness, Andrew I; Morrison, Keenan R; Orr, Teri J; Arendt, Jeff D; Reznick, David N

2015-12-01

In sexually reproducing organisms, the genetic interests of individuals are not perfectly aligned. Conflicts among family members are prevalent since interactions involve the transfer of limited resources between interdependent players. Intrafamilial conflict has traditionally been considered along three major axes: between the sexes, between parents and offspring, and between siblings. In these interactions, conflict is expected over traits in which the resulting phenotypic value is determined by multiple family members who have only partially overlapping fitness optima. We focus on four major categories of animal reproductive mode (broadcast spawning, egg laying, live bearing, and live bearing with matrotrophy) and identify the shared phenotypes or traits over which conflict is expected, and then review the empirical literature for evidence of their occurrence. Major transitions among reproductive mode, such as a shift from external to internal fertilization, an increase in egg-retention time, modifications of embryos and mothers for nutrient transfer, the evolution of postnatal parental care, and increased interaction with the kin network, mark key shifts that both change and expand the arenas in which conflict is played out. © 2015 New York Academy of Sciences.

Experimental Performance of a Genetic Algorithm for Airborne Strategic Conflict Resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karr, David A.; Vivona, Robert A.; Roscoe, David A.; DePascale, Stephen M.; Consiglio, Maria

2009-01-01

The Autonomous Operations Planner, a research prototype flight-deck decision support tool to enable airborne self-separation, uses a pattern-based genetic algorithm to resolve predicted conflicts between the ownship and traffic aircraft. Conflicts are resolved by modifying the active route within the ownship s flight management system according to a predefined set of maneuver pattern templates. The performance of this pattern-based genetic algorithm was evaluated in the context of batch-mode Monte Carlo simulations running over 3600 flight hours of autonomous aircraft in en-route airspace under conditions ranging from typical current traffic densities to several times that level. Encountering over 8900 conflicts during two simulation experiments, the genetic algorithm was able to resolve all but three conflicts, while maintaining a required time of arrival constraint for most aircraft. Actual elapsed running time for the algorithm was consistent with conflict resolution in real time. The paper presents details of the genetic algorithm s design, along with mathematical models of the algorithm s performance and observations regarding the effectiveness of using complimentary maneuver patterns when multiple resolutions by the same aircraft were required.

Experimental Performance of a Genetic Algorithm for Airborne Strategic Conflict Resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karr, David A.; Vivona, Robert A.; Roscoe, David A.; DePascale, Stephen M.; Consiglio, Maria

2009-01-01

The Autonomous Operations Planner, a research prototype flight-deck decision support tool to enable airborne self-separation, uses a pattern-based genetic algorithm to resolve predicted conflicts between the ownship and traffic aircraft. Conflicts are resolved by modifying the active route within the ownship's flight management system according to a predefined set of maneuver pattern templates. The performance of this pattern-based genetic algorithm was evaluated in the context of batch-mode Monte Carlo simulations running over 3600 flight hours of autonomous aircraft in en-route airspace under conditions ranging from typical current traffic densities to several times that level. Encountering over 8900 conflicts during two simulation experiments, the genetic algorithm was able to resolve all but three conflicts, while maintaining a required time of arrival constraint for most aircraft. Actual elapsed running time for the algorithm was consistent with conflict resolution in real time. The paper presents details of the genetic algorithm's design, along with mathematical models of the algorithm's performance and observations regarding the effectiveness of using complimentary maneuver patterns when multiple resolutions by the same aircraft were required.

Transitioning to future air traffic management: effects of imperfect automation on controller attention and performance.

PubMed

Rovira, Ericka; Parasuraman, Raja

2010-06-01

This study examined whether benefits of conflict probe automation would occur in a future air traffic scenario in which air traffic service providers (ATSPs) are not directly responsible for freely maneuvering aircraft but are controlling other nonequipped aircraft (mixed-equipage environment). The objective was to examine how the type of automation imperfection (miss vs. false alarm) affects ATSP performance and attention allocation. Research has shown that the type of automation imperfection leads to differential human performance costs. Participating in four 30-min scenarios were 12 full-performance-level ATSPs. Dependent variables included conflict detection and resolution performance, eye movements, and subjective ratings of trust and self confidence. ATSPs detected conflicts faster and more accurately with reliable automation, as compared with manual performance. When the conflict probe automation was unreliable, conflict detection performance declined with both miss (25% conflicts detected) and false alarm automation (50% conflicts detected). When the primary task of conflict detection was automated, even highly reliable yet imperfect automation (miss or false alarm) resulted in serious negative effects on operator performance. The further in advance that conflict probe automation predicts a conflict, the greater the uncertainty of prediction; thus, designers should provide users with feedback on the state of the automation or other tools that allow for inspection and analysis of the data underlying the conflict probe algorithm.

A Survey on Conflict Resolution Mechanisms in Public Secondary Schools: A Case of Nairobi Province, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramani, Ken; Zhimin, Liu

2010-01-01

The broad objective of the study was to determine various mechanisms applied in resolving conflicts within public secondary schools in Nairobi province. This study used descriptive and exploratory research design. A sample comprising of principals, representatives of Boards of Governors (BoG's), class teachers, students and education officers was…

Objective Work-Nonwork Conflict: From Incompatible Demands to Decreased Work Role Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haun, Sascha; Steinmetz, Holger; Dormann, Christian

2011-01-01

Research on work-nonwork conflict (WNC) is based on the assumption that incompatible demands from the work and the nonwork domain hamper role performance. This assumption implies that role demands from both domains interact in predicting role performance, but research has been largely limited to main effects. In this multi-source study, we analyze…

AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF THE ROLES AND ROLE CONFLICTS OF VOCATIONAL TEACHERS IN OKLAHOMA. FINAL REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SUTKER, SOLOMON; AND OTHERS

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO (1) DEPICT THE ROLE OF VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE, TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL, DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION, AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN OKLAHOMA, (2) ASSESS THE POTENTIAL FOR ROLE CONFLICT ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR ACTIVITIES, AND (3) OPERATIONALIZE ROLE THEORY AS AN APPROACH FOR INVESTIGATING EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS.…

Intrafamilial Conflict and Emotional Well-Being: A Population Based Study among Icelandic Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunnlaugsson, Geir; Kristjansson, Alfgeir Logi; Einarsdottir, Jonina; Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora

2011-01-01

Objectives: During intrafamilial conflicts children are often innocent bystanders, caught in the crossfire. In such situations, they are at increased risk to become directly involved in abusive verbal behavior of the perpetrator, and exposed to being shouted or yelled at, threatened, rejected and even physically abused. The present study has two…

Interpartner Conflict and Child Abuse Risk among African American and Latino Adolescent Parenting Couples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, David R.; Florsheim, Paul

2008-01-01

Objective: The goal of this study was to identify links between observed conflict interactions and risk for child abuse and harsh parenting among a multiethnic sample of adolescent mothers (14-19 years) and young fathers (14-24 years). Methods: Prior to childbirth (T1), observation-based relationship data were collected from 154 expectant…

The Final Rule: Implementing New Policies for Financial Conflict of Interest at the University of Central Florida

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adkins, Andrea; McClellan, Tammie; Miner, John

2013-01-01

Academic institutions modified their financial conflict of interest policies (FCOI) in response to the Public Health Service's (PHS) 2011 revised regulations (42 CFR 50 Subpart F) on "Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research and Responsible Prospective Contractors" (45 CFR 94), which were to go into effect on…

Seek Help from Teachers or Fight Back? Student Perceptions of Teachers' Actions during Conflicts and Responses to Peer Victimization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aceves, Mario J.; Hinshaw, Stephen P.; Mendoza-Denton, Rodolfo; Page-Gould, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Previous research has shown that teachers' actions when addressing conflict on school grounds can shape adolescent perceptions regarding how well the school manages victimization. Our objective in this study was to determine how these perceptions influenced the likelihood that adolescent students would react to victimization scenarios by either…

Skin color as post-colonial hierarchy: a global strategy for conflict resolution.

PubMed

Hall, Ronald E

2003-01-01

The post-colonial hierarchy is a critical dynamic of global coexistence. Power is associated with those sovereignties characterized by light-skinned populations. Those characterized by dark skin are denigrated and assumed less qualified to negotiate global issues as equals. Although political objectives are expected to stimulate conflict, skin color is directly correlated with the present world order. Moreover, most post-colonial sovereignties are heterogeneous in one way or another and yet do not engage in destructive conflict. From a global perspective, conflict resolution will require post-colonial sovereignties--particularly those of relative light skin--to forfeit their self-serving denigration of others. Strategies for conflict resolution should ignore skin color and incorporate measures designed to improve problem solving, moral reasoning, and the general etiquette skills of those engaged in any negotiation process.

Children With ADHD Show Impairments in Multiple Stages of Information Processing in a Stroop Task: An ERP Study.

PubMed

Kóbor, Andrea; Takács, Ádám; Bryce, Donna; Szűcs, Dénes; Honbolygó, Ferenc; Nagy, Péter; Csépe, Valéria

2015-01-01

This study investigated the role of impaired inhibitory control as a factor underlying attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children with ADHD and typically developing children completed an animal Stroop task while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. The lateralized readiness potential and event-related brain potentials associated with perceptual and conflict processing were analyzed. Children with ADHD were slower to give correct responses irrespective of congruency, and slower to prepare correct responses in the incongruent condition. This delay could result from enhanced effort allocation at earlier processing stages, indicated by differences in P1, N1, and conflict sustained potential. Results suggest multiple deficits in information processing rather than a specific response inhibition impairment.

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 more frequently than institutional and non-financial conflicts of interest. PMID:27515760

Conflicts over host manipulation between different parasites and pathogens: Investigating the ecological and medical consequences

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

When parasites have different interests in regard to how their host should behave this can result in a conflict over host manipulation, i.e. parasite induced changes in host behaviour that enhance parasite fitness. Such a conflict can result in the alteration, or even complete suppression, of one parasite's host manipulation. Many parasites, and probably also symbionts and commensals, have the ability to manipulate the behaviour of their host. Non‐manipulating parasites should also have an interest in host behaviour. Given the frequency of multiple parasite infections in nature, potential conflicts of interest over host behaviour and manipulation may be common. This review summarizes the evidence on how parasites can alter other parasite's host manipulation. Host manipulation can have important ecological and medical consequences. I speculate on how a conflict over host manipulation could alter these consequences and potentially offer a new avenue of research to ameliorate harmful consequences of host manipulation. PMID:27510821

Conflicted Identification in the Sex Education Classroom: Balancing Professional Values With Organizational Mandates.

PubMed

Williams, Elizabeth A; Jensen, Robin E

2016-09-01

Despite enormous resources spent on sex education, the United States faces an epidemic of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among young people. Little research has examined the role sex educators play in alleviating or exacerbating this problem. In this study, we interviewed 50 sex educators employed by public schools throughout a Midwestern, U.S. state about their experiences in the sex education classroom. Twenty-two interviewees communicated feelings of conflicted identification and provided examples of the ways in which they experienced this subjectivity in the context of their employment. We find these interviews shed light on the as-yet-understudied communicative experience of conflicted identification by delineating key sources of such conflict and discursive strategies used in its negotiation. Our results suggest that those who experience conflicted identification and who have a sense of multiple or nested identifications within their overarching professional identity may be safeguarded to some extent from eventual organizational disidentification. © The Author(s) 2015.

Selfish Pups: Weaning Conflict and Milk Theft in Free-Ranging Dogs

PubMed Central

Paul, Manabi

2017-01-01

Parent-offspring conflict theory predicts the emergence of weaning conflict between a mother and her offspring arising from skewed relatedness benefits. Empirical observations of weaning conflict have not been carried out in canids. In a field-based study on free-ranging dogs we observed that nursing/suckling bout durations decrease, proportion of mother-initiated nursing bouts decrease and mother-initiated nursing/suckling terminations increase with pup age. We identified the 7th - 13th week period of pup age as the zone of conflict between the mother and her pups, beyond which suckling solicitations cease, and before which suckling refusals are few. We also report for the first time milk theft by pups who take advantage of the presence of multiple lactating females, due to the promiscuous mating system of the dogs. This behaviour, though apparently disadvantageous for the mothers, is perhaps adaptive for the dogs in the face of high mortality and competition for resources. PMID:28178276

Interparental Relationship Sensitivity Leads to Adolescent Internalizing Problems: Different Genotypes, Different Pathways

PubMed Central

Schlomer, Gabriel L.; Fosco, Gregory M.; Cleveland, H. H.; Vandenbergh, David J.; Feinberg, Mark E.

2015-01-01

Several studies have established that child interparental conflict evaluations link parent relationship functioning and adolescent adjustment. Using differential susceptibility theory and its vantage sensitivity complement as their framework, the authors examined differences between adolescents who vary in the DRD4 7 repeat genotype (i.e. 7+ vs. 7−) in how both interparental conflict and positivity affect adolescents’ evaluations of interparental conflict (i.e., threat appraisals) and how these evaluations affect internalizing problems. Results from longitudinal multiple-group path models using PROSPER data (N = 452) supported the hypothesis that threat appraisals for 7+ adolescents would be more affected by perceptions of interparental positivity compared to 7− adolescents; however, threat appraisals for 7+ adolescents were also less affected by interparental conflict. Among 7− adolescents, interparental conflict perceptions were associated with higher threat appraisals, and no association was found for perceptions of positivity. For adolescents of both genotypes, higher threat was associated with greater internalizing problems. PMID:25843974

Marital conflict and parental responses to infant negative emotions: Relations with toddler emotional regulation.

PubMed

Frankel, Leslie A; Umemura, Tomo; Jacobvitz, Deborah; Hazen, Nancy

2015-08-01

According to family systems theory, children's emotional development is likely to be influenced by family interactions at multiple levels, including marital, mother-child, and father-child interactions, as well as by interrelations between these levels. The purpose of the present study was to examine parents' marital conflict and mothers' and fathers' distressed responses to their infant's negative emotions, assessed when their child was 8 and 24 months old, in addition to interactions between parents' marital conflict and their distressed responses, as predictors of their toddler's negative and flat/withdrawn affect at 24 months. Higher marital conflict during infancy and toddlerhood predicted both increased negative and increased flat/withdrawn affect during toddlerhood. In addition, toddlers' negative (but not flat) affect was related to mothers' distressed responses, but was only related to father's distressed responses when martial conflict was high. Implications of this study for parent education and family intervention were discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Resolving disputes over science in natural resource agency decisionmaking

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruell, Emily; Burkardt, Nina; Clark, Douglas R.

2010-01-01

Natural resource agencies make decisions involving public resources in which the public, by definition, have a stake. These resources are often finite. Thus, different viewpoints, interests, or beliefs may conflict when parties are perceived to be interdependent or one party is perceived to block or oppose other parties' use of a scarce resource. These confl icts may occur regard less of whether there are any real differences between the parties or whether one party's actions actually affect the other (Thomas 1992; Robbins 1994; Appelbaum et al. 1999). Conflicts are defined here as "a process of social interaction involving a struggle over claims to resources, power and status, beliefs, and other preferences and desires" (Appelbaum et al. 1999, 63). Such conflicts can occur at multiple stages or levels of decisionmaking and can be embedded within other conflicts.

Towards physical principles of biological evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katsnelson, Mikhail I.; Wolf, Yuri I.; Koonin, Eugene V.

2018-03-01

Biological systems reach organizational complexity that far exceeds the complexity of any known inanimate objects. Biological entities undoubtedly obey the laws of quantum physics and statistical mechanics. However, is modern physics sufficient to adequately describe, model and explain the evolution of biological complexity? Detailed parallels have been drawn between statistical thermodynamics and the population-genetic theory of biological evolution. Based on these parallels, we outline new perspectives on biological innovation and major transitions in evolution, and introduce a biological equivalent of thermodynamic potential that reflects the innovation propensity of an evolving population. Deep analogies have been suggested to also exist between the properties of biological entities and processes, and those of frustrated states in physics, such as glasses. Such systems are characterized by frustration whereby local state with minimal free energy conflict with the global minimum, resulting in ‘emergent phenomena’. We extend such analogies by examining frustration-type phenomena, such as conflicts between different levels of selection, in biological evolution. These frustration effects appear to drive the evolution of biological complexity. We further address evolution in multidimensional fitness landscapes from the point of view of percolation theory and suggest that percolation at level above the critical threshold dictates the tree-like evolution of complex organisms. Taken together, these multiple connections between fundamental processes in physics and biology imply that construction of a meaningful physical theory of biological evolution might not be a futile effort. However, it is unrealistic to expect that such a theory can be created in one scoop; if it ever comes to being, this can only happen through integration of multiple physical models of evolutionary processes. Furthermore, the existing framework of theoretical physics is unlikely to suffice for adequate modeling of the biological level of complexity, and new developments within physics itself are likely to be required.

Task-Oriented Reading of Multiple Documents: Online Comprehension Processes and Offline Products

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anmarkrud, Øistein; McCrudden, Matthew T.; Bråten, Ivar; Strømsø, Helge I.

2013-01-01

We explored readers' judgments of text relevance and strategy use while they read about a controversial scientific issue in multiple conflicting documents using a think-aloud methodology and had them write a short essay after reading. Participants were university-level students. There were three main findings. First, readers discriminated…

Effects of the Interparental Relationship on Adolescents' Emotional Security and Adjustment: The Important Role of Fathers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suh, Go Woon; Fabricius, William V.; Stevenson, Matthew M.; Parke, Ross D.; Cookston, Jeffrey T.; Braver, Sanford L.; Saenz, Delia S.

2016-01-01

We examined the mediational roles of multiple types of adolescents' emotional security in relations between multiple aspects of the interparental relationship and adolescents' mental health from ages 13 to 16 (N = 392). General marital quality, nonviolent parent conflict, and physical intimate partner violence independently predicted mental…

Post-Training Reversible Inactivation of the Hippocampus Enhances Novel Object Recognition Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliveira, Ana M. M.; Hawk, Joshua D.; Abel, Ted; Havekes, Robbert

2010-01-01

Research on the role of the hippocampus in object recognition memory has produced conflicting results. Previous studies have used permanent hippocampal lesions to assess the requirement for the hippocampus in the object recognition task. However, permanent hippocampal lesions may impact performance through effects on processes besides memory…

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 about whether physician-surrogate conflict has occurred. Further work is needed to develop reliable and valid methods to assess conflict. In the interim, future studies should assess conflict from the perspective of both clinicians and surrogates. PMID:24434440

Dynamic equilibrium strategy for drought emergency temporary water transfer and allocation management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jiuping; Ma, Ning; Lv, Chengwei

2016-08-01

Efficient water transfer and allocation are critical for disaster mitigation in drought emergencies. This is especially important when the different interests of the multiple decision makers and the fluctuating water resource supply and demand simultaneously cause space and time conflicts. To achieve more effective and efficient water transfers and allocations, this paper proposes a novel optimization method with an integrated bi-level structure and a dynamic strategy, in which the bi-level structure works to deal with space dimension conflicts in drought emergencies, and the dynamic strategy is used to deal with time dimension conflicts. Combining these two optimization methods, however, makes calculation complex, so an integrated interactive fuzzy program and a PSO-POA are combined to develop a hybrid-heuristic algorithm. The successful application of the proposed model in a real world case region demonstrates its practicality and efficiency. Dynamic cooperation between multiple reservoirs under the coordination of a global regulator reflects the model's efficiency and effectiveness in drought emergency water transfer and allocation, especially in a fluctuating environment. On this basis, some corresponding management recommendations are proposed to improve practical operations.

With a little help from my goals: integrating intergoal facilitation with the theory of planned behaviour to predict physical activity.

PubMed

Presseau, Justin; Sniehotta, Falko F; Francis, Jill J; Gebhardt, Winifred A

2010-11-01

Integration of a multiple goal theory approach into the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to investigate how the perceived facilitating and conflicting relationships in multiple goal pursuit predict performance of a health-related behaviour. Prospective design with 8-week follow-up. At baseline, perceived intergoal facilitation and intergoal conflict were measured using personal projects analysis supplemented with standard TPB measures for physical activity (PA). Self-reported PA was measured at follow-up 8 weeks later. N=137 participants completed measures at both time points (55.4% response rate at follow-up). Hierarchical regression showed that perceived intergoal facilitation, but not intergoal conflict, directly predicted PA beyond intention and perceived behavioural control (PBC), accounting for more than 4% of additional variance in PA. Intergoal facilitation had an indirect effect on intention through attitude and PBC, and intention partially mediated the effect of intergoal facilitation on behaviour. The perceived facilitating effect of pursuing other personal goals predicts the performance of a health-related behaviour over and above single behaviour-focused social cognitions.

Evaluation of a Pair-Wise Conflict Detection and Resolution Algorithm in a Multiple Aircraft Scenario

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carreno, Victor A.

2002-01-01

The KB3D algorithm is a pairwise conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) algorithm. It detects and generates trajectory vectoring for an aircraft which has been predicted to be in an airspace minima violation within a given look-ahead time. It has been proven, using mechanized theorem proving techniques, that for a pair of aircraft, KB3D produces at least one vectoring solution and that all solutions produced are correct. Although solutions produced by the algorithm are mathematically correct, they might not be physically executable by an aircraft or might not solve multiple aircraft conflicts. This paper describes a simple solution selection method which assesses all solutions generated by KB3D and determines the solution to be executed. The solution selection method and KB3D are evaluated using a simulation in which N aircraft fly in a free-flight environment and each aircraft in the simulation uses KB3D to maintain separation. Specifically, the solution selection method filters KB3D solutions which are procedurally undesirable or physically not executable and uses a predetermined criteria for selection.

Scenario management and automated scenario generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKeever, William; Gilmour, Duane; Lehman, Lynn; Stirtzinger, Anthony; Krause, Lee

2006-05-01

The military planning process utilizes simulation to determine the appropriate course of action (COA) that will achieve a campaign end state. However, due to the difficulty in developing and generating simulation level COAs, only a few COAs are simulated. This may have been appropriate for traditional conflicts but the evolution of warfare from attrition based to effects based strategies, as well as the complexities of 4 th generation warfare and asymmetric adversaries have placed additional demands on military planners and simulation. To keep pace with this dynamic, changing environment, planners must be able to perform continuous, multiple, "what-if" COA analysis. Scenario management and generation are critical elements to achieving this goal. An effects based scenario generation research project demonstrated the feasibility of automated scenario generation techniques which support multiple stove-pipe and emerging broad scope simulations. This paper will discuss a case study in which the scenario generation capability was employed to support COA simulations to identify plan effectiveness. The study demonstrated the effectiveness of using multiple simulation runs to evaluate the effectiveness of alternate COAs in achieving the overall campaign (metrics-based) objectives. The paper will discuss how scenario generation technology can be employed to allow military commanders and mission planning staff to understand the impact of command decisions on the battlespace of tomorrow.

How war, drought, and management impact water supply in the Tigris/Euphrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, M.; Moody, A.; Benninger, L. K.

2017-12-01

The fast-paced conflicts in the Middle East have the potential to disrupt management and supply of water resources in the region, particularly on structures such as Mosul and Haditha dams, and the Ramadi and Falluja Barrages, all of which have experienced threats or changes in sovereignty. Water supply is also under pressure from upstream dam management and drought. In this research, we use the normalized difference water index (NDWI) applied to Landsat imagery in order to monitor changes in the extent of various water bodies (1985-present). We looked to see if significant anomalies from expected surface area were best explained by conflict, drought, or dam management. Conflict (though not every conflict) produced the greatest sudden changes in water supply; drought produced the greatest absolute changes, but at a gentle pace. Drought impacts are strongest in the furthest downstream reservoirs. Conflict-driven changes were tied to very specific human manipulations in water supply in order to either advance military objectives, "punish" civilians on the wrong side of the fight, or to prevent humanitarian catastrophe. Satellite images allow for an objective analysis of how strong these manipulations were. The information may not be as exact as on-the-ground information, but when the flow of information is disrupted by war, satellite data can be an alternative source of insights into water supply changes.

Understanding effects of armed conflict on health outcomes: the case of Nepal

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Objective There is abundance of literature on adverse effects of conflict on the health of the population. In contrast to this, sporadic data in Nepal claim improvements in most of the health indicators during the decade-long armed conflict (1996-2006). However, systematic information to support or reject this claim is scant. This study reviews Nepal's key health indicators before and after the violent conflict and explores the possible factors facilitating the progress. Methods A secondary analysis has been conducted of two demographic health surveys-Nepal Family Health Survey (NFHS) 1996 and Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2006; the latter was supplemented by a study carried out by the Nepal Health Research Council in 2006. Results The data show Nepal has made progress in 16 out of 19 health indicators which are part of the Millennium Development Goals whilst three indicators have remained static. Our analysis suggests a number of conflict and non-conflict factors which may have led to this success. Conclusion The lessons learnt from Nepal could be replicable elsewhere in conflict and post-conflict environments. A nationwide large-scale empirical study is needed to further assess the determinants of Nepal's success in the health sector at a time the country experienced a decade of armed conflict. PMID:21122098

Multi-objective Optimization of a Solar Humidification Dehumidification Desalination Unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafigh, M.; Mirzaeian, M.; Najafi, B.; Rinaldi, F.; Marchesi, R.

2017-11-01

In the present paper, a humidification-dehumidification desalination unit integrated with solar system is considered. In the first step mathematical model of the whole plant is represented. Next, taking into account the logical constraints, the performance of the system is optimized. On one hand it is desired to have higher energetic efficiency, while on the other hand, higher efficiency results in an increment in the required area for each subsystem which consequently leads to an increase in the total cost of the plant. In the present work, the optimum solution is achieved when the specific energy of the solar heater and also the areas of humidifier and dehumidifier are minimized. Due to the fact that considered objective functions are in conflict, conventional optimization methods are not applicable. Hence, multi objective optimization using genetic algorithm which is an efficient tool for dealing with problems with conflicting objectives has been utilized and a set of optimal solutions called Pareto front each of which is a tradeoff between the mentioned objectives is generated.

Multi-objective optimisation of aircraft flight trajectories in the ATM and avionics context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gardi, Alessandro; Sabatini, Roberto; Ramasamy, Subramanian

2016-05-01

The continuous increase of air transport demand worldwide and the push for a more economically viable and environmentally sustainable aviation are driving significant evolutions of aircraft, airspace and airport systems design and operations. Although extensive research has been performed on the optimisation of aircraft trajectories and very efficient algorithms were widely adopted for the optimisation of vertical flight profiles, it is only in the last few years that higher levels of automation were proposed for integrated flight planning and re-routing functionalities of innovative Communication Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) and Avionics (CNS+A) systems. In this context, the implementation of additional environmental targets and of multiple operational constraints introduces the need to efficiently deal with multiple objectives as part of the trajectory optimisation algorithm. This article provides a comprehensive review of Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimisation (MOTO) techniques for transport aircraft flight operations, with a special focus on the recent advances introduced in the CNS+A research context. In the first section, a brief introduction is given, together with an overview of the main international research initiatives where this topic has been studied, and the problem statement is provided. The second section introduces the mathematical formulation and the third section reviews the numerical solution techniques, including discretisation and optimisation methods for the specific problem formulated. The fourth section summarises the strategies to articulate the preferences and to select optimal trajectories when multiple conflicting objectives are introduced. The fifth section introduces a number of models defining the optimality criteria and constraints typically adopted in MOTO studies, including fuel consumption, air pollutant and noise emissions, operational costs, condensation trails, airspace and airport operations. A brief overview of atmospheric and weather modelling is also included. Key equations describing the optimality criteria are presented, with a focus on the latest advancements in the respective application areas. In the sixth section, a number of MOTO implementations in the CNS+A systems context are mentioned with relevant simulation case studies addressing different operational tasks. The final section draws some conclusions and outlines guidelines for future research on MOTO and associated CNS+A system implementations.

Visual fatigue modeling for stereoscopic video shot based on camera motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Guozhong; Sang, Xinzhu; Yu, Xunbo; Liu, Yangdong; Liu, Jing

2014-11-01

As three-dimensional television (3-DTV) and 3-D movie become popular, the discomfort of visual feeling limits further applications of 3D display technology. The cause of visual discomfort from stereoscopic video conflicts between accommodation and convergence, excessive binocular parallax, fast motion of objects and so on. Here, a novel method for evaluating visual fatigue is demonstrated. Influence factors including spatial structure, motion scale and comfortable zone are analyzed. According to the human visual system (HVS), people only need to converge their eyes to the specific objects for static cameras and background. Relative motion should be considered for different camera conditions determining different factor coefficients and weights. Compared with the traditional visual fatigue prediction model, a novel visual fatigue predicting model is presented. Visual fatigue degree is predicted using multiple linear regression method combining with the subjective evaluation. Consequently, each factor can reflect the characteristics of the scene, and the total visual fatigue score can be indicated according to the proposed algorithm. Compared with conventional algorithms which ignored the status of the camera, our approach exhibits reliable performance in terms of correlation with subjective test results.

Investigation on Multiple Algorithms for Multi-Objective Optimization of Gear Box

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ananthapadmanabhan, R.; Babu, S. Arun; Hareendranath, KR; Krishnamohan, C.; Krishnapillai, S.; A, Krishnan

2016-09-01

The field of gear design is an extremely important area in engineering. In this work a spur gear reduction unit is considered. A review of relevant literatures in the area of gear design indicates that compact design of gearbox involves a complicated engineering analysis. This work deals with the simultaneous optimization of the power and dimensions of a gearbox, which are of conflicting nature. The focus is on developing a design space which is based on module, pinion teeth and face-width by using MATLAB. The feasible points are obtained through different multi-objective algorithms using various constraints obtained from different novel literatures. Attention has been devoted in various novel constraints like critical scoring criterion number, flash temperature, minimum film thickness, involute interference and contact ratio. The output from various algorithms like genetic algorithm, fmincon (constrained nonlinear minimization), NSGA-II etc. are compared to generate the best result. Hence, this is a much more precise approach for obtaining practical values of the module, pinion teeth and face-width for a minimum centre distance and a maximum power transmission for any given material.

Selection of remedial alternatives for mine sites: a multicriteria decision analysis approach.

PubMed

Betrie, Getnet D; Sadiq, Rehan; Morin, Kevin A; Tesfamariam, Solomon

2013-04-15

The selection of remedial alternatives for mine sites is a complex task because it involves multiple criteria and often with conflicting objectives. However, an existing framework used to select remedial alternatives lacks multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) aids and does not consider uncertainty in the selection of alternatives. The objective of this paper is to improve the existing framework by introducing deterministic and probabilistic MCDA methods. The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) methods have been implemented in this study. The MCDA analysis involves processing inputs to the PROMETHEE methods that are identifying the alternatives, defining the criteria, defining the criteria weights using analytical hierarchical process (AHP), defining the probability distribution of criteria weights, and conducting Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS); running the PROMETHEE methods using these inputs; and conducting a sensitivity analysis. A case study was presented to demonstrate the improved framework at a mine site. The results showed that the improved framework provides a reliable way of selecting remedial alternatives as well as quantifying the impact of different criteria on selecting alternatives. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distributed Traffic Complexity Management by Preserving Trajectory Flexibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Idris, Husni; Vivona, Robert A.; Garcia-Chico, Jose-Luis; Wing, David J.

2007-01-01

In order to handle the expected increase in air traffic volume, the next generation air transportation system is moving towards a distributed control architecture, in which groundbased service providers such as controllers and traffic managers and air-based users such as pilots share responsibility for aircraft trajectory generation and management. This paper presents preliminary research investigating a distributed trajectory-oriented approach to manage traffic complexity, based on preserving trajectory flexibility. The underlying hypotheses are that preserving trajectory flexibility autonomously by aircraft naturally achieves the aggregate objective of avoiding excessive traffic complexity, and that trajectory flexibility is increased by collaboratively minimizing trajectory constraints without jeopardizing the intended air traffic management objectives. This paper presents an analytical framework in which flexibility is defined in terms of robustness and adaptability to disturbances and preliminary metrics are proposed that can be used to preserve trajectory flexibility. The hypothesized impacts are illustrated through analyzing a trajectory solution space in a simple scenario with only speed as a degree of freedom, and in constraint situations involving meeting multiple times of arrival and resolving conflicts.

Do Workers Who Experience Conflict between the Work and Family Domains Hit a "Glass Ceiling?": A Meta-Analytic Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoobler, Jenny M.; Hu, Jia; Wilson, Morgan

2010-01-01

Based in Conservation of Resources (COR; Hobfoll, 1989) and self-verification (Swann, 1987) theories, we argue that when workers experience conflict between the work and family domains, this should have implications for evaluations of their work performance and ultimately affect more "objective" career outcomes such as salary and hierarchical…

Social scientist's viewpoint on conflict management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ertel, Madge O.

1990-01-01

Social scientists can bring to the conflict-management process objective, reliable information needed to resolve increasingly complex issues. Engineers need basic training in the principles of the social sciences and in strategies for public involvement. All scientists need to be sure that that the information they provide is unbiased by their own value judgments and that fair standards and open procedures govern its use.

Parent Conflict as a Mediator between Marianismo Beliefs and Depressive Symptoms for Mexican American College Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piña-Watson, Brandy; Castillo, Linda G.; Ojeda, Lizette; Rodriguez, Kimberly M.

2013-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine how marianismo is related to the depressive symptoms of Mexican American women with family conflict as a mediator. Participants: During January of 2010, 170 Mexican American women college students in a southern, Hispanic-serving institution were sampled. Methods: A mediation analysis was conducted…

Evaluation of the Emotional Education Program "Happy 8-12" for the Assertive Resolution of Conflicts among Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filella, G.; Cabello, E.; Pérez-Escoda, N.; Ros-Morente, A.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Coexistence in schools inevitably implies conflicts among peers, which can have a negative impact in both the students' well-being and their academic achievement. In this sense, the main objective of the present article is to introduce and describe the evaluation of the Training Program in Emotional Management Happy 8-12. This…

Housing anxiety and multiple geographies in post-tsunami Sri Lanka.

PubMed

Boano, Camillo

2009-10-01

Tsunami intervention has been an extraordinary and unprecedented relief and recovery operation. This article underlines the complexities posed by shelter and housing intervention in post-tsunami Sri Lanka, revealing a pragmatic, reductionist approach to shelter and housing reconstruction in a contested and fragmented environment. Competition, housing anxiety and buffer zone implementation have resulted in compulsory villagisation inland, stirring feelings of discrimination and tension, and becoming major obstacles to equitable rebuilding of houses and livelihoods. A new tsunami geography has been imposed on an already vulnerable conflict-based geography, in which shelter has been conceived as a mono-dimensional artefact. An analysis of the process and outcomes of temporary and permanent post-tsunami housing programmes yields information about the extent to which shelter policies and programmes serve not only physical needs but 'higher order' objectives for a comprehensive and sustainable recovery plan.

Midfrontal conflict-related theta-band power reflects neural oscillations that predict behavior.

PubMed

Cohen, Michael X; Donner, Tobias H

2013-12-01

Action monitoring and conflict resolution require the rapid and flexible coordination of activity in multiple brain regions. Oscillatory neural population activity may be a key physiological mechanism underlying such rapid and flexible network coordination. EEG power modulations of theta-band (4-8 Hz) activity over the human midfrontal cortex during response conflict have been proposed to reflect neural oscillations that support conflict detection and resolution processes. However, it has remained unclear whether this frequency-band-specific activity reflects neural oscillations or nonoscillatory responses (i.e., event-related potentials). Here, we show that removing the phase-locked component of the EEG did not reduce the strength of the conflict-related modulation of the residual (i.e., non-phase-locked) theta power over midfrontal cortex. Furthermore, within-subject regression analyses revealed that the non-phase-locked theta power was a significantly better predictor of the conflict condition than was the time-domain phase-locked EEG component. Finally, non-phase-locked theta power showed robust and condition-specific (high- vs. low-conflict) cross-trial correlations with reaction time, whereas the phase-locked component did not. Taken together, our results indicate that most of the conflict-related and behaviorally relevant midfrontal EEG signal reflects a modulation of ongoing theta-band oscillations that occurs during the decision process but is not phase-locked to the stimulus or to the response.

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.

Social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice across the political spectrum, but social issues are most divisive.

PubMed

Crawford, Jarret T; Brandt, Mark J; Inbar, Yoel; Chambers, John R; Motyl, Matt

2017-03-01

Liberals and conservatives both express prejudice toward ideologically dissimilar others (Brandt et al., 2014). Previous work on ideological prejudice did not take advantage of evidence showing that ideology is multidimensional, with social and economic ideologies representing related but separable belief systems. In 5 studies (total N = 4912), we test 3 competing hypotheses of a multidimensional account of ideological prejudice. The dimension-specific symmetry hypothesis predicts that social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice against targets who are perceived to vary on the social and economic political dimensions, respectively. The social primacy hypothesis predicts that such ideological worldview conflict is experienced more strongly along the social than economic dimension. The social-specific asymmetry hypothesis predicts that social conservatives will be more prejudiced than social liberals, with no specific hypotheses for the economic dimension. Using multiple target groups, multiple prejudice measures (e.g., global evaluations, behavior), and multiple social and economic ideology measures (self-placement, issue positions), we found relatively consistent support for the dimension-specific symmetry and social primacy hypotheses, and no support for the social-specific asymmetry hypothesis. These results suggest that worldview conflict and negative intergroup attitudes and behaviors are dimension-specific, but that the social dimension appears to inspire more political conflict than the economic dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Indirect genetic effects and sexual conflicts: Partner genotype influences multiple morphological and behavioral reproductive traits in a flatworm.

PubMed

Marie-Orleach, Lucas; Vogt-Burri, Nadja; Mouginot, Pierick; Schlatter, Aline; Vizoso, Dita B; Bailey, Nathan W; Schärer, Lukas

2017-05-01

The expression of an individual's phenotypic traits can be influenced by genes expressed in its social partners. Theoretical models predict that such indirect genetic effects (IGEs) on reproductive traits should play an important role in determining the evolutionary outcome of sexual conflict. However, empirical tests of (i) whether reproductive IGEs exist, (ii) how they vary among genotypes, and (iii) whether they are uniform for different types of reproductive traits are largely lacking. We addressed this in a series of experiments in the simultaneously hermaphroditic flatworm Macrostomum lignano. We found strong evidence for IGEs on both morphological and behavioral reproductive traits. Partner genotype had a significant impact on the testis size of focal individuals-varying up to 2.4-fold-suggesting that IGEs could mediate sexual conflicts that target the male sex function. We also found that time to first copulation was affected by a genotype × genotype interaction between mating partners, and that partner genotype affected the propensity to copulate and perform the postcopulatory suck behavior, which may mediate conflicts over the fate of received ejaculate components. These findings provide clear empirical evidence for IGEs on multiple behavioral and morphological reproductive traits, which suggests that the evolutionary dynamics of these traits could be altered by genes contained in the social environment. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Episodic work-family conflict, cardiovascular indicators, and social support: an experience sampling approach.

PubMed

Shockley, Kristen M; Allen, Tammy D

2013-07-01

Work-family conflict, a prevalent stressor in today's workforce, has been linked to several detrimental consequences for the individual, including physical health. The present study extends this area of research by examining episodic work-family conflict in relation to objectively measured cardiovascular health indicators (systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate) using an experience sampling methodology. The results suggested that the occurrence of an episode of work interference with family conflict is linked to a subsequent increase in heart rate but not blood pressure; however, the relationship between episodes of family interference with work conflict and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure is moderated by perceptions of family-supportive supervision. No evidence was found for the moderating role of work-supportive family. Further theoretical and practical implications are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Medical merchants: conflict of interest, office product sales and notifiable conduct.

PubMed

Parker, Malcolm H; Wardle, Jon L; Weir, Michael; Stewart, Cameron L

2011-01-03

Professional ethical codes identify the issue of conflict of interest, which can distort doctors' objective judgements concerning the best interests of patients. Legal fiduciary duties may be owed by doctors to patients in situations of potential conflict of interest. Prescribing and dispensing functions have been largely legally separated to prevent conflicts of interest arising. The advent of integrative medicine has been accompanied by an apparent growth of in-house selling of therapeutic products. Medical merchandising constitutes a prima-facie conflict of interest and may amount to notifiable conduct under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law provisions. We believe that doctors who sell therapeutic products should adhere to strict conditions to avoid significantly departing from accepted professional standards. Doctors who have a reasonable belief that a colleague is failing to comply with these conditions could consider notifying the Medical Board of Australia.

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

PubMed Central

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

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND 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. METHODS 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. RESULTS 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). CONCLUSIONS 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. PMID:24816472

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 abused women's shame to interpersonal conflicts could be important in clinical interventions. PMID:19457556

Can Job Control Ameliorate Work-family Conflict and Enhance Job Satisfaction among Chinese Registered Nurses? A Mediation Model.

PubMed

Ding, Xiaotong; Yang, Yajuan; Su, Dan; Zhang, Ting; Li, Lunlan; Li, Huiping

2018-04-01

Low job satisfaction is the most common cause of nurses' turnover and influences the quality of nursing service. Moreover, we have no idea regarding whether job control, as an individual factor, can play a role in the relationship. To explore the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction among Chinese registered nurses and the mediating role of job control in this relationship. From August 2015 to November 2016, 487 Chinese registered nurses completed a survey. The study used work-family conflict scale, job control scale, job satisfaction scale, as well as general information. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the independent factors of job satisfaction. Structural equation model was used to explore the mediating role of job control. Work-family conflict was negatively correlated with job satisfaction (r ‑0.432, p<0.01). In addition, job control was positively related to job satisfaction (r 0.567, p<0.01). Work-family conflict and job control had significant predictive effects on job satisfaction. Job control partially mediated the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. Work-family conflict affected job satisfaction and job control was a mediator in this relationship among Chinese registered nurses. Job control could potentially improve nurses' job satisfaction.

How management teams can have a good fight.

PubMed

Eisenhardt, K M; Kahwajy, J L; Bourgeois, L J

1997-01-01

Top-level managers know that conflict over issues is natural and even necessary. Management teams that challenge one another's thinking develop a more complete understanding of their choices, create a richer range of options, and make better decisions. But the challenge--familiar to anyone who has ever been part of a management team--is to keep constructive conflict over issues from degenerating into interpersonal conflict. From their research on the interplay of conflict, politics, and speed in the decision--making process of management teams, the authors have distilled a set of six tactics characteristic of high-performing teams: They work with more, rather than less, information. They develop multiple alternatives to enrich debate. The establish common goals. They make an effort to inject humor into the workplace. They maintain a balanced corporate power structure. They resolve issues without forcing a consensus. These tactics work because they keep conflict focused on issues; foster collaborative, rather than competitive, relations among team members; and create a sense of fairness in the decision-making process. Without conflict, groups lose their effectiveness. Managers often become withdrawn and only superficially harmonious. The alternative to conflict is not usually agreement but rather apathy and disengagement, which open the doors to a primary cause of major corporate debacles: groupthink.

Correcting for multiple-testing in multi-arm trials: is it necessary and is it done?

PubMed

Wason, James M S; Stecher, Lynne; Mander, Adrian P

2014-09-17

Multi-arm trials enable the evaluation of multiple treatments within a single trial. They provide a way of substantially increasing the efficiency of the clinical development process. However, since multi-arm trials test multiple hypotheses, some regulators require that a statistical correction be made to control the chance of making a type-1 error (false-positive). Several conflicting viewpoints are expressed in the literature regarding the circumstances in which a multiple-testing correction should be used. In this article we discuss these conflicting viewpoints and review the frequency with which correction methods are currently used in practice. We identified all multi-arm clinical trials published in 2012 by four major medical journals. Summary data on several aspects of the trial design were extracted, including whether the trial was exploratory or confirmatory, whether a multiple-testing correction was applied and, if one was used, what type it was. We found that almost half (49%) of published multi-arm trials report using a multiple-testing correction. The percentage that corrected was higher for trials in which the experimental arms included multiple doses or regimens of the same treatments (67%). The percentage that corrected was higher in exploratory than confirmatory trials, although this is explained by a greater proportion of exploratory trials testing multiple doses and regimens of the same treatment. A sizeable proportion of published multi-arm trials do not correct for multiple-testing. Clearer guidance about whether multiple-testing correction is needed for multi-arm trials that test separate treatments against a common control group is required.

Family conflict interacts with genetic liability in predicting childhood and adolescent depression.

PubMed

Rice, Frances; Harold, Gordon T; Shelton, Katherine H; Thapar, Anita

2006-07-01

To test for gene-environment interaction with depressive symptoms and family conflict. Specifically, to first examine whether the influence of family conflict in predicting depressive symptoms is increased in individuals at genetic risk of depression. Second, to test whether the genetic component of variance in depressive symptoms increases as levels of family conflict increase. A longitudinal twin design was used. Children ages 5 to 16 were reassessed approximately 3 years later to test whether the influence of family conflict in predicting depressive symptoms varied according to genetic liability. The conflict subscale of the Family Environment Scale was used to assess family conflict and the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire was used to assess depressive symptoms. The response rate to the questionnaire at time 1 was 73% and 65% at time 2. Controlling for initial symptoms levels (i.e., internalizing at time 1), primary analyses were conducted using ordinary least-squares multiple regression. Structural equation models, using raw score maximum likelihood estimation, were also fit to the data for the purpose of model fit comparison. Results suggested significant gene-environment interaction specifically with depressive symptoms and family conflict. Genetic factors were of greater importance in the etiology of depressive symptoms where levels of family conflict were high. The effects of family conflict on depressive symptoms were greater in children and adolescents at genetic risk of depression. The present results suggest that children with a family history of depression may be at an increased risk of developing depressive symptoms in response to family conflict. Intervention programs that incorporate one or more family systems may be of benefit in alleviating the adverse effect of negative family factors on children.

Research as a standard of care in PICU

PubMed Central

Zimmerman, Jerry J.; Anand, Kanwaljeet J. S.; Meert, Kathleen L.; Willson, Douglas F.; Newth, Christopher J. L.; Harrison, Rick; Carcillo, Joseph A.; Berger, John; Jenkins, Tammara L.; Nicholson, Carol; Dean, J. Michael

2016-01-01

Background Excellence in clinical care coupled with basic and applied research reflects the maturation of a medical subspecialty, advances that field, and provides objective data for identifying best practices. Pediatric intensive care units (PICU) are uniquely suited for conducting translational and clinical research. Moreover, multiple investigations have reported that a majority of parents are interested in their children’s participation in clinical research, even when the research offers no direct benefit to their child. However, such activity may generate ethical conflict with bedside care providers trying to acutely identify the best approach for an individual critically ill child. Ultimately, this conflict may diminish enthusiasm for the generation of scientific evidence that supports application of evidence-based medicine into PICU clinical standard work. Objective Provide an overview of current state PICU clinical research strengths, liabilities, opportunities, and barriers, and contrast this with an established pediatric hematology-oncology iterative research model that constitutes a learning healthcare system. Design Narrative review of medical literature published in English. Conclusions Currently most PICU therapy is not evidence-based. Developing a learning healthcare system in the PICU integrates clinical research into usual practice and fosters a culture of evidence-based learning and continual care improvement. As PICU mortality has significantly decreased, identification and validation of patient-centered, clinically relevant research outcome measures other than mortality is essential for future clinical trial design. Because most pediatric critical illness may be classified as rare diseases, participation in research networks will facilitate iterative, collaborative, multi-institutional investigations that over time identify best practices to improve PICU outcomes. Despite real ethical challenges, critically ill children and their families should have the opportunity to participate in translational/clinical research whenever feasible. PMID:26513203

Emotion and Object Processing in Parkinson's Disease

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Henri; Gagne, Marie-Helene; Hess, Ursula; Pourcher, Emmanuelle

2010-01-01

The neuropsychological literature on the processing of emotions in Parkinson's disease (PD) reveals conflicting evidence about the role of the basal ganglia in the recognition of facial emotions. Hence, the present study had two objectives. One was to determine the extent to which the visual processing of emotions and objects differs in PD. The…

Resolution of Conflicting Claims Concerning the Effect of Behavioral Objectives on Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melton, Reginald F.

1978-01-01

Behavioral objectives should be regarded as one of several tools available to educators. Research should be directed toward determining their advantages and limitations, as well as the conditions under which they can be used more effectively. Conditions vary depending upon student awareness of and interest in stated objectives; clarity,…

Effects of value strains on psychopathology of Chinese rural youths.

PubMed

Zhang, Jie; Zhao, Sibo

2013-12-01

The Strain Theory of Suicide postulates that psychological strains usually precede mental disorders including suicidal behavior. This paper focuses on the effect of conflicting social value strains on the individual's psychopathology. We analyzed the data of 2031 respondents who were proxy informants for suicides and community living controls in a large scale psychological autopsy study in rural China, with the CES-D depression measure for the psychopathology. Individuals having experienced value conflicts between Confucian gender role and gender equalitarianism in modern society scored on depression significantly higher than the individuals who do not experience the value conflict, and it is also true when several other relevant variables were held constant in the multiple regression model. This study supports the hypotheses that people who confront value conflicts are likely to experience psychopathological strain, and the higher the level of strain, the stronger the depression. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Value Strains on Psychopathology of Chinese Rural Youths

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jie; Zhao, Sibo

2013-01-01

The Strain Theory of Suicide postulates that psychological strains usually precede mental disorders including suicidal behavior. This paper focuses on the effect of conflicting social value strains on the individual’s psychopathology. We analyzed the data of 2,031 respondents who were proxy informants for suicides and community living controls in a large scale psychological autopsy study in rural China, with the CES-D depression measure for the psychopathology. Individuals having experienced value conflicts between Confucian gender role and gender equalitarianism in modern society scored on depression significantly higher than the individuals who do not experience the value conflict, and it is also true when several other relevant variables were held constant in the multiple regression model. This study supports the hypotheses that people who confront value conflicts is likely to lead to psychopathological strain, and the higher the level of strain, the stronger the depression. PMID:24309863

Work-supportive family, family-supportive supervision, use of organizational benefits, and problem-focused coping: implications for work-family conflict and employee well-being.

PubMed

Lapierre, Laurent M; Allen, Tammy D

2006-04-01

Employees (n = 230) from multiple organizations and industries were involved in a study assessing how work-family conflict avoidance methods stemming from the family domain (emotional sustenance and instrumental assistance from the family), the work domain (family-supportive supervision, use of telework and flextime), and the individual (use of problem-focused coping) independently relate to different dimensions of work-family conflict and to employees' affective and physical well-being. Results suggest that support from one's family and one's supervisor and the use of problem-focused coping seem most promising in terms of avoiding work-family conflict and/or decreased well-being. Benefits associated with the use of flextime, however, are relatively less evident, and using telework may potentially increase the extent to which family time demands interfere with work responsibilities. (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

Working memory and social functioning in children.

PubMed

McQuade, Julia D; Murray-Close, Dianna; Shoulberg, Erin K; Hoza, Betsy

2013-07-01

This study extends previous research and examines whether working memory (WM) is associated with multiple measures of concurrent social functioning (peer rejection, overall social competence, relational aggression, physical aggression, and conflict resolutions skills) in typically developing fourth- and fifth-grade children (N=116). Poor central executive WM was associated with both broad social impairments (peer rejection and poor overall social competence) and specific social impairments (physical aggression, relational aggression, and impaired conflict resolution skills); poor verbal storage was associated only with greater peer rejection, and spatial storage was not associated with any measures of social impairment. Analyses also examined whether specific impairments in aggressive behavior and conflict resolution skills mediated the association between central executive and broad measures of social functioning. Greater physical aggression and impaired conflict resolution skills were both significant mediators; relational aggression was not. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Students Working with Multiple Conflicting Documents on a Scientific Issue: Relations between Epistemic Cognition while Reading and Sourcing and Argumentation in Essays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bråten, Ivar; Ferguson, Leila E.; Strømsø, Helge I.; Anmarkrud, Øistein

2014-01-01

Background: There is burgeoning research within educational psychology on both epistemic cognition and multiple-documents literacy, as well as on relationships between the two constructs. Aim: To examine relationships between epistemic cognition concerning the justification of knowledge claims and sourcing and argumentation skills. Sample:…

Internationalization in the Educational System of a Weak State: Examining Multiple Identities of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sabic-El-Rayess, Amra

2009-01-01

Higher education has often acted as the nucleus of progressive thought, the instigator of societal transformation, and the center of cultural exchange and understanding. However, in conflict-ridden societies, higher-education systems have shown a proclivity towards the multiple personality syndrome: their ability to solidify, connect and unite…

Multiple use management preferences by visitors with differing leisure identity salience

Treesearch

Ingrid E. Schneider; Patricia B. Winter

1998-01-01

Multiple use area management is of particular interest to both outdoor and urban planners due to an increase in and diversity of users. These areas pose special management challenges due to the diverse and potential conflicting interests involved. Diverse users are frequently excluded from management decisions, however. Further, when visitor input is solicited, it is...

Multi-resource and multi-scale approaches for meeting the challenge of managing multiple species

Treesearch

Frank R. Thompson; Deborah M. Finch; John R. Probst; Glen D. Gaines; David S. Dobkin

1999-01-01

The large number of Neotropical migratory bird (NTMB) species and their diverse habitat requirements create conflicts and difficulties for land managers and conservationists. We provide examples of assessments or conservation efforts that attempt to address the problem of managing for multiple NTMB species. We advocate approaches at a variety of spatial and geographic...

Preventive interventions among children exposed to trauma of armed conflict: a literature review.

PubMed

Peltonen, Kirsi; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

2010-01-01

Increasing research is available on the preconditions for child mental health and optimal development in traumatic conditions, whereas less is known how to translate the findings into effective interventions to help traumatized children. This literature review analyses the effectiveness of psychosocial preventive interventions and treatments and their theoretical bases among children traumatized in the context of armed conflicts (war, military violence, terrorism and refugee). The first aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive interventions in preventing emotional distress and impairment and promoting optimal emotional-cognitive and social development. The second task is to analyze the nature of the underlying mechanisms for the success of preventive interventions, and the theoretical premises of the choice of intervention techniques, procedures and tools. We found 16 relevant published studies, but an examination of them revealed that only four of them had experimental designs strong enough that they could be included in the meta-analysis. While the subjective reports of the researchers suggested that systematic preventive interventions were effective in decreasing PTSD and depressive symptoms among children traumatized due to armed conflict, the more objective results of the meta-analysis and the weaknesses in designs uncovered during the meta-analysis undermine such a conclusion. Additionally, a majority of the reported preventive interventions focused only on children's biased cognitive processes and negative emotions, while only a few aimed at influencing multiple domains of child development and improving developmental functioning on emotional, social and psychophysiological levels. It is concluded that substantial additional work needs to be done in developing effective preventive interventions and treatments for children traumatized by exposure to war and violence. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Tension at the borders: perceptions of role overload, conflict, strain and facilitation in work, family and health roles among employed individuals with arthritis

PubMed Central

Backman, Catherine L.; Kaptein, Simone; Lacaille, Diane; Beaton, Dorcas E.; Hofstetter, Catherine; Badley, Elizabeth M.

2012-01-01

Objective. To examine inter-relationships among arthritis (A), work (W) and personal life (P) roles and their reciprocal influences, especially experiences of role balance/imbalance among individuals with inflammatory arthritis (IA) and OA. Methods. Eight focus groups were conducted with 24 women and 16 men (aged 29–72 years). A purposive sample was recruited from community advertising. Eligibility included current employment or having been employed within the previous year. Participants were asked about ways arthritis, work and personal life roles intersected and their impact. A standardized questionnaire collected demographic, symptom and employment data for descriptive purposes. Results. Participants noted that having arthritis affected their identity and intersected with work and personal roles, creating role overload, role conflict, role strain and role facilitation. Role overload highlighted that arthritis both affected and was impacted by work and personal life (A → W; A → P; W → A; P → A). Role conflict focused on A → W and A → P difficulties, whereas role facilitation emphasized the positive impact of work and personal life roles on arthritis (W → A; P → A). Role strain was pervasive and arose from numerous sources. Personal strategies (e.g. positive framing) and contextual factors (e.g. support) were important in contributing to or ameliorating role balance/imbalance. Conclusions. By comprehensively examining multiple types of role balance/imbalance and the context within which it occurs, this study identifies gaps in patient-oriented measurement of the impact of arthritis and areas of need in the development of arthritis intervention. PMID:22039223

Factors associated with online victimisation among Malaysian adolescents who use social networking sites: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Marret, Mary J; Choo, Wan Yuen

2017-01-01

Objective To determine the prevalence of online interpersonal victimisation and its association with patterns of social networking site (SNS) use, offline victimisation, offline perpetration and parental conflict among Malaysian adolescents using SNS. Methods A cross-sectional study of students from randomly selected public secondary schools in the state of Negeri Sembilan was conducted using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire examined patterns of SNS use and included measures of online victimisation, online perpetration, offline victimisation and parental conflict. A response rate of 91% from a total of 1634 yielded a sample of 1487 students between 15 years and 16 years of age. Results Ninety-two per cent of respondents had used at least one SNS. More than half of SNS users (52.2%) reported experiences of online victimisation over the past 12 months. Boys were significantly more likely to experience online harassment compared with girls (52.2% vs 43.3%, p<0.001). There were no significant gender differences in experiences of unwanted sexual solicitation. Adolescents who engaged in perpetration behaviours online had almost six times higher odds of reporting frequent online victimisation compared with online behaviours involving personal disclosure. There was a significant dose-response relationship between engagement in multiple types of online behaviour and the risk of frequent online victimisation. Both online and offline perpetrations were associated with an increased risk of victimisation. Those who were victimised offline or experienced parental conflict were twice as likely to report online victimisation. Conclusion Interventions to prevent online electronic aggression should target perpetration behaviour both online and offline. Youth should be equipped with skills in communication and decision-making in relationships that can be applied across a spectrum of contexts both online and offline. PMID:28667209

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

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.

Managing Workplace Conflict in the United States and Hong Kong.

PubMed

Tinsley, Catherine H.; Brett, Jeanne M.

2001-07-01

We propose that managers have norms (standards of appropriate behavior) for resolving conflict, that these norms are culturally based, and that they explain cultural differences in conflict management outcomes. We confirm that the traditionally American norms of discussing parties' interests and synthesizing multiple issues were exhibited more strongly by American managers than by their Hong Kong Chinese counterparts. In addition, we confirm that the traditionally Chinese norms of concern for collective interests and concern for authority appeared more strongly among Hong Kong Chinese managers than among their American counterparts. American managers were more likely than Hong Kong Chinese managers, to resolve a greater number of issues and reach more integrative outcomes, while Hong Kong Chinese managers were more likely to involve higher management in conflict resolution. Culture had a significant effect on whether parties selected an integrative outcome rather than an outcome that involved distribution, compromise, higher management, or no resolution at all. Conflict norms explained the cultural differences that existed between reaching an integrative outcome and reaching an outcome involving distribution, compromise, or higher management; however, conflict norms did not fully explain the cultural differences that existed between reaching an integrative outcome and reaching no resolution. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

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

PubMed

Hakoum, Maram B; Anouti, Sirine; Al-Gibbawi, Mounir; Abou-Jaoude, Elias A; Hasbani, Divina Justina; Lopes, Luciane Cruz; Agarwal, Arnav; Guyatt, Gordon; Akl, Elie A

2016-08-10

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. 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. 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. 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 more frequently than institutional and non-financial conflicts of interest. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Networks, Trees, and Treeshrews: Assessing Support and Identifying Conflict with Multiple Loci and a Problematic Root

PubMed Central

Roberts, Trina E.; Sargis, Eric J.; Olson, Link E.

2009-01-01

Multiple unlinked genetic loci often provide a more comprehensive picture of evolutionary history than any single gene can, but analyzing multigene data presents particular challenges. Differing rates and patterns of nucleotide substitution, combined with the limited information available in any data set, can make it difficult to specify a model of evolution. In addition, conflict among loci can be the result of real differences in evolutionary process or of stochastic variance and errors in reconstruction. We used 6 presumably unlinked nuclear loci to investigate relationships within the mammalian family Tupaiidae (Scandentia), containing all but one of the extant tupaiid genera. We used a phylogenetic mixture model to analyze the concatenated data and compared this with results using partitioned models. We found that more complex models were not necessarily preferred under tests using Bayes factors and that model complexity affected both tree length and parameter variance. We also compared the results of single-gene and multigene analyses and used splits networks to analyze the source and degree of conflict among genes. Networks can show specific relationships that are inconsistent with each other; these conflicting and minority relationships, which are implicitly ignored or collapsed by traditional consensus methods, can be useful in identifying the underlying causes of topological uncertainty. In our data, conflict is concentrated around particular relationships, not widespread throughout the tree. This pattern is further clarified by considering conflict surrounding the root separately from conflict within the ingroup. Uncertainty in rooting may be because of the apparent evolutionary distance separating these genera and our outgroup, the tupaiid genus Dendrogale. Unlike a previous mitochondrial study, these nuclear data strongly suggest that the genus Tupaia is not monophyletic with respect to the monotypic Urogale, even when uncertainty about rooting is taken into account. These data concur with mitochondrial DNA on other relationships, including the close affinity of Tupaia tana with the enigmatic Tupaia splendidula and of Tupaia belangeri with Tupaia glis. We also discuss the taxonomic and biogeographic implications of these results. PMID:20525582

Gender Role Conflict, Attitudes toward Career Counseling, Career Decision Needs and Perceptions of Career Counseling Advertising Brochures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rochlen, Aaron B.; Blazina, Christopher; Raghunathan, Raj

The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of alternative career counseling marketing materials on men's interest in and attitudes toward career counseling, as well as to assess the career planning needs of men with varying levels of gender role conflict. Male undergraduate students (N=123) participated in the study that assessed the…

Path Analysis of Work Family Conflict, Job Salary and Promotion Satisfaction, Work Engagement to Subjective Well-Being of the Primary and Middle School Principals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Chun-mei; Cui, Shu-jing; Wang, Lei

2016-01-01

Objective: To investigate the path analysis of work family conflict, job salary and promotion satisfaction, work engagement to subjective well-being of the primary and middle school principals, and provide advice for enhancing their well-being. Methods: Using convenient sampling, totally 300 primary and middle school principals completed the WFC,…

Associations between Sexual Abuse and Family Conflict/Violence, Self-Injurious Behavior, and Substance Use: The Mediating Role of Depressed Mood and Anger

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asgeirsdottir, Bryndis Bjork; Sigfusdottir, Inga Dora; Gudjonsson, Gisli H.; Sigurdsson, Jon Fridrik

2011-01-01

Objective: To examine whether depressed mood and anger mediate the effects of sexual abuse and family conflict/violence on self-injurious behavior and substance use. Methods: A cross-sectional national survey was conducted including 9,085 16-19 year old students attending all high schools in Iceland in 2004. Participants reported frequency of…

Environmental geology: Our professional public responsibility

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gerhard, L.C.; Brady, L.L.

1999-01-01

Conflicts between different interest groups for use of natural resources is one area where state geological surveys can provide assistance. A state geological survey working within the scientific constraints of specific issues can remain objective in its presentations and maintain the faith of both the conflicting interest groups and the public. One cannot vary from the objective view or you will quickly be criticized. Criticism can still occur from one side of a natural resource issue as your data might counter their views. However, the final decisions are almost always made in some legislators, or regulators, area of responsibility. The responsibility of the state geological survey is to provide the important data that will assist in making correct decisions. Should one party in the conflict become extreme in their demands, a potential compromise that is beneficial to both sides can be lost. In Kansas, the classical natural resource problem of resource/recreation in a populated area is presented as a case study. The state geological survey presented data on sand resources in the Kansas River and its valley in northeast Kansas. That information was important to both recreation and dredging interests where the political problem is a conflict of sand use as a construction material resource versus use of the alluvial river as an important recreation area, especially for canoeing. However, when a reasonable compromise was near completion in the Kansas Legislature one side, in a bold move to develop an advantage, ruined that potential for compromise.Conflicts between different interest groups for use of natural resources is one area where state geological surveys can provide assistance. A state geological survey working within the scientific constraints of specific issues can remain objective in its presentations and maintain the faith of both the conflicting interest groups and the public. In Kansas, the classical natural resource problem of resource/recreation in a populated area is presented as a case study. The state geological survey presented data on sand resources in the Kansas River and its valley in northeast Kansas. That information was important to both recreation and dredging interests.

Cognitive conflicts in major depression: Between desired change and personal coherence

PubMed Central

Feixas, Guillem; Montesano, Adrián; Compañ, Victoria; Salla, Marta; Dada, Gloria; Pucurull, Olga; Trujillo, Adriana; Paz, Clara; Muñoz, Dámaris; Gasol, Miquel; Saúl, Luis Ángel; Lana, Fernando; Bros, Ignasi; Ribeiro, Eugenia; Winter, David; Carrera-Fernández, María Jesús; Guàrdia, Joan

2014-01-01

Objectives The notion of intrapsychic conflict has been present in psychopathology for more than a century within different theoretical orientations. However, internal conflicts have not received enough empirical attention, nor has their importance in depression been fully elaborated. This study is based on the notion of cognitive conflict, understood as implicative dilemma (ID), and on a new way of identifying these conflicts by means of the Repertory Grid Technique. Our aim was to explore the relevance of cognitive conflicts among depressive patients. Design Comparison between persons with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and community controls. Methods A total of 161 patients with major depression and 110 non-depressed participants were assessed for presence of IDs and level of symptom severity. The content of these cognitive conflicts was also analysed. Results Repertory grid analysis indicated conflict (presence of ID/s) in a greater proportion of depressive patients than in controls. Taking only those grids with conflict, the average number of IDs per person was higher in the depression group. In addition, participants with cognitive conflicts displayed higher symptom severity. Within the clinical sample, patients with IDs presented lower levels of global functioning and a more frequent history of suicide attempts. Conclusions Cognitive conflicts were more prevalent in depressive patients and were associated with clinical severity. Conflict assessment at pre-therapy could aid in treatment planning to fit patient characteristics. Practitioner points Internal conflicts have been postulated in clinical psychology for a long time but there is little evidence about its relevance due to the lack of methods to measure them. We developed a method for identifying conflicts using the Repertory Grid Technique. Depressive patients have higher presence and number of conflicts than controls. Conflicts (implicative dilemmas) can be a new target for intervention in depression. Cautions/Limitations A cross-sectional design precluded causal conclusions. The role of implicative dilemmas in the causation or maintenance of depression cannot be ascertained from this study. PMID:24734969

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy among a conflict-affected population in Northeastern Uganda: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Olupot-Olupot, Peter; Katawera, Andrew; Cooper, Curtis; Small, Will; Anema, Aranka; Mills, Edward

2008-09-12

We aimed to determine patient and health worker concerns regarding antiretroviral adherence in a conflict-affected population using focus groups (n = 40) and semi-structured interviews (n = 11). Patient concerns include security attending clinics, food security, distance to health centers and access to health providers. During periods of famine and flooding, the lack of food security and only single daily meals makes taking multiple doses impossible. Possible facilitating strategies included mobile teams, increased security and regularity of drug stocks.

Identifying and Modeling Dynamic Preference Evolution in Multipurpose Water Resources Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, E.; Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.; Amigoni, F.

2018-04-01

Multipurpose water systems are usually operated on a tradeoff of conflicting operating objectives. Under steady state climatic and socioeconomic conditions, such tradeoff is supposed to represent a fair and/or efficient preference. Extreme variability in external forcing might affect water operators' risk aversion and force a change in her/his preference. Properly accounting for these shifts is key to any rigorous retrospective assessment of the operator's behaviors, and to build descriptive models for projecting the future system evolution. In this study, we explore how the selection of different preferences is linked to variations in the external forcing. We argue that preference selection evolves according to recent, extreme variations in system performance: underperforming in one of the objectives pushes the preference toward the harmed objective. To test this assumption, we developed a rational procedure to simulate the operator's preference selection. We map this selection onto a multilateral negotiation, where multiple virtual agents independently optimize different objectives. The agents periodically negotiate a compromise policy for the operation of the system. Agents' attitudes in each negotiation step are determined by the recent system performance measured by the specific objective they maximize. We then propose a numerical model of preference dynamics that implements a concept from cognitive psychology, the availability bias. We test our modeling framework on a synthetic lake operated for flood control and water supply. Results show that our model successfully captures the operator's preference selection and dynamic evolution driven by extreme wet and dry situations.

Decision making for multiple utilization of water resources in New Zealand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Memon, Pyar Ali

1989-09-01

The Clutha is the largest river in New Zealand. The last two decades have witnessed major conflicts centered on the utilization of the water resources of the upper Clutha river. These conflicts have by no means been finally resolved. The focus of this article is on institutional arrangements for water resource management on the Clutha, with particular reference to the decision-making processes that have culminated in the building of the high dam. It critically evaluates recent experiences and comments on future prospects for resolving resource use conflicts rationally through planning for multiple utilization in a climate of market led policies of the present government. The study demonstrates the inevitable conflicts that can arise within a public bureaucracy that combines dual responsibilities for policy making and operational functions. Hitherto, central government has been able to manipulate the water resource allocation process to its advantage because of a lack of clear separation between its two roles as a policy maker and developer. The conflicts that have manifested themselves during the last two decades over the Clutha should be seen as part of a wider public debate during the last two decades concerning resource utilization in New Zealand. The Clutha controversy was preceded by comparable concerns over the rising of the level of Lake Manapouri during the 1960s and has been followed by the debate over the “think big” resource development projects during the 1980s. The election of the fourth Labour government in 1983 has heralded a political and economic policy shift in New Zealand towards minimizing the role of public intervention in resource allocation and major structural reforms in the relative roles of central and regional government in resource management. The significance of these changes pose important implications for the future management of the Clutha.

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

Analysis for water conflicts in a changing world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lund, J. R.

2012-12-01

Like any subject which involves billions of dollars and thousands or millions of people, managing water involves serious conflicts among contending objectives and interest groups. These conflicts usually spill into the technical and scientific analysis of water resources problems and potential solutions. A favorable or unfavorable analytical outcome can be worth millions or cost millions to a stakeholder, so they have a self-interested duty to contend. This talk examines ideas for conducting analysis to improve the technical and scientific quality of public and policy discussions of controversial water problems. More than just solid technical work is needed. Investigators must organize, disseminate, and communicate their work effectively and attentively. Research must often be designed to be effective in informing policy discussions. Several sometimes conflicting strategies are available for this.

Family Dynamics May Influence an Individual’s Substance Use Abstinence Self-Efficacy

PubMed Central

Ram, Daphna; Whipple, Christopher R.; Jason, Leonard A.

2017-01-01

Background Previous work on substance use suggests the influence of family dynamics on emotion regulation. Objective The present study examined the role of family in substance use recovery. It is of importance to examine whether conflict with various family members influences an individual’s abstinence self-efficacy. Methods We examined individual abstinence self-efficacy scores and lifetime conflict with mother, father, and siblings in a sample of 200 women who had been justice involved. Results We found that conflict with mother was the best predictor of abstinence self-efficacy compared to conflict with father and conflict with siblings. Individuals who indicated having conflict with mother over their lifetime had lower confidence that they could abstain from use in potentially emotionally triggering situations. Conclusions/Importance These findings suggest that family dynamics, specifically lifetime conflict with mother, do play a role in an individual’s confidence to regulate emotions in high-risk relapse situations without turning to substances. Limitations include using abstinence self-efficacy as a proxy for emotion regulation and not directly measuring emotion regulation. Examining family relationships may be especially important in the treatment of women in recovery from substance use. PMID:28868520

30 CFR 556.7 - Cross references.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

.... (c) For multiple use conflicts, see the Environmental Protection Agency listing of ocean dumping...) Coastal Energy Impact Program, 15 CFR part 931; (e) For Coast Guard regulations on the oil spill liability...

30 CFR 556.7 - Cross references.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

.... (c) For multiple use conflicts, see the Environmental Protection Agency listing of ocean dumping...) Coastal Energy Impact Program, 15 CFR part 931; (e) For Coast Guard regulations on the oil spill liability...

Borderline Personality Disorder

MedlinePlus

... It can negatively affect intimate relationships, jobs, school, social activities and self-image, resulting in: Repeated job changes or losses Not completing an education Multiple legal issues, such as jail time Conflict-filled relationships, marital ...

30 CFR 556.7 - Cross references.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

.... (c) For multiple use conflicts, see the Environmental Protection Agency listing of ocean dumping...) Coastal Energy Impact Program, 15 CFR part 931; (e) For Coast Guard regulations on the oil spill liability...

30 CFR 256.7 - Cross references.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... multiple use conflicts, see the Environmental Protection Agency listing of ocean dumping sites—40 CFR part... sanctuary regulations, 15 CFR part 922; (2) Fishermen's Contingency Fund, 50 CFR part 296; (3) Coastal...

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.

A stochastic conflict resolution model for trading pollutant discharge permits in river systems.

PubMed

Niksokhan, Mohammad Hossein; Kerachian, Reza; Amin, Pedram

2009-07-01

This paper presents an efficient methodology for developing pollutant discharge permit trading in river systems considering the conflict of interests of involving decision-makers and the stakeholders. In this methodology, a trade-off curve between objectives is developed using a powerful and recently developed multi-objective genetic algorithm technique known as the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II). The best non-dominated solution on the trade-off curve is defined using the Young conflict resolution theory, which considers the utility functions of decision makers and stakeholders of the system. These utility functions are related to the total treatment cost and a fuzzy risk of violating the water quality standards. The fuzzy risk is evaluated using the Monte Carlo analysis. Finally, an optimization model provides the trading discharge permit policies. The practical utility of the proposed methodology in decision-making is illustrated through a realistic example of the Zarjub River in the northern part of Iran.

Abortion and conscientious objection: rethinking conflicting rights in the Mexican context.

PubMed

Ortiz-Millán, Gustavo

2018-01-01

Since 2007, when Mexico City decriminalized abortion during the first trimester, a debate has been taking place regarding abortion and the right to conscientious objection (CO). Many people argue that, since the provision of abortions (or "legal terminations of pregnancy" as they are called under Mexico City's law) is now a statutory duty of healthcare personnel there can be no place for "conscientious objection." Others claim that, even if such an objection were to be allowed, it should not be seen as a right, since talk about a right to CO may lead to a slippery slope where we may end up recognizing a right to disobey the law. In this paper, I argue that there is a right to CO and that this may be justified through the notions of autonomy and integrity, which a liberal democracy should respect. However, it cannot be an absolute right, and in the case of abortion, it conflicts with women's reproductive rights. Therefore, CO should be carefully regulated so that it does not obstruct the exercise of women's reproductive rights. Regulation should address questions about who is entitled to object, how such objection should take place, and what can legitimately be objected to.

The Bi-Directional Relationship Between Parent–Child Conflict and Treatment Outcome in Treatment-Resistant Adolescent Depression

PubMed Central

Rengasamy, Manivel; Mansoor, Brandon M.; Hilton, Robert; Porta, Giovanna; He, Jiayan; Emslie, Graham J.; Mayes, Taryn; Clarke, Gregory N.; Wagner, Karen Dineen; Keller, Martin B.; Ryan, Neal D.; Birmaher, Boris; Shamseddeen, Wael; Asarnow, Joan Rosenbaum; Brent, David A.

2013-01-01

Objective To examine the bidirectional relationship between parent–child discord and treatment outcome for adolescent treatment-resistant depression. Method Depressed youth who had not responded to an adequate course of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) were randomized to either a switch to another SSRI or venlafaxine, with or without the addition of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in the Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study. The Conflict Behavior Questionnaire was used to assess adolescent (CBQ-A) and parent-reported (CBQ-P) parent–child discord. The impact of remission on parent–child conflict, and the differential impact of medication and CBT on the CBQ-A and CBQ-P, were assessed using generalized linear models. Results Although there were no differential treatment effects on parent or adolescent-report of conflict, remission was associated with improvement in the CBQ-P. In general, intake family conflict did not predict remission, except in the sub-group of participants whose parents reported clinically significant parent–child conflict at intake, for whom high levels of parent-reported conflict predicted a lower likelihood of remission. Conflict also did not moderate treatment response. Conclusions Remission of depression may be sufficient to reduce parent-reported parent–child conflict. However, higher parent-reported conflict, in the clinically significant range, predicts a lower likelihood of remission from depression. Clinical trial registration information—Treatment of SSRI-Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA); http://clinicaltrials.gov/;NCT00018902. PMID:23582868

Role of vaccinations as risk factors for ill health in veterans of the Gulf war: cross sectional study

PubMed Central

Hotopf, Matthew; David, Anthony; Hull, Lisa; Ismail, Khalida; Unwin, Catherine; Wessely, Simon

2000-01-01

Objectives To explore the relation between ill health after the Gulf war and vaccines received before or during the conflict. To test the hypothesis that such ill health is limited to military personnel who received multiple vaccines during deployment and that pesticide use modifies any effect. Design Cross sectional study of Gulf war veterans followed for six to eight years after deployment. Setting UK armed forces. Participants Military personnel who served in the Gulf and who still had their vaccine records. Main outcome measures Multisymptom illness as classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; fatigue; psychological distress; post-traumatic stress reaction; health perception; and physical functioning. Results The response rate for the original survey was 70.4% (n=3284). Of these, 28% (923) had vaccine records. Receipt of multiple vaccines before deployment was associated with only one of the six health outcomes (post-traumatic stress reaction). By contrast five of the six outcomes (all but post-traumatic stress reaction) were associated with multiple vaccines received during deployment. The strongest association was for the multisymptom illness (odds ratio 5.0; 95% confidence interval 2.5 to 9.8). Conclusion Among veterans of the Gulf war there is a specific relation between multiple vaccinations given during deployment and later ill health. Multiple vaccinations in themselves do not seem to be harmful but combined with the “stress” of deployment they may be associated with adverse health outcomes. These results imply that every effort should be made to maintain routine vaccines during peacetime. PMID:10818024

A review of cognitive conflicts research: a meta-analytic study of prevalence and relation to symptoms

PubMed Central

Montesano, Adrián; López-González, María Angeles; Saúl, Luis Angel; Feixas, Guillem

2015-01-01

Recent research has highlighted the role of implicative dilemmas in a variety of clinical conditions. These dilemmas are a type of cognitive conflict, in which different aspects of the self are countered in such a way that a desired change in a personal dimension (eg, symptom improvement) may be hindered by the need of personal coherence in another dimension. The aim of this study was to summarize, using a meta-analytical approach, the evidence relating to the presence and the level of this conflict, as well as its relationship with well-being, in various clinical samples. A systematic review using multiple electronic databases found that out of 37 articles assessed for eligibility, nine fulfilled the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. Random effects model was applied when computing mean effect sizes and testing for heterogeneity level. Statistically significant associations were observed between the clinical status and the presence of dilemmas, as well as level of conflict across several clinical conditions. Likewise, the level of conflict was associated with symptom severity. Results highlighted the clinical relevance and the transdiagnostic nature of implicative dilemmas. PMID:26675503

Effects of social support and conflict on parenting among homeless mothers.

PubMed

Marra, Jaime V; McCarthy, Elissa; Lin, Hsiu-Ju; Ford, Julian; Rodis, Eleni; Frisman, Linda K

2009-07-01

Research has shown that having a supportive social network is generally beneficial for individuals, particularly those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. However, conflict within these networks may diminish the positive effects of social support on well-being, and these effects may be felt acutely within a vulnerable population with multiple needs. This study examined the impact of conflict and social support on parenting behaviors in a sample of mothers who are homeless and were involved in a study of case management interventions of varying intensity. We found that women who reported high emotional and instrumental social support self-reported greater improvements in parenting consistency over time than those who reported lower levels of support. However, three-way interactions showed that conflict in support networks was a risk factor for harsh parenting practices among participants who reported lower levels of instrumental social support. Results suggest that social support may enhance homeless mothers' ability to provide consistent parenting, but that these benefits may be undermined if conflict occurs in combination with limited levels of instrumental social support.

Not by strength alone : children's conflict expectations follow the logic of the asymmetric war of attrition.

PubMed

Pietraszewski, David; Shaw, Alex

2015-03-01

The Asymmetric War of Attrition (AWA) model of animal conflict in evolutionary biology (Maynard Smith and Parker in Nature, 246, 15-18, 1976) suggests that an organism's decision to withdraw from a conflict is the result of adaptations designed to integrate the expected value of winning, discounted by the expected costs that would be incurred by continuing to compete, via sensitivity to proximate cues of how quickly each side can impose costs on the other (Resource Holding Potential), and how much each side will gain by winning. The current studies examine whether human conflict expectations follow the formalized logic of this model. Children aged 6-8 years were presented with third-party conflict vignettes and were then asked to predict the likely winner. Cues of ownership, hunger, size, strength, and alliance strength were systematically varied across conditions. Results demonstrate that children's expectations followed the logic of the AWA model, even in complex situations featuring multiple, competing cues, such that the actual relative costs and benefits that would accrue during such a conflict were reflected in children's expectations. Control conditions show that these modifications to conflict expectations could not have resulted from more general experimental artifacts or demand characteristics. To test the selectivity of these effects to conflict, expectations of search effort were also assessed. As predicted, they yielded a different pattern of results. These studies represent one of the first experimental tests of the AWA model in humans and suggest that future research on the psychology of ownership, conflict, and value may be aided by formalized models from evolutionary biology.

Relations between mothers' daily work, home, and relationship stress with characteristics of mother-child conflict interactions.

PubMed

Nelson, Jackie A; Boyer, Brittany P; Villarreal, Deyaun L; Smith, Olivia A

2017-06-01

This study examined whether daily variations in levels of mothers' work, home, and relationship stress were related to collaborative and oppositional qualities of mother-child conflict interactions across 1 week. Mothers reported on 1 specific conflict interaction with their 5- to 8-year-old child and their work, home, and relationship stress through online surveys each day for 7 consecutive days. Diary data from 142 mothers were analyzed in 6 multilevel models, each including within- and between-family levels of a stressor predicting collaborative or oppositional conflict qualities. Results suggested that families in the sample differed from each other, and also varied during the week, in collaborative and oppositional conflict qualities as well as stress in all 3 domains. Mothers reported a greater degree of oppositional conflict qualities on days characterized by higher perceptions of home chaos. Additionally, mothers who reported higher average levels of negativity in romantic relationships endorsed oppositional conflict qualities to a greater extent than mothers with lower relationship negativity. Two multilevel models including all 3 stressors in relation to collaborative and oppositional conflict revealed that for mothers managing multiple roles, average romantic relationship stress was the most important unique contributor to mother-child conflict qualities and daily relationship stress was particularly influential among mothers with sons compared to those with daughters. Results support the spillover hypothesis of stress within the family system and are discussed in terms of mothers' coping mechanisms and emotional engagement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

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.

Acculturation Conflict Among Latino Youth: Discrimination, Ethnic Identity, and Depressive Symptoms

PubMed Central

Huq, Nadia; Stein, Gabriela L.; Gonzalez, Laura M.

2015-01-01

Objectives Patterns of parent-adolescent conflict differ between immigrant and nonimmigrant families living in the United States (Fuligni, 1998). Despite this, there is limited empirical literature examining the nuanced nature of parent-adolescent conflict in immigrant families. To fill this gap, the current study examined the role of two types of conflict (i.e., general and acculturation) in predicting psychosocial outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms and ethnic identity) among Latino adolescents, and whether these relationships differ within the context of peer discrimination. Methods All survey administration was completed in the participating school’s cafeteria. The sample consisted of 7th–10th graders (n = 172) with a mean age of 14.01 years (SD = 1.32.) The sample consisted of 53% females, and was primarily Mexican in origin (78%). Results As hypothesized, parent-adolescent acculturation conflict uniquely predicted greater depressive symptoms and lower ethnic private regard, even when controlling for parent-adolescent general conflict. However, acculturation conflict predicted lower ethnic private regard only in the presence of greater peer discrimination. More specifically, peer discrimination moderated the relation between acculturation conflict and ethnic private regard such that adolescents who reported the highest levels of acculturation conflict and peer discrimination reported the lowest levels of ethnic private regard. Conclusions These results suggest that for Latino youth and their families, acculturation conflict may be particularly problematic, as compared to general conflict. In addition, youth who face ethnicity-based stressors in both familial and school contexts are especially at risk in their ethnic identity development. PMID:26460666

Studies of transformational leadership in the consumer service workgroup: cooperative conflict resolution and the mediating roles of job satisfaction and change commitment.

PubMed

Yang, Yi-Feng

2012-10-01

The present paper evaluates the effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and change commitment along with their interconnected effects (mediation) on cooperative conflict resolution (management) in customer service activities in Taiwan. The multi-source samples consist of data from personnel serving at customer centers (workgroups), such as phone service personnel, customer representatives, financial specialists, and front-line salespeople. An empirical study was carried out using a multiple mediation procedure incorporating boot-strapping techniques and PRODCLIN2 with structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. The results indicate that the main effect of the leadership style on cooperative conflict resolution is mediated by change commitment and job satisfaction.

Work–Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress

PubMed Central

Zhou, Shiyi; Da, Shu; Guo, Heng; Zhang, Xichao

2018-01-01

After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work–family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work–family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women’s perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work–family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work–family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress. PMID:29719522

Work-Family Conflict and Mental Health Among Female Employees: A Sequential Mediation Model via Negative Affect and Perceived Stress.

PubMed

Zhou, Shiyi; Da, Shu; Guo, Heng; Zhang, Xichao

2018-01-01

After the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016, more and more working women have found themselves caught in the dilemma of whether to raise a baby or be promoted, which exacerbates work-family conflicts among Chinese women. Few studies have examined the mediating effect of negative affect. The present study combined the conservation of resources model and affective events theory to examine the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and perceived stress in the relationship between work-family conflict and mental health. A valid sample of 351 full-time Chinese female employees was recruited in this study, and participants voluntarily answered online questionnaires. Pearson correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple mediation analysis were used to examine the relationships between work-family conflict, negative affect, perceived stress, and mental health in full-time female employees. We found that women's perceptions of both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were significant negatively related to mental health. Additionally, the results showed that negative affect and perceived stress were negatively correlated with mental health. The 95% confidence intervals indicated the sequential mediating effect of negative affect and stress in the relationship between work-family conflict and mental health was significant, which supported the hypothesized sequential mediation model. The findings suggest that work-family conflicts affected the level of self-reported mental health, and this relationship functioned through the two sequential mediators of negative affect and perceived stress.

Assessing risks to multiple resources affected by wildfire and forest management using an integrated probabilistic framework

Treesearch

Steven P. Norman; Danny C. Lee; Sandra Jacobson; Christine Damiani

2010-01-01

The tradeoffs that surround forest management are inherently complex, often involving multiple temporal and spatial scales. For example, conflicts may result when fuel treatments are designed to mediate long-term fuel hazards, but activities could impair sensitive aquatic habitat or degrade wildlife habitat in the short term. This complexity makes it hard for managers...

Multiple exposures of sevoflurane during pregnancy induces memory impairment in young female offspring mice

PubMed Central

Chung, Woosuk; Yoon, Seunghwan

2017-01-01

Background Earlier studies have reported conflicting results regarding long-term behavioral consequences after anesthesia during the fetal period. Previous studies also suggest several factors that may explain such conflicting data. Thus, we examined the influence of age and sex on long-term behavioral consequences after multiple sevoflurane exposures during the fetal period. Methods C57BL/6J pregnant mice received oxygen with or without sevoflurane for 2 hours at gestational day (GD) 14-16. Offspring mice were subjected to behavioral assays for general activity (open field test), learning, and memory (fear chamber test) at postnatal day 30–35. Results Multiple sevoflurane exposures at GD 14–16 caused significant changes during the fear chamber test in young female offspring mice. Such changes did not occur in young male offspring mice. However, general activity was not affected in both male and female mice. Conclusions Multiple sevoflurane exposures in the second trimester of pregnancy affects learning and memory only in young female mice. Further studies focusing on diverse cognitive functions in an age-, sex-dependent manner may provide valuable insights regarding anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity. PMID:29225748

SURGEON-REPORTED CONFLICT WITH INTENSIVISTS ABOUT POSTOPERATIVE GOALS OF CARE

PubMed Central

Paul Olson, Terrah J.; Brasel, Karen J.; Redmann, Andrew J.; Alexander, G. Caleb; Schwarze, Margaret L.

2013-01-01

Objective To examine surgeons’ experiences of conflict with intensivists and nurses about goals of care for their postoperative patients. Design Cross-sectional incentivized U.S. mail-based survey. Setting Private and academic surgical practices. Participants 2,100 vascular, neurological, and cardiothoracic surgeons. Main Outcome Measures Surgeon-reported rates of conflict with intensivists and nurses about goals of care in patients with poor post-surgical outcomes. Results The adjusted response rate was 55.6%. Forty-three percent of surgeons report sometimes or always experiencing conflict about postoperative goals of care with intensivists, and 43% report conflict with nurses. Younger surgeons report higher rates of conflict than older surgeons with both intensivists (57 vs. 32%, p=0.001) and nurses (48 vs. 33%, p=0.001). Surgeons practicing in closed ICUs report more frequent conflict than those practicing in open ICUs (60 vs. 41% p=0.005). On multivariate analysis, the odds of reporting conflict with intensivists were 2.5 times higher for surgeons with fewer years of experience as compared to their older colleagues (OR: 2.5, 95% CI: 1.6-3.8) and 70% higher for reporting conflict with nurses (OR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.6). The odds of reporting conflict with intensivists about goals of postoperative care were 40% lower for surgeons who primarily manage their ICU patients than for those who work in a closed unit (OR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.4-0.96). Conclusions Surgeons regularly experience conflict with critical care clinicians about goals of care for patients with poor postoperative outcomes. Higher rates of conflict are associated with less experience and working in a closed ICU. PMID:23324837

Early life family conflict, Social interactions and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood

PubMed Central

John-Henderson, Neha A.; Kamarck, Thomas W.; Muldoon, Matthew F.; Manuck, Stephen B.

2015-01-01

Objective Conflict in early life family environments is known to affect psychosocial functioning and coping styles into adulthood and is reported to negatively affect access to psychosocial resources that are critical to the management of stress. However, it remains unknown whether early life family conflict similarly affects subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. We predicted that family conflict in early life would be associated with greater mean Intima-Media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of CVD risk, in adulthood. Methods Data were collected in a community sample of 503 adults (47.4 % male, mean age: 42.8 years [SD=7.3]). Associations between family conflict in early life with IMT (assessed using B-mode ultrasound) in adulthood were examined using regression analysis. We also tested for indirect effects of early life family conflict on mean IMT through ecological momentary assessment (EMA) reports of social interactions, diversity of social roles, and perceived social support. Results Linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics and physiological risk factors showed conflict in early life associated with greater mean IMT (β=0.08, t(447)=2.13, p=0.034, R2=0.46). Early life conflict was significantly related to diversity of social roles, perceived social support, and EMA reports of pleasant and social conflict interactions. Significant indirect effects of early life conflict on mean IMT were observed through fewer pleasant social interactions and more frequent social conflict interactions in adulthood (β = 0.001, 95% CI, 0.0001–0.0014 and β=0.001, 95% CI, 0.0002–0.0015, respectively). Conclusions These findings provide initial evidence that family conflict in early life heightens CVD risk in adulthood, in part by shaping the quality of adulthood social interactions. PMID:26809109

The donor organ as an 'object a': a Lacanian perspective on organ donation and transplantation medicine.

PubMed

Zwart, Hub

2014-11-01

Bioethical discourse on organ donation covers a wide range of topics, from informed consent procedures and scarcity issues up to 'transplant tourism' and 'organ trade'. This paper presents a 'depth ethics' approach, notably focussing on the tensions, conflicts and ambiguities concerning the status of the human body (as something which constitutes a whole, while at the same time being a set of replaceable elements or parts). These will be addressed from a psychoanalytical (Lacanian) angle. First, I will outline Lacan's view on embodiment as such. Subsequently, I will argue that, for organ recipients, the donor organ becomes what Lacan refers to as an object a, the 'partial object' of desire, the elusive thing we are deprived of, apparently beyond our grasp. Within the recipient's body an empty space emerges, a kind of 'vacuole', once occupied by a faltering organ (now removed). This space can only be filled by a 'gift' from the other, by an object a. Once implanted, however, this implant becomes an 'extimate' object: something both 'external' and 'intimate', both 'embedded' and 'foreign', and which is bound to remain an object of concern for quite some time, if not for life. A Lacanian analysis allows us, first of all, to address the question what organ transplantation has in common with other bodily practices involving bodily parts procured from others, such as cannibalism. But it also reveals the basic difference between the two, as well as the distance between the 'fragmented body' of Frankenstein's 'monster'--as an aggregate of replaceable parts--and the multiple organ recipients (the 'puzzle people') of today.

Evolution of policies on human resources for health: opportunities and constraints in four post-conflict and post-crisis settings.

PubMed

Witter, Sophie; Bertone, Maria Paola; Chirwa, Yotamu; Namakula, Justine; So, Sovannarith; Wurie, Haja R

2016-01-01

Few studies look at policy making in the health sector in the aftermath of a conflict or crisis and even fewer specifically focus on Human Resources for Health, which is a critical domain for health sector performance. The main objective of the article is to shed light on the patterns and drivers of post-conflict policy-making. In particular, we explore whether the post -conflict period offers increased chances for the opening of 'windows for opportunity' for change and reform and the potential to reset health systems. This article uses a comparative policy analysis framework. It is based on qualitative data, collected using three main tools - stakeholder mapping, key informant interviews and document reviews - in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Zimbabwe. We found that HRH challenges were widely shared across the four cases in the post-conflict period but that the policy trajectories were different - driven by the nature of the conflicts but also the wider context. Our findings suggest that there is no formula for whether or when a 'window of opportunity' will arise which allows health systems to be reset. Problems are well understood in all four cases but core issues - such as adequate pay, effective distribution and HRH management - are to a greater or lesser degree unresolved. These problems are not confined to post-conflict settings, but underlying challenges to addressing them - including fiscal space, political consensus, willingness to pursue public objectives over private, and personal and institutional capacity to manage technical solutions - are liable to be even more acute in these settings. The role of the MoH emerged as weaker than expected, while the shift from donor dependence was clearly not linear and can take a considerable time. Windows of opportunity for change and reform can occur but are by no means guaranteed by a crisis - rather they depend on a constellation of leadership, financing, and capacity. Recognition of urgency is certainly a facilitator but not sufficient alone. Post-conflict environments face particularly severe challenges to evidence-based policy making and policy implementation, which also constrain their ability to effectively use the windows which are presented.

Context Specificity of Post-Error and Post-Conflict Cognitive Control Adjustments

PubMed Central

Forster, Sarah E.; Cho, Raymond Y.

2014-01-01

There has been accumulating evidence that cognitive control can be adaptively regulated by monitoring for processing conflict as an index of online control demands. However, it is not yet known whether top-down control mechanisms respond to processing conflict in a manner specific to the operative task context or confer a more generalized benefit. While previous studies have examined the taskset-specificity of conflict adaptation effects, yielding inconsistent results, control-related performance adjustments following errors have been largely overlooked. This gap in the literature underscores recent debate as to whether post-error performance represents a strategic, control-mediated mechanism or a nonstrategic consequence of attentional orienting. In the present study, evidence of generalized control following both high conflict correct trials and errors was explored in a task-switching paradigm. Conflict adaptation effects were not found to generalize across tasksets, despite a shared response set. In contrast, post-error slowing effects were found to extend to the inactive taskset and were predictive of enhanced post-error accuracy. In addition, post-error performance adjustments were found to persist for several trials and across multiple task switches, a finding inconsistent with attentional orienting accounts of post-error slowing. These findings indicate that error-related control adjustments confer a generalized performance benefit and suggest dissociable mechanisms of post-conflict and post-error control. PMID:24603900

A prospective study of psychosocial work characteristics and long sick leave of Japanese male employees in multiple workplaces.

PubMed

Ishizaki, Masao; Kawakami, Norito; Honda, Ryumon; Yamada, Yuichi; Nakagawa, Hideaki; Morikawa, Yuko

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify psychosocial work characteristics associated with long sick leave in a large population of male Japanese employees in multiple workplaces. We examined various psychosocial work characteristics (job overload, job control, supervisor support, coworker support, support by family and friends, role ambiguity, role conflict, intragroup conflict and intergroup conflict) of employees in six factories at the base line. We then conducted a follow-up survey on the recorded long sick leaves of ≥ 30 continuous days taken by the employees due to any medical condition. We found 574 cases of long sick leave out of 15,531 subjects during an average 5.07-yr follow-up. The results showed that high supervisor support was significantly associated with a decrease in the hazard ratio (HR) of long sick leave after adjustment for several confounding factors (95%CI; 0.69-0.97). High role ambiguity also tended to increase HR, but without reaching significance (95%CI; 0.99-1.41). The results suggest that supervisor support in the workplace may be important to reduce long sick leave in Japanese male employees.

Psychosocial Outcomes Related to Subjective Threat from Armed Conflict Events (STACE): Findings from the Israeli-Palestinian Cross-Cultural HBSC Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harel-Fisch, Yossi; Radwan, Qasrowi; Walsh, Sophie D.; Laufer, Avital; Amitai, Gabriel; Fogel-Grinvald, Haya; Abdeen, Ziad

2010-01-01

Objective: This study investigates the relationship between exposure to armed conflict and terror events, and an array of mental and behavioral outcomes within a large cross-cultural scientifically representative sample of 24,935 Palestinian (7,430 West Bank and 7,217 Gaza) and Israeli (5,255 Jewish and 6,033 Arab) 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old school…

30 CFR 256.7 - Cross references.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., see 30 CFR part 290. (c) For multiple use conflicts, see the Environmental Protection Agency listing..., 50 CFR part 296; (3) Coastal Energy Impact Program, 15 CFR part 931; (e) For Coast Guard regulations...

30 CFR 256.7 - Cross references.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., see 30 CFR part 290. (c) For multiple use conflicts, see the Environmental Protection Agency listing..., 50 CFR part 296; (3) Coastal Energy Impact Program, 15 CFR part 931; (e) For Coast Guard regulations...

76 FR 66734 - Center for Scientific Review; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-27

... for Scientific Review Special Emphasis Panel, Member Conflict: Brain Diseases--Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Frontal Temporal Dementia. Date: November 17, 2011. Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m...