Spatial Cognitive Performance During Adaptation to Conflicting Tilt-Translation Stimuli as a Sensorimotor Spaceflight Analog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kayanickupuram, A. J.; Ramos, K. A.; Cordova, M. L.; Wood, S. J.

2009-01-01

The need to resolve new patterns of sensory feedback in altered gravitoinertial environments requires cognitive processes to develop appropriate reference frames for spatial orientation awareness. The purpose of this study was to examine deficits in spatial cognitive performance during adaptation to conflicting tilt-translation stimuli. Fourteen subjects were tilted within a lighted enclosure that simultaneously translated at one of 3 frequencies. Tilt and translation motion was synchronized to maintain the resultant gravitoinertial force aligned with the longitudinal body axis, resulting in a mismatch analogous to spaceflight in which the canals and vision signal tilt while the otoliths do not. Changes in performance on different spatial cognitive tasks were compared 1) without motion, 2) with tilt motion alone (pitch at 0.15, 0.3 and 0.6 Hz or roll at 0.3 Hz), and 3) with conflicting tilt-translation motion. The adaptation paradigm was continued for up to 30 min or until the onset of nausea. The order of the adaptation conditions were counter-balanced across 4 different test sessions. There was a significant effect of stimulus frequency on both motion sickness and spatial cognitive performance. Only 3 of 14 were able to complete the full 30 min protocol at 0.15 Hz, while 7 of 14 completed 0.3 Hz and 13 of 14 completed 0.6 Hz. There were no changes in simple visual-spatial cognitive tests, e.g., mental rotation or match-to-sample. There were significant deficits during 0.15 Hz adaptation in both accuracy and reaction time during a spatial reference task in which subjects are asked to identify a match of a 3D reoriented cube assemblage. Our results are consistent with antidotal reports of cognitive impairment that are common during sensorimotor adaptation with G-transitions. We conclude that these cognitive deficits stem from the ambiguity of spatial reference frames for central processing of inertial motion cues.

Examining the Role of the Human Hippocampus in Approach-Avoidance Decision Making Using a Novel Conflict Paradigm and Multivariate Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

PubMed

O'Neil, Edward B; Newsome, Rachel N; Li, Iris H N; Thavabalasingam, Sathesan; Ito, Rutsuko; Lee, Andy C H

2015-11-11

Rodent models of anxiety have implicated the ventral hippocampus in approach-avoidance conflict processing. Few studies have, however, examined whether the human hippocampus plays a similar role. We developed a novel decision-making paradigm to examine neural activity when participants made approach/avoidance decisions under conditions of high or absent approach-avoidance conflict. Critically, our task required participants to learn the associated reward/punishment values of previously neutral stimuli and controlled for mnemonic and spatial processing demands, both important issues given approach-avoidance behavior in humans is less tied to predation and foraging compared to rodents. Participants played a points-based game where they first attempted to maximize their score by determining which of a series of previously neutral image pairs should be approached or avoided. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants were then presented with novel pairings of these images. These pairings consisted of images of congruent or opposing learned valences, the latter creating conditions of high approach-avoidance conflict. A data-driven partial least squares multivariate analysis revealed two reliable patterns of activity, each revealing differential activity in the anterior hippocampus, the homolog of the rodent ventral hippocampus. The first was associated with greater hippocampal involvement during trials with high as opposed to no approach-avoidance conflict, regardless of approach or avoidance behavior. The second pattern encompassed greater hippocampal activity in a more anterior aspect during approach compared to avoid responses, for conflict and no-conflict conditions. Multivoxel pattern classification analyses yielded converging findings, underlining a role of the anterior hippocampus in approach-avoidance conflict decision making. Approach-avoidance conflict has been linked to anxiety and occurs when a stimulus or situation is associated with reward and punishment. Although rodent work has implicated the hippocampus in approach-avoidance conflict processing, there is limited data on whether this role applies to learned, as opposed to innate, incentive values, and whether the human hippocampus plays a similar role. Using functional neuroimaging with a novel decision-making task that controlled for perceptual and mnemonic processing, we found that the human hippocampus was significantly active when approach-avoidance conflict was present for stimuli with learned incentive values. These findings demonstrate a role for the human hippocampus in approach-avoidance decision making that cannot be explained easily by hippocampal-dependent long-term memory or spatial cognition. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3515040-11$15.00/0.

Bilateral parietal contributions to spatial language.

PubMed

Conder, Julie; Fridriksson, Julius; Baylis, Gordon C; Smith, Cameron M; Boiteau, Timothy W; Almor, Amit

2017-01-01

It is commonly held that language is largely lateralized to the left hemisphere in most individuals, whereas spatial processing is associated with right hemisphere regions. In recent years, a number of neuroimaging studies have yielded conflicting results regarding the role of language and spatial processing areas in processing language about space (e.g., Carpenter, Just, Keller, Eddy, & Thulborn, 1999; Damasio et al., 2001). In the present study, we used sparse scanning event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of spatial language, that is; language used to communicate the spatial relationship of one object to another. During scanning, participants listened to sentences about object relationships that were either spatial or non-spatial in nature (color or size relationships). Sentences describing spatial relationships elicited more activation in the superior parietal lobule and precuneus bilaterally in comparison to sentences describing size or color relationships. Activation of the precuneus suggests that spatial sentences elicit spatial-mental imagery, while the activation of the SPL suggests sentences containing spatial language involve integration of two distinct sets of information - linguistic and spatial. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Participatory, Multi-Criteria Evaluation Methods as a Means to Increase the Legitimacy and Sustainability of Land Use Planning Processes. The Case of the Chaco Region in Salta, Argentina.

PubMed

Seghezzo, Lucas; Venencia, Cristian; Buliubasich, E Catalina; Iribarnegaray, Martín A; Volante, José N

2017-02-01

Conflicts over land use and ownership are common in South America and generate frequent confrontations among indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers, and large-scale agricultural producers. We argue in this paper that an accurate identification of these conflicts, together with a participatory evaluation of their importance, will increase the social legitimacy of land use planning processes, rendering decision-making more sustainable in the long term. We describe here a participatory, multi-criteria conflict assessment model developed to identify, locate, and categorize land tenure and use conflicts. The model was applied to the case of the "Chaco" region of the province of Salta, in northwestern Argentina. Basic geographic, cadastral, and social information needed to apply the model was made spatially explicit on a Geographic Information System. Results illustrate the contrasting perceptions of different stakeholders (government officials, social and environmental non-governmental organizations, large-scale agricultural producers, and scholars) on the intensity of land use conflicts in the study area. These results can help better understand and address land tenure conflicts in areas with different cultures and conflicting social and enviornmental interests.

Participatory, Multi-Criteria Evaluation Methods as a Means to Increase the Legitimacy and Sustainability of Land Use Planning Processes. The Case of the Chaco Region in Salta, Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seghezzo, Lucas; Venencia, Cristian; Buliubasich, E. Catalina; Iribarnegaray, Martín A.; Volante, José N.

2017-02-01

Conflicts over land use and ownership are common in South America and generate frequent confrontations among indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers, and large-scale agricultural producers. We argue in this paper that an accurate identification of these conflicts, together with a participatory evaluation of their importance, will increase the social legitimacy of land use planning processes, rendering decision-making more sustainable in the long term. We describe here a participatory, multi-criteria conflict assessment model developed to identify, locate, and categorize land tenure and use conflicts. The model was applied to the case of the "Chaco" region of the province of Salta, in northwestern Argentina. Basic geographic, cadastral, and social information needed to apply the model was made spatially explicit on a Geographic Information System. Results illustrate the contrasting perceptions of different stakeholders (government officials, social and environmental non-governmental organizations, large-scale agricultural producers, and scholars) on the intensity of land use conflicts in the study area. These results can help better understand and address land tenure conflicts in areas with different cultures and conflicting social and enviornmental interests.

Are low and high number magnitudes processed differently while resolving the conflict evoked by the SNARC effect?

PubMed

Gut, Małgorzata; Szumska, Izabela; Wasilewska, Marzena; Jaśkowski, Piotr

2012-07-01

In the brain, numbers are thought to be represented in a spatially organised fashion on what is known as the Mental Number Line (MNL). The SNARC (Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes) effect refers to the faster responses to digits when the reaction side is congruent with the digit position on the MNL (e.g. a left-handed response to a small magnitude) and the slowing down of responses (inhibition) in the case of incongruity. We examined the electrophysiological correlates of conflict, which are linked to that of inhibition, to shed light on the relationship between the SNARC effect and executive attention. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from twenty-nine participants during a parity-judgment task. The participants responded more quickly on congruent than on incongruent trials. The congruency effect was reflected in early sensory (N1, N2) components above parieto-occipital and frontal regions, as well as in the later P3 component above centro-parietal areas. Moreover, both the N1 amplitude and N2 latency were greater with high than low magnitude digit targets. P3 amplitude modulation implies that the SNARC effect is the result of first evoking the parallel processing of digit magnitude categorisation (in the occipital and central areas) and numeric conflict detection (in the parieto-occipital and frontal areas) and secondly conflict monitoring and resolution localised in the centro-parietal and frontal sites. These results also suggest that the left hemisphere specialises in conflict processing of high magnitude digit targets, while the right hemisphere of low digit magnitudes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

Does sex matter? Temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflict in British Columbia.

PubMed

Teichman, Kristine J; Cristescu, Bogdan; Nielsen, Scott E

2013-01-01

Wildlife-human conflicts occur wherever large carnivores overlap human inhabited areas. Conflict mitigation can be facilitated by understanding long-term dynamics and examining sex-structured conflict patterns. Predicting areas with high probability of conflict helps focus management strategies in order to proactively decrease carnivore mortality. We investigated the importance of cougar (Puma concolor) habitat, human landscape characteristics and the combination of habitat and human features on the temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflicts in British Columbia. Conflicts (n = 1,727; 1978-2007) involved similar numbers of male and female cougars with conflict rate decreasing over the past decade. Conflicts were concentrated within the southern part of the province with the most conflicts per unit area occurring on Vancouver Island. For both sexes, the most supported spatial models for the most recent (1998-2007) conflicts contained both human and habitat variables. Conflicts were more likely to occur close to roads, at intermediate elevations and far from the northern edge of the cougar distribution range in British Columbia. Male cougar conflicts were more likely to occur in areas of intermediate human density. Unlike cougar conflicts in other regions, cattle density was not a significant predictor of conflict location. With human populations expanding, conflicts are expected to increase. Conservation tools, such as the maps predicting conflict hotspots from this study, can help focus management efforts to decrease carnivore-human conflict.

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, escitalopram, enhances inhibition of prepotent responding and spatial reversal learning

PubMed Central

Brown, Holden D.; Amodeo, Dionisio A.; Sweeney, John A.; Ragozzino, Michael E.

2011-01-01

Previous findings indicate treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) facilitates behavioral flexibility when conditions require inhibition of a learned response pattern. The present experiment investigated whether acute treatment with the SSRI, escitalopram, affects behavioral flexibility when conditions require inhibition of a naturally-biased response pattern (elevated conflict test) and/or reversal of a learned response pattern (spatial reversal learning). An additional experiment was carried out to determine whether escitalopram, at doses that affected behavioral flexibility, also reduced anxiety as tested in the elevated plus-maze. In each experiment, Long-Evans rats received an intraperitoneal injection of either saline or escitalopram (0.03, 0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg) 30 minutes prior to behavioral testing. Escitalopram, at all doses tested, enhanced acquisition in the elevated conflict test, but did not affect performance in the elevated plus-maze. Escitalopram (0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg) did not alter acquisition of the spatial discrimination, but facilitated reversal learning. In the elevated conflict and spatial reversal learning test, escitalopram enhanced the ability to maintain the relevant strategy after being initially selected. The present findings suggest that enhancing serotonin transmission with a SSRI facilitates inhibitory processes when conditions require a shift away from either a naturally-biased response pattern or a learned choice pattern. PMID:22219222

Parallel and convergent processing in grid cell, head-direction cell, boundary cell, and place cell networks.

PubMed

Brandon, Mark P; Koenig, Julie; Leutgeb, Stefan

2014-03-01

The brain is able to construct internal representations that correspond to external spatial coordinates. Such brain maps of the external spatial topography may support a number of cognitive functions, including navigation and memory. The neuronal building block of brain maps are place cells, which are found throughout the hippocampus of rodents and, in a lower proportion, primates. Place cells typically fire in one or few restricted areas of space, and each area where a cell fires can range, along the dorsoventral axis of the hippocampus, from 30 cm to at least several meters. The sensory processing streams that give rise to hippocampal place cells are not fully understood, but substantial progress has been made in characterizing the entorhinal cortex, which is the gateway between neocortical areas and the hippocampus. Entorhinal neurons have diverse spatial firing characteristics, and the different entorhinal cell types converge in the hippocampus to give rise to a single, spatially modulated cell type-the place cell. We therefore suggest that parallel information processing in different classes of cells-as is typically observed at lower levels of sensory processing-continues up into higher level association cortices, including those that provide the inputs to hippocampus. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:207-219. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1272 Conflict of interest: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

fMRI-constrained source analysis reveals early top-down modulations of interference processing using a flanker task.

PubMed

Siemann, Julia; Herrmann, Manfred; Galashan, Daniela

2016-08-01

Usually, incongruent flanker stimuli provoke conflict processing whereas congruent flankers should facilitate task performance. Various behavioral studies reported improved or even absent conflict processing with correctly oriented selective attention. In the present study we attempted to reinvestigate these behavioral effects and to disentangle neuronal activity patterns underlying the attentional cueing effect taking advantage of a combination of the high temporal resolution of Electroencephalographic (EEG) and the spatial resolution of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Data from 20 participants were acquired in different sessions per method. We expected the conflict-related N200 event-related potential (ERP) component and areas associated with flanker processing to show validity-specific modulations. Additionally, the spatio-temporal dynamics during cued flanker processing were examined using an fMRI-constrained source analysis approach. In the ERP data we found early differences in flanker processing between validity levels. An early centro-parietal relative positivity for incongruent stimuli occurred only with valid cueing during the N200 time window, while a subsequent fronto-central negativity was specific to invalidly cued interference processing. The source analysis additionally pointed to separate neural generators of these effects. Regional sources in visual areas were involved in conflict processing with valid cueing, while a regional source in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) seemed to contribute to the ERP differences with invalid cueing. Moreover, the ACC and precentral gyrus demonstrated an early and a late phase of congruency-related activity differences with invalid cueing. We discuss the first effect to reflect conflict detection and response activation while the latter more likely originated from conflict monitoring and control processes during response competition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does Sex Matter? Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Cougar-Human Conflict in British Columbia

PubMed Central

Teichman, Kristine J.; Cristescu, Bogdan; Nielsen, Scott E.

2013-01-01

Wildlife-human conflicts occur wherever large carnivores overlap human inhabited areas. Conflict mitigation can be facilitated by understanding long-term dynamics and examining sex-structured conflict patterns. Predicting areas with high probability of conflict helps focus management strategies in order to proactively decrease carnivore mortality. We investigated the importance of cougar (Puma concolor) habitat, human landscape characteristics and the combination of habitat and human features on the temporal and spatial patterns of cougar-human conflicts in British Columbia. Conflicts (n = 1,727; 1978–2007) involved similar numbers of male and female cougars with conflict rate decreasing over the past decade. Conflicts were concentrated within the southern part of the province with the most conflicts per unit area occurring on Vancouver Island. For both sexes, the most supported spatial models for the most recent (1998–2007) conflicts contained both human and habitat variables. Conflicts were more likely to occur close to roads, at intermediate elevations and far from the northern edge of the cougar distribution range in British Columbia. Male cougar conflicts were more likely to occur in areas of intermediate human density. Unlike cougar conflicts in other regions, cattle density was not a significant predictor of conflict location. With human populations expanding, conflicts are expected to increase. Conservation tools, such as the maps predicting conflict hotspots from this study, can help focus management efforts to decrease carnivore-human conflict. PMID:24040312

Conflict detection and resolution rely on a combination of common and distinct cognitive control networks.

PubMed

Li, Qi; Yang, Guochun; Li, Zhenghan; Qi, Yanyan; Cole, Michael W; Liu, Xun

2017-12-01

Cognitive control can be activated by stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (S-R) conflicts. However, whether cognitive control is domain-general or domain-specific remains unclear. To deepen the understanding of the functional organization of cognitive control networks, we conducted activation likelihood estimation (ALE) from 111 neuroimaging studies to examine brain activation in conflict-related tasks. We observed that fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular networks were commonly engaged by S-S and S-R conflicts, showing a domain-general pattern. In addition, S-S conflicts specifically activated distinct brain regions to a greater degree. These regions were implicated in the processing of the semantic-relevant attribute, including the inferior frontal cortex (IFC), superior parietal cortex (SPC), superior occipital cortex (SOC), and right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). By contrast, S-R conflicts specifically activated the left thalamus, middle frontal cortex (MFC), and right SPC, which were associated with detecting response conflict and orienting spatial attention. These findings suggest that conflict detection and resolution involve a combination of domain-general and domain-specific cognitive control mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A heuristic mathematical model for the dynamics of sensory conflict and motion sickness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oman, C. M.

1982-01-01

The etiology of motion sickness is now usually explained in terms of a qualitatively formulated sensory conflict hypothesis. By consideration of the information processing task faced by the central nervous system in estimating body spatial orientation and in controlling active body movement using an internal model referenced control strategy, a mathematical model for sensory conflict generation is developed. The model postulates a major dynamic functional role for sensory conflict signals in movement control, as well as in sensory motor adaptation. It accounts for the role of active movement in creating motion sickness symptoms in some experimental circumstances, and in alleviating them in others. The relationship between motion sickness produced by sensory rearrangement and that resulting from external motion disturbances is explicitly defined. A nonlinear conflict averaging model describes dynamic aspects of experimentally observed subjective discomfort sensation, and suggests resulting behavior.

A heuristic mathematical model for the dynamics of sensory conflict and motion sickness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oman, C. M.

1980-01-01

The etiology of motion sickness is explained in terms of a qualitatively formulated sensory conflict hypothesis. By consideration of the information processing task faced by the central nervous system in estimating body spatial orientation and in controlling active body movement using an internal model referenced control strategy, a mathematical model for sensory conflict generation is developed. The model postulates a major dynamic functional role for sensory conflict signals in movement control, as well as in sensory-motor adaptation. It accounts for the role of active movement in creating motion sickness symptoms in some experimental circumstances, and in alleviating them in others. The relationship between motion sickness produced by sensory rearrangement and that resulting from external motion disturbances is explicitly defined. A nonlinear conflict averaging model is proposed which describes dynamic aspects of experimentally observed subjective discomfort sensation, and suggests resulting behaviors.

Conflict Prediction Through Geo-Spatial Interpolation of Radicalization in Syrian Social Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-24

TRAC-M-TM-15-031 September 2015 Conflict Prediction Through Geo-Spatial Interpolation of Radicalization in Syrian Social Media ...Spatial Interpolation of Radicalization in Syrian Social Media Authors MAJ Adam Haupt Dr. Camber Warren...Spatial Interpolation of Radicalization in Syrian Social 1RAC Project Code 060114 Media 6. AUTHOR(S) MAJ Haupt, Dr. Warren 7. PERFORMING OR

Natural landscape features, human-related attractants, and conflict hotspots: A spatial analysis of human-grizzly bear conflicts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, S.M.; Madel, M.J.; Mattson, D.J.; Graham, J.M.; Burchfield, J.A.; Belsky, J.M.

2005-01-01

There is a long history of conflict in the western United States between humans and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) involving agricultural attractants. However, little is known about the spatial dimensions of this conflict and the relative importance of different attractants. This study was undertaken to better understand the spatial and functional components of conflict between humans and grizzly bears on privately owned agricultural lands in Montana. Our investigations focused on spatial associations of rivers and creeks, livestock pastures, boneyards (livestock carcass dump sites), beehives, and grizzly bear habitat with reported human-grizzly bear conflicts during 1986-2001. We based our analysis on a survey of 61 of 64 livestock producers in our study in the Rocky Mountain East Front, Montana. With the assistance of livestock and honey producers, we mapped the locations of cattle and sheep pastures, boneyards, and beehives. We used density surface mapping to identify seasonal clusters of conflicts that we term conflict hotspots. Hotspots accounted for 75% of all conflicts and encompassed approximately 8% of the study area. We also differentiated chronic (4 or more years of conflicts) from non-chronic hotspots (fewer than 4 years of conflict). The 10 chronic hotpots accounted for 58% of all conflicts. Based on Monte Carlo simulations, we found that conflict locations were most strongly associated with rivers and creeks followed by sheep lambing areas and fall sheep pastures. Conflicts also were associated with cattle calving areas, spring cow-calf pastures, summer and fall cattle pastures, and boneyards. The Monte Carlo simulations indicated associations between conflict locations and unprotected beehives at specific analysis scales. Protected (fenced) beehives were less likely to experience conflicts than unprotected beehives. Conflicts occurred at a greater rate in riparian and wetland vegetation than would be expected. The majority of conflicts occurred in a small portion of the study area, where concentrations of attractants existed that overlapped with bear habitat. These hotspots should be the target of management and conservation efforts that focus on removing or protecting attractants using non-lethal techniques.

Simulator-induced spatial disorientation: effects of age, sleep deprivation, and type of conflict.

PubMed

Previc, Fred H; Ercoline, William R; Evans, Richard H; Dillon, Nathan; Lopez, Nadia; Daluz, Christina M; Workman, Andrew

2007-05-01

Spatial disorientation mishaps are greater at night and with greater time on task, and sleep deprivation is known to decrease cognitive and overall flight performance. However, the ability to perceive and to be influenced by physiologically appropriate simulated SD conflicts has not previously been studied in an automated simulator flight profile. A set of 10 flight profiles were flown by 10 U.S. Air Force (USAF) pilots over a period of 28 h in a specially designed flight simulator for spatial disorientation research and training. Of the 10 flights, 4 had a total of 7 spatial disorientation (SD) conflicts inserted into each of them, 5 simulating motion illusions and 2 involving visual illusions. The percentage of conflict reports was measured along with the effects of four conflicts on flight performance. The results showed that, with one exception, all motion conflicts were reported over 60% of the time, whereas the two visual illusions were reported on average only 25% of the time, although they both significantly affected flight performance. Pilots older than 35 yr of age were more likely to report conflicts than were those under 30 yr of age (63% vs. 38%), whereas fatigue had little effect overall on either recognized or unrecognized SD. The overall effects of these conflicts on perception and performance were generally not altered by sleep deprivation, despite clear indications of fatigue in our pilots.

Political Shifts and Forest Transitions: A Review and Theoretical Framework for Future Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ordway, E.

2015-12-01

Most armed conflicts in recent history have occurred in biodiversity hotspots. Yet, studies examining impacts of warfare on forests yield contradictory results making it difficult to decipher trends and patterns. This study provides a theoretical framework that can be used to clarify hypothetical relationships between conflict and forest transitions, contributing to our ability to push forward a growing field of research on environmental change and conflict. Landsat TM and ETM+ satellite data were analyzed to examine forest transitions in Rwanda during a conflict and post conflict period. Net trends showed little difference between periods, with a rate of 1.6% annual gain in forest cover during conflict years, and 2.5% after the conflict. Further investigation revealed spatially concentrated forest loss during conflict years; 96% of forest loss occurred in protected areas with the most loss in Gishwati Forest Reserve at a rate of 6.1%. Trends were explored using spatially explicit conflict data that distinguished armed conflict activity from conflict induced settlements. Impacts of conflict on forests in Rwanda appear to be influenced by natural resource use near settlements. Massive migrations of people into settlements during the conflict, who had previously been scattered across the landscape, likely resulted in a redistribution of pressures. Reduced pressure elsewhere supports this inference. Results underscore the vulnerability of protected areas and the spatial dynamics of forest resource dependence during conflicts. This work demonstrates the value of distinguishing conflict activities to assess their varied environmental effects, and contributes to our theoretical development of environmental change and conflict.

The Impact of Conflicting Spatial Representations in Airborne Unmanned Aerial System Sensor Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

Spatial Discordance 1 Running head: SPATIAL DISCORDANCE IN AIRBORNE UAS OPERATIONS The impact of conflicting spatial...representations in airborne unmanned aerial system sensor control Joseph W Geeseman, James E Patrey, Caroline Davy, Katherine Peditto, & Christine Zernickow...system (UAS) simulation while riding in the fuselage of an airborne Lockheed P-3 Orion. The P-3 flew a flight profile of intermittent ascending

Unofficial Road Building in the Amazon: Socioeconomic and Biophysical Explanations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perz, Stephen G.; Caldas, Marcellus M.; Arima, Eugenio; Walker, Robert J.

2007-01-01

Roads have manifold social and environmental impacts, including regional development, social conflicts and habitat fragmentation. 'Road ecology' has emerged as an approach to evaluate the various ecological and hydrological impacts of roads. This article aims to complement road ecology by examining the socio-spatial processes of road building itself. Focusing on the Brazilian Amazon, a heavily-studied context due to forest fragmentation by roads, the authors consider non-state social actors who build 'unofficial roads' for the purpose of gaining access to natural resources to support livelihoods and community development. They examine four case studies of roads with distinct histories in order to explain the socio-spatial processes behind road building in terms of profit maximization, land tenure claims, co-operative and conflictive political ecologies, and constraints as well as opportunities afforded by the biophysical environment. The study cases illustrate the need for a multi-pronged theoretical approach to understanding road building, and call for more attention to the role of non-state actors in unofficial road construction.

Pre-SMA actively engages in conflict processing in human: a combined study of epicortical ERPs and direct cortical stimulation.

PubMed

Usami, Kiyohide; Matsumoto, Riki; Kunieda, Takeharu; Shimotake, Akihiro; Matsuhashi, Masao; Miyamoto, Susumu; Fukuyama, Hidenao; Takahashi, Ryosuke; Ikeda, Akio

2013-04-01

Previous non-invasive studies have proposed that the deeply seated region of the medial frontal cortex engages in conflict processing in humans, but its core region has remained to be elucidated. By means of direct cortical stimulation, which excels other techniques in temporal and spatial resolutions and in the capacity of producing transient, functional impairment even in the deeply located cortices, we attempted to obtain direct evidence that the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) actively engages in conflict processing. Subject was a patient with right frontal lobe epilepsy who underwent invasive presurgical evaluation with subdural electrodes placed on the medial and lateral frontal cortices. During a conflict task--modified Eriksen flanker task, direct cortical stimulation was delivered time-locked to the task at the inferior part of the medial superior frontal gyrus (inferior medial SFG), the superior part of the medial SFG, and the middle frontal gyrus. By adopting the session of sham stimulation that was employed as a within-block control, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from the medial and lateral frontal cortices. The inferior medial SFG showed a significant ERP difference between trials with more and less conflict, while the other frontal cortices did not. Among the three stimulus sites, only stimulation of the inferior medial SFG significantly prolonged reaction time in trials with more conflict. Anatomically, the inferior medial SFG corresponded with the pre-SMA (Brodmann area 8). It was located 1-2 cm rostral to the vertical anterior commissure line where cortical stimulation elicited arrest of motion (the supplementary negative motor area). Functionally, this area corresponded to the dorso-rostral portion of the activation loci in previous neuroimaging studies focusing on conflict processing. By combining epicortical ERP recording and direct cortical stimulation in a human brain, this study, for the first time, presented one direct piece of evidence that the pre-SMA actively participates in conflict processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty management by relaxation of conflicting constraints in production process scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorn, Juergen; Slany, Wolfgang; Stary, Christian

1992-01-01

Mathematical-analytical methods as used in Operations Research approaches are often insufficient for scheduling problems. This is due to three reasons: the combinatorial complexity of the search space, conflicting objectives for production optimization, and the uncertainty in the production process. Knowledge-based techniques, especially approximate reasoning and constraint relaxation, are promising ways to overcome these problems. A case study from an industrial CIM environment, namely high-grade steel production, is presented to demonstrate how knowledge-based scheduling with the desired capabilities could work. By using fuzzy set theory, the applied knowledge representation technique covers the uncertainty inherent in the problem domain. Based on this knowledge representation, a classification of jobs according to their importance is defined which is then used for the straightforward generation of a schedule. A control strategy which comprises organizational, spatial, temporal, and chemical constraints is introduced. The strategy supports the dynamic relaxation of conflicting constraints in order to improve tentative schedules.

Planting the SEED: Towards a Spatial Economic Ecological Database for a shared understanding of the Dutch Wadden area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daams, Michiel N.; Sijtsma, Frans J.

2013-09-01

In this paper we address the characteristics of a publicly accessible Spatial Economic Ecological Database (SEED) and its ability to support a shared understanding among planners and experts of the economy and ecology of the Dutch Wadden area. Theoretical building blocks for a Wadden SEED are discussed. Our SEED contains a comprehensive set of stakeholder validated spatially explicit data on key economic and ecological indicators. These data extend over various spatial scales. Spatial issues relevant to the specification of a Wadden-SEED and its data needs are explored in this paper and illustrated using empirical data for the Dutch Wadden area. The purpose of the SEED is to integrate basic economic and ecologic information in order to support the resolution of specific (policy) questions and to facilitate connections between project level and strategic level in the spatial planning process. Although modest in its ambitions, we will argue that a Wadden SEED can serve as a valuable element in the much debated science-policy interface. A Wadden SEED is valuable since it is a consensus-based common knowledge base on the economy and ecology of an area rife with ecological-economic conflict, including conflict in which scientific information is often challenged and disputed.

The traveling salesrat: insights into the dynamics of efficient spatial navigation in the rodent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watkins de Jong, Laurel; Gereke, Brian; Martin, Gerard M.; Fellous, Jean-Marc

2011-10-01

Rodent spatial navigation requires the dynamic evaluation of multiple sources of information, including visual cues, self-motion signals and reward signals. The nature of the evaluation, its dynamics and the relative weighting of the multiple information streams are largely unknown and have generated many hypotheses in the field of robotics. We use the framework of the traveling salesperson problem (TSP) to study how this evaluation may be achieved. The TSP is a classical artificial intelligence NP-hard problem that requires an agent to visit a fixed set of locations once, minimizing the total distance traveled. We show that after a few trials, rats converge on a short route between rewarded food cups. We propose that this route emerges from a series of local decisions that are derived from weighing information embedded in the context of the task. We study the relative weighting of spatial and reward information and establish that, in the conditions of this experiment, when the contingencies are not in conflict, rats choose the spatial or reward optimal solution. There was a trend toward a preference for space when the contingencies were in conflict. We also show that the spatial decision about which cup to go to next is biased by the orientation of the animal. Reward contingencies are also shown to significantly and dynamically modulate the decision-making process. This paradigm will allow for further neurophysiological studies aimed at understanding the synergistic role of brain areas involved in planning, reward processing and spatial navigation. These insights will in turn suggest new neural-like architectures for the control of mobile autonomous robots.

Two Independent Frontal Midline Theta Oscillations during Conflict Detection and Adaptation in a Simon-Type Manual Reaching Task.

PubMed

Töllner, Thomas; Wang, Yijun; Makeig, Scott; Müller, Hermann J; Jung, Tzyy-Ping; Gramann, Klaus

2017-03-01

One of the most firmly established factors determining the speed of human behavioral responses toward action-critical stimuli is the spatial correspondence between the stimulus and response locations. If both locations match, the time taken for response production is markedly reduced relative to when they mismatch, a phenomenon called the Simon effect. While there is a consensus that this stimulus-response (S-R) conflict is associated with brief (4-7 Hz) frontal midline theta (fmθ) complexes generated in medial frontal cortex, it remains controversial (1) whether there are multiple, simultaneously active theta generator areas in the medial frontal cortex that commonly give rise to conflict-related fmθ complexes; and if so, (2) whether they are all related to the resolution of conflicting task information. Here, we combined mental chronometry with high-density electroencephalographic measures during a Simon-type manual reaching task and used independent component analysis and time-frequency domain statistics on source-level activities to model fmθ sources. During target processing, our results revealed two independent fmθ generators simultaneously active in or near anterior cingulate cortex, only one of them reflecting the correspondence between current and previous S-R locations. However, this fmθ response is not exclusively linked to conflict but also to other, conflict-independent processes associated with response slowing. These results paint a detailed picture regarding the oscillatory correlates of conflict processing in Simon tasks, and challenge the prevalent notion that fmθ complexes induced by conflicting task information represent a unitary phenomenon related to cognitive control, which governs conflict processing across various types of response-override tasks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans constantly monitor their environment for and adjust their cognitive control settings in response to conflicts, an ability that arguably paves the way for survival in ever-changing situations. Anterior cingulate-generated frontal midline theta (fmθ) complexes have been hypothesized to play a role in this conflict-monitoring function. However, it remains a point of contention whether fmθ complexes govern conflict processing in a unitary, paradigm-nonspecific manner. Here, we identified two independent fmθ oscillations triggered during a Simon-type task, only one of them reflecting current and previous conflicts. Importantly, this signal differed in various respects (cortical origin, intertrial history) from fmθ phenomena in other response-override tasks, challenging the prevalent notion of conflict-induced fmθ as a unitary phenomenon associated with the resolution of conflict. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/372505-12$15.00/0.

Valence evaluation with approaching or withdrawing cues: directly testing valence-arousal conflict theory.

PubMed

Wang, Yan Mei; Li, Ting; Li, Lin

2017-07-19

The valence-arousal conflict theory assumes that both valence and arousal will trigger approaching or withdrawing tendencies. It also predicts that the speed of processing emotional stimuli will depend on whether valence and arousal trigger conflicting or congruent motivational tendencies. However, most previous studies have provided evidence of the interaction between valence and arousal only, and have not provided direct proof of the interactive links between valence, arousal and motivational tendencies. The present study provides direct evidence for the relationship between approach-withdrawal tendencies and the valence-arousal conflict. In an empirical test, participants were instructed to judge the valence of emotional words after visual-spatial cues that appeared to be either approaching or withdrawing from participants. A three-way interaction (valence, arousal, and approach-withdrawal tendency) was observed such that the response time was shorter if participants responded to a negative high-arousal stimulus after a withdrawing cue, or to a positive low-arousal stimulus after an approaching cue. These findings suggest that the approach-withdrawal tendency indeed plays a crucial role in valence-arousal conflict, and that the effect depends on the congruency of valence, arousal and tendency at an early stage of processing.

A spatial model for conflict incorporating within- and between-actor effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knipl, Diána; Davies, Toby; Baudains, Peter

2017-10-01

The application of ecological models to human conflict scenarios has given rise to a number of models which describe antagonistic relationships between adversaries. Recent work demonstrates that the spatial disaggregation of such models is not only well-motivated but also gives rise to interesting dynamic behaviour, particularly with respect to the spatial distribution of resources. One feature which is largely absent from previous models, however, is the ability of an adversary to coordinate activity across its various locations. Most immediately, this corresponds to the notion of 'support' - the reallocation of resources from one site to another according to need - which plays an important role in real-world conflict. In this paper, we generalise a spatially-disaggregated form of the classic Richardson model of conflict escalation by adding a cross-location interaction term for the within-adversary dynamics at each location. We explore the model analytically, giving conditions for the stability of the balanced equilibrium state. We then also carry out a number of numerical simulations which correspond to stylised real-world conflict scenarios. Potential further applications of the model, and its implications for policy, are then discussed.

N270 sensitivity to conflict strength and working memory: A combined ERP and sLORETA study.

PubMed

Scannella, Sébastien; Pariente, Jérémie; De Boissezon, Xavier; Castel-Lacanal, Evelyne; Chauveau, Nicolas; Causse, Mickaël; Dehais, Frédéric; Pastor, Josette

2016-01-15

The event-related potential N270 component is known to be an electrophysiological marker of the supramodal conflict processing. However little is know about the factors that may modulate its amplitude. In particular, among all studies that have investigated the N270, little or no control of the conflict strength and of the load in working memory have been done leaving a lack in the understanding of this component. We designed a spatial audiovisual conflict task with simultaneous target and cross-modal distractor to evaluate the N270 sensitivity to the conflict strength (i.e., visual target with auditory distractor or auditory target with visual distractor) and the load in working memory (goal task maintenance with frequent change in the target modality). In a first session, participants had to focus on one modality for the target position to be considered (left-hand or right-hand) while the distractor could be at the same side (compatible) or at opposite side (incompatible). In a second session, we used the same set of stimuli as in the first session with an additional distinct auditory signal that clued the participants to frequently switch between the auditory and the visual targets. We found that (1) reaction times and N270 amplitudes for conflicting situations were larger within the auditory target condition compared to the visual one, (2) the increase in target maintenance effort led to equivalent increase of both reaction times and N270 amplitudes within all conditions and (3) the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex current density was higher for both conflicting and active maintenance of the target situations. These results provide new evidence that the N270 component is an electrophysiological marker of the supramodal conflict processing that is sensitive to the conflict strength and that conflict processing and active maintenance of the task goal are two functions of a common executive attention system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Landscape features and attractants that predispose grizzly bears to risk of conflicts with humans: A spatial and temporal analysis on privately owned agricultural land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Seth Mark

Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) deaths in the US tend to be concentrated on the periphery of core habitats. These deaths were often preceded by conflicts with humans. Management removals of "nuisance" and or habituated grizzly bears are a leading cause of death in many populations. This exploratory study focuses on the conditions that lead to human-grizzly bear conflicts on private lands near core habitat. I examined spatial associations among reported human-grizzly bear conflicts during 1986--2001, landscape features, and agricultural-attractants in north-central Montana. I surveyed 61 of a possible 64 active livestock related land users and I used geographic information system (GIS) techniques to collect information on cattle and sheep pasture locations, seasons of use, and bone yard (carcass dumps) and beehive locations. I used GIS spatial analyses, univariate tests, and logistic regression models to explore the associations among conflicts, landscape features, and attractants. A majority (75%) of conflicts were found in distinct seasonal conflict hotspots. Conflict hotspots with spatial overlap were associated with riparian vegetation, bone yards, and beehives in close proximity to one another and accounted for 62% of all conflicts. Consistently available seasonal attractants in overlapping hotspots such as calving areas, sheep lambing areas and spring, summer, and fall sheep and cattle pastures appear to perpetuate the occurrence of conflicts. I found that lambing areas and spring and summer sheep pastures were strongly associated with conflict locations as were cattle calving areas, spring cow/calf pastures, fall pastures, and bone yards. Logistic regression modeling revealed that the presence of riparian vegetation within a 1.6 km search radius strongly influenced the likelihood of conflict. After controlling for riparian vegetation, I found that unmanaged bone yards, unfenced and fenced beehives, all increased the odds of conflict. For every 1 km moved away from spring, summer, and fall sheep and cattle pastures, the odds of conflict decreased. The model confirmed the existence of conflict hotspots and illustrated that a collection of attractants beyond the effects of riparian vegetation were associated with conflicts. Contour probability plots of logistic regression models showed good predictive capacity. We discuss these findings and offer management recommendations.

A heuristic mathematical model for the dynamics of sensory conflict and motion sickness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oman, C. M.

1982-01-01

By consideration of the information processing task faced by the central nervous system in estimating body spatial orientation and in controlling active body movement using an internal model referenced control strategy, a mathematical model for sensory conflict generation is developed. The model postulates a major dynamic functional role for sensory conflict signals in movement control, as well as in sensory-motor adaptation. It accounts for the role of active movement in creating motion sickness symptoms in some experimental circumstance, and in alleviating them in others. The relationship between motion sickness produced by sensory rearrangement and that resulting from external motion disturbances is explicitly defined. A nonlinear conflict averaging model is proposed which describes dynamic aspects of experimentally observed subjective discomfort sensation, and suggests resulting behaviours. The model admits several possibilities for adaptive mechanisms which do not involve internal model updating. Further systematic efforts to experimentally refine and validate the model are indicated.

Policy Implementation Study on Spatial Planning for Environmental Conflict (Study Location: Rembang Regency)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusyuniadi, Indraya

2018-02-01

This study aims to see the impact and benefits as an outcome of a policy, where this policy is in the form of spatial planning (Regional Planning). As known RTRW is a product that can be regarded as "the book of development" in every region both in the provincial and regional levels. One of them is as a decision tool for investors (investors) in increasing local development investment, spatial planning (RTRW) is also expected to maintain the environment, in order to support the sustainability of regional development. In reality, there are still many conflicts of interest in the implementation process of regional development, especially between economic and environmental interests. Often the interests of regional sustainability are placed at a lower level (less priority) than investment / economy. Land conversion that is inconsistent with district / city spatial planning RTRW is relatively still occurring, especially for economic purposes. Lack of policy called spatial plan in this case RTRW Province and Regency in responding to existing condition in field. How can a product that is said to be "Scripture" a regional planning is powerless in fulfilling the space for investment in the form of industry, commercial, housing and so forth. There are several results that can be concluded in this study. Basically, the importance of the environment at least can be used as the basis or priority of the main decision makers above economic interests and other politic interests. The current Spatial Plan / RTRW document still holds a big question whether at the time of compilation it follows the norms and rules in a plan (data accuracy, through input process from the community).

An FMRI study of self-regulatory control and conflict resolution in adolescents with bulimia nervosa.

PubMed

Marsh, Rachel; Horga, Guillermo; Wang, Zhishun; Wang, Pengwei; Klahr, Kristin W; Berner, Laura A; Walsh, B Timothy; Peterson, Bradley S

2011-11-01

The authors examined functional activity in the frontostriatal systems that mediate self-regulatory capacities and conflict resolution in adolescents with bulimia nervosa. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare blood-oxygen-level-dependent response in 18 female adolescents with bulimia nervosa and 18 healthy female age-matched subjects during performance on a Simon spatial incompatibility task. Bayesian analyses were used to compare the two groups on patterns of brain activation during correct responses to conflict stimuli and to explore the effects of antecedent stimulus context on group differences in self-regulation and conflict resolution. Adolescents with and without bulimia nervosa performed similarly on the task. During correct responses in conflict trials, frontostriatal circuits-including the right inferolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and putamen-failed to activate to the same degree in adolescents with bulimia nervosa as in healthy comparison subjects. Instead, deactivation was seen in the left inferior frontal gyrus as well as a neural system encompassing the posterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal gyrus. Group differences in cortical and striatal regions were driven by the differential responses to stimuli preceded by conflict and nonconflict stimuli, respectively. When engaging the self-regulatory control processes necessary to resolve conflict, adolescents with bulimia nervosa displayed abnormal patterns of activation in frontostriatal and default-mode systems. Their abnormal processing of the antecedent stimulus context conditioned their brain response to conflict differently from that of healthy comparison subjects, specifically in frontal regions. It is suspected that functional disturbances in frontal portions of frontostriatal systems may release feeding behaviors from regulatory control, thereby perpetuating the conflicting desires to consume fattening foods and avoid weight gain that characterize bulimia nervosa.

An fMRI Study of Self-Regulatory Control and Conflict Resolution in Adolescents With Bulimia Nervosa

PubMed Central

Marsh, Rachel; Horga, Guillermo; Wang, Zhishun; Wang, Pengwei; Klahr, Kristin W.; Berner, Laura A.; Walsh, B. Timothy; Peterson, Bradley S.

2012-01-01

Objective The authors examined functional activity in the frontostriatal systems that mediate self-regulatory capacities and conflict resolution in adolescents with bulimia nervosa. Method Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare blood-oxygen-level-dependent response in 18 female adolescents with bulimia nervosa and 18 healthy female age-matched subjects during performance on a Simon spatial incompatibility task. Bayesian analyses were used to compare the two groups on patterns of brain activation during correct responses to conflict stimuli and to explore the effects of antecedent stimulus context on group differences in self-regulation and conflict resolution. Results Adolescents with and without bulimia nervosa performed similarly on the task. During correct responses in conflict trials, frontostriatal circuits—including the right inferolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and putamen—failed to activate to the same degree in adolescents with bulimia nervosa as in healthy comparison subjects. Instead, deactivation was seen in the left inferior frontal gyrus as well as a neural system encompassing the posterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal gyrus. Group differences in cortical and striatal regions were driven by the differential responses to stimuli preceded by conflict and nonconflict stimuli, respectively. Conclusions When engaging the self-regulatory control processes necessary to resolve conflict, adolescents with bulimia nervosa displayed abnormal patterns of activation in frontostriatal and default-mode systems. Their abnormal processing of the antecedent stimulus context conditioned their brain response to conflict differently from that of healthy comparison subjects, specifically in frontal regions. It is suspected that functional disturbances in frontal portions of frontostriatal systems may release feeding behaviors from regulatory control, thereby perpetuating the conflicting desires to consume fattening foods and avoid weight gain that characterize bulimia nervosa. PMID:21676991

The role of working memory in spatial S-R correspondence effects.

PubMed

Wühr, Peter; Biebl, Rupert

2011-04-01

This study investigates the impact of working memory (WM) load on response conflicts arising from spatial (non) correspondence between irrelevant stimulus location and response location (Simon effect). The dominant view attributes the Simon effect to automatic processes of location-based response priming. The automaticity view predicts insensitivity of the Simon effect to manipulations of processing load. Four experiments investigated the role of spatial and verbal WM in horizontal and vertical Simon tasks by using a dual-task approach. Participants maintained different amounts of spatial or verbal information in WM while performing a horizontal or vertical Simon task. Results showed that high load generally decreased, and sometimes eliminated, the Simon effect. It is interesting to note that spatial load had a larger impact than verbal load on the horizontal Simon effect, whereas verbal load had a larger impact than spatial load on the vertical Simon effect. The results highlight the role of WM as the perception-action interface in choice-response tasks. Moreover, the results suggest spatial coding of horizontal stimulus-response (S-R) tasks, and verbal coding of vertical S-R tasks.

Top-down attentional control in spatially coincident stimuli enhances activity in both task-relevant and task-irrelevant regions of cortex

PubMed Central

Erickson, Kirk I.; Prakash, Ruchika Shaurya; Kim, Jennifer S.; Sutton, Bradley P.; Colcombe, Stanley J.; Kramer, Arthur F.

2010-01-01

Models of selective attention predict that focused attention to spatially contiguous stimuli may result in enhanced activity in areas of cortex specialized for processing task-relevant and task-irrelevant information. We examined this hypothesis by localizing color-sensitive areas (CSA) and word and letter sensitive areas of cortex and then examining modulation of these regions during performance of a modified version of the Stroop task in which target and distractors are spatially coincident. We report that only the incongruent condition with the highest cognitive demand showed increased activity in CSA relative to other conditions, indicating an attentional enhancement in target processing areas. We also found an enhancement of activity in one region sensitive to word/letter processing during the most cognitively demanding incongruent condition indicating greater processing of the distractor dimension. Correlations with performance revealed that top-down modulation during the task was critical for effective filtering of irrelevant information in conflict conditions. These results support predictions made by models of selective attention and suggest an important mechanism of top-down attentional control in spatially contiguous stimuli. PMID:18804123

Modelling hen harrier dynamics to inform human-wildlife conflict resolution: a spatially-realistic, individual-based approach.

PubMed

Heinonen, Johannes P M; Palmer, Stephen C F; Redpath, Steve M; Travis, Justin M J

2014-01-01

Individual-based models have gained popularity in ecology, and enable simultaneous incorporation of spatial explicitness and population dynamic processes to understand spatio-temporal patterns of populations. We introduce an individual-based model for understanding and predicting spatial hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) population dynamics in Great Britain. The model uses a landscape with habitat, prey and game management indices. The hen harrier population was initialised according to empirical census estimates for 1988/89 and simulated until 2030, and predictions for 1998, 2004 and 2010 were compared to empirical census estimates for respective years. The model produced a good qualitative match to overall trends between 1989 and 2010. Parameter explorations revealed relatively high elasticity in particular to demographic parameters such as juvenile male mortality. This highlights the need for robust parameter estimates from empirical research. There are clearly challenges for replication of real-world population trends, but this model provides a useful tool for increasing understanding of drivers of hen harrier dynamics and focusing research efforts in order to inform conflict management decisions.

Modelling Hen Harrier Dynamics to Inform Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution: A Spatially-Realistic, Individual-Based Approach

PubMed Central

Heinonen, Johannes P. M.; Palmer, Stephen C. F.; Redpath, Steve M.; Travis, Justin M. J.

2014-01-01

Individual-based models have gained popularity in ecology, and enable simultaneous incorporation of spatial explicitness and population dynamic processes to understand spatio-temporal patterns of populations. We introduce an individual-based model for understanding and predicting spatial hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) population dynamics in Great Britain. The model uses a landscape with habitat, prey and game management indices. The hen harrier population was initialised according to empirical census estimates for 1988/89 and simulated until 2030, and predictions for 1998, 2004 and 2010 were compared to empirical census estimates for respective years. The model produced a good qualitative match to overall trends between 1989 and 2010. Parameter explorations revealed relatively high elasticity in particular to demographic parameters such as juvenile male mortality. This highlights the need for robust parameter estimates from empirical research. There are clearly challenges for replication of real-world population trends, but this model provides a useful tool for increasing understanding of drivers of hen harrier dynamics and focusing research efforts in order to inform conflict management decisions. PMID:25405860

Motion sickness and development of synergy within the spatial orientation system. A hypothetical unifying concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guedry, F. E.; Rupert, A. R.; Reschke, M. F.

1998-01-01

Adaptation to research paradigms such as rotating rooms and optical alteration of visual feedback during movement results in development of perceptual-motor programs that provide the reflexive assistance that is necessary to skilled control of movement and balance. The discomfort and stomach awareness that occur during the adaptation process has been attributed to conflicting sensory information about the state of motion. Vestibular signals depend on the kinematics of head movements irrespective of the presence or absence of signals from other senses. We propose that sensory conflict when vestibular signals are at least one component of the conflict are innately disturbing and unpleasant. This innate reaction is part of a continuum that operates early in life to prevent development of inefficient perceptual-motor programs. This reaction operates irrespective of and in addition to reward and punishment from parental guidance or goal attainment to yield efficient control of whole body movement in the operating environment of the individual. The same mechanism is involved in adapting the spatial orientation system to strange environments. This conceptual model "explains" why motion sickness is associated with adaptation to novel environments and is in general consistent with motion sickness literature.

Parsing the Role of the Hippocampus in Approach-Avoidance Conflict.

PubMed

Loh, Eleanor; Kurth-Nelson, Zeb; Berron, David; Dayan, Peter; Duzel, Emrah; Dolan, Ray; Guitart-Masip, Marc

2017-01-01

The hippocampus plays a central role in the approach-avoidance conflict that is central to the genesis of anxiety. However, its exact functional contribution has yet to be identified. We designed a novel gambling task that generated approach-avoidance conflict while controlling for spatial processing. We fit subjects' behavior using a model that quantified the subjective values of choice options, and recorded neural signals using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Distinct functional signals were observed in anterior hippocampus, with inferior hippocampus selectively recruited when subjects rejected a gamble, to a degree that covaried with individual differences in anxiety. The superior anterior hippocampus, in contrast, uniquely demonstrated value signals that were potentiated in the context of approach-avoidance conflict. These results implicate the anterior hippocampus in behavioral avoidance and choice monitoring, in a manner relevant to understanding its role in anxiety. Our findings highlight interactions between subregions of the hippocampus as an important focus for future study. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

Parsing the Role of the Hippocampus in Approach–Avoidance Conflict

PubMed Central

Loh, Eleanor; Kurth-Nelson, Zeb; Berron, David; Dayan, Peter; Duzel, Emrah; Dolan, Ray; Guitart-Masip, Marc

2017-01-01

Abstract The hippocampus plays a central role in the approach–avoidance conflict that is central to the genesis of anxiety. However, its exact functional contribution has yet to be identified. We designed a novel gambling task that generated approach–avoidance conflict while controlling for spatial processing. We fit subjects’ behavior using a model that quantified the subjective values of choice options, and recorded neural signals using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Distinct functional signals were observed in anterior hippocampus, with inferior hippocampus selectively recruited when subjects rejected a gamble, to a degree that covaried with individual differences in anxiety. The superior anterior hippocampus, in contrast, uniquely demonstrated value signals that were potentiated in the context of approach–avoidance conflict. These results implicate the anterior hippocampus in behavioral avoidance and choice monitoring, in a manner relevant to understanding its role in anxiety. Our findings highlight interactions between subregions of the hippocampus as an important focus for future study. PMID:27993819

Verbal-spatial IQ discrepancies impact brain activation associated with the resolution of cognitive conflict in children and adolescents.

PubMed

Margolis, Amy E; Davis, Katie S; Pao, Lisa S; Lewis, Amy; Yang, Xiao; Tau, Gregory; Zhao, Guihu; Wang, Zhishun; Marsh, Rachel

2018-03-01

Verbal-spatial discrepancies are common in healthy individuals and in those with neurodevelopmental disorders associated with cognitive control deficits including: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disability, Fragile X, 22q11 deletion, and Turner Syndrome. Previous data from healthy individuals suggest that the magnitude of the difference between verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ) scores (the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy) is associated with reduced thickness in frontal and parietal cortices (inferior frontal, anterior cingulate, inferior parietal lobule, and supramarginal gyrus) that support cognitive control. Unknown is whether the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy is associated with functional deficits in these areas in healthy or ill children and adolescents. We assessed the effects of the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy on fMRI BOLD response during the resolution of cognitive conflict in 55 healthy children and adolescents during performance of a Simon Spatial Incompatibility task. As the magnitude of the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy increased, activation of fronto-striatal, limbic, and temporal regions decreased during conflict resolution (p < .05, corrected). In exploratory analyses, the VIQ>PIQ discrepancy was associated with reduced functional connectivity from right inferior frontal gyrus to right thalamus and increased functional connectivity to right supramarginal gyrus (ps < .03, uncorrected). The VIQ>PIQ discrepancy may be an important aspect of an individual's cognitive profile and likely contributes to, or is associated with, deficient cognitive control processes characteristic of many childhood disorders. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Values mapping with Latino forest users: Contributing to the dialogue on multiple land use conflict management

Treesearch

Kelly Biedenweg; Lee Cerveny; Rebecca J. McLain

2014-01-01

Participatory mapping of landscape values is gaining ground as a method for engaging communities and stakeholders in natural resource management. Socio-spatial mapping allows the public to identify places of economic, social, cultural, or personal importance. In addition to providing data for planning and land management, the mapping process can open dialogue about...

It's the Local Economy, Stupid! Geographic Wealth Dispersion and Conflict Outbreak Location

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buhaug, Halvard; Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede; Holtermann, Helge; Ostby, Gudrun; Tollefsen, Andreas Foro

2011-01-01

Income varies considerably within countries and the locations where conflicts emerge are rarely typical or representative for states at large. Yet, most research on conflict has only examined national income averages and neglected spatial variation. The authors argue that civil conflicts are more likely to erupt in areas with low absolute income,…

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.

Congruency sequence effect in cross-task context: evidence for dimension-specific modulation.

PubMed

Lee, Jaeyong; Cho, Yang Seok

2013-11-01

The congruency sequence effect refers to a reduced congruency effect after incongruent trials relative to congruent trials. This modulation is thought to be, at least in part, due to the control mechanisms resolving conflict. The present study examined the nature of the control mechanisms by having participants perform two different tasks in an alternating way. When participants performed horizontal and vertical Simon tasks in Experiment 1A, and horizontal and vertical spatial Stroop task in Experiment 1B, no congruency sequence effect was obtained between the task congruencies. When the Simon task and spatial Stroop task were performed with different response sets in Experiment 2, no congruency sequence effect was obtained. However, in Experiment 3, in which the participants performed the horizontal Simon and spatial Stroop tasks with an identical response set, a significant congruency sequence effect was obtained between the task congruencies. In Experiment 4, no congruency sequence effect was obtained when participants performed two tasks having different task-irrelevant dimensions with the identical response set. The findings suggest inhibitory processing between the task-irrelevant dimension and response mode after conflict. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

[Effect of spatial location on the generality of block-wise conflict adaptation between different types of scripts].

PubMed

Watanabe, Yurina; Yoshizaki, Kazuhito

2014-10-01

This study aimed to investigate the generality of conflict adaptation associated with block-wise conflict frequency between two types of stimulus scripts (Kanji and Hiragana). To this end, we examined whether the modulation of the compatibility effect with one type of script depending on block-wise conflict frequency (75% versus 25% generalized to the other type of script whose block-wise conflict frequency was kept constant (50%), using the Spatial Stroop task. In Experiment 1, 16 participants were required to identify the target orientation (up or down) presented in the upper or lower visual-field. The results showed that block-wise conflict adaptation with one type of stimulus script generalized to the other. The procedure in Experiment 2 was the same as that in Experiment 1, except that the presentation location differed between the two types of stimulus scripts. We did not find a generalization from one script to the other. These results suggest that presentation location is a critical factor contributing to the generality of block-wise conflict adaptation.

Patterns across multiple memories are identified over time.

PubMed

Richards, Blake A; Xia, Frances; Santoro, Adam; Husse, Jana; Woodin, Melanie A; Josselyn, Sheena A; Frankland, Paul W

2014-07-01

Memories are not static but continue to be processed after encoding. This is thought to allow the integration of related episodes via the identification of patterns. Although this idea lies at the heart of contemporary theories of systems consolidation, it has yet to be demonstrated experimentally. Using a modified water-maze paradigm in which platforms are drawn stochastically from a spatial distribution, we found that mice were better at matching platform distributions 30 d compared to 1 d after training. Post-training time-dependent improvements in pattern matching were associated with increased sensitivity to new platforms that conflicted with the pattern. Increased sensitivity to pattern conflict was reduced by pharmacogenetic inhibition of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These results indicate that pattern identification occurs over time, which can lead to conflicts between new information and existing knowledge that must be resolved, in part, by computations carried out in the mPFC.

[Ecological suitability assessment and optimization of urban land expansion space in Guiyang City].

PubMed

Qiu, Cong-hao; Li, Yang-bing; Feng, Yuan-song

2015-09-01

Based on the case study of Guiyang City, the minimum cumulative resistance model integrating construction land source, ecological rigid constraints and ecological function type resistance factor, was built by use of cost-distance analysis of urban spatial expansion resistance value through ArcGIS 9.3 software in this paper. Then, the ecological resistance of city spatial expansion of Guiyang from 2010 was simulated dynamically and the ecological suitability classification of city spatial expansion was assessed. According to the conflict between the newly increased city construction land in 2014 and its ecological suitability, the unreasonable city land spatial allocation was discussed also. The results showed that the ecological suitability zonation and the city expansion in the study area were basically consistent during 2010-2014, but the conflict between the new city construction and its land ecological suitability was more serious. The ecological conflict area accounted for 58.2% of the new city construction sites, 35.4% of which happened in the ecological control area, 13.9% in the limited development area and 8.9% in the prohibition development area. The intensification of ecological land use conflict would impair the ecological service function and ecological safety, so this paper put forward the city spatial expansion optimal path to preserve the ecological land and improve the construction land space pattern of Guiyang City so as to ensure its ecological safety.

Mapping environmental land use conflict potentials and ecosystem services in agricultural watersheds.

PubMed

Kim, Ilkwon; Arnhold, Sebastian

2018-07-15

In mountainous watersheds, agricultural land use cause changes in ecosystem services, with trade-offs between crop production and erosion regulation. Management of these watersheds can generate environmental land use conflicts among regional stakeholders with different interests. Although several researches have made a start in mapping land use conflicts between human activities and conservation, spatial assessment of land use conflicts on environmental issues and ecosystem service trade-offs within agricultural areas has not been fully considered. In this study, we went further to map land use conflicts between agricultural preferences for crop production and environmental emphasis on erosion regulation. We applied an agricultural land suitability index, based on multi-criteria analysis, to estimate the spatial preference of agricultural activities, while applying the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to reflect the environmental importance of soil erosion. Then, we classified the agricultural catchment into four levels of land use conflicts (lowest, low, high and highest) according to preference and importance of farmland areas, and we compared the classes by crop type. Soil loss in agricultural areas was estimated as 45.1thayr, and agricultural suitability as 0.873; this indicated that land use conflicts in the catchment could arise between severe soil erosion (environmental importance) and agricultural suitability (land preferences). Dry-field farms are mainly located in areas of low land use conflict level, where land preference outweighs environmental importance. When we applied farmland management scenarios with consideration of services, conversion to highest-conflict areas (Scenario 1) as 7.5% of the total area could reduce soil loss by 24.6%, while fallow land management (Scenario 2) could decrease soil loss 19.4% more than the current scenario (Business as usual). The result could maximize land management plans by extracting issues of spatial priority and use-versus-conservation conflicts as ecosystem service trade-offs from arguments over land use policy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms underlying flexible adaptation of cognitive control: behavioral and neuroimaging evidence in a flanker task.

PubMed

Zurawska Vel Grajewska, Blandyna; Sim, Eun-Jin; Hoenig, Klaus; Herrnberger, Bärbel; Kiefer, Markus

2011-11-03

Cognitive control can be adapted flexibly according to the conflict level in a given situation. In the Eriksen flanker task, interference evoked by flankers is larger in conditions with a higher, rather than a lower proportion of compatible trials. Such compatibility ratio effects also occur for stimuli presented at two spatial locations suggesting that different cognitive control settings can be simultaneously maintained. However, the conditions and the neural correlates of this flexible adaptation of cognitive control are only poorly understood. In the present study, we further elucidated the mechanisms underlying the simultaneous maintenance of two cognitive control settings. In behavioral experiments, stimuli were presented centrally above and below fixation and hence processed by both hemispheres or lateralized to stimulate hemispheres differentially. The different compatibility ratio at two stimulus locations had a differential influence on the flanker effect in both experiments. In an fMRI experiment, blocks with an identical compatibility ratio at two central spatial locations elicited stronger activity in a network of prefrontal and parietal brain areas, which are known to be involved in conflict resolution and cognitive control, as compared with blocks with a different compatibility ratio at the same spatial locations. This demonstrates that the simultaneous maintenance of two conflicting control settings vs. one single setting does not recruit additional neural circuits suggesting the involvement of one single cognitive control system. Instead a crosstalk between multiple control settings renders adaptation of cognitive control more efficient when only one uniform rather than two different control settings has to be simultaneously maintained. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Controlling conflict from interfering long-term memory representations.

PubMed

Jost, Kerstin; Khader, Patrick H; Düsel, Peter; Richter, Franziska R; Rohde, Kristina B; Bien, Siegfried; Rösler, Frank

2012-05-01

Remembering is more than an activation of a memory trace. As retrieval cues are often not uniquely related to one specific memory, cognitive control should come into play to guide selective memory retrieval by focusing on relevant while ignoring irrelevant information. Here, we investigated, by means of EEG and fMRI, how the memory system deals with retrieval interference arising when retrieval cues are associated with two material types (faces and spatial positions), but only one is task-relevant. The topography of slow EEG potentials and the fMRI BOLD signal in posterior storage areas indicated that in such situations not only the relevant but also the irrelevant material becomes activated. This results in retrieval interference that triggers control processes mediated by the medial and lateral PFC, which are presumably involved in biasing target representations by boosting the task-relevant material. Moreover, memory-based conflict was found to be dissociable from response conflict that arises when the relevant and irrelevant materials imply different responses. The two types of conflict show different activations in the medial frontal cortex, supporting the claim of domain-specific prefrontal control systems.

Evaluating Climate Causation of Conflict in Darfur Using Multi-temporal, Multi-resolution Satellite Image Datasets With Novel Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, I.; Wennbom, M.

2013-12-01

Climate change, population growth and changes in traditional lifestyles have led to instabilities in traditional demarcations between neighboring ethic and religious groups in the Sahel region. This has resulted in a number of conflicts as groups resort to arms to settle disputes. Such disputes often centre on or are justified by competition for resources. The conflict in Darfur has been controversially explained by resource scarcity resulting from climate change. Here we analyse established methods of using satellite imagery to assess vegetation health in Darfur. Multi-decadal time series of observations are available using low spatial resolution visible-near infrared imagery. Typically normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) analyses are produced to describe changes in vegetation ';greenness' or ';health'. Such approaches have been widely used to evaluate the long term development of vegetation in relation to climate variations across a wide range of environments from the Arctic to the Sahel. These datasets typically measure peak NDVI observed over a given interval and may introduce bias. It is furthermore unclear how the spatial organization of sparse vegetation may affect low resolution NDVI products. We develop and assess alternative measures of vegetation including descriptors of the growing season, wetness and resource availability. Expanding the range of parameters used in the analysis reduces our dependence on peak NDVI. Furthermore, these descriptors provide a better characterization of the growing season than the single NDVI measure. Using multi-sensor data we combine high temporal/moderate spatial resolution data with low temporal/high spatial resolution data to improve the spatial representativity of the observations and to provide improved spatial analysis of vegetation patterns. The approach places the high resolution observations in the NDVI context space using a longer time series of lower resolution imagery. The vegetation descriptors derived are evaluated using independent high spatial resolution datasets that reveal the pattern and health of vegetation at metre scales. We also use climate variables to support the interpretation of these data. We conclude that the spatio-temporal patterns in Darfur vegetation and climate datasets suggest that labelling the conflict a climate-change conflict is inaccurate and premature.

Modality-specificity of Selective Attention Networks.

PubMed

Stewart, Hannah J; Amitay, Sygal

2015-01-01

To establish the modality specificity and generality of selective attention networks. Forty-eight young adults completed a battery of four auditory and visual selective attention tests based upon the Attention Network framework: the visual and auditory Attention Network Tests (vANT, aANT), the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA), and the Test of Attention in Listening (TAiL). These provided independent measures for auditory and visual alerting, orienting, and conflict resolution networks. The measures were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis to assess underlying attention constructs. The analysis yielded a four-component solution. The first component comprised of a range of measures from the TEA and was labeled "general attention." The third component was labeled "auditory attention," as it only contained measures from the TAiL using pitch as the attended stimulus feature. The second and fourth components were labeled as "spatial orienting" and "spatial conflict," respectively-they were comprised of orienting and conflict resolution measures from the vANT, aANT, and TAiL attend-location task-all tasks based upon spatial judgments (e.g., the direction of a target arrow or sound location). These results do not support our a-priori hypothesis that attention networks are either modality specific or supramodal. Auditory attention separated into selectively attending to spatial and non-spatial features, with the auditory spatial attention loading onto the same factor as visual spatial attention, suggesting spatial attention is supramodal. However, since our study did not include a non-spatial measure of visual attention, further research will be required to ascertain whether non-spatial attention is modality-specific.

A dissociation between attention and selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remington, R. W.; Folk, C. L.

2001-01-01

It is widely assumed that the allocatian of spatial attention results in the "selection" of attended objects or regions of space. That is, once a stimulus is attended, all its feature dimensions are processed irrespective of their relevance to behavioral goals. This assumption is based in part on experiments showing significant interference for attended stimuli when the response to an irrelevant dimension conflicts with the response to the relevant dimension (e.g., the Stroop effect). Here we show that such interference is not due to attending per se. In two spatial cuing experiments, we found that it was possible to restrict processing of attended stimuli to task-relevant dimensions. This new evidence supports two novel conclusions: (a) Selection involves more than the focusing of attention per se: and (b) task expectations play a key role in detertnining the depth of processing of the elementary feature dimensions of attended stimuli.

Working-memory performance is related to spatial breadth of attention.

PubMed

Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Simons, Daniel J

2015-11-01

Working memory and attention are closely related constructs. Models of working memory often incorporate an attention component, and some even equate working memory and attentional control. Although some attention-related processes, including inhibitory control of response conflict and interference resolution, are strongly associated with working memory, for other aspects of attention the link is less clear. We examined the association between working-memory performance and attentional breadth, the ability to spread attention spatially. If the link between attention and working memory is broader than inhibitory and interference resolution processes, then working-memory performance might also be associated with other attentional abilities, including attentional breadth. We tested 123 participants on a variety of working-memory and attentional-breadth measures, finding a strong correlation between performances on these two types of tasks. This finding demonstrates that the link between working memory and attention extends beyond inhibitory processes.

Speech Cues Contribute to Audiovisual Spatial Integration

PubMed Central

Bishop, Christopher W.; Miller, Lee M.

2011-01-01

Speech is the most important form of human communication but ambient sounds and competing talkers often degrade its acoustics. Fortunately the brain can use visual information, especially its highly precise spatial information, to improve speech comprehension in noisy environments. Previous studies have demonstrated that audiovisual integration depends strongly on spatiotemporal factors. However, some integrative phenomena such as McGurk interference persist even with gross spatial disparities, suggesting that spatial alignment is not necessary for robust integration of audiovisual place-of-articulation cues. It is therefore unclear how speech-cues interact with audiovisual spatial integration mechanisms. Here, we combine two well established psychophysical phenomena, the McGurk effect and the ventriloquist's illusion, to explore this dependency. Our results demonstrate that conflicting spatial cues may not interfere with audiovisual integration of speech, but conflicting speech-cues can impede integration in space. This suggests a direct but asymmetrical influence between ventral ‘what’ and dorsal ‘where’ pathways. PMID:21909378

Sensory conflict in motion sickness: An observer theory approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oman, Charles M.

1989-01-01

Motion sickness is the general term describing a group of common nausea syndromes originally attributed to motion-induced cerebral ischemia, stimulation of abdominal organ afferent, or overstimulation of the vestibular organs of the inner ear. Sea-, car-, and airsicknesses are the most commonly experienced examples. However, the discovery of other variants such as Cinerama-, flight simulator-, spectacle-, and space sickness in which the physical motion of the head and body is normal or absent has led to a succession of sensory conflict theories which offer a more comprehensive etiologic perspective. Implicit in the conflict theory is the hypothesis that neutral and/or humoral signals originate in regions of the brain subversing spatial orientation, and that these signals somehow traverse to other centers mediating sickness symptoms. Unfortunately, the present understanding of the neurophysiological basis of motion sickness is far from complete. No sensory conflict neuron or process has yet been physiologically identified. To what extent can the existing theory be reconciled with current knowledge of the physiology and pharmacology of nausea and vomiting. The stimuli which causes sickness, synthesizes a contemporary Observer Theory view of the Sensory Conflict hypothesis are reviewed, and a revised model for the dynamic coupling between the putative conflict signals and nausea magnitude estimates is presented. The use of quantitative models for sensory conflict offers a possible new approach to improving the design of visual and motion systems for flight simulators and other virtual environment display systems.

Aspects of decision support in water management--example Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) I--spatially differentiated evaluation.

PubMed

Simon, Ute; Brüggemann, Rainer; Pudenz, Stefan

2004-04-01

Decisions about sustainable development demand spatially differentiated evaluations. As an example, we demonstrate the evaluation of water management strategies in the cities of Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) with respect to their ecological effects in 14 sections of the surface water system. Two decision support systems were compared, namely PROMETHEE, which is designed to obtain a clear decision (linear ranking), and Hasse Diagram Technique (HDT), normally providing more than one favourable solution (partial order). By PROMETHEE, the spatial differentiation had unwanted effects on the result, negating the stakeholders determined weighting of indicators. Therefore, the stakeholder can barely benefit from the convenience of obtaining a clear decision (linear ranking). In contrast, the result obtained by HDT was not influenced by spatial differentiation. Furthermore, HDT provided helpful tools to analyse the evaluation result, such as the concept of antagonistic indicators to discover conflicts in the evaluation process.

a Continual Engagement Approach Through Gis-Mcda Conflict Resolution of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Bycatch in Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bojórquez-Tapia, L. A.

2015-12-01

Continual engagement is an approach that emphasizes of uninterrupted interaction with the stakeholders with the purpose of fully integrating their knowledge into policymaking process. It focuses on the creation of hybrid scientific-local knowledge highly relevant to community and policy makers needs, while balancing the power asymmetries among stakeholders. Hence, it presupposes a capacity for a continuous revision and adjustment of the analyses that support the policymaking process. While continual engagement implies a capacity for enabling an effective communication, translation and mediation of knowledge among the diverse stakeholders, experts and policymakers, it also means keeping a close eye out for how knowledge evolves and how new data and information is introduced along a policymaking process. Through a case study, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) fishing bycatch in Mexico, a geographical information system-multicriteria modeling (GIS-MCDA) approach is presented to address the challenges of implementing continual engagement in conflict resolution processes. The GIS-MCDA combined the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and compromise programming (CP) to generate consensus regarding the spatial pattern of conflicts. The AHP was fundamental for synthesizing the different sources of knowledge into a geospatial model. In particular, the AHP enabled the assess the salience, legitimacy, and credibility of the information produced for all involved. Results enabled the development of specific policies based upon an assessment of the risk of the loggerhead population to different levels of fishing bycatch, and the needs of the fishing communities in the region.

Differences in Looking at Own- and Other-Race Faces Are Subtle and Analysis-Dependent: An Account of Discrepant Reports.

PubMed

Arizpe, Joseph; Kravitz, Dwight J; Walsh, Vincent; Yovel, Galit; Baker, Chris I

2016-01-01

The Other-Race Effect (ORE) is the robust and well-established finding that people are generally poorer at facial recognition of individuals of another race than of their own race. Over the past four decades, much research has focused on the ORE because understanding this phenomenon is expected to elucidate fundamental face processing mechanisms and the influence of experience on such mechanisms. Several recent studies of the ORE in which the eye-movements of participants viewing own- and other-race faces were tracked have, however, reported highly conflicting results regarding the presence or absence of differential patterns of eye-movements to own- versus other-race faces. This discrepancy, of course, leads to conflicting theoretical interpretations of the perceptual basis for the ORE. Here we investigate fixation patterns to own- versus other-race (African and Chinese) faces for Caucasian participants using different analysis methods. While we detect statistically significant, though subtle, differences in fixation pattern using an Area of Interest (AOI) approach, we fail to detect significant differences when applying a spatial density map approach. Though there were no significant differences in the spatial density maps, the qualitative patterns matched the results from the AOI analyses reflecting how, in certain contexts, Area of Interest (AOI) analyses can be more sensitive in detecting the differential fixation patterns than spatial density analyses, due to spatial pooling of data with AOIs. AOI analyses, however, also come with the limitation of requiring a priori specification. These findings provide evidence that the conflicting reports in the prior literature may be at least partially accounted for by the differences in the statistical sensitivity associated with the different analysis methods employed across studies. Overall, our results suggest that detection of differences in eye-movement patterns can be analysis-dependent and rests on the assumptions inherent in the given analysis.

Differences in Looking at Own- and Other-Race Faces Are Subtle and Analysis-Dependent: An Account of Discrepant Reports

PubMed Central

Arizpe, Joseph; Kravitz, Dwight J.; Walsh, Vincent; Yovel, Galit; Baker, Chris I.

2016-01-01

The Other-Race Effect (ORE) is the robust and well-established finding that people are generally poorer at facial recognition of individuals of another race than of their own race. Over the past four decades, much research has focused on the ORE because understanding this phenomenon is expected to elucidate fundamental face processing mechanisms and the influence of experience on such mechanisms. Several recent studies of the ORE in which the eye-movements of participants viewing own- and other-race faces were tracked have, however, reported highly conflicting results regarding the presence or absence of differential patterns of eye-movements to own- versus other-race faces. This discrepancy, of course, leads to conflicting theoretical interpretations of the perceptual basis for the ORE. Here we investigate fixation patterns to own- versus other-race (African and Chinese) faces for Caucasian participants using different analysis methods. While we detect statistically significant, though subtle, differences in fixation pattern using an Area of Interest (AOI) approach, we fail to detect significant differences when applying a spatial density map approach. Though there were no significant differences in the spatial density maps, the qualitative patterns matched the results from the AOI analyses reflecting how, in certain contexts, Area of Interest (AOI) analyses can be more sensitive in detecting the differential fixation patterns than spatial density analyses, due to spatial pooling of data with AOIs. AOI analyses, however, also come with the limitation of requiring a priori specification. These findings provide evidence that the conflicting reports in the prior literature may be at least partially accounted for by the differences in the statistical sensitivity associated with the different analysis methods employed across studies. Overall, our results suggest that detection of differences in eye-movement patterns can be analysis-dependent and rests on the assumptions inherent in the given analysis. PMID:26849447

Positive emotion impedes emotional but not cognitive conflict processing.

PubMed

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

2017-06-01

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

GIS-assisted spatial analysis for urban regulatory detailed planning: designer's dimension in the Chinese code system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yang; Zeng, Zheng

2009-10-01

By discussing the causes behind the high amendments ratio in the implementation of urban regulatory detailed plans in China despite its law-ensured status, the study aims to reconcile conflict between the legal authority of regulatory detailed planning and the insufficient scientific support in its decision-making and compilation by introducing into the process spatial analysis based on GIS technology and 3D modeling thus present a more scientific and flexible approach to regulatory detailed planning in China. The study first points out that the current compilation process of urban regulatory detailed plan in China employs mainly an empirical approach which renders it constantly subjected to amendments; the study then discusses the need and current utilization of GIS in the Chinese system and proposes the framework of a GIS-assisted 3D spatial analysis process from the designer's perspective which can be regarded as an alternating processes between the descriptive codes and physical design in the compilation of regulatory detailed planning. With a case study of the processes and results from the application of the framework, the paper concludes that the proposed framework can be an effective instrument which provides more rationality, flexibility and thus more efficiency to the compilation and decision-making process of urban regulatory detailed plan in China.

Spatial filtering precedes motion detection.

PubMed

Morgan, M J

1992-01-23

When we perceive motion on a television or cinema screen, there must be some process that allows us to track moving objects over time: if not, the result would be a conflicting mass of motion signals in all directions. A possible mechanism, suggested by studies of motion displacement in spatially random patterns, is that low-level motion detectors have a limited spatial range, which ensures that they tend to be stimulated over time by the same object. This model predicts that the direction of displacement of random patterns cannot be detected reliably above a critical absolute displacement value (Dmax) that is independent of the size or density of elements in the display. It has been inferred that Dmax is a measure of the size of motion detectors in the visual pathway. Other studies, however, have shown that Dmax increases with element size, in which case the most likely interpretation is that Dmax depends on the probability of false matches between pattern elements following a displacement. These conflicting accounts are reconciled here by showing that Dmax is indeed determined by the spacing between the elements in the pattern, but only after fine detail has been removed by a physiological prefiltering stage: the filter required to explain the data has a similar size to the receptive field of neurons in the primate magnocellular pathway. The model explains why Dmax can be increased by removing high spatial frequencies from random patterns, and simplifies our view of early motion detection.

Modality-specificity of Selective Attention Networks

PubMed Central

Stewart, Hannah J.; Amitay, Sygal

2015-01-01

Objective: To establish the modality specificity and generality of selective attention networks. Method: Forty-eight young adults completed a battery of four auditory and visual selective attention tests based upon the Attention Network framework: the visual and auditory Attention Network Tests (vANT, aANT), the Test of Everyday Attention (TEA), and the Test of Attention in Listening (TAiL). These provided independent measures for auditory and visual alerting, orienting, and conflict resolution networks. The measures were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis to assess underlying attention constructs. Results: The analysis yielded a four-component solution. The first component comprised of a range of measures from the TEA and was labeled “general attention.” The third component was labeled “auditory attention,” as it only contained measures from the TAiL using pitch as the attended stimulus feature. The second and fourth components were labeled as “spatial orienting” and “spatial conflict,” respectively—they were comprised of orienting and conflict resolution measures from the vANT, aANT, and TAiL attend-location task—all tasks based upon spatial judgments (e.g., the direction of a target arrow or sound location). Conclusions: These results do not support our a-priori hypothesis that attention networks are either modality specific or supramodal. Auditory attention separated into selectively attending to spatial and non-spatial features, with the auditory spatial attention loading onto the same factor as visual spatial attention, suggesting spatial attention is supramodal. However, since our study did not include a non-spatial measure of visual attention, further research will be required to ascertain whether non-spatial attention is modality-specific. PMID:26635709

The time course of attentional modulation on emotional conflict processing.

PubMed

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

2016-01-01

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

Confidentiality and spatially explicit data: Concerns and challenges

PubMed Central

VanWey, Leah K.; Rindfuss, Ronald R.; Gutmann, Myron P.; Entwisle, Barbara; Balk, Deborah L.

2005-01-01

Recent theoretical, methodological, and technological advances in the spatial sciences create an opportunity for social scientists to address questions about the reciprocal relationship between context (spatial organization, environment, etc.) and individual behavior. This emerging research community has yet to adequately address the new threats to the confidentiality of respondent data in spatially explicit social survey or census data files, however. This paper presents four sometimes conflicting principles for the conduct of ethical and high-quality science using such data: protection of confidentiality, the social–spatial linkage, data sharing, and data preservation. The conflict among these four principles is particularly evident in the display of spatially explicit data through maps combined with the sharing of tabular data files. This paper reviews these two research activities and shows how current practices favor one of the principles over the others and do not satisfactorily resolve the conflict among them. Maps are indispensable for the display of results but also reveal information on the location of respondents and sampling clusters that can then be used in combination with shared data files to identify respondents. The current practice of sharing modified or incomplete data sets or using data enclaves is not ideal for either the advancement of science or the protection of confidentiality. Further basic research and open debate are needed to advance both understanding of and solutions to this dilemma. PMID:16230608

Scaling and contextualizing climate-conflict nexus in historical agrarian China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Harry F.

2017-04-01

This study examines climate-conflict nexus in historical agrarian China in multi-scalar and contextualized approach, illustrating what and how socio-political factors could significantly mediate the climate-violent link in pre-industrial society. Previous empirical large-N studies show that violent conflict in historical agrarian society was triggered by climate-induced food scarcity. The relationship was valid in China, Europe, and various geographic regions in the Northern Hemisphere in pre-industrial era. Nevertheless, the observed relationship has only been verified at a macro level (long-term variability of the nexus is emphasized and data over large area are aggregated), and somewhat generalized in nature (only physical environmental factors are controlled). Three inter-related issues remain unresolved: First, the key explanatory variable of violent conflicts may change substantially at different spatio-temporal scales. It is necessary to check whether the climate-conflict nexus is valid at a micro level (about short-term variability of the nexus and data in finer spatial resolution), and explore how the nexus changes along various spatio-temporal dimensions. Second, as the climate-conflict nexus has only been demonstrated in a broad sense, it is necessary to check whether and how the nexus is mediated by local socio-political context. More non-climatic factors pertinent to the cause and distribution of conflicts (e.g., governance, adaptive mechanisms, etc.) should be considered. Third, the methodology applied in the previous studies assumes spatially-independent observations and linear relationship, which may simplify the climate-conflict link. Moreover, the solitary reliance on quantitative methods may neglect those non-quantifiable socio-political dynamics which mediates the climate-conflict nexus. I plan to address the above issues by using disaggregated spatial analysis and in-depth case studies, with close attention to local and temporal differences and non-linear nature of the climate-conflict link. China will be chosen as study area. Study period will be delimited to AD1-1911. This study represents pioneering research which systematically examines the climate-conflict nexus in pre-industrial society over extended period in multi-scalar and contextualized perspective. By comparing and evaluating the climate-conflict link along various spatio-temporal dimensions and in different socio-political context, it may help to deepen the theoretical understanding of, and also resolve the current debate over, the climate-conflict relationship. Given the large potential changes in climatic regimes projected in coming decades, the findings in this study may have important implications for the social impact of climate change in tropical countries that are in some ways similar to pre-industrial society.

Dynamics of attentional selection under conflict: toward a rational Bayesian account.

PubMed

Yu, Angela J; Dayan, Peter; Cohen, Jonathan D

2009-06-01

The brain exhibits remarkable facility in exerting attentional control in most circumstances, but it also suffers apparent limitations in others. The authors' goal is to construct a rational account for why attentional control appears suboptimal under conditions of conflict and what this implies about the underlying computational principles. The formal framework used is based on Bayesian probability theory, which provides a convenient language for delineating the rationale and dynamics of attentional selection. The authors illustrate these issues with the Eriksen flanker task, a classical paradigm that explores the effects of competing sensory inputs on response tendencies. The authors show how 2 distinctly formulated models, based on compatibility bias and spatial uncertainty principles, can account for the behavioral data. They also suggest novel experiments that may differentiate these models. In addition, they elaborate a simplified model that approximates optimal computation and may map more directly onto the underlying neural machinery. This approximate model uses conflict monitoring, putatively mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex, as a proxy for compatibility representation. The authors also consider how this conflict information might be disseminated and used to control processing. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

Brain Activations Related to Saccadic Response Conflict are not Sensitive to Time on Task.

PubMed

Beldzik, Ewa; Domagalik, Aleksandra; Oginska, Halszka; Marek, Tadeusz; Fafrowicz, Magdalena

2015-01-01

Establishing a role of the dorsal medial frontal cortex in the performance monitoring and cognitive control has been a challenge to neuroscientists for the past decade. In light of recent findings, the conflict monitoring hypothesis has been elaborated to an action-outcome predictor theory. One of the findings that led to this re-evaluation was the fMRI study in which conflict-related brain activity was investigated in terms of the so-called time on task effect, i.e., a linear increase of the BOLD signal with longer response times. The aim of this study was to investigate brain regions involved in the processing of saccadic response conflict and to account for the time on task effect. A modified spatial cueing task was implemented in the event-related fMRI study with oculomotor responses. The results revealed several brain regions which show higher activity for incongruent trials in comparison to the congruent ones, including pre-supplementary motor area together with the frontal and parietal regions. Further analysis accounting for the effect of response time provided evidence that these brain activations were not sensitive to time on task but reflected purely the congruency effect.

Moving beyond relationship and task conflict: toward a process-state perspective.

PubMed

DeChurch, Leslie A; Mesmer-Magnus, Jessica R; Doty, Dan

2013-07-01

Teams are formed to benefit from an expanded pool of expertise and experience, yet 2 aspects of the conflict stemming from those core differences will ultimately play a large role in determining team viability and productivity: conflict states and conflict processes. The current study theoretically reorganizes the literature on team conflict--distinguishing conflict states from conflict processes--and details the effects of each on team effectiveness. Findings from a meta-analytic cumulation of 45 independent studies (total number of teams = 3,218) suggest states and processes are distinct and important predictors of team performance and affective outcomes. Controlling for conflict states (i.e., task and relationship conflict), conflict processes explain an additional 13% of the variance in both team performance and team affective outcomes. Furthermore, findings reveal particular conflict processes that are beneficial and others detrimental to teams. The truth about team conflict: conflict processes, that is, how teams interact regarding their differences, are at least as important as conflict states, that is, the source and intensity of their perceived incompatibilities. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Alcohol Hits You When It Is Hard: Intoxication, Task Difficulty, and Theta Brain Oscillations.

PubMed

Rosen, Burke Q; Padovan, Nevena; Marinkovic, Ksenija

2016-04-01

Alcohol intoxication is known to impair decision making in a variety of situations. Previous neuroimaging evidence suggests that the neurofunctional system subserving controlled processing is especially vulnerable to alcohol in conflict-evoking tasks. The present study investigated the effects of moderate alcohol intoxication on the spatiotemporal neural dynamics of event-related total theta (4 to 7 Hz) power as a function of task difficulty. Two variants of the Simon task manipulated incongruity via simple spatial stimulus-response mismatch and, in a more difficult version, by combining spatial and semantic interference. Healthy social drinkers participated in both alcohol (0.6 g/kg ethanol for men, 0.55 g/kg for women) and placebo conditions in a counterbalanced design. Whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals were acquired and event-related total theta power was calculated on each trial with Morlet wavelets. MEG sources were estimated using anatomically constrained, noise-normalized, spectral dynamic statistical parametric mapping. Longer reaction times and lower accuracy confirmed the difficulty manipulation. Response conflict (incongruity) increased and alcohol intoxication decreased event-related theta power overall during both tasks bilaterally in the medial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices. However, alcohol-induced theta suppression was selective for conflict only in the more difficult task which engaged the dorsal anterior cingulate (dAC) and anterior inferolateral prefrontal cortices. Theta power correlated negatively with drinking levels and disinhibition, suggesting that cognitive control is susceptible in more impulsive individuals with higher alcohol intake. The spatiotemporal theta profile across the 2 tasks supports the concept of a rostrocaudal activity gradient in the medial prefrontal cortex that is modulated by task difficulty, with the dAC as the key node in the network subserving cognitive control. Conflict-related theta power was selectively reduced by alcohol only under the more difficult task which is indicative of the alcohol-induced impairment of conflict monitoring and top-down regulation. Compromised executive control under alcohol may underlie a range of adverse effects including reduced competency in conflict-inducing or complex situations. © 2016 The Authors. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Research Society on Alcoholism.

The neural basis of monitoring goal progress

PubMed Central

Benn, Yael; Webb, Thomas L.; Chang, Betty P. I.; Sun, Yu-Hsuan; Wilkinson, Iain D.; Farrow, Tom F. D.

2014-01-01

The neural basis of progress monitoring has received relatively little attention compared to other sub-processes that are involved in goal directed behavior such as motor control and response inhibition. Studies of error-monitoring have identified the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as a structure that is sensitive to conflict detection, and triggers corrective action. However, monitoring goal progress involves monitoring correct as well as erroneous events over a period of time. In the present research, 20 healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) while playing a game that involved monitoring progress toward either a numerical or a visuo-spatial target. The findings confirmed the role of the dACC in detecting situations in which the current state may conflict with the desired state, but also revealed activations in the frontal and parietal regions, pointing to the involvement of processes such as attention and working memory (WM) in monitoring progress over time. In addition, activation of the cuneus was associated with monitoring progress toward a specific target presented in the visual modality. This is the first time that activation in this region has been linked to higher-order processing of goal-relevant information, rather than low-level anticipation of visual stimuli. Taken together, these findings identify the neural substrates involved in monitoring progress over time, and how these extend beyond activations observed in conflict and error monitoring. PMID:25309380

Floodplain conflicts: regulation and negotiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pardoe, J.; Penning-Rowsell, E.; Tunstall, S.

2011-10-01

In the continuing shift from engineered solutions towards more holistic methods of managing flood risk, spatial planning has become the primary focus of a conflict between land and water, water and people. In attempting to strike a balance between making space for water and making space for people, compromises are required. Through five case studies in the UK, this paper analyses the effectiveness of Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS 25) and the processes of negotiation that it promotes. This assessment allows us to draw conclusions on the nature of the compromises this kind of negotiation can achieve and the implications of this for flood risk management. What emerges is that the beneficial impacts of decisions to develop floodplain areas are given a proper hearing and sensible conditions imposed, rather than arguments to prevent such development remaining unchallenged.

Distinct conflict resolution deficits related to different facets of Schizophrenia.

PubMed

Kerns, John G

2009-11-01

An important issue in understanding the nature of conflict processing is whether it is a unitary or multidimensional construct. One way to examine this is to study whether people with impaired conflict processing exhibit a general pattern of deficits or whether they exhibit impairments in distinct aspects of conflict processing. One group who might exhibit conflict deficits are people with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder, with one way to break down the heterogeneity of schizophrenia is to examine specific symptoms. Previous research has found that specific symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with specific deficits in conflict processing. In particular, disorganization is associated with increased response conflict, alogia is associated with increased retrieval conflict, and anhedonia is associated with increased emotional conflict. Moreover, there is evidence that different types of conflict processing are unassociated with each other. This evidence suggests that conflict processing is a multidimensional construct and that different aspects of schizophrenia are associated with impairments in processing different types of conflict.

How will climate change affect spatial planning in agricultural and natural environments? Examples from three Dutch case study regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blom-Zandstra, Margaretha; Paulissen, Maurice; Agricola, Herman; Schaap, Ben

2009-11-01

Climate change will place increasing pressure on the functioning of agricultural and natural areas in the Netherlands. Strategies to adapt these areas to stress are likely to require changes in landscape structure and management. In densely populated countries such as the Netherlands, the increased pressure of climate change on agricultural and natural areas will inevitably lead, through the necessity of spatial adaptation measures, to spatial conflicts between the sectors of agriculture and nature. An integrated approach to climate change adaptation may therefore be beneficial in limiting such sectoral conflicts. We explored the conflicting and synergistic properties of different climate adaptation strategies for agricultural and natural environments in the Netherlands. To estimate the feasibility and effectiveness of the strategies, we focussed on three case study regions with contrasting landscape structural, natural and agricultural characteristics. For each region, we estimated the expected climate-related threats and associated trade-offs for arable farming and natural areas for 2040. We describe a number of spatial and integrated adaptation strategies to mitigate these threats. Formulating adaptation strategies requires consultation of different stakeholders and deliberation between different interests. We discuss some trade-offs involved in this decision-making.

Contribution of intravestibular sensory conflict to motion sickness and dizziness in migraine disorders.

PubMed

Wang, Joanne; Lewis, Richard F

2016-10-01

Migraine is associated with enhanced motion sickness susceptibility and can cause episodic vertigo [vestibular migraine (VM)], but the mechanisms relating migraine to these vestibular symptoms remain uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that the central integration of rotational cues (from the semicircular canals) and gravitational cues (from the otolith organs) is abnormal in migraine patients. A postrotational tilt paradigm generated a conflict between canal cues (which indicate the head is rotating) and otolith cues (which indicate the head is tilted and stationary), and eye movements were measured to quantify two behaviors that are thought to minimize this conflict: suppression and reorientation of the central angular velocity signal, evidenced by attenuation ("dumping") of the vestibuloocular reflex and shifting of the rotational axis of the vestibuloocular reflex toward the earth vertical. We found that normal and migraine subjects, but not VM patients, displayed an inverse correlation between the extent of dumping and the size of the axis shift such that the net "conflict resolution" mediated through these two mechanisms approached an optimal value and that the residual sensory conflict in VM patients (but not migraine or normal subjects) correlated with motion sickness susceptibility. Our findings suggest that the brain normally controls the dynamic and spatial characteristics of central vestibular signals to minimize intravestibular sensory conflict and that this process is disrupted in VM, which may be responsible for the enhance motion intolerance and episodic vertigo that characterize this disorder. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Relation of frontal N100 to psychopathy-related differences in selective attention☆

PubMed Central

Hamilton, Rachel K. Bencic; Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R.; Newman, Joseph P.

2015-01-01

Research indicates that psychopathy may be characterized by early attentional abnormalities that undermine the processing of peripheral information during goal-directed activity (Baskin-Sommers & Newman, 2012). Past work has found that psychopathic individuals show reduced interference on the Box Stroop task, in which color names are spatially separated from (i.e., peripheral to) colored stimuli (Hiatt, Schmitt, & Newman, 2004). The present study sought to replicate and extend these findings. A priori predictions were that psychopathy scores would be inversely related to interference and that psychopathy-related differences in Box Stroop conflict processing would emerge at an early stage as measured by event-related potentials (ERP). Results supported both hypotheses. Moreover, the association between the early attention-related component (N100) and interference was moderated by level of psychopathy. These findings suggest that psychopathic individuals have less coordinated responses to conflict than healthy individuals, a conjecture that has implications for information integration and self-regulation. PMID:25179538

Relation of frontal N100 to psychopathy-related differences in selective attention.

PubMed

Hamilton, Rachel K Bencic; Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R; Newman, Joseph P

2014-12-01

Research indicates that psychopathy may be characterized by early attentional abnormalities that undermine the processing of peripheral information during goal-directed activity (Baskin-Sommers & Newman, 2012). Past work has found that psychopathic individuals show reduced interference on the Box Stroop task, in which color names are spatially separated from (i.e., peripheral to) colored stimuli (Hiatt, Schmitt, & Newman, 2004). The present study sought to replicate and extend these findings. A priori predictions were that psychopathy scores would be inversely related to interference and that psychopathy-related differences in Box Stroop conflict processing would emerge at an early stage as measured by event-related potentials (ERP). Results supported both hypotheses. Moreover, the association between the early attention-related component (N100) and interference was moderated by level of psychopathy. These findings suggest that psychopathic individuals have less coordinated responses to conflict than healthy individuals, a conjecture that has implications for information integration and self-regulation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dissociated roles of the anterior cingulate cortex in reward and conflict processing as revealed by the feedback error-related negativity and N200.

PubMed

Baker, Travis E; Holroyd, Clay B

2011-04-01

The reinforcement learning theory of the error-related negativity (ERN) holds that the impact of reward signals carried by the midbrain dopamine system modulates activity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), alternatively disinhibiting and inhibiting the ACC following unpredicted error and reward events, respectively. According to a recent formulation of the theory, activity that is intrinsic to the ACC produces a component of the event-related brain potential (ERP) called the N200, and following unpredicted rewards, the N200 is suppressed by extrinsically applied positive dopamine reward signals, resulting in an ERP component called the feedback-ERN (fERN). Here we demonstrate that, despite extensive spatial and temporal overlap between the two ERP components, the functional processes indexed by the N200 (conflict) and the fERN (reward) are dissociable. These results point toward avenues for future investigation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visuomotor adaptation to a visual rotation is gravity dependent.

PubMed

Toma, Simone; Sciutti, Alessandra; Papaxanthis, Charalambos; Pozzo, Thierry

2015-03-15

Humans perform vertical and horizontal arm motions with different temporal patterns. The specific velocity profiles are chosen by the central nervous system by integrating the gravitational force field to minimize energy expenditure. However, what happens when a visuomotor rotation is applied, so that a motion performed in the horizontal plane is perceived as vertical? We investigated the dynamic of the adaptation of the spatial and temporal properties of a pointing motion during prolonged exposure to a 90° visuomotor rotation, where a horizontal movement was associated with a vertical visual feedback. We found that participants immediately adapted the spatial parameters of motion to the conflicting visual scene in order to keep their arm trajectory straight. In contrast, the initial symmetric velocity profiles specific for a horizontal motion were progressively modified during the conflict exposure, becoming more asymmetric and similar to those appropriate for a vertical motion. Importantly, this visual effect that increased with repetitions was not followed by a consistent aftereffect when the conflicting visual feedback was absent (catch and washout trials). In a control experiment we demonstrated that an intrinsic representation of the temporal structure of perceived vertical motions could provide the error signal allowing for this progressive adaptation of motion timing. These findings suggest that gravity strongly constrains motor learning and the reweighting process between visual and proprioceptive sensory inputs, leading to the selection of a motor plan that is suboptimal in terms of energy expenditure. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

High cognitive reserve is associated with a reduced age-related deficit in spatial conflict resolution

PubMed Central

Puccioni, Olga; Vallesi, Antonino

2012-01-01

Several studies support the existence of a specific age-related difficulty in suppressing potentially distracting information. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether spatial conflict resolution is selectively affected by aging. The way aging affects individuals could be modulated by many factors determined by the socieconomic status: we investigated whether factors such as cognitive reserve (CR) and years of education may play a compensatory role against age-related deficits in the spatial domain. A spatial Stroop task with no feature repetitions was administered to a sample of 17 non-demented older adults (69–79 years-old) and 18 younger controls (18–34 years-old) matched for gender and years of education. The two age groups were also administered with measures of intelligence and CR. The overall spatial Stroop effect did not differ according to age, neither for speed nor for accuracy. The two age groups equally showed sequential effects for congruent trials: reduced response times (RTs) if another congruent trial preceded them, and accuracy at ceiling. For incongruent trials, older adults, but not younger controls, were influenced by congruency of trialn−1, since RTs increased with preceding congruent trials. Interestingly, such an age-related modulation negatively correlated with CR. These findings suggest that spatial conflict resolution in aging is predominantly affected by general slowing, rather than by a more specific deficit. However, a high level of CR seems to play a compensatory role for both factors. PMID:23248595

Emotion and goal-directed behavior: ERP evidence on cognitive and emotional conflict

PubMed Central

Kanske, Philipp; Obermeier, Christian; Schröger, Erich; Kotz, Sonja A.

2015-01-01

Cognitive control supports goal-directed behavior by resolving conflict among opposing action tendencies. Emotion can trigger cognitive control processes, thus speeding up conflict processing when the target dimension of stimuli is emotional. However, it is unclear what role emotionality of the target dimension plays in the processing of emotional conflict (e.g. in irony). In two EEG experiments, we compared the influence of emotional valence of the target (emotional, neutral) in cognitive and emotional conflict processing. To maximally approximate real-life communication, we used audiovisual stimuli. Participants either categorized spoken vowels (cognitive conflict) or their emotional valence (emotional conflict), while visual information was congruent or incongruent. Emotional target dimension facilitated both cognitive and emotional conflict processing, as shown in a reduced reaction time conflict effect. In contrast, the N100 in the event-related potentials showed a conflict-specific reversal: the conflict effect was larger for emotional compared with neutral trials in cognitive conflict and smaller in emotional conflict. Additionally, domain-general conflict effects were observed in the P200 and N200 responses. The current findings confirm that emotions have a strong influence on cognitive and emotional conflict processing. They also highlight the complexity and heterogeneity of the interaction of emotion with different types of conflict. PMID:25925271

Geo-spatial aspects of acceptance of illegal hunting of large carnivores in Scandinavia.

PubMed

Gangaas, Kristin E; Kaltenborn, Bjørn P; Andreassen, Harry P

2013-01-01

Human-carnivore conflicts are complex and are influenced by: the spatial distribution of the conflict species; the organisation and intensity of management measures such as zoning; historical experience with wildlife; land use patterns; and local cultural traditions. We have used a geographically stratified sampling of social values and attitudes to provide a novel perspective to the human - wildlife conflict. We have focused on acceptance by and disagreements between residents (measured as Potential Conflict Index; PCI) towards illegal hunting of four species of large carnivores (bear, lynx, wolf, wolverine). The study is based on surveys of residents in every municipality in Sweden and Norway who were asked their opinion on illegal hunting. Our results show how certain social values are associated with acceptance of poaching, and how these values differ geographically independent of carnivore abundance. Our approach differs from traditional survey designs, which are often biased towards urban areas. Although these traditional designs intend to be representative of a region (i.e. a random sample from a country), they tend to receive relatively few respondents from rural areas that experience the majority of conflict with carnivores. Acceptance of poaching differed significantly between Norway (12.7-15.7% of respondents) and Sweden (3.3-4.1% of respondents). We found the highest acceptance of illegal hunting in rural areas with free-ranging sheep and strong hunting traditions. Disagreements between residents (as measured by PCI) were highest in areas with intermediate population density. There was no correlation between carnivore density and either acceptance of illegal hunting or PCI. A strong positive correlation between acceptance of illegal hunting and PCI showed that areas with high acceptance of illegal hunting are areas with high potential conflict between people. Our results show that spatially-stratified surveys are required to reveal the large scale patterns in social dynamics of human-wildlife conflicts.

Analysis of Multi-Criteria Evaluation Method of Landfill Site Selection for Municipal Solid Waste Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, Habiba Ibrahim; Majid, Zulkepli; Yusof, Norhakim Bin; Bello Yamusa, Yamusa

2018-03-01

Landfilling remains the most common systematic technique of solid waste disposal in most of the developed and developing countries. Finding a suitable site for landfill is a very challenging task. Landfill site selection process aims to provide suitable areas that will protect the environment and public health from pollution and hazards. Therefore, various factors such as environmental, physical, socio-economic, and geological criteria must be considered before siting any landfill. This makes the site selection process vigorous and tedious because it involves the processing of large amount of spatial data, rules and regulations from different agencies and also policy from decision makers. This allows the incorporation of conflicting objectives and decision maker preferences into spatial decision models. This paper particularly analyzes the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method of landfill site selection for solid waste management by means of literature reviews and surveys. The study will help the decision makers and waste management authorities to choose the most effective method when considering landfill site selection.

The natural history of sound localization in mammals--a story of neuronal inhibition.

PubMed

Grothe, Benedikt; Pecka, Michael

2014-01-01

Our concepts of sound localization in the vertebrate brain are widely based on the general assumption that both the ability to detect air-borne sounds and the neuronal processing are homologous in archosaurs (present day crocodiles and birds) and mammals. Yet studies repeatedly report conflicting results on the neuronal circuits and mechanisms, in particular the role of inhibition, as well as the coding strategies between avian and mammalian model systems. Here we argue that mammalian and avian phylogeny of spatial hearing is characterized by a convergent evolution of hearing air-borne sounds rather than by homology. In particular, the different evolutionary origins of tympanic ears and the different availability of binaural cues in early mammals and archosaurs imposed distinct constraints on the respective binaural processing mechanisms. The role of synaptic inhibition in generating binaural spatial sensitivity in mammals is highlighted, as it reveals a unifying principle of mammalian circuit design for encoding sound position. Together, we combine evolutionary, anatomical and physiological arguments for making a clear distinction between mammalian processing mechanisms and coding strategies and those of archosaurs. We emphasize that a consideration of the convergent nature of neuronal mechanisms will significantly increase the explanatory power of studies of spatial processing in both mammals and birds.

The natural history of sound localization in mammals – a story of neuronal inhibition

PubMed Central

Grothe, Benedikt; Pecka, Michael

2014-01-01

Our concepts of sound localization in the vertebrate brain are widely based on the general assumption that both the ability to detect air-borne sounds and the neuronal processing are homologous in archosaurs (present day crocodiles and birds) and mammals. Yet studies repeatedly report conflicting results on the neuronal circuits and mechanisms, in particular the role of inhibition, as well as the coding strategies between avian and mammalian model systems. Here we argue that mammalian and avian phylogeny of spatial hearing is characterized by a convergent evolution of hearing air-borne sounds rather than by homology. In particular, the different evolutionary origins of tympanic ears and the different availability of binaural cues in early mammals and archosaurs imposed distinct constraints on the respective binaural processing mechanisms. The role of synaptic inhibition in generating binaural spatial sensitivity in mammals is highlighted, as it reveals a unifying principle of mammalian circuit design for encoding sound position. Together, we combine evolutionary, anatomical and physiological arguments for making a clear distinction between mammalian processing mechanisms and coding strategies and those of archosaurs. We emphasize that a consideration of the convergent nature of neuronal mechanisms will significantly increase the explanatory power of studies of spatial processing in both mammals and birds. PMID:25324726

Control processes through the suppression of the automatic response activation triggered by task-irrelevant information in the Simon-type tasks.

PubMed

Kim, Sanga; Lee, Sang Ho; Cho, Yang Seok

2015-11-01

The congruency sequence effect, one of the indices of cognitive control, refers to a smaller congruency effect after an incongruent than congruent trial. Although the effect has been found across a variety of conflict tasks, there is not yet agreement on the underlying mechanism. The present study investigated the mechanism underlying cognitive control by using a cross-task paradigm. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, participants performed a modified Simon task and a spatial Stroop task alternately in a trial-by-trial manner. The task-irrelevant dimension of the two tasks was perceptually and conceptually identical in Experiment 1, whereas it was perceptually different but conceptually identical in Experiment 2. The response sets for both tasks were different in Experiment 3. In Experiment 4, participants performed two Simon tasks with different task-relevant dimensions. In all experiments in which the task-irrelevant dimension and response mode were shared, significant congruency sequence effects were found between the two different congruencies, indicating that Simon-type conflicts were resolved by a control mechanism, which is specific to an abstract task-irrelevant stimulus spatial dimension. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sequential Modulations in a Combined Horizontal and Vertical Simon Task: Is There ERP Evidence for Feature Integration Effects?

PubMed Central

Hoppe, Katharina; Küper, Kristina; Wascher, Edmund

2017-01-01

In the Simon task, participants respond faster when the task-irrelevant stimulus position and the response position are corresponding, for example on the same side, compared to when they have a non-corresponding relation. Interestingly, this Simon effect is reduced after non-corresponding trials. Such sequential effects can be explained in terms of a more focused processing of the relevant stimulus dimension due to increased cognitive control, which transfers from the previous non-corresponding trial (conflict adaptation effects). Alternatively, sequential modulations of the Simon effect can also be due to the degree of trial-to-trial repetitions and alternations of task features, which is confounded with the correspondence sequence (feature integration effects). In the present study, we used a spatially two-dimensional Simon task with vertical response keys to examine the contribution of adaptive cognitive control and feature integration processes to the sequential modulation of the Simon effect. The two-dimensional Simon task creates correspondences in the vertical as well as in the horizontal dimension. A trial-by-trial alternation of the spatial dimension, for example from a vertical to a horizontal stimulus presentation, generates a subset containing no complete repetitions of task features, but only complete alternations and partial repetitions, which are equally distributed over all correspondence sequences. In line with the assumed feature integration effects, we found sequential modulations of the Simon effect only when the spatial dimension repeated. At least for the horizontal dimension, this pattern was confirmed by the parietal P3b, an event-related potential that is assumed to reflect stimulus–response link processes. Contrary to conflict adaptation effects, cognitive control, measured by the fronto-central N2 component of the EEG, was not sequentially modulated. Overall, our data provide behavioral as well as electrophysiological evidence for feature integration effects contributing to sequential modulations of the Simon effect. PMID:28713305

Sequential Modulations in a Combined Horizontal and Vertical Simon Task: Is There ERP Evidence for Feature Integration Effects?

PubMed

Hoppe, Katharina; Küper, Kristina; Wascher, Edmund

2017-01-01

In the Simon task, participants respond faster when the task-irrelevant stimulus position and the response position are corresponding, for example on the same side, compared to when they have a non-corresponding relation. Interestingly, this Simon effect is reduced after non-corresponding trials. Such sequential effects can be explained in terms of a more focused processing of the relevant stimulus dimension due to increased cognitive control, which transfers from the previous non-corresponding trial (conflict adaptation effects). Alternatively, sequential modulations of the Simon effect can also be due to the degree of trial-to-trial repetitions and alternations of task features, which is confounded with the correspondence sequence (feature integration effects). In the present study, we used a spatially two-dimensional Simon task with vertical response keys to examine the contribution of adaptive cognitive control and feature integration processes to the sequential modulation of the Simon effect. The two-dimensional Simon task creates correspondences in the vertical as well as in the horizontal dimension. A trial-by-trial alternation of the spatial dimension, for example from a vertical to a horizontal stimulus presentation, generates a subset containing no complete repetitions of task features, but only complete alternations and partial repetitions, which are equally distributed over all correspondence sequences. In line with the assumed feature integration effects, we found sequential modulations of the Simon effect only when the spatial dimension repeated. At least for the horizontal dimension, this pattern was confirmed by the parietal P3b, an event-related potential that is assumed to reflect stimulus-response link processes. Contrary to conflict adaptation effects, cognitive control, measured by the fronto-central N2 component of the EEG, was not sequentially modulated. Overall, our data provide behavioral as well as electrophysiological evidence for feature integration effects contributing to sequential modulations of the Simon effect.

A GIS-based tool for an integrated assessment of spatial planning trade-offs with aquaculture.

PubMed

Gimpel, Antje; Stelzenmüller, Vanessa; Töpsch, Sandra; Galparsoro, Ibon; Gubbins, Matthew; Miller, David; Murillas, Arantza; Murray, Alexander G; Pınarbaşı, Kemal; Roca, Guillem; Watret, Robert

2018-06-15

The increasing demand for protein from aquaculture will trigger a global expansion of the sector in coastal and offshore waters. While contributing to food security, potential conflicts with other traditional activities such as fisheries or tourism are inevitable, thus calling for decision-support tools to assess aquaculture planning scenarios in a multi-use context. Here we introduce the AquaSpace tool, one of the first Geographic Information System (GIS)-based planning tools empowering an integrated assessment and mapping of 30 indicators reflecting economic, environmental, inter-sectorial and socio-cultural risks and opportunities for proposed aquaculture systems in a marine environment. A bottom-up process consulting more than 350 stakeholders from 10 countries across southern and northern Europe enabled the direct consideration of stakeholder needs when developing the GIS AddIn. The AquaSpace tool is an open source product and builds in the prospective use of open source datasets at a European scale, hence aiming to improve reproducibility and collaboration in aquaculture science and research. Tool outputs comprise detailed reports and graphics allowing key stakeholders such as planners or licensing authorities to evaluate and communicate alternative planning scenarios and to take more informed decisions. With the help of the German North Sea case study we demonstrate here the tool application at multiple spatial scales with different aquaculture systems and under a range of space-related development constraints. The computation of these aquaculture planning scenarios and the assessment of their trade-offs showed that it is entirely possible to identify aquaculture sites, that correspondent to multifarious potential challenges, for instance by a low conflict potential, a low risk of disease spread, a comparable high economic profit and a low impact on touristic attractions. We believe that a transparent visualisation of risks and opportunities of aquaculture planning scenarios helps an effective Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) process, supports the licensing process and simplifies investments. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Demography-based adaptive network model reproduces the spatial organization of human linguistic groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capitán, José A.; Manrubia, Susanna

2015-12-01

The distribution of human linguistic groups presents a number of interesting and nontrivial patterns. The distributions of the number of speakers per language and the area each group covers follow log-normal distributions, while population and area fulfill an allometric relationship. The topology of networks of spatial contacts between different linguistic groups has been recently characterized, showing atypical properties of the degree distribution and clustering, among others. Human demography, spatial conflicts, and the construction of networks of contacts between linguistic groups are mutually dependent processes. Here we introduce an adaptive network model that takes all of them into account and successfully reproduces, using only four model parameters, not only those features of linguistic groups already described in the literature, but also correlations between demographic and topological properties uncovered in this work. Besides their relevance when modeling and understanding processes related to human biogeography, our adaptive network model admits a number of generalizations that broaden its scope and make it suitable to represent interactions between agents based on population dynamics and competition for space.

Demography-based adaptive network model reproduces the spatial organization of human linguistic groups.

PubMed

Capitán, José A; Manrubia, Susanna

2015-12-01

The distribution of human linguistic groups presents a number of interesting and nontrivial patterns. The distributions of the number of speakers per language and the area each group covers follow log-normal distributions, while population and area fulfill an allometric relationship. The topology of networks of spatial contacts between different linguistic groups has been recently characterized, showing atypical properties of the degree distribution and clustering, among others. Human demography, spatial conflicts, and the construction of networks of contacts between linguistic groups are mutually dependent processes. Here we introduce an adaptive network model that takes all of them into account and successfully reproduces, using only four model parameters, not only those features of linguistic groups already described in the literature, but also correlations between demographic and topological properties uncovered in this work. Besides their relevance when modeling and understanding processes related to human biogeography, our adaptive network model admits a number of generalizations that broaden its scope and make it suitable to represent interactions between agents based on population dynamics and competition for space.

Emotion and goal-directed behavior: ERP evidence on cognitive and emotional conflict.

PubMed

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

2015-11-01

Cognitive control supports goal-directed behavior by resolving conflict among opposing action tendencies. Emotion can trigger cognitive control processes, thus speeding up conflict processing when the target dimension of stimuli is emotional. However, it is unclear what role emotionality of the target dimension plays in the processing of emotional conflict (e.g. in irony). In two EEG experiments, we compared the influence of emotional valence of the target (emotional, neutral) in cognitive and emotional conflict processing. To maximally approximate real-life communication, we used audiovisual stimuli. Participants either categorized spoken vowels (cognitive conflict) or their emotional valence (emotional conflict), while visual information was congruent or incongruent. Emotional target dimension facilitated both cognitive and emotional conflict processing, as shown in a reduced reaction time conflict effect. In contrast, the N100 in the event-related potentials showed a conflict-specific reversal: the conflict effect was larger for emotional compared with neutral trials in cognitive conflict and smaller in emotional conflict. Additionally, domain-general conflict effects were observed in the P200 and N200 responses. The current findings confirm that emotions have a strong influence on cognitive and emotional conflict processing. They also highlight the complexity and heterogeneity of the interaction of emotion with different types of conflict. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Correlation among Neural Dynamic Processing of Conflict Control, Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in 10-Year-Old Children.

PubMed

Shangguan, Fangfang; Liu, Tongran; Liu, Xiuying; Shi, Jiannong

2017-01-01

Cognitive control is related to goal-directed self-regulation abilities, which is fundamental for human development. Conflict control includes the neural processes of conflict monitoring and conflict resolution. Testosterone and cortisol are essential hormones for the development of cognitive functions. However, there are no studies that have investigated the correlation of these two hormones with conflict control in preadolescents. In this study, we aimed to explore whether testosterone, cortisol, and testosterone/cortisol ratio worked differently for preadolescent's conflict control processes in varied conflict control tasks. Thirty-two 10-year-old children (16 boys and 16 girls) were enrolled. They were instructed to accomplish three conflict control tasks with different conflict dimensions, including the Flanker, Simon, and Stroop tasks, and electrophysiological signals were recorded. Salivary samples were collected from each child. The testosterone and cortisol levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The electrophysiological results showed that the incongruent trials induced greater N2/N450 and P3/SP responses than the congruent trials during neural processes of conflict monitoring and conflict resolution in the Flanker and Stroop tasks. The hormonal findings showed that (1) the testosterone/cortisol ratio was correlated with conflict control accuracy and conflict resolution in the Flanker task; (2) the testosterone level was associated with conflict control performance and neural processing of conflict resolution in the Stroop task; (3) the cortisol level was correlated with conflict control performance and neural processing of conflict monitoring in the Simon task. In conclusion, in 10-year-old children, the fewer processes a task needs, the more likely there is an association between the T/C ratios and the behavioral and brain response, and the dual-hormone effects on conflict resolution may be testosterone-driven in the Stroop and Flanker tasks.

The geography of conflict between elk and agricultural values in the Cypress Hills, Canada.

PubMed

Hegel, Troy M; Gates, C Cormack; Eslinger, Dale

2009-01-01

Complex ecological issues like depredation and its management are determined by multiple factors acting at more than one scale and are interlinked with complex human social and economic behaviour. Depredation by wild herbivores can be a major obstacle to agricultural community support for wildlife conservation. For three decades, crop and fence damage, competition with livestock for native rangeland and tame pasture, and depredation of stored feed by elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) have been the cause of conflict with agricultural producers in the Cypress Hills, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Tolerance of elk presence on private lands is low because few benefits accrue to private landowners; rather they largely perceive elk as a public resource produced at their expense. Government management actions have focused on abatement inputs (e.g., population reduction; fencing) and compensation, but incentives to alter land use patterns (crop choice and location) in response to damages have not been considered. Nor has there been information on spatial structure of the elk population that would allow targeted management actions instead of attempting to manage the entire population. In this study we analysed the spatial structure of the Cypress Hills elk population, the distribution of the elk harvest in relation to agricultural conflicts, developed models of the spatial patterns of conflict fields, and evaluated compensation patterns for damage by wild herbivores. We propose modifications to current abatement and compensation programs and discuss alternative approaches involving changes to agricultural land use patterns that may reduce the intensity of conflicts with elk, and increase the acceptance capacity of landowners.

Interaction of visual and vestibular stimulation on spatial coordinates for eye movements in rabbits.

PubMed

Pettorossi, V E; Errico, P; Ferraresi, A; Minciotti, M; Barmack, N H

1998-07-01

Researchers investigated how vestibular and optokinetic signals alter the spatial transformation of the coordinate system that governs the spatial orientation of reflexive eye movements. Also examined were the effects of sensory stimulation when vestibular and optokinetic signals act synergistically and when the two signals are in conflict.

ERP evidence for conflict in contingency learning.

PubMed

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

2017-07-01

The proportion congruency effect refers to the observation that the magnitude of the Stroop effect increases as the proportion of congruent trials in a block increases. Contemporary work shows that proportion effects can be driven by both context and individual items, and are referred to as context-specific proportion congruency (CSPC) and item-specific proportion congruency (ISPC) effects, respectively. The conflict-modulated Hebbian learning account posits that these effects manifest from the same mechanism, while the parallel episodic processing model posits that the ISPC can occur by simple associative learning. Our prior work showed that the neural correlates of the CSPC is an N2 over frontocentral electrode sites approximately 300 ms after stimulus onset that predicts behavioral performance. There is strong consensus in the field that this N2 signal is associated with conflict detection in the medial frontal cortex. The experiment reported here assesses whether the same qualitative electrophysiological pattern of results holds for the ISPC. We find that the spatial topography of the N2 is similar but slightly delayed with a peak onset of approximately 300 ms after stimulus onset. We argue that this provides strong evidence that a single common mechanism-conflict-modulated Hebbian learning-drives both the ISPC and CSPC. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Aging and response conflict solution: Behavioural and functional connectivity changes

PubMed Central

Cieslik, Edna C.; Behrwind, Simone D.; Roski, Christian; Caspers, Svenja; Amunts, Katrin; Eickhoff, Simon B.

2014-01-01

Healthy aging has been found associated with less efficient response conflict solution, but the cognitive and neural mechanisms remain elusive. In a two-experiment study, we first examined the behavioural consequences of this putative age-related decline for conflicts induced by spatial stimulus–response incompatibility. We then used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from a large, independent sample of adults (n = 399; 18–85 years) to investigate age differences in functional connectivity between the nodes of a network previously found associated with incompatibility-induced response conflicts in the very same paradigm. As expected, overcoming interference from conflicting response tendencies took longer in older adults, even after accounting for potential mediator variables (general response speed and accuracy, motor speed, visuomotor coordination ability, and cognitive flexibility). Experiment 2 revealed selective age-related decreases in functional connectivity between bilateral anterior insula, pre-supplementary motor area, and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Importantly, these age effects persisted after controlling for regional gray-matter atrophy assessed by voxel-based morphometry. Meta-analytic functional profiling using the BrainMap database showed these age-sensitive nodes to be more strongly linked to highly abstract cognition, as compared with the remaining network nodes, which in turn were more strongly linked to action-related processing. These findings indicate changes in interregional coupling with age among task-relevant network nodes that are not specifically associated with conflict resolution per se. Rather, our behavioural and neural data jointly suggest that healthy aging is associated with difficulties in properly activating non-dominant but relevant task schemata necessary to exert efficient cognitive control over action. PMID:24718622

Aging and response conflict solution: behavioural and functional connectivity changes.

PubMed

Langner, Robert; Cieslik, Edna C; Behrwind, Simone D; Roski, Christian; Caspers, Svenja; Amunts, Katrin; Eickhoff, Simon B

2015-01-01

Healthy aging has been found associated with less efficient response conflict solution, but the cognitive and neural mechanisms have remained elusive. In a two-experiment study, we first examined the behavioural consequences of this putative age-related decline for conflicts induced by spatial stimulus-response incompatibility. We then used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from a large, independent sample of adults (n = 399; 18-85 years) to investigate age differences in functional connectivity between the nodes of a network previously found associated with incompatibility-induced response conflicts in the very same paradigm. As expected, overcoming interference from conflicting response tendencies took longer in older adults, even after accounting for potential mediator variables (general response speed and accuracy, motor speed, visuomotor coordination ability, and cognitive flexibility). Experiment 2 revealed selective age-related decreases in functional connectivity between bilateral anterior insula, pre-supplementary motor area, and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Importantly, these age effects persisted after controlling for regional grey-matter atrophy assessed by voxel-based morphometry. Meta-analytic functional profiling using the BrainMap database showed these age-sensitive nodes to be more strongly linked to highly abstract cognition, as compared with the remaining network nodes, which were more strongly linked to action-related processing. These findings indicate changes in interregional coupling with age among task-relevant network nodes that are not specifically associated with conflict resolution per se. Rather, our behavioural and neural data jointly suggest that healthy aging is associated with difficulties in properly activating non-dominant but relevant task schemata necessary to exert efficient cognitive control over action.

Lack of awareness for spatial and verbal constructive apraxia.

PubMed

Rinaldi, Maria Cristina; Piras, Federica; Pizzamiglio, Luigi

2010-05-01

It is still a matter of debate whether constructive apraxia (CA) should be considered a form of apraxia or, rather, the motor expression of a more pervasive impairment in visuo-spatial processing. Constructive disorders were linked to visuo-spatial disorders and to deficits in appreciating spatial relations among component sub-parts or problems in reproducing three-dimensionality. We screened a large population of brain-damaged patients for CA. Only patients with constructive disorders and no signs of neglect and/or aphasia were selected. Five apractic subjects were tested with both visuo-spatial and verbal tasks requiring constructive abilities. The former ones were tests such as design copying, while the latter were experimental tasks built to transpose into the linguistic domain the constructive process as phrasing by arranging paper scraps into a sentence. A first result showed a constructive impairment in both the visuo-spatial and the linguistic domain; this finding challenges the idea that CA is confined to the visuo-spatial domain. A second result showed a systematic association between CA and unawareness for constructive disorders. Third, lack of awareness was always associated with a lesion in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region deemed as involved in managing a conflict between intentions and sensory feed-back. Anosognosia for constructive disorders and the potential role of the right prefrontal cortex in generating the impairment, are discussed in the light of current models of action control. The core of CA could be the inability to detect any inconsistency between intended and executed action rather than a deficit in reproducing spatial relationship. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reasoning with inaccurate spatial knowledge. [for Planetary Rover

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doshi, Rajkumar S.; White, James E.; Lam, Raymond; Atkinson, David J.

1988-01-01

This paper describes work in progress on spatial planning for a semiautonomous mobile robot vehicle. The overall objective is to design a semiautonomous rover to plan routes in unknown, natural terrains. The approach to spatial planning involves deduction of common-sense spatial knowledge using geographical information, natural terrain representations, and assimilation of new and possibly conflicting terrain information. This report describes the ongoing research and implementation.

A Functional Imaging Study of Self-Regulatory Capacities in Persons Who Stutter

PubMed Central

Liu, Jie; Wang, Zhishun; Huo, Yuankai; Davidson, Stephanie M.; Klahr, Kristin; Herder, Carl L.; Sikora, Chamonix O.; Peterson, Bradley S.

2014-01-01

Developmental stuttering is a disorder of speech fluency with an unknown pathogenesis. The similarity of its phenotype and natural history with other childhood neuropsychiatric disorders of frontostriatal pathology suggests that stuttering may have a closely related pathogenesis. We investigated in this study the potential involvement of frontostriatal circuits in developmental stuttering. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 46 persons with stuttering and 52 fluent controls during performance of the Simon Spatial Incompatibility Task. We examined differences between the two groups of blood-oxygen-level-dependent activation associated with two neural processes, the resolution of cognitive conflict and the context-dependent adaptation to changes in conflict. Stuttering speakers and controls did not differ on behavioral performance on the task. In the presence of conflict-laden stimuli, however, stuttering speakers activated more strongly the cingulate cortex, left anterior prefrontal cortex, right medial frontal cortex, left supplementary motor area, right caudate nucleus, and left parietal cortex. The magnitude of activation in the anterior cingulate cortex correlated inversely in stuttering speakers with symptom severity. Stuttering speakers also showed blunted activation during context-dependent adaptation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region that mediates cross-temporal contingencies. Frontostriatal hyper-responsivity to conflict resembles prior findings in other disorders of frontostriatal pathology, and therefore likely represents a general mechanism supporting functional compensation for an underlying inefficiency of neural processing in these circuits. The reduced activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex likely represents the inadequate readiness of stuttering speakers to execute a sequence of motor responses. PMID:24587104

Grave mapping in support of the search for missing persons in conflict contexts.

PubMed

Congram, Derek; Kenyhercz, Michael; Green, Arthur Gill

2017-09-01

We review the current and potential uses of Geographic Information Software (GIS) and "spatial thinking" for understanding body disposal behaviour in times of mass fatalities, particularly armed conflict contexts. The review includes observations made by the authors during the course of their academic research and professional consulting on the use of spatial analysis and GIS to support Humanitarian Forensic Action (HFA) to search for the dead, theoretical and statistical considerations in modelling grave site locations, and suggestions on how this work may be advanced further. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Legal disputes as a proxy for regional conflicts over water rights in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, Diego; Godoy-Faúndez, Alex; Lillo, Mario; Alvez, Amaya; Delgado, Verónica; Gonzalo-Martín, Consuelo; Menasalvas, Ernestina; Costumero, Roberto; García-Pedrero, Ángel

2016-04-01

Water demand and climate variability increases competition and tension between water users -agricultural, industrial, mining, hydropower- and local communities. Since 1981, the Water Code has regulated water allocation through private individual property rights, fostering markets as the distribution mechanism among users. When legal conflicts occur between parties, it is the responsibility of the courts to settle the conflict. The aim of this research is twofold: first, to apply a geographical approach by mapping water conflicts using legal disputes reaching the higher courts as a proxy for conflict intensity and second, to explain the diversity of water disputes and how they vary regionally. We built a representative database with a sample of 1000 legal records corresponding to decisions issued by the Supreme Court and 17 courts of appeal throughout the country from 1981 to 2014. For geo-tagging, all records were transformed to plain text and analyzed to find words matching the entries of a geographical thesaurus, allowing records to be linked to geographical locations. The geo-tagging algorithm is capable of automatically populating a searchable database. Several maps were constructed using a color scale to visualize conflict intensity. Legal disputes represent different types of conflicts among water users, such as competition between agriculture and hydropower. Processed data allowed the identification of the regional variation of conflicts. The spatial pattern for the intensity of conflicts related to specific sections of the Water Code is explained in terms of the main geographical, climatic and productive characteristics of Chile. Geo-tagging legal records shows a strong potential to understand and define regional variation of water conflicts. However, data availability would become a barrier if measures to improve data management were not taken. Regarding the institutional framework, the same regulations for water management rules are applied throughout the highly diverse ecosystems of the country, impeding the resolution of conflicts that are strongly related to the local geographical context. This leads to a collision of interests and visions around water resources of both a public and private, extractive and non-extractive uses, national, and international nature of individuals, aboriginal communities, and corporations, especially mining industries.

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

PubMed

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

2013-02-01

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

Emotion speeds up conflict resolution: a new role for the ventral anterior cingulate cortex?

PubMed

Kanske, Philipp; Kotz, Sonja A

2011-04-01

It has been hypothesized that processing of conflict is facilitated by emotion. Emotional stimuli signal significance in a situation. Thus, when an emotional stimulus is task relevant, more resources may be devoted to conflict processing to reduce the time that an organism is unable to act. In the present electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, we employed a conflict task and manipulated the emotional content and prosody of auditory target stimuli. In line with our hypothesis, reaction times revealed faster conflict resolution for emotional stimuli. Early stages of event-related potential conflict processing were modulated by emotion as indexed in an enhanced frontocentral negativity at 420 ms. FMRI yielded conflict activation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), a crucial part of the executive control network. The right ventral ACC (vACC) was activated for conflict processing in emotional stimuli, suggesting that it is additionally activated for conflict processing in emotional stimuli. The amygdala was also activated by emotion. Furthermore, emotion increased functional connectivity between the vACC and activity in the amygdala and the dACC. The results support the hypothesis that emotion speeds up conflict processing and suggest a new role for the vACC in processing conflict in particularly significant situations signaled by emotion.

The Correlation among Neural Dynamic Processing of Conflict Control, Testosterone and Cortisol Levels in 10-Year-Old Children

PubMed Central

Shangguan, Fangfang; Liu, Tongran; Liu, Xiuying; Shi, Jiannong

2017-01-01

Cognitive control is related to goal-directed self-regulation abilities, which is fundamental for human development. Conflict control includes the neural processes of conflict monitoring and conflict resolution. Testosterone and cortisol are essential hormones for the development of cognitive functions. However, there are no studies that have investigated the correlation of these two hormones with conflict control in preadolescents. In this study, we aimed to explore whether testosterone, cortisol, and testosterone/cortisol ratio worked differently for preadolescent’s conflict control processes in varied conflict control tasks. Thirty-two 10-year-old children (16 boys and 16 girls) were enrolled. They were instructed to accomplish three conflict control tasks with different conflict dimensions, including the Flanker, Simon, and Stroop tasks, and electrophysiological signals were recorded. Salivary samples were collected from each child. The testosterone and cortisol levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The electrophysiological results showed that the incongruent trials induced greater N2/N450 and P3/SP responses than the congruent trials during neural processes of conflict monitoring and conflict resolution in the Flanker and Stroop tasks. The hormonal findings showed that (1) the testosterone/cortisol ratio was correlated with conflict control accuracy and conflict resolution in the Flanker task; (2) the testosterone level was associated with conflict control performance and neural processing of conflict resolution in the Stroop task; (3) the cortisol level was correlated with conflict control performance and neural processing of conflict monitoring in the Simon task. In conclusion, in 10-year-old children, the fewer processes a task needs, the more likely there is an association between the T/C ratios and the behavioral and brain response, and the dual-hormone effects on conflict resolution may be testosterone-driven in the Stroop and Flanker tasks. PMID:28690571

Spatial strategies for managing visitor impacts in National Parks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leung, Y.-F.; Marion, J.L.

1999-01-01

Resource and social impacts caused by recreationists and tourists have become a management concern in national parks and equivalent protected areas. The need to contain visitor impacts within acceptable limits has prompted park and protected area managers to implement a wide variety of strategies and actions, many of which are spatial in nature. This paper classifies and illustrates the basic spatial strategies for managing visitor impacts in parks and protected areas. A typology of four spatial strategies was proposed based on the recreation and park management literature. Spatial segregation is a common strategy for shielding sensitive resources from visitor impacts or for separating potentially conflicting types of use. Two forms of spatial segregation are zoning and closure. A spatial containment strategy is intended to minimize the aggregate extent of visitor impacts by confining use to limited designated or established Iocations. In contrast, a spatial dispersal strategy seeks to spread visitor use, reducing the frequency of use to levels that avoid or minimize permanent resource impacts or visitor crowding and conflict. Finally, a spatial configuration strategy minimizes impacting visitor behavior though the judicious spatial arrangement of facilities. These four spatial strategics can be implemented separately or in combination at varying spatial scales within a single park. A survey of national park managers provides an empirical example of the diversity of implemented spatial strategies in managing visitor impacts. Spatial segregation is frequently applied in the form of camping restrictions or closures to protect sensitive natural or cultural resources and to separate incompatible visitor activities. Spatial containment is the most widely applied strategy for minimizing the areal extent of resource impacts. Spatial dispersal is commonly applied to reduce visitor crowding or conflicts in popular destination areas but is less frequently applied or effective in minimizing resource impacts. Spatial configuration was only minimally evaluated, as it was not included in the survey. The proposed typology of spatial strategies offers a useful means of organizing and understanding the wide variety of management strategies and actions applied in managing visitor impacts in parks and protected areas. Examples from U.S. national parks demonstrate the diversity of these basic strategies and their flexibility in implementation at various spatial scales. Documentation of these examples helps illustrate their application and inform managers of the multitude of options. Further analysis from the spatial perspective is needed Io extend the applicability of this typology to other recreational activities and management issues.

Predicting Hotspots of Human-Elephant Conflict to Inform Mitigation Strategies in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China.

PubMed

Chen, Ying; Marino, Jorgelina; Chen, Yong; Tao, Qing; Sullivan, Casey D; Shi, Kun; Macdonald, David W

2016-01-01

Research on the spatial patterns of human-wildlife conflict is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms underlying it and to identifying opportunities for mitigation. In the state of Xishuangbanna, containing China's largest tropical forest, an imbalance between nature conservation and economic development has led to increasing conflicts between humans and Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), as both elephant numbers and conversion of habitable land to rubber plantations have increased over the last several decades. We analyzed government data on the compensation costs of elephant-caused damage in Xishuangbanna between 2008 and 2012 to understand the spatial and temporal patterns of conflict, in terms of their occurrence, frequency and distribution. More than 18,261 incidents were reported, including episodes involving damage to rubber trees (n = 10,999), damage to crops such as paddy, upland rice, corn, bananas and sugarcane (n = 11,020), property loss (n = 689) and attacks on humans (n = 19). The conflict data reconfirmed the presence of elephants in areas which have lacked records since the late 1990s. Zero Altered Negative Binomial models revealed that the risk of damage to crops and plantations increased with proximity to protected areas, increasing distance from roads, and lower settlement density. The patterns were constant across seasons and types of crop damaged. Damage to rubber trees was essentially incidental as elephants searched for crops to eat. A predictive map of risks revealed hotspots of conflict within and around protected areas, the last refuges for elephants in the region, and along habitat corridors connecting them. Additionally, we analyzed how mitigation efforts can best diminish the risk of conflict while minimizing financial costs and adverse biological impacts. Our analytical approach can be adopted, adjusted and expanded to other areas with historical records of human-wildlife conflict.

Ecological symmetry breaking can favour the evolution of altruism in an action-response game.

PubMed

Di Paolo, E A

2000-03-21

The evolution of altruistic behaviour is studied in a simple action-response game with a tunable degree of conflict of interest. It is shown that for the continuous, mixed-medium approach no stable polymorphism favours altruism. Ecological dynamics are explored with the addition of a spatial dimension and a local energy variable. A continuous spatial model with finite local range does not introduce any substantial difference in the results with respect to the level of altruism. However, the model illustrates how ecological coupling may lead to the formation of stable spatial patterns in the form of discrete and isolated clusters of players as a consequence of inverse density dependence. A discrete, individual-based model is built in which local interactions are also modelled as occurring within a finite neighbourhood of each individual and spatial positions are not restricted as in lattice models. This model shows substantially different results. A high level of altruism is observed for low (but positive) degrees of conflict and this level decreases linearly for higher degrees of conflict. The evolution of altruism is explained by studying the broken symmetries introduced by the spatial clusters themselves, mainly between their central and peripheral regions which, in combination with the discrete and the stochastic nature of the model, result in the stabilization of strategies in which players behave altruistically towards the same type. As a consequence of the activity of the players, energy resources at the centre of an altruistic cluster are very depleted; so much so that, for low conflict, fitter non-altruistic mutants may initially invade only to become locally extinct due to their less efficient use of energy as their numbers increase. In peripheral regions invader may subsist; however, for geometrical reasons long-lasting genealogies tend to originate only at the centre of a cluster. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

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

PubMed Central

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

2015-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2015-07-14

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

Mind Wandering and Task-Focused Attention: ERP Correlates.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Óscar F; Rêgo, Gabriel; Conde, Tatiana; Leite, Jorge; Carvalho, Sandra; Lapenta, Olívia Morgan; Boggio, Paulo S

2018-05-15

Previous studies looking at how Mind Wandering (MW) impacts performance in distinct Focused Attention (FA) systems, using the Attention Network Task (ANT), showed that the presence of pure MW thoughts did not impact the overall performance of ANT (alert, orienting and conflict) performance. However, it still remains unclear if the lack of interference of MW in the ANT, reported at the behavioral level, has a neurophysiological correspondence. We hypothesize that a distinct cortical processing may be required to meet attentional demands during MW. The objective of the present study was to test if, given similar levels of ANT performance, individuals predominantly focusing on MW or FA show distinct cortical processing. Thirty-three healthy participants underwent an EEG high-density acquisition while they were performing the ANT. MW was assessed following the ANT using an adapted version of the Resting State Questionnaire (ReSQ). The following ERP's were analyzed: pN1, pP1, P1, N1, pN, and P3. At the behavioral level, participants were slower and less accurate when responding to incongruent than to congruent targets (conflict effect), benefiting from the presentation of the double (alerting effect) and spatial (orienting effect) cues. Consistent with the behavioral data, ERP's waves were discriminative of distinct attentional effects. However, these results remained true irrespective of the MW condition, suggesting that MW imposed no additional cortical demand in alert, orienting, and conflict attention tasks.

Marine Planning for Potential Wave Energy Facility Placement Amongst a Crowded Sea of Existing Resource Uses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feist, B. E.; Fuller, E.; Plummer, M. L.

2016-12-01

Conversion to renewable energy sources is a logical response to increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ocean wave energy is the least developed renewable energy source, despite having the highest energy per unit area. While many hurdles remain in developing wave energy, assessing potential conflicts and evaluating tradeoffs with existing uses is essential. Marine planning encompasses a broad array of activities that take place in and affect large marine ecosystems, making it an ideal tool for evaluating wave energy resource use conflicts. In this study, we focus on the potential conflicts between wave energy conversion (WEC) facilities and existing marine uses in the context of marine planning, within the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. First, we evaluated wave energy facility development using the Wave Energy Model (WEM) of the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs (InVEST) toolkit. Second, we ran spatial analyses on model output to identify conflicts with existing marine uses including AIS based vessel traffic, VMS and observer based measures of commercial fishing effort, and marine conservation areas. We found that regions with the highest wave energy potential were distant from major cities and that infrastructure limitations (cable landing sites) restrict integration with existing power grids. We identified multiple spatial conflicts with existing marine uses; especially shipping vessels and various commercial fishing fleets, and overlap with marine conservation areas varied by conservation designation. While wave energy generation facilities may be economically viable in the California Current, this viability must be considered within the context of the costs associated with conflicts that arise with existing marine uses. Our analyses can be used to better inform placement of WEC devices (as well as other types of renewable energy facilities) in the context of marine planning by accounting for economic tradeoffs and providing spatially explicit site prioritization.

Spatio-temporal brain dynamics in a combined stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflict task.

PubMed

Frühholz, Sascha; Godde, Ben; Finke, Mareike; Herrmann, Manfred

2011-01-01

It is yet not well known whether different types of conflicts share common or rely on distinct brain mechanisms of conflict processing. We used a combined Flanker (stimulus-stimulus; S-S) and Simon (stimulus-response; S-R) conflict paradigm both in an fMRI and an EEG study. S-S conflicts induced stronger behavioral interference effects compared to S-R conflicts and the latter decayed with increasing response latencies. Besides some similar medial frontal activity across all conflict trials, which was, however, not statically consistent across trials, we especially found distinct activations depending on the type of conflict. S-S conflicts activated the anterior cingulate cortex and modulated the N2 and early P3 component with underlying source activity in inferior frontal cortex. S-R conflicts produced distinct activations in the posterior cingulate cortex and modulated the late P3b component with underlying source activity in superior parietal cortex. Double conflict trials containing both S-S and S-R conflicts revealed, first, distinct anterior frontal activity representing a meta-processing unit and, second, a sequential modulation of the N2 and the P3b component. The N2 modulation during double conflict trials was accompanied by increased source activity in the medial frontal gyrus (MeFG). In summary, S-S and S-R conflict processing mostly rely on distinct mechanisms of conflict processing and these conflicts differentially modulate the temporal stages of stimulus processing. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Landscape-scale accessibility of livestock to tigers: implications of spatial grain for modeling predation risk to mitigate human-carnivore conflict.

PubMed

Miller, Jennifer R B; Jhala, Yadvendradev V; Jena, Jyotirmay; Schmitz, Oswald J

2015-03-01

Innovative conservation tools are greatly needed to reduce livelihood losses and wildlife declines resulting from human-carnivore conflict. Spatial risk modeling is an emerging method for assessing the spatial patterns of predator-prey interactions, with applications for mitigating carnivore attacks on livestock. Large carnivores that ambush prey attack and kill over small areas, requiring models at fine spatial grains to predict livestock depredation hot spots. To detect the best resolution for predicting where carnivores access livestock, we examined the spatial attributes associated with livestock killed by tigers in Kanha Tiger Reserve, India, using risk models generated at 20, 100, and 200-m spatial grains. We analyzed land-use, human presence, and vegetation structure variables at 138 kill sites and 439 random sites to identify key landscape attributes where livestock were vulnerable to tigers. Land-use and human presence variables contributed strongly to predation risk models, with most variables showing high relative importance (≥0.85) at all spatial grains. The risk of a tiger killing livestock increased near dense forests and near the boundary of the park core zone where human presence is restricted. Risk was nonlinearly related to human infrastructure and open vegetation, with the greatest risk occurring 1.2 km from roads, 1.1 km from villages, and 8.0 km from scrubland. Kill sites were characterized by denser, patchier, and more complex vegetation with lower visibility than random sites. Risk maps revealed high-risk hot spots inside of the core zone boundary and in several patches in the human-dominated buffer zone. Validation against known kills revealed predictive accuracy for only the 20 m model, the resolution best representing the kill stage of hunting for large carnivores that ambush prey, like the tiger. Results demonstrate that risk models developed at fine spatial grains can offer accurate guidance on landscape attributes livestock should avoid to minimize human-carnivore conflict.

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

PubMed

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

2014-04-01

The ability to detect and resolve conflict is an essential function of cognitive control. Laboratory studies often use stimulus-response-compatibility (SRC) tasks to examine conflict processing in order to elucidate the mechanism and modular organization of cognitive control. Inspired by two influential theories regarding cognitive control, the conflict monitoring theory (Botvinick, Braver, Barch, Carter, & Cohen, 2001) and dimensional overlap taxonomy (Kornblum, Hasbroucq, & Osman, 1990), we explored the temporal and spectral similarities and differences between processing of stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (S-R) conflicts with event related potential (ERP) and time-frequency measures. We predicted that processing of S-S conflict starts earlier than that of S-R conflict and that the two types of conflict may involve different frequency bands. Participants were asked to perform two parallel SRC tasks, both combining the Stroop task (involving S-S conflict) and Simon task (involving S-R conflict). ERP results showed pronounced SRC effects (incongruent vs. congruent) on N2 and P3 components for both S-S and S-R conflicts. In both tasks, SRC effects of S-S conflict took place earlier than those of S-R conflict. Time-frequency analysis revealed that both types of SRC effects modulated theta and alpha bands, while S-R conflict effects additionally modulated power in the beta band. These results indicated that although S-S and S-R conflict processing shared considerable ERP and time-frequency properties, they differed in temporal and spectral dynamics. We suggest that the modular organization of cognitive control should take both commonality and distinction of S-S and S-R conflict processing into consideration. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Memory-related brain lateralisation in birds and humans.

PubMed

Moorman, Sanne; Nicol, Alister U

2015-03-01

Visual imprinting in chicks and song learning in songbirds are prominent model systems for the study of the neural mechanisms of memory. In both systems, neural lateralisation has been found to be involved in memory formation. Although many processes in the human brain are lateralised--spatial memory and musical processing involves mostly right hemisphere dominance, whilst language is mostly left hemisphere dominant--it is unclear what the function of lateralisation is. It might enhance brain capacity, make processing more efficient, or prevent occurrence of conflicting signals. In both avian paradigms we find memory-related lateralisation. We will discuss avian lateralisation findings and propose that birds provide a strong model for studying neural mechanisms of memory-related lateralisation. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Conservation businesses and conservation planning in a biological diversity hotspot.

PubMed

Di Minin, Enrico; Macmillan, Douglas Craig; Goodman, Peter Styan; Escott, Boyd; Slotow, Rob; Moilanen, Atte

2013-08-01

The allocation of land to biological diversity conservation competes with other land uses and the needs of society for development, food, and extraction of natural resources. Trade-offs between biological diversity conservation and alternative land uses are unavoidable, given the realities of limited conservation resources and the competing demands of society. We developed a conservation-planning assessment for the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, which forms the central component of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biological diversity hotspot. Our objective was to enhance biological diversity protection while promoting sustainable development and providing spatial guidance in the resolution of potential policy conflicts over priority areas for conservation at risk of transformation. The conservation-planning assessment combined spatial-distribution models for 646 conservation features, spatial economic-return models for 28 alternative land uses, and spatial maps for 4 threats. Nature-based tourism businesses were competitive with other land uses and could provide revenues of >US$60 million/year to local stakeholders and simultaneously help meeting conservation goals for almost half the conservation features in the planning region. Accounting for opportunity costs substantially decreased conflicts between biological diversity, agricultural use, commercial forestry, and mining. Accounting for economic benefits arising from conservation and reducing potential policy conflicts with alternative plans for development can provide opportunities for successful strategies that combine conservation and sustainable development and facilitate conservation action. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Interactive Marine Spatial Planning: Siting Tidal Energy Arrays around the Mull of Kintyre

PubMed Central

Alexander, Karen A.; Janssen, Ron; Arciniegas, Gustavo; O'Higgins, Timothy G.; Eikelboom, Tessa; Wilding, Thomas A.

2012-01-01

The rapid development of the offshore renewable energy sector has led to an increased requirement for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and, increasingly, this is carried out in the context of the ‘ecosystem approach’ (EA) to management. We demonstrate a novel method to facilitate implementation of the EA. Using a real-time interactive mapping device (touch-table) and stakeholder workshops we gathered data and facilitated negotiation of spatial trade-offs at a potential site for tidal renewable energy off the Mull of Kintyre (Scotland). Conflicts between the interests of tidal energy developers and commercial and recreational users of the area were identified, and use preferences and concerns of stakeholders were highlighted. Social, cultural and spatial issues associated with conversion of common pool to private resource were also revealed. The method identified important gaps in existing spatial data and helped to fill these through interactive user inputs. The workshops developed a degree of consensus between conflicting users on the best areas for potential development suggesting that this approach should be adopted during MSP. PMID:22253865

Dissociable effects of motivation and expectancy on conflict processing: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Soutschek, Alexander; Stelzel, Christine; Paschke, Lena; Walter, Henrik; Schubert, Torsten

2015-02-01

Previous studies suggest that both motivation and task difficulty expectations activate brain regions associated with cognitive control. However, it remains an open question whether motivational and cognitive determinants of control have similar or dissociable impacts on conflict processing on a neural level. The current study tested the effects of motivation and conflict expectancy on activity in regions related to processing of the target and the distractor information. Participants performed a picture-word interference task in which we manipulated the size of performance-dependent monetary rewards (level of motivation) and the ratio of congruent to incongruent trials within a block (level of conflict expectancy). Our results suggest that motivation improves conflict processing by facilitating task-relevant stimulus processing and task difficulty expectations mainly modulate the processing of distractor information. We conclude that motivation and conflict expectancy engage dissociable control strategies during conflict resolution.

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 processing is modulated by positive emotion: ERP data from a flanker task.

PubMed

Kanske, Philipp; Kotz, Sonja A

2011-06-01

Recent evidence shows that negative emotional stimuli speed up the resolution of conflict between opposing response tendencies. This mechanism ensures rapid reactions in potentially threatening situations. However, it is unclear whether positive emotion has a similar effect on conflict processing. We therefore presented positive emotional words in a version of the flanker conflict task, in which conflict is elicited by incongruent target and flanker stimuli. Response times to incongruent stimuli were shortened in positive words, indicating a speeding up of conflict resolution. We also observed an enlargement of the first conflict-sensitive event-related potential (ERP) of the electroencephalogram, the N200, in positive emotional trials. The data suggest that positive emotion already modulates first stages of conflict processing. The results demonstrate that positive, reward-predicting stimuli influence conflict processing in a similar manner to threat signals. Positive emotion thus reduces the time that an organism is unable to respond due to simultaneously present conflicting action tendencies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed

Ligeza, Tomasz S; Wyczesany, Miroslaw

2017-10-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2014-09-01

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

Horvitz-Thompson survey sample methods for estimating large-scale animal abundance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Samuel, M.D.; Garton, E.O.

1994-01-01

Large-scale surveys to estimate animal abundance can be useful for monitoring population status and trends, for measuring responses to management or environmental alterations, and for testing ecological hypotheses about abundance. However, large-scale surveys may be expensive and logistically complex. To ensure resources are not wasted on unattainable targets, the goals and uses of each survey should be specified carefully and alternative methods for addressing these objectives always should be considered. During survey design, the impoflance of each survey error component (spatial design, propofiion of detected animals, precision in detection) should be considered carefully to produce a complete statistically based survey. Failure to address these three survey components may produce population estimates that are inaccurate (biased low), have unrealistic precision (too precise) and do not satisfactorily meet the survey objectives. Optimum survey design requires trade-offs in these sources of error relative to the costs of sampling plots and detecting animals on plots, considerations that are specific to the spatial logistics and survey methods. The Horvitz-Thompson estimators provide a comprehensive framework for considering all three survey components during the design and analysis of large-scale wildlife surveys. Problems of spatial and temporal (especially survey to survey) heterogeneity in detection probabilities have received little consideration, but failure to account for heterogeneity produces biased population estimates. The goal of producing unbiased population estimates is in conflict with the increased variation from heterogeneous detection in the population estimate. One solution to this conflict is to use an MSE-based approach to achieve a balance between bias reduction and increased variation. Further research is needed to develop methods that address spatial heterogeneity in detection, evaluate the effects of temporal heterogeneity on survey objectives and optimize decisions related to survey bias and variance. Finally, managers and researchers involved in the survey design process must realize that obtaining the best survey results requires an interactive and recursive process of survey design, execution, analysis and redesign. Survey refinements will be possible as further knowledge is gained on the actual abundance and distribution of the population and on the most efficient techniques for detection animals.

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…

Subliminally and consciously induced cognitive conflicts interact at several processing levels.

PubMed

Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Friedrich, Julia; Beste, Christian

2016-12-01

Controlled behavior is susceptible to conflicts that can emerge from subliminal or consciously processed information. While research suggests that both sources of conflicting information may interact in their modulation of controlled behavior, it has remained unclear which cognitive sub-processes involved in controlled behavior are affected by this interaction; i.e., at which processing level subliminally and consciously induced response conflicts interact in modulating controlled behavior. Moreover, we investigated whether this interaction of subliminally and consciously induced response conflicts was due to a nexus between the two types of conflict like a common cognitive process or factor. For this, n = 38 healthy young subjects completed a paradigm which combines subliminal primes and consciously perceived flankers while an electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. We show that the interaction of subliminal and conscious sources of conflict is not restricted to the response selection level (N2) but can already be shown at the earliest stages of perceptual and attentional processing (P1). While the degree of early attentional processing of subliminal information seems to depend on the absence of consciously perceived response conflicts, conflicts during the stage of response selection may be either reduced or enhanced by subliminal priming. Moreover, the results showed that even though the two different sources of conflict interact at the response selection level, they clearly originate from two distinct processes that interact before they detrimentally affect cognitive control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automating the conflict resolution process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wike, Jeffrey S.

1991-01-01

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

Control over Conflict during Movement Preparation: Role of Posterior Parietal Cortex

PubMed Central

Coulthard, Elizabeth J.; Nachev, Parashkev; Husain, Masud

2008-01-01

Summary Flexible behavior in humans often requires that rapid choices be made between conflicting action plans. Although much attention has focused on prefrontal regions, little is understood about the contribution of parietal cortex under situations of response conflict. Here we show that right parietal damage associated with spatial neglect leads to paradoxical facilitation (speeding) of rightward movements in the presence of conflicting leftward response plans. These findings indicate a critical role for parietal regions in action planning when there is response competition. In contrast, patients with prefrontal damage have an augmented cost of conflict for both leftward and rightward movements. The results suggest involvement of two independent systems in situations of response conflict, with right parietal cortex being a crucial site for automatic activation of competing motor plans and prefrontal regions acting independently to inhibit action plans irrelevant to current task goals. PMID:18400170

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

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

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

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

PubMed

Szűcs, Dénes; Soltész, Fruzsina

2012-03-27

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

Quantifying killing of orangutans and human-orangutan conflict in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

PubMed

Meijaard, Erik; Buchori, Damayanti; Hadiprakarsa, Yokyok; Utami-Atmoko, Sri Suci; Nurcahyo, Anton; Tjiu, Albertus; Prasetyo, Didik; Nardiyono; Christie, Lenny; Ancrenaz, Marc; Abadi, Firman; Antoni, I Nyoman Gede; Armayadi, Dedy; Dinato, Adi; Ella; Gumelar, Pajar; Indrawan, Tito P; Kussaritano; Munajat, Cecep; Priyono, C Wawan Puji; Purwanto, Yadi; Puspitasari, Dewi; Putra, M Syukur Wahyu; Rahmat, Abdi; Ramadani, Harri; Sammy, Jim; Siswanto, Dedi; Syamsuri, Muhammad; Andayani, Noviar; Wu, Huanhuan; Wells, Jessie Anne; Mengersen, Kerrie

2011-01-01

Human-orangutan conflict and hunting are thought to pose a serious threat to orangutan existence in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. No data existed prior to the present study to substantiate these threats. We investigated the rates, spatial distribution and causes of conflict and hunting through an interview-based survey in the orangutan's range in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Between April 2008 and September 2009, we interviewed 6983 respondents in 687 villages to obtain socio-economic information, assess knowledge of local wildlife in general and orangutan encounters specifically, and to query respondents about their knowledge on orangutan conflicts and killing, and relevant laws. This survey revealed estimated killing rates of between 750 and 1800 animals killed in the last year, and between 1950 and 3100 animals killed per year on average within the lifetime of the survey respondents. These killing rates are higher than previously thought and are high enough to pose a serious threat to the continued existence of orangutans in Kalimantan. Importantly, the study contributes to our understanding of the spatial variation in threats, and the underlying causes of those threats, which can be used to facilitate the development of targeted conservation management.

Quantifying Killing of Orangutans and Human-Orangutan Conflict in Kalimantan, Indonesia

PubMed Central

Meijaard, Erik; Buchori, Damayanti; Hadiprakarsa, Yokyok; Utami-Atmoko, Sri Suci; Nurcahyo, Anton; Tjiu, Albertus; Prasetyo, Didik; Nardiyono; Christie, Lenny; Ancrenaz, Marc; Abadi, Firman; Antoni, I Nyoman Gede; Armayadi, Dedy; Dinato, Adi; Ella; Gumelar, Pajar; Indrawan, Tito P.; Kussaritano; Munajat, Cecep; Priyono, C. Wawan Puji; Purwanto, Yadi; Puspitasari, Dewi; Putra, M. Syukur Wahyu; Rahmat, Abdi; Ramadani, Harri; Sammy, Jim; Siswanto, Dedi; Syamsuri, Muhammad; Andayani, Noviar; Wu, Huanhuan; Wells, Jessie Anne; Mengersen, Kerrie

2011-01-01

Human-orangutan conflict and hunting are thought to pose a serious threat to orangutan existence in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. No data existed prior to the present study to substantiate these threats. We investigated the rates, spatial distribution and causes of conflict and hunting through an interview-based survey in the orangutan's range in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Between April 2008 and September 2009, we interviewed 6983 respondents in 687 villages to obtain socio-economic information, assess knowledge of local wildlife in general and orangutan encounters specifically, and to query respondents about their knowledge on orangutan conflicts and killing, and relevant laws. This survey revealed estimated killing rates of between 750 and 1800 animals killed in the last year, and between 1950 and 3100 animals killed per year on average within the lifetime of the survey respondents. These killing rates are higher than previously thought and are high enough to pose a serious threat to the continued existence of orangutans in Kalimantan. Importantly, the study contributes to our understanding of the spatial variation in threats, and the underlying causes of those threats, which can be used to facilitate the development of targeted conservation management. PMID:22096582

[Does clinical risk management require a structured conflict management?].

PubMed

Neumann, Stefan

2015-01-01

A key element of clinical risk management is the analysis of errors causing near misses or patient damage. After analyzing the causes and circumstances, measures for process improvement have to be taken. Process management, human resource development and other established methods are used. If an interpersonal conflict is a contributory factor to the error, there is usually no structured conflict management available which includes selection criteria for various methods of conflict processing. The European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) has created a process model for introducing a structured conflict management system which is suitable for hospitals and could fill the gap in the methodological spectrum of clinical risk management. There is initial evidence that a structured conflict management reduces staff fluctuation and hidden conflict costs. This article should be understood as an impulse for discussion on to what extent the range of methods of clinical risk management should be complemented by conflict management.

Conflict processing in the anterior cingulate cortex constrains response priming.

PubMed

Pastötter, Bernhard; Hanslmayr, Simon; Bäuml, Karl-Heinz T

2010-05-01

A prominent function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is to process conflict between competing response options. In this study, we investigated the role of conflict processing in a response-priming task in which manual responses were either validly or invalidly cued. Examining electrophysiological measurements of oscillatory brain activity on the source level, we found response priming to be related to a beta power decrease in the premotor cortex and conflict processing to be linked to a theta power increase in the ACC. In particular, correlation of oscillatory brain activities in the ACC and the premotor cortex showed that conflict processing reduces response priming by slowing response time in valid trials and lowering response errors in invalid trials. This relationship emerged on a between subjects level as well as within subjects, on a single trial level. These findings suggest that conflict processing in the ACC constrains the automatic priming process. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Reconstruction of urban land space based on minimum cumulative resistance model: a case study of Xintang Town, Guangzhou City].

PubMed

Zhong, Shi-Yu; Wu, Qing; Li, Yu; Cheng, Jin-Ping

2012-11-01

Based on the source-sink landscape theory and the principles of ecosystem services, the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model was modified, where the urban center construction land was taken as the expansion source, and the contribution rate of ecological land ecosystem services value was considered as the resistance coefficient. With the modified MCR, the urban spatial expansion process of Xintang Town, Guangzhou City was successfully simulated, and, based on the protection of ecological security pattern, the optimum path for reconstructing urban land space was put forward. The simulated urban spatial expansion short path in 1988-2008 was in accordance with the real situation. By the modified MCR, the urban space was divided into four zones of high, higher, medium, and low resistance, with the area of 80.84, 78.90, 24.26, and 61.88 km2, respectively. The expansion path of the urban space was along the route from low to medium and then to high resistance zones successively. The land suitable for eco-protection and construction had an area of 159.74 km2 and 86.14 km2, while the ecological conflict area (17.37 km2) was mainly located in higher and high resistance zones, being 10.38 and 6.99 km2, respectively. The modified MCR could not only effectively reflect the distribution area of urban land use and the conflict relationship between urban construction and ecological protection, but also reasonably judge the best developmental short path for urban spatial expansion.

Measuring Attention in the Hemispheres: The Lateralized Attention Network Test (LANT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Deanna J.; Barnea, Anat; Herzberg, Kristin; Rassis, Anat; Neta, Maital; Raz, Amir; Zaidel, Eran

2008-01-01

The attention network test (ANT) is a brief computerized battery measuring three independent behavioral components of attention: Conflict resolution (ability to overcome distracting stimuli), spatial Orienting (the benefit of valid spatial pre-cues), and Alerting (the benefit of temporal pre-cues). Imaging, clinical, and behavioral evidence…

In conflict with ourselves? An investigation of heuristic and analytic processes in decision making.

PubMed

Bonner, Carissa; Newell, Ben R

2010-03-01

Many theorists propose two types of processing: heuristic and analytic. In conflict tasks, in which these processing types lead to opposing responses, giving the analytic response may require both detection and resolution of the conflict. The ratio bias task, in which people tend to treat larger numbered ratios (e.g., 20/100) as indicating a higher likelihood of winning than do equivalent smaller numbered ratios (e.g., 2/10), is considered to induce such a conflict. Experiment 1 showed response time differences associated with conflict detection, resolution, and the amount of conflict induced. The conflict detection and resolution effects were replicated in Experiment 2 and were not affected by decreasing the influence of the heuristic response or decreasing the capacity to make the analytic response. The results are consistent with dual-process accounts, but a single-process account in which quantitative, rather than qualitative, differences in processing are assumed fares equally well in explaining the data.

Conflicting evidence about long-distance animal navigation.

PubMed

Alerstam, Thomas

2006-08-11

Because of conflicting evidence about several fundamental issues, long-distance animal navigation has yet to be satisfactorily explained. Among the unsolved problems are the nature of genetic spatial control of migration and the relationships between celestial and magnetic compass mechanisms and between different map-related cues in orientation and homing, respectively. In addition, navigation is expected to differ between animal groups depending on sensory capabilities and ecological conditions. Evaluations based on modern long-term tracking techniques of the geometry of migration routes and individual migration history, combined with behavioral experiments and exploration of the sensory and genetic mechanisms, will be crucial for understanding the spatial principles that guide animals on their global journeys.

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.

Asymmetry in stimulus and response conflict processing across the adult lifespan: ERP and EMG evidence☆

PubMed Central

Killikelly, Clare; Szűcs, Dénes

2013-01-01

Several studies have shown that conflict processing improves from childhood to adulthood and declines from adulthood to old age. However the neural mechanisms underlying this lifespan asymmetry were previously unexplored. We combined event-related potentials (ERPs) and electromyography (EMG) to examine lifespan changes in stimulus and response conflict processing using a modified Stroop task. We used a Stroop task that a priori dissociated stimulus and response conflict. Delayed P3b latency and increased amplitude revealed that middle age adults have a deficit in stimulus processing. Additionally a sustained P3a across frontal and central electrodes occurred only in middle age adults indicating the recruitment of frontal activity. Conversely, decreased lateralized readiness potential (LRP) amplitude and increased EMG activity in the incorrect hand in adolescents reveal protracted development of response processing into late adolescence. The N450, a measure of conflict processing, was found to be sensitive to both stimulus and response conflict. Altogether these results provide evidence for asymmetrical differences in stimulus and response conflict processing across adolescence, young adulthood and middle age. PMID:24134924

Subjective Vertical Conflict Theory and Space Motion Sickness.

PubMed

Chen, Wei; Chao, Jian-Gang; Wang, Jin-Kun; Chen, Xue-Wen; Tan, Cheng

2016-02-01

Space motion sickness (SMS) remains a troublesome problem during spaceflight. The subjective vertical (SV) conflict theory postulates that all motion sickness provoking situations are characterized by a condition in which the SV sensed from gravity and visual and idiotropic cues differs from the expected vertical. This theory has been successfully used to predict motion sickness in different vehicles on Earth. We have summarized the most outstanding and recent studies on the illusions and characteristics associated with spatial disorientation and SMS during weightlessness, such as cognitive map and mental rotation, the visual reorientation and inversion illusions, and orientation preferences between visual scenes and the internal z-axis of the body. The relationships between the SV and the incidence of and susceptibility to SMS as well as spatial disorientation were addressed. A consistent framework was presented to understand and explain SMS characteristics in more detail on the basis of the SV conflict theory, which is expected to be more advantageous in SMS prediction, prevention, and training.

Workers' Extra-Nest Behavioral Changes During Colony Fission in Dinoponera quadriceps (Santschi).

PubMed

Medeiros, J; Araújo, A

2014-04-01

Ant colonies can reproduce by two strategies: independent foundation, wherein the queen starts a new colony alone, and dependent foundation, in which workers assist the queen. In the queenless species Dinoponera quadriceps (Santschi), the colony reproduces obligatorily by fission, a type of dependent foundation, but this process is not well understood. This study describes a colony fission event of D. quadriceps in the field and analyzes the influence of the fission process on workers' extra-nest behavior. Based on observations of workers outside the nest, five distinct stages were identified: monodomic stage, polydomic stage, split stage, conflict stage, and post-conflict stage. The colony was initially monodomic and then occupied a second nest before it split into two independent colonies, indicating a gradual and opportunistic dependent foundation. After the fission event, the daughter colony had aggressive conflicts with the parental colony, resulting in the latter's disappearance. Colony fission affected workers' extra-nest behavior by increasing the frequency of rubbing the gaster against the substrate (which probably has a chemical marking function) and by decreasing the frequency of foraging during the split stage. After the fission event, the number of foragers was halved and foragers remained nearer to the nest during extra-nest activity. The spatial closeness of the parental and daughter colonies led to competition that caused the extinction or migration of the parental colony. Intraspecific competition was indicated by foraging directionality at the colony level, whereby areas of neighbor colonies were avoided; this directionality was stronger while both colonies coexisted.

Contingency learning is reduced for high conflict stimuli.

PubMed

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

2016-09-16

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

Mode identification using stochastic hybrid models with applications to conflict detection and resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naseri Kouzehgarani, Asal

2009-12-01

Most models of aircraft trajectories are non-linear and stochastic in nature; and their internal parameters are often poorly defined. The ability to model, simulate and analyze realistic air traffic management conflict detection scenarios in a scalable, composable, multi-aircraft fashion is an extremely difficult endeavor. Accurate techniques for aircraft mode detection are critical in order to enable the precise projection of aircraft conflicts, and for the enactment of altitude separation resolution strategies. Conflict detection is an inherently probabilistic endeavor; our ability to detect conflicts in a timely and accurate manner over a fixed time horizon is traded off against the increased human workload created by false alarms---that is, situations that would not develop into an actual conflict, or would resolve naturally in the appropriate time horizon-thereby introducing a measure of probabilistic uncertainty in any decision aid fashioned to assist air traffic controllers. The interaction of the continuous dynamics of the aircraft, used for prediction purposes, with the discrete conflict detection logic gives rise to the hybrid nature of the overall system. The introduction of the probabilistic element, common to decision alerting and aiding devices, places the conflict detection and resolution problem in the domain of probabilistic hybrid phenomena. A hidden Markov model (HMM) has two stochastic components: a finite-state Markov chain and a finite set of output probability distributions. In other words an unobservable stochastic process (hidden) that can only be observed through another set of stochastic processes that generate the sequence of observations. The problem of self separation in distributed air traffic management reduces to the ability of aircraft to communicate state information to neighboring aircraft, as well as model the evolution of aircraft trajectories between communications, in the presence of probabilistic uncertain dynamics as well as partially observable and uncertain data. We introduce the Hybrid Hidden Markov Modeling (HHMM) formalism to enable the prediction of the stochastic aircraft states (and thus, potential conflicts), by combining elements of the probabilistic timed input output automaton and the partially observable Markov decision process frameworks, along with the novel addition of a Markovian scheduler to remove the non-deterministic elements arising from the enabling of several actions simultaneously. Comparisons of aircraft in level, climbing/descending and turning flight are performed, and unknown flight track data is evaluated probabilistically against the tuned model in order to assess the effectiveness of the model in detecting the switch between multiple flight modes for a given aircraft. This also allows for the generation of probabilistic distribution over the execution traces of the hybrid hidden Markov model, which then enables the prediction of the states of aircraft based on partially observable and uncertain data. Based on the composition properties of the HHMM, we study a decentralized air traffic system where aircraft are moving along streams and can perform cruise, accelerate, climb and turn maneuvers. We develop a common decentralized policy for conflict avoidance with spatially distributed agents (aircraft in the sky) and assure its safety properties via correctness proofs.

A functional dissociation of conflict processing within anterior cingulate cortex.

PubMed

Kim, Chobok; Kroger, James K; Kim, Jeounghoon

2011-02-01

Goal-directed behavior requires cognitive control to regulate the occurrence of conflict. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) has been suggested in detecting response conflict during various conflict tasks. Recent findings, however, have indicated not only that two distinct subregions of dACC are involved in conflict processing but also that the conflict occurs at both perceptual and response levels. In this study, we sought to examine whether perceptual and response conflicts are functionally dissociated in dACC. Thirteen healthy subjects performed a version of the Stroop task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. We identified a functional dissociation of the caudal dACC (cdACC) and the rostral dACC (rdACC) in their responses to different sources of conflict. The cdACC was selectively engaged in perceptual conflict whereas the rdACC was more active in response conflict. Further, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was coactivated not with cdACC but with rdACC. We suggest that cdACC plays an important role in regulative processing of perceptual conflict whereas rdACC is involved in detecting response conflict. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

How does "not left" become "right"? Electrophysiological evidence for a dynamic conflict-bound negation processing account.

PubMed

Dudschig, Carolin; Kaup, Barbara

2018-05-01

Human thought and language is traditionally considered as abstract, amodal, and symbolic. However, recent theories propose that high-level human cognition is directly linked to basic, modal biological systems such as sensorimotor areas. Despite this influential representational debate very little is known regarding whether the mechanisms involved in sensorimotor control are also shared with higher-level cognitive processes, such as language comprehension. We investigated negation as a universal of human language, addressing two key questions: (a) Does negation result in a conflict-like representation? (b) Does negation trigger executive control adjustments in a similar manner as standard information processing conflicts do (e.g., Simon, Flanker)? Electrophysiological data indicated that phrases such as "not left/not right" result in initial activation of the to-be-negated information and subsequently the outcome of the negation process. More importantly, our findings also suggest that negation triggers conflict-related adjustments in information processing in line with traditional conflict tasks. Trial-by-trial conflict adaptation patterns in both behavioral and electrophysiological data indicated that negation processing dynamically changes depending on the current cognitive state. In summary, negation processing results in cognitive conflict, and dynamic influences of the cognitive state determine conflict resolution, that is, negation implementation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Organizational Conflict Management as Disputing Process: The Problem of Social Escalation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrill, Calvin; Thomas, Cheryl King

1992-01-01

Develops an instrument to study organizational conflict management as a disputing process involving the social escalation from grievance to conflict and dispute stages. Finds differences in dispute process according to different strengths of informal relations. (SR)

The Influence of Negative Emotion on Cognitive and Emotional Control Remains Intact in Aging

PubMed Central

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

2017-01-01

Healthy aging is characterized by a gradual decline in cognitive control and inhibition of interferences, while emotional control is either preserved or facilitated. Emotional control regulates the processing of emotional conflicts such as in irony in speech, and cognitive control resolves conflict between non-affective tendencies. While negative emotion can trigger control processes and speed up resolution of both cognitive and emotional conflicts, we know little about how aging affects the interaction of emotion and control. In two EEG experiments, we compared the influence of negative emotion on cognitive and emotional conflict processing in groups of younger adults (mean age = 25.2 years) and older adults (69.4 years). Participants viewed short video clips and either categorized spoken vowels (cognitive conflict) or their emotional valence (emotional conflict), while the visual facial information was congruent or incongruent. Results show that negative emotion modulates both cognitive and emotional conflict processing in younger and older adults as indicated in reduced response times and/or enhanced event-related potentials (ERPs). In emotional conflict processing, we observed a valence-specific N100 ERP component in both age groups. In cognitive conflict processing, we observed an interaction of emotion by congruence in the N100 responses in both age groups, and a main effect of congruence in the P200 and N200. Thus, the influence of emotion on conflict processing remains intact in aging, despite a marked decline in cognitive control. Older adults may prioritize emotional wellbeing and preserve the role of emotion in cognitive and emotional control. PMID:29163132

The Influence of Negative Emotion on Cognitive and Emotional Control Remains Intact in Aging.

PubMed

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

2017-01-01

Healthy aging is characterized by a gradual decline in cognitive control and inhibition of interferences, while emotional control is either preserved or facilitated. Emotional control regulates the processing of emotional conflicts such as in irony in speech, and cognitive control resolves conflict between non-affective tendencies. While negative emotion can trigger control processes and speed up resolution of both cognitive and emotional conflicts, we know little about how aging affects the interaction of emotion and control. In two EEG experiments, we compared the influence of negative emotion on cognitive and emotional conflict processing in groups of younger adults (mean age = 25.2 years) and older adults (69.4 years). Participants viewed short video clips and either categorized spoken vowels (cognitive conflict) or their emotional valence (emotional conflict), while the visual facial information was congruent or incongruent. Results show that negative emotion modulates both cognitive and emotional conflict processing in younger and older adults as indicated in reduced response times and/or enhanced event-related potentials (ERPs). In emotional conflict processing, we observed a valence-specific N100 ERP component in both age groups. In cognitive conflict processing, we observed an interaction of emotion by congruence in the N100 responses in both age groups, and a main effect of congruence in the P200 and N200. Thus, the influence of emotion on conflict processing remains intact in aging, despite a marked decline in cognitive control. Older adults may prioritize emotional wellbeing and preserve the role of emotion in cognitive and emotional control.

Understanding Children’s Emotional Processes and Behavioral Strategies in the Context of Marital Conflict

PubMed Central

Koss, Kalsea J.; George, Melissa R. W.; Bergman, Kathleen N.; Cummings, E. Mark; Davies, Patrick T.; Cicchetti, Dante

2011-01-01

Marital conflict is a distressing context in which children must regulate their emotion and behavior, however, the associations between the multidimensionality of conflict and children’s regulatory processes needs to be examined. The current study examined differences in children’s (n = 207; M = 8.02 years) emotions (mad, sad, scared, and happy) and behavioral strategies to regulate conflict exposure during resolved, unresolved, escalating, and child-rearing marital conflict vignettes. Children’s cortisol levels were assessed in relation to child-rearing and resolved conflict vignettes. Anger and sadness were associated with escalating and child-rearing conflicts; fearfulness was related to escalating and unresolved conflicts. Children’s happiness was associated with resolution. Anger was associated with children’s strategies to stop conflict; whereas, sadness was associated with monitoring and avoidant strategies. Cortisol recovery moderated the link between fearfulness and behavioral regulation. These results highlight the importance of children’s emotions and regulatory processes in understanding the impact of marital conflict. PMID:21397249

Conflict-Specific Aging Effects Mainly Manifest in Early Information Processing Stages-An ERP Study with Different Conflict Types.

PubMed

Korsch, Margarethe; Frühholz, Sascha; Herrmann, Manfred

2016-01-01

Aging is usually accompanied by alterations of cognitive control functions such as conflict processing. Recent research suggests that aging effects on cognitive control seem to vary with degree and source of conflict, and conflict specific aging effects on performance measures as well as neural activation patterns have been shown. However, there is sparse information whether and how aging affects different stages of conflict processing as indicated by event related potentials (ERPs) such as the P2, N2 and P3 components. In the present study, 19 young and 23 elderly adults performed a combined Flanker conflict and stimulus-response-conflict (SRC) task. Analysis of the reaction times (RTs) revealed an increased SRC related conflict effect in elderly. ERP analysis furthermore demonstrated an age-related increase of the P2 amplitude in response to the SRC task. In addition, elderly adults exhibited an increased P3 amplitude modulation induced by incongruent SRC and Flanker conflict trials.

Emotion triggers executive attention: anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala responses to emotional words in a conflict task.

PubMed

Kanske, Philipp; Kotz, Sonja A

2011-02-01

Coherent behavior depends on attentional control that detects and resolves conflict between opposing actions. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study tested the hypothesis that emotion triggers attentional control to speed up conflict processing in particularly salient situations. Therefore, we presented emotionally negative and neutral words in a version of the flanker task. In response to conflict, we found activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and of the amygdala for emotional stimuli. When emotion and conflict coincided, a region in the ventral ACC was activated, which resulted in faster conflict processing in reaction times. Emotion also increased functional connectivity between the ventral ACC and activation of the dorsal ACC and the amygdala in conflict trials. These data suggest that the ventral ACC integrates emotion and conflict and prioritizes the processing of conflict in emotional trials. This adaptive mechanism ensures rapid detection and resolution of conflict in potentially threatening situations signaled by emotional stimuli. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Influence of inhibitory tagging (IT) on emotional and cognitive conflict processing: Evidence from event-related potentials.

PubMed

Zhao, Xudong; Li, Xiujun; Shi, Wendian

2017-09-14

Inhibitory tagging (IT), a flexible central control mechanism based on the current task goals, reduces the cognitive conflict effect at the cued location by blocking the incompatible stimulus-response (S-R) code. However, it is unknown whether IT has a similar effect on emotional conflict. Thus, we combined the face-word Stroop task with the manipulation of inhibition of return (IOR) and used event-related potential (ERP) technology to simultaneously examine the modulation effect of IT on emotional and cognitive conflict processing. At the cued location, we found that the two types of conflict effect were significantly reduced and that the conflict processing-related N450 effect was absent. Our data further revealed that IT had similar effects on emotional and cognitive conflict processing. Although a negative difference wave (Nd) was found in the time window of 160 and 220ms, which may reflect the impaired early perceptual processing of the target at the cued location, the effect of Nd was not affected by stimulus congruency. These results illustrate that the cueing effect of conflict processing does not arise from the early stage of perceptual processing, but rather results from the blocked S-R code of the distractors due to IT functioning during the later stage of processing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Role of Experience in Location Estimation: Target Distributions Shift Location Memory Biases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipinski, John; Simmering, Vanessa R.; Johnson, Jeffrey S.; Spencer, John P.

2010-01-01

Research based on the Category Adjustment model concluded that the spatial distribution of target locations does not influence location estimation responses [Huttenlocher, J., Hedges, L., Corrigan, B., & Crawford, L. E. (2004). Spatial categories and the estimation of location. "Cognition, 93", 75-97]. This conflicts with earlier results showing…

High resolution climate scenarios for snowmelt modelling in small alpine catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schirmer, M.; Peleg, N.; Burlando, P.; Jonas, T.

2017-12-01

Snow in the Alps is affected by climate change with regard to duration, timing and amount. This has implications with respect to important societal issues as drinking water supply or hydropower generation. In Switzerland, the latter received a lot of attention following the political decision to phase out of nuclear electricity production. An increasing number of authorization requests for small hydropower plants located in small alpine catchments was observed in the recent years. This situation generates ecological conflicts, while the expected climate change poses a threat to water availability thus putting at risk investments in such hydropower plants. Reliable high-resolution climate scenarios are thus required, which account for small-scale processes to achieve realistic predictions of snowmelt runoff and its variability in small alpine catchments. We therefore used a novel model chain by coupling a stochastic 2-dimensional weather generator (AWE-GEN-2d) with a state-of-the-art energy balance snow cover model (FSM). AWE-GEN-2d was applied to generate ensembles of climate variables at very fine temporal and spatial resolution, thus providing all climatic input variables required for the energy balance modelling. The land-surface model FSM was used to describe spatially variable snow cover accumulation and melt processes. The FSM was refined to allow applications at very high spatial resolution by specifically accounting for small-scale processes, such as a subgrid-parametrization of snow covered area or an improved representation of forest-snow processes. For the present study, the model chain was tested for current climate conditions using extensive observational dataset of different spatial and temporal coverage. Small-scale spatial processes such as elevation gradients or aspect differences in the snow distribution were evaluated using airborne LiDAR data. 40-year of monitoring data for snow water equivalent, snowmelt and snow-covered area for entire Switzerland was used to verify snow distribution patterns at coarser spatial and temporal scale. The ability of the model chain to reproduce current climate conditions in small alpine catchments makes this model combination an outstanding candidate to produce high resolution climate scenarios of snowmelt in small alpine catchments.

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.

Prolonged Interruption of Cognitive Control of Conflict Processing Over Human Faces by Task-Irrelevant Emotion Expression

PubMed Central

Kim, Jinyoung; Kang, Min-Suk; Cho, Yang Seok; Lee, Sang-Hun

2017-01-01

As documented by Darwin 150 years ago, emotion expressed in human faces readily draws our attention and promotes sympathetic emotional reactions. How do such reactions to the expression of emotion affect our goal-directed actions? Despite the substantial advance made in the neural mechanisms of both cognitive control and emotional processing, it is not yet known well how these two systems interact. Here, we studied how emotion expressed in human faces influences cognitive control of conflict processing, spatial selective attention and inhibitory control in particular, using the Eriksen flanker paradigm. In this task, participants viewed displays of a central target face flanked by peripheral faces and were asked to judge the gender of the target face; task-irrelevant emotion expressions were embedded in the target face, the flanking faces, or both. We also monitored how emotion expression affects gender judgment performance while varying the relative timing between the target and flanker faces. As previously reported, we found robust gender congruency effects, namely slower responses to the target faces whose gender was incongruent with that of the flanker faces, when the flankers preceded the target by 0.1 s. When the flankers further advanced the target by 0.3 s, however, the congruency effect vanished in most of the viewing conditions, except for when emotion was expressed only in the flanking faces or when congruent emotion was expressed in the target and flanking faces. These results suggest that emotional saliency can prolong a substantial degree of conflict by diverting bottom-up attention away from the target, and that inhibitory control on task-irrelevant information from flanking stimuli is deterred by the emotional congruency between target and flanking stimuli. PMID:28676780

Testing interactive effects of automatic and conflict control processes during response inhibition - A system neurophysiological study.

PubMed

Chmielewski, Witold X; Beste, Christian

2017-02-01

In everyday life successful acting often requires to inhibit automatic responses that might not be appropriate in the current situation. These response inhibition processes have been shown to become aggravated with increasing automaticity of pre-potent response tendencies. Likewise, it has been shown that inhibitory processes are complicated by a concurrent engagement in additional cognitive control processes (e.g. conflicting monitoring). Therefore, opposing processes (i.e. automaticity and cognitive control) seem to strongly impact response inhibition. However, possible interactive effects of automaticity and cognitive control for the modulation of response inhibition processes have yet not been examined. In the current study we examine this question using a novel experimental paradigm combining a Go/NoGo with a Simon task in a system neurophysiological approach combining EEG recordings with source localization analyses. The results show that response inhibition is less accurate in non-conflicting than in conflicting stimulus-response mappings. Thus it seems that conflicts and the resulting engagement in conflict monitoring processes, as reflected in the N2 amplitude, may foster response inhibition processes. This engagement in conflict monitoring processes leads to an increase in cognitive control, as reflected by an increased activity in the anterior and posterior cingulate areas, while simultaneously the automaticity of response tendencies is decreased. Most importantly, this study suggests that the quality of conflict processes in anterior cingulate areas and especially the resulting interaction of cognitive control and automaticity of pre-potent response tendencies are important factors to consider, when it comes to the modulation of response inhibition processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About Edible Restaurants: Conflicts between Syntax and Semantics as Revealed by ERPs

PubMed Central

Kos, Miriam; Vosse, Theo; van den Brink, Daniëlle; Hagoort, Peter

2010-01-01

In order to investigate conflicts between semantics and syntax, we recorded ERPs, while participants read Dutch sentences. Sentences containing conflicts between syntax and semantics (Fred eats in a sandwich…/Fred eats a restaurant…) elicited an N400. These results show that conflicts between syntax and semantics not necessarily lead to P600 effects and are in line with the processing competition account. According to this parallel account the syntactic and semantic processing streams are fully interactive and information from one level can influence the processing at another level. The relative strength of the cues of the processing streams determines which level is affected most strongly by the conflict. The processing competition account maintains the distinction between the N400 as index for semantic processing and the P600 as index for structural processing. PMID:21833277

Subgroup conflicts? Try the psychodramatic "double triad method".

PubMed

Verhofstadt-Denève, Leni M F

2012-04-01

The present article suggests the application of a psychodramatic action method for tackling subgroup conflicts in which the direct dialogue between representatives of two opposing subgroups is prepared step by step through an indirect dialogue strategy within two triads, a strategy known as the Double Triad Method (DTM). In order to achieve integration in the group as a whole, it is important that all the members of both subgroups participate actively during the entire process. The first part of the article briefly explores the theoretical background, with a special emphasis on the Phenomenological-Dialectical Personality Model (Phe-Di PModel). In the second part, the DTM procedure is systematically described through its five action stages, each accompanied with 1) a spatial representation of the consecutive actions, 2) some illustrative statements for each stage, and 3) a theoretical interpretation of the dialectically involved personality dimensions in both protagonists. The article concludes with a discussion and suggestions for more extensive applications of the DTM method, including the question of its relationships to Agazarian's functional subgrouping, psychodrama, and sociodrama.

Mismatch and Conflict: Neurophysiological and Behavioral Evidence for Conflict Priming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2009-01-01

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

Integrating impact assessment and conflict management in urban planning: Experiences from Finland

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

Peltonen, Lasse, E-mail: lasse.peltonen@tkk.f; Sairinen, Rauno, E-mail: rauno.sairinen@joensuu.f

2010-09-15

The article examines the interlinkages between recent developments in conflict management and impact assessment procedures in the context of urban planning in Finland. It sets out by introducing the fields of impact assessment and conflict mediation. It then proceeds to discuss the development of impact assessment practices and the status of conflict mediation in Finnish land use planning. The case of Korteniitty infill development plan in Jyvaeskylae is used to demonstrate how the Finnish planning system operates in conflict situations - and how social impact assessment can contribute to managing planning conflicts. The authors ask how the processes of impactmore » assessment contribute to conflict management. Based on the Finnish experience, it is argued that social impact assessment of land use plans can contribute to conflict management, especially in the absence of institutionalised conflict mediation processes. In addition, SIA may acquire features of conflict mediation, depending on extent and intensity of stakeholder participation in the process, and the quality of linkages it between knowledge production and decision-making. Simultaneously, conflict mediation practices and theoretical insights can inform the application of SIA to help it address land use conflicts more consciously.« less

How social impact assessment can contribute to conflict management

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

Prenzel, Paula V., E-mail: p.v.prenzel@student.rug.nl; Vanclay, Frank, E-mail: frank.vanclay@rug.nl

2014-02-15

The potential for conflict is omnipresent in all projects, and even in all human interactions, and conflict itself leads to many second-order social impacts. This article examines the contribution of the methodological approach used in social impact assessment (SIA) to conflict management. We view conflict as a process that has its own dynamic, and is to be expected in all situations. By using game theory (prisoner's dilemma), we describe and conceptualize this process and highlight the importance of communication in managing conflict. We demonstrate the potential use of SIA in preventing, managing and resolving conflict. Emphasis is placed on themore » participatory character of SIA and the role of public media. In contrast to existing literature, our focus is not restricted to the typical fields of study of SIA (e.g. environmental conflicts), but understands conflict itself as a field of application. In this sense, conflict-sensitive SIA can be understood both as an extension to the SIA tool kit and a broadening of the scope of SIA application. -- Highlights: • Conflict is omnipresent and creates both positive and negative social impacts. • Conflict itself represents a possible field of application for SIA. • Conflict escalation is a process that can be modeled in a game-theoretic framework. • There needs to be concerted effort to prevent escalation to avoid harmful outcomes. • Conflict-sensitive SIA can support conflict management and sustainable resolution.« less

The functional integration of the anterior cingulate cortex during conflict processing.

PubMed

Fan, Jin; Hof, Patrick R; Guise, Kevin G; Fossella, John A; Posner, Michael I

2008-04-01

Although functional activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) related to conflict processing has been studied extensively, the functional integration of the subdivisions of the ACC and other brain regions during conditions of conflict is still unclear. In this study, participants performed a task designed to elicit conflict processing by using flanker interference on target response while they were scanned using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. The physiological response of several brain regions in terms of an interaction between conflict processing and activity of the anterior rostral cingulate zone (RCZa) of the ACC, and the effective connectivity between this zone and other regions were examined using psychophysiological interaction analysis and dynamic causal modeling, respectively. There was significant integration of the RCZa with the caudal cingulate zone (CCZ) of the ACC and other brain regions such as the lateral prefrontal, primary, and supplementary motor areas above and beyond the main effect of conflict and baseline connectivity. The intrinsic connectivity from the RCZa to the CCZ was modulated by the context of conflict. These findings suggest that conflict processing is associated with the effective contribution of the RCZa to the neuronal activity of CCZ, as well as other cortical regions.

Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsiang, S. M.; Burke, M.; Miguel, E.

2014-12-01

A rapidly growing body of research examines whether human conflict can be affected by climatic changes. Drawing from archaeology, criminology, economics, geography, history, political science, and psychology, we assemble and analyze the most rigorous quantitative studies and document, for the first time, a striking convergence of results. We find strong causal evidence linking climatic events to human conflict across a range of spatial and temporal scales and across all major regions of the world. The magnitude of climate's influence is substantial: for each one standard deviation (1sd) change in climate toward warmer temperatures or more extreme rainfall, median estimates indicate that the frequency of interpersonal violence rises 4% and the frequency of intergroup conflict rises 14%. Because locations throughout the inhabited world are expected to warm 2sd to 4sd by 2050, amplified rates of human conflict could represent a large and critical impact of anthropogenic climate change.

[Spatial imprinting influence on development of cognitive process in adult animals].

PubMed

Serkova, V V; Nikol'skaia, K A

2013-12-01

The influence of spatial imprinting on cognitive activity of adult mice F1 from DBA/2J C57BL/6J in a transformable multialternative maze has been studied. A control mice initially learned in a maze with "direct" and "bypass" pathway between feeders. They successfully formed a food-getting habit after 9-10 sessions using mainly direct pathway, so the final route decision was consistent with the principle of least action. Experimental mice previously placed into reduced maze with only "bypass" pathway between feeders for 1-2 trials (1-3 min), and turn up in the complete maze immediately after that. Experimental mice could not organize a food-getting behavior according a task conditions since attempted to include in final decision both "direct" and "bypass" pathways, united in a single ring-like construction. They demonstrated situational behavior running from one feeder to another one, despite of fact that therein had no feed. So it opposed the realization of least action principle, becoming a source of psycho-emotional stress. The results showed that spatial information perceiving in the first few minutes of exploring the experimental environment can manifest itself as the acquired preference and come in conflict with an instinctive one. Cognitive dissonance predetermined the direction of the cognitive process.

Web-based GIS for collaborative planning and public participation: an application to the strategic planning of wind farm sites.

PubMed

Simão, Ana; Densham, Paul J; Haklay, Mordechai Muki

2009-05-01

Spatial planning typically involves multiple stakeholders. To any specific planning problem, stakeholders often bring different levels of knowledge about the components of the problem and make assumptions, reflecting their individual experiences, that yield conflicting views about desirable planning outcomes. Consequently, stakeholders need to learn about the likely outcomes that result from their stated preferences; this learning can be supported through enhanced access to information, increased public participation in spatial decision-making and support for distributed collaboration amongst planners, stakeholders and the public. This paper presents a conceptual system framework for web-based GIS that supports public participation in collaborative planning. The framework combines an information area, a Multi-Criteria Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS) and an argumentation map to support distributed and asynchronous collaboration in spatial planning. After analysing the novel aspects of this framework, the paper describes its implementation, as a proof of concept, in a system for Web-based Participatory Wind Energy Planning (WePWEP). Details are provided on the specific implementation of each of WePWEP's four tiers, including technical and structural aspects. Throughout the paper, particular emphasis is placed on the need to support user learning throughout the planning process.

Neural Systems Underlying Emotional and Non-emotional Interference Processing: An ALE Meta-Analysis of Functional Neuroimaging Studies

PubMed Central

Xu, Min; Xu, Guiping; Yang, Yang

2016-01-01

Understanding how the nature of interference might influence the recruitments of the neural systems is considered as the key to understanding cognitive control. Although, interference processing in the emotional domain has recently attracted great interest, the question of whether there are separable neural patterns for emotional and non-emotional interference processing remains open. Here, we performed an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of 78 neuroimaging experiments, and examined common and distinct neural systems for emotional and non-emotional interference processing. We examined brain activation in three domains of interference processing: emotional verbal interference in the face-word conflict task, non-emotional verbal interference in the color-word Stroop task, and non-emotional spatial interference in the Simon, SRC and Flanker tasks. Our results show that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was recruited for both emotional and non-emotional interference. In addition, the right anterior insula, presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA), and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) were activated by interference processing across both emotional and non-emotional domains. In light of these results, we propose that the anterior insular cortex may serve to integrate information from different dimensions and work together with the dorsal ACC to detect and monitor conflicts, whereas pre-SMA and right IFG may be recruited to inhibit inappropriate responses. In contrast, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) showed different degrees of activation and distinct lateralization patterns for different processing domains, which suggests that these regions may implement cognitive control based on the specific task requirements. PMID:27895564

Assessing patterns of human-wildlife conflicts and compensation around a Central Indian protected area.

PubMed

Karanth, Krithi K; Gopalaswamy, Arjun M; DeFries, Ruth; Ballal, Natasha

2012-01-01

Mitigating crop and livestock loss to wildlife and improving compensation distribution are important for conservation efforts in landscapes where people and wildlife co-occur outside protected areas. The lack of rigorously collected spatial data poses a challenge to management efforts to minimize loss and mitigate conflicts. We surveyed 735 households from 347 villages in a 5154 km(2) area surrounding Kanha Tiger Reserve in India. We modeled self-reported household crop and livestock loss as a function of agricultural, demographic and environmental factors, and mitigation measures. We also modeled self-reported compensation received by households as a function of demographic factors, conflict type, reporting to authorities, and wildlife species involved. Seventy-three percent of households reported crop loss and 33% livestock loss in the previous year, but less than 8% reported human injury or death. Crop loss was associated with greater number of cropping months per year and proximity to the park. Livestock loss was associated with grazing animals inside the park and proximity to the park. Among mitigation measures only use of protective physical structures were associated with reduced livestock loss. Compensation distribution was more likely for tiger related incidents, and households reporting loss and located in the buffer. Average estimated probability of crop loss was 0.93 and livestock loss was 0.60 for surveyed households. Estimated crop and livestock loss and compensation distribution were higher for households located inside the buffer. Our approach modeled conflict data to aid managers in identifying potential conflict hotspots, influential factors, and spatially maps risk probability of crop and livestock loss. This approach could help focus allocation of conservation efforts and funds directed at conflict prevention and mitigation where high densities of people and wildlife co-occur.

Assessing Patterns of Human-Wildlife Conflicts and Compensation around a Central Indian Protected Area

PubMed Central

Karanth, Krithi K.; Gopalaswamy, Arjun M.; DeFries, Ruth; Ballal, Natasha

2012-01-01

Mitigating crop and livestock loss to wildlife and improving compensation distribution are important for conservation efforts in landscapes where people and wildlife co-occur outside protected areas. The lack of rigorously collected spatial data poses a challenge to management efforts to minimize loss and mitigate conflicts. We surveyed 735 households from 347 villages in a 5154 km2 area surrounding Kanha Tiger Reserve in India. We modeled self-reported household crop and livestock loss as a function of agricultural, demographic and environmental factors, and mitigation measures. We also modeled self-reported compensation received by households as a function of demographic factors, conflict type, reporting to authorities, and wildlife species involved. Seventy-three percent of households reported crop loss and 33% livestock loss in the previous year, but less than 8% reported human injury or death. Crop loss was associated with greater number of cropping months per year and proximity to the park. Livestock loss was associated with grazing animals inside the park and proximity to the park. Among mitigation measures only use of protective physical structures were associated with reduced livestock loss. Compensation distribution was more likely for tiger related incidents, and households reporting loss and located in the buffer. Average estimated probability of crop loss was 0.93 and livestock loss was 0.60 for surveyed households. Estimated crop and livestock loss and compensation distribution were higher for households located inside the buffer. Our approach modeled conflict data to aid managers in identifying potential conflict hotspots, influential factors, and spatially maps risk probability of crop and livestock loss. This approach could help focus allocation of conservation efforts and funds directed at conflict prevention and mitigation where high densities of people and wildlife co-occur. PMID:23227173

Identifying sites for elk restoration in Arkansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Telesco, R.L.; Van Manen, F.T.; Clark, J.D.; Cartwright, Michael E.

2007-01-01

We used spatial data to identify potential areas for elk (Cervus elaphus) restoration in Arkansas. To assess habitat, we used locations of 239 elk groups collected from helicopter surveys in the Buffalo National River area of northwestern Arkansas, USA, from 1992 to 2002. We calculated the Mahalanobis distance (D2) statistic based on the relationship between those elk-group locations and a suite of 9 landscape variables to evaluate winter habitat in Arkansas. We tested model performance in the Buffalo National River area by comparing the D2 values of pixels representing areas with and without elk pellets along 19 fixed-width transects surveyed in March 2002. Pixels with elk scat had lower D2 values than pixels in which we found no pellets (logistic regression: Wald χ2 = 24.37, P < 0.001), indicating that habitat characteristics were similar to those selected by the aerially surveyed elk. Our D2 model indicated that the best elk habitat primarily occurred in northern and western Arkansas and was associated with areas of high landscape heterogeneity, heavy forest cover, gently sloping ridge tops and valleys, low human population density, and low road densities. To assess the potential for elk–human conflicts in Arkansas, we used the analytical hierarchy process to rank the importance of 8 criteria based on expert opinion from biologists involved in elk management. The biologists ranked availability of forage on public lands as having the strongest influence on the potential for elk–human conflict (33%), followed by human population growth rate (22%) and the amount of private land in row crops (18%). We then applied those rankings in a weighted linear summation to map the relative potential for elk–human conflict. Finally, we used white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) densities to identify areas where success of elk restoration may be hampered due to meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) transmission. By combining results of the 3 spatial data layers (i.e., habitat model, elk–human conflict model, deer density), our model indicated that restoration sites located in west-central and north-central Arkansas were most favorable for reintroduction.

An Investigation of the Reliability and Self-Regulatory Correlates of Conflict Adaptation.

PubMed

Feldman, Julia L; Freitas, Antonio L

2016-07-01

The study of the conflict-adaptation effect, in which encountering information-processing conflict attenuates the disruptive influence of information-processing conflicts encountered subsequently, is a burgeoning area of research. The present study investigated associations among performance measures on a Stroop-trajectory task (measuring Stroop interference and conflict adaptation), on a Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST; measuring cognitive flexibility), and on self-reported measures of self-regulation (including impulsivity and tenacity). We found significant reliability of the conflict-adaptation effects across a two-week period, for response-time and accuracy. Variability in conflict adaptation was not associated significantly with any indicators of performance on the WCST or with most of the self-reported self-regulation measures. There was substantial covariance between Stroop interference for accuracy and conflict adaptation for accuracy. The lack of evidence of covariance across distinct aspects of cognitive control (conflict adaptation, WCST performance, self-reported self-control) may reflect the operation of relatively independent component processes.

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

PubMed

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

2015-02-01

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

Diversity in spatial scope of contrast adaptation among mouse retinal ganglion cells.

PubMed

Khani, Mohammad Hossein; Gollisch, Tim

2017-12-01

Retinal ganglion cells adapt to changes in visual contrast by adjusting their response kinetics and sensitivity. While much work has focused on the time scales of these adaptation processes, less is known about the spatial scale of contrast adaptation. For example, do small, localized contrast changes affect a cell's signal processing across its entire receptive field? Previous investigations have provided conflicting evidence, suggesting that contrast adaptation occurs either locally within subregions of a ganglion cell's receptive field or globally over the receptive field in its entirety. Here, we investigated the spatial extent of contrast adaptation in ganglion cells of the isolated mouse retina through multielectrode-array recordings. We applied visual stimuli so that ganglion cell receptive fields contained regions where the average contrast level changed periodically as well as regions with constant average contrast level. This allowed us to analyze temporal stimulus integration and sensitivity separately for stimulus regions with and without contrast changes. We found that the spatial scope of contrast adaptation depends strongly on cell identity, with some ganglion cells displaying clear local adaptation, whereas others, in particular large transient ganglion cells, adapted globally to contrast changes. Thus, the spatial scope of contrast adaptation in mouse retinal ganglion cells appears to be cell-type specific. This could reflect differences in mechanisms of contrast adaptation and may contribute to the functional diversity of different ganglion cell types. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Understanding whether adaptation of a neuron in a sensory system can occur locally inside the receptive field or whether it always globally affects the entire receptive field is important for understanding how the neuron processes complex sensory stimuli. For mouse retinal ganglion cells, we here show that both local and global contrast adaptation exist and that this diversity in spatial scope can contribute to the functional diversity of retinal ganglion cell types. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Diversity in spatial scope of contrast adaptation among mouse retinal ganglion cells

PubMed Central

Khani, Mohammad Hossein

2017-01-01

Retinal ganglion cells adapt to changes in visual contrast by adjusting their response kinetics and sensitivity. While much work has focused on the time scales of these adaptation processes, less is known about the spatial scale of contrast adaptation. For example, do small, localized contrast changes affect a cell’s signal processing across its entire receptive field? Previous investigations have provided conflicting evidence, suggesting that contrast adaptation occurs either locally within subregions of a ganglion cell’s receptive field or globally over the receptive field in its entirety. Here, we investigated the spatial extent of contrast adaptation in ganglion cells of the isolated mouse retina through multielectrode-array recordings. We applied visual stimuli so that ganglion cell receptive fields contained regions where the average contrast level changed periodically as well as regions with constant average contrast level. This allowed us to analyze temporal stimulus integration and sensitivity separately for stimulus regions with and without contrast changes. We found that the spatial scope of contrast adaptation depends strongly on cell identity, with some ganglion cells displaying clear local adaptation, whereas others, in particular large transient ganglion cells, adapted globally to contrast changes. Thus, the spatial scope of contrast adaptation in mouse retinal ganglion cells appears to be cell-type specific. This could reflect differences in mechanisms of contrast adaptation and may contribute to the functional diversity of different ganglion cell types. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Understanding whether adaptation of a neuron in a sensory system can occur locally inside the receptive field or whether it always globally affects the entire receptive field is important for understanding how the neuron processes complex sensory stimuli. For mouse retinal ganglion cells, we here show that both local and global contrast adaptation exist and that this diversity in spatial scope can contribute to the functional diversity of retinal ganglion cell types. PMID:28904106

Developmental Family Processes and Interparental Conflict: Patterns of Micro-level Influences

PubMed Central

Schermerhorn, Alice C.; Chow, Sy-Miin; Cummings, E. Mark

2010-01-01

Although frequent calls are made for the study of effects of children on families and mutual influence processes within families, little empirical progress has been made. We address these questions at the level of micro processes during marital conflict, including children’s influence on marital conflict and parents’ influence on each other. Participants were 111 cohabiting couples with a child (55 males, 56 females) aged 8 – 16 years. Data were drawn from parents’ diary reports of interparental conflict over 15 days, analyzed using dynamic systems modeling tools. Child emotions and behavior during conflicts were associated with interparental positivity, negativity, and resolution at the end of the same conflicts. For example, children’s agentic behavior was associated with more marital conflict resolution whereas child negativity was linked with more marital negativity. Regarding parents’ influence on each other, among the findings, husbands’ and wives’ influence on themselves from one conflict to the next was indicated, and total number of conflicts predicted greater influence of wives’ positivity on husbands’ positivity. Contributions of these findings to the understanding of developmental family processes are discussed, including implications for advanced understanding of interrelations between child and adult functioning and development. PMID:20604608

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

PubMed

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

2009-11-01

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

Global facilitation of attended features is obligatory and restricts divided attention.

PubMed

Andersen, Søren K; Hillyard, Steven A; Müller, Matthias M

2013-11-13

In many common situations such as driving an automobile it is advantageous to attend concurrently to events at different locations (e.g., the car in front, the pedestrian to the side). While spatial attention can be divided effectively between separate locations, studies investigating attention to nonspatial features have often reported a "global effect", whereby items having the attended feature may be preferentially processed throughout the entire visual field. These findings suggest that spatial and feature-based attention may at times act in direct opposition: spatially divided foci of attention cannot be truly independent if feature attention is spatially global and thereby affects all foci equally. In two experiments, human observers attended concurrently to one of two overlapping fields of dots of different colors presented in both the left and right visual fields. When the same color or two different colors were attended on the two sides, deviant targets were detected accurately, and visual-cortical potentials elicited by attended dots were enhanced. However, when the attended color on one side matched the ignored color on the opposite side, attentional modulation of cortical potentials was abolished. This loss of feature selectivity could be attributed to enhanced processing of unattended items that shared the color of the attended items in the opposite field. Thus, while it is possible to attend to two different colors at the same time, this ability is fundamentally constrained by spatially global feature enhancement in early visual-cortical areas, which is obligatory and persists even when it explicitly conflicts with task demands.

Managing Conflict with Peers. An Ideas Into Action Guidebook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cartwright, Talula

This short publication provides a process for managing conflict among managerial peers. It focuses more on conflicts among managers that involve personal values, office politics, power struggles, and emotional reactions than on conflicts that arise from incompatible goals or from different views on how to accomplish a task. The process described…

A model that integrates eye velocity commands to keep track of smooth eye displacements.

PubMed

Blohm, Gunnar; Optican, Lance M; Lefèvre, Philippe

2006-08-01

Past results have reported conflicting findings on the oculomotor system's ability to keep track of smooth eye movements in darkness. Whereas some results indicate that saccades cannot compensate for smooth eye displacements, others report that memory-guided saccades during smooth pursuit are spatially correct. Recently, it was shown that the amount of time before the saccade made a difference: short-latency saccades were retinotopically coded, whereas long-latency saccades were spatially coded. Here, we propose a model of the saccadic system that can explain the available experimental data. The novel part of this model consists of a delayed integration of efferent smooth eye velocity commands. Two alternative physiologically realistic neural mechanisms for this integration stage are proposed. Model simulations accurately reproduced prior findings. Thus, this model reconciles the earlier contradictory reports from the literature about compensation for smooth eye movements before saccades because it involves a slow integration process.

Verbal--Spatial IQ Discrepancies Impact Brain Activation Associated with the Resolution of Cognitive Conflict in Children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Margolis, Amy E.; Davis, Katie S.; Pao, Lisa S.; Lewis, Amy; Yang, Xiao; Tau, Gregory; Zhao, Guihu; Wang, Zhishun; Marsh, Rachel

2018-01-01

Verbal--spatial discrepancies are common in healthy individuals and in those with neurodevelopmental disorders associated with cognitive control deficits including: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disability, Fragile X, 22q11 deletion, and Turner Syndrome. Previous data from healthy individuals suggest that the magnitude of the…

A strategic approach for managing conflict in hospitals: responding to the Joint Commission leadership standard, Part 2.

PubMed

Scott, Charity; Gerardi, Debra

2011-02-01

A well-designed conflict management process for hospital leaders should both retain the positive benefits of constructive conflict engagement and minimize the adverse consequences that unmanaged conflict can have on patient care. Dispute system design (DSD) experts recommend processes that emphasize the identification of the disputing parties' interests and that avoid reliance on exertions of power or resort to rights. In an emerging trend in designing conflict management systems, focus is placed on the relational dynamics among those involved in the conflict, in recognition of the reciprocal impact that each participant in a conflict has on the other. The aim is then to restore trust and heal damaged relationships as a component of resolution. The intent of Standard LD.02.04.01 is to prevent escalation to formal legal disputes and encourage leaders to overcome their conflict-avoidance tendencies through the use of well-designed approaches that support engagement with conflict. The sequence of collaborative options consists of individual coaching and counseling; informal face-to-face meetings; informal, internally facilitated meetings; informal, externally facilitated meetings; formal mediation; and postdispute analysis and feedback. Every hospital has unique needs, and every conflict management process must be tailored to individual circumstances. The recommendations in this two-part article can be adapted and incorporated in other, more comprehensive conflict management processes throughout the hospital. Expanding the conflict competence of leaders to enable them to effectively engage in and model constructive conflict-handling behaviors will further support the strategic goal of providing safe and effective patient care.

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.

Human Perceptions Mirror Realities of Carnivore Attack Risk for Livestock: Implications for Mitigating Human-Carnivore Conflict

PubMed Central

Miller, Jennifer R. B.; Jhala, Yadvendradev V.; Schmitz, Oswald J.

2016-01-01

Human-carnivore conflict is challenging to quantify because it is shaped by both the realities and people’s perceptions of carnivore threats. Whether perceptions align with realities can have implications for conflict mitigation: misalignments can lead to heightened and indiscriminant persecution of carnivores whereas alignments can offer deeper insights into human-carnivore interactions. We applied a landscape-scale spatial analysis of livestock killed by tigers and leopards in India to model and map observed attack risk, and surveyed owners of livestock killed by tigers and leopards for their rankings of threats across habitats to map perceived attack risk. Observed tiger risk to livestock was greatest near dense forests and at moderate distances from human activity while leopard risk was greatest near open vegetation. People accurately perceived spatial differences between tiger and leopard hunting patterns, expected greater threat in areas with high values of observed risk for both carnivores. Owners’ perception of threats largely did not depend on environmental conditions surrounding their village (spatial location, dominant land-use or observed carnivore risk). Surveys revealed that owners who previously lost livestock to carnivores used more livestock protection methods than those who had no prior losses, and that owners who had recently lost livestock for the first time expressed greater interest in changing their protection methods than those who experienced prior losses. Our findings suggest that in systems where realities and perceptions of carnivore risk align, conservation programs and policies can optimize conservation outcomes by (1) improving the effectiveness of livestock protection methods and (2) working with owners who have recently lost livestock and are most willing to invest effort in adapting protection strategies to mitigate human-carnivore conflict. PMID:27617831

Human Perceptions Mirror Realities of Carnivore Attack Risk for Livestock: Implications for Mitigating Human-Carnivore Conflict.

PubMed

Miller, Jennifer R B; Jhala, Yadvendradev V; Schmitz, Oswald J

2016-01-01

Human-carnivore conflict is challenging to quantify because it is shaped by both the realities and people's perceptions of carnivore threats. Whether perceptions align with realities can have implications for conflict mitigation: misalignments can lead to heightened and indiscriminant persecution of carnivores whereas alignments can offer deeper insights into human-carnivore interactions. We applied a landscape-scale spatial analysis of livestock killed by tigers and leopards in India to model and map observed attack risk, and surveyed owners of livestock killed by tigers and leopards for their rankings of threats across habitats to map perceived attack risk. Observed tiger risk to livestock was greatest near dense forests and at moderate distances from human activity while leopard risk was greatest near open vegetation. People accurately perceived spatial differences between tiger and leopard hunting patterns, expected greater threat in areas with high values of observed risk for both carnivores. Owners' perception of threats largely did not depend on environmental conditions surrounding their village (spatial location, dominant land-use or observed carnivore risk). Surveys revealed that owners who previously lost livestock to carnivores used more livestock protection methods than those who had no prior losses, and that owners who had recently lost livestock for the first time expressed greater interest in changing their protection methods than those who experienced prior losses. Our findings suggest that in systems where realities and perceptions of carnivore risk align, conservation programs and policies can optimize conservation outcomes by (1) improving the effectiveness of livestock protection methods and (2) working with owners who have recently lost livestock and are most willing to invest effort in adapting protection strategies to mitigate human-carnivore conflict.

What makes us think? A three-stage dual-process model of analytic engagement.

PubMed

Pennycook, Gordon; Fugelsang, Jonathan A; Koehler, Derek J

2015-08-01

The distinction between intuitive and analytic thinking is common in psychology. However, while often being quite clear on the characteristics of the two processes ('Type 1' processes are fast, autonomous, intuitive, etc. and 'Type 2' processes are slow, deliberative, analytic, etc.), dual-process theorists have been heavily criticized for being unclear on the factors that determine when an individual will think analytically or rely on their intuition. We address this issue by introducing a three-stage model that elucidates the bottom-up factors that cause individuals to engage Type 2 processing. According to the model, multiple Type 1 processes may be cued by a stimulus (Stage 1), leading to the potential for conflict detection (Stage 2). If successful, conflict detection leads to Type 2 processing (Stage 3), which may take the form of rationalization (i.e., the Type 1 output is verified post hoc) or decoupling (i.e., the Type 1 output is falsified). We tested key aspects of the model using a novel base-rate task where stereotypes and base-rate probabilities cued the same (non-conflict problems) or different (conflict problems) responses about group membership. Our results support two key predictions derived from the model: (1) conflict detection and decoupling are dissociable sources of Type 2 processing and (2) conflict detection sometimes fails. We argue that considering the potential stages of reasoning allows us to distinguish early (conflict detection) and late (decoupling) sources of analytic thought. Errors may occur at both stages and, as a consequence, bias arises from both conflict monitoring and decoupling failures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neurophysiological processes and functional neuroanatomical structures underlying proactive effects of emotional conflicts.

PubMed

Schreiter, Marie Luise; Chmielewski, Witold; Beste, Christian

2018-07-01

There is a strong inter-relation of cognitive and emotional processes as evidenced by emotional conflict monitoring processes. In the cognitive domain, proactive effects of conflicts have widely been studied; i.e. effects of conflicts in the n-1 trial on trial n. Yet, the neurophysiological processes and associated functional neuroanatomical structures underlying such proactive effects during emotional conflicts have not been investigated. This is done in the current study combining EEG recordings with signal decomposition methods and source localization approaches. We show that an emotional conflict in the n-1 trial differentially influences processing of positive and negative emotions in trial n, but not the processing of conflicts in trial n. The dual competition framework stresses the importance of dissociable 'perceptual' and 'response selection' or cognitive control levels for interactive effects of cognition and emotion. Only once these coding levels were isolated in the neurophysiological data, processes explaining the behavioral effects were detectable. The data show that there is not only a close correspondence between theoretical propositions of the dual competition framework and neurophysiological processes. Rather, processing levels conceptualized in the framework operate in overlapping time windows, but are implemented via distinct functional neuroanatomical structures; the precuneus (BA31) and the insula (BA13). It seems that decoding of information in the precuneus, as well as the integration of information during response selection in the insula is more difficult when confronted with angry facial emotions whenever cognitive control resources have been highly taxed by previous conflicts. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflicts in language processing: a new perspective on the N400-P600 distinction.

PubMed

Frenzel, Sabine; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina

2011-02-01

Conflicts in language processing often correlate with late positive event-related brain potentials (ERPs), particularly when they are induced by inconsistencies between different information types (e.g. syntactic and thematic/plausibility information). However, under certain circumstances, similar sentence-level interpretation conflicts (inanimate subjects) engender negativity effects (N400s) instead. The present ERP study was designed to shed light on this inconsistency. In previous studies showing monophasic positivities (P600s), the conflict was irresolvable and induced via a verb, whereas N400s were elicited by resolvable, argument-induced conflicts. Here, we therefore examined irresolvable argument-induced conflicts (pronoun case violations) in simple English sentences. Conflict strength was manipulated via the animacy of the first argument and the agreement status of the verb. Processing conflicts engendered a biphasic N400-late positivity pattern, with only the N400 sensitive to conflict strength (animacy). These results suggest that argument-induced conflicts engender N400 effects, (which we interpret in terms of increased competition for the Actor role) whereas irresolvable conflicts elicit late positivities (which we interpret as reflecting well-formedness categorisation). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carving Executive Control At Its Joints: Working Memory Capacity Predicts Stimulus-Stimulus, But Not Stimulus-Response, Conflict

PubMed Central

Meier, Matt E.; Kane, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Three experiments examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and two different forms of cognitive conflict: stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (SR) interference. Our goal was to test whether WMC’s relation to conflict-task performance is mediated by stimulus-identification processes (captured by S-S conflict), response-selection processes (captured by S-R conflict), or both. In Experiment 1, subjects completed a single task presenting both S-S and S-R conflict trials, plus trials that combined the two conflict types. We limited ostensible goal-maintenance contributions to performance by requiring the same goal for all trial types and by presenting frequent conflict trials that reinforced the goal. WMC predicted resolution of S-S conflict as expected: Higher-WMC subjects showed reduced response time interference. Although WMC also predicted S-R interference, here, higher-WMC subjects showed increased error interference. Experiment 2A replicated these results in a version of the conflict task without combined S-S/S-R trials. Experiment 2B increased the proportion of congruent (non-conflict) trials to promote reliance on goal-maintenance processes. Here, higher-WMC subjects resolved both S-S and S-R conflict more successfully than did lower-WMC subjects. The results were consistent with Kane and Engle’s (2003) two-factor theory of cognitive control, according to which WMC predicts executive-task performance through goal-maintenance and conflict-resolution processes. However, the present results add specificity to the account by suggesting that higher-WMC subjects better resolve cognitive conflict because they more efficiently select relevant stimulus features against irrelevant, distracting ones. PMID:26120774

Experience-Dependency of Reliance on Local Visual and Idiothetic Cues for Spatial Representations Created in the Absence of Distal Information.

PubMed

Draht, Fabian; Zhang, Sijie; Rayan, Abdelrahman; Schönfeld, Fabian; Wiskott, Laurenz; Manahan-Vaughan, Denise

2017-01-01

Spatial encoding in the hippocampus is based on a range of different input sources. To generate spatial representations, reliable sensory cues from the external environment are integrated with idiothetic cues, derived from self-movement, that enable path integration and directional perception. In this study, we examined to what extent idiothetic cues significantly contribute to spatial representations and navigation: we recorded place cells while rodents navigated towards two visually identical chambers in 180° orientation via two different paths in darkness and in the absence of reliable auditory or olfactory cues. Our goal was to generate a conflict between local visual and direction-specific information, and then to assess which strategy was prioritized in different learning phases. We observed that, in the absence of distal cues, place fields are initially controlled by local visual cues that override idiothetic cues, but that with multiple exposures to the paradigm, spaced at intervals of days, idiothetic cues become increasingly implemented in generating an accurate spatial representation. Taken together, these data support that, in the absence of distal cues, local visual cues are prioritized in the generation of context-specific spatial representations through place cells, whereby idiothetic cues are deemed unreliable. With cumulative exposures to the environments, the animal learns to attend to subtle idiothetic cues to resolve the conflict between visual and direction-specific information.

Integrating biological and social values when prioritizing places for biodiversity conservation.

PubMed

Whitehead, Amy L; Kujala, Heini; Ives, Christopher D; Gordon, Ascelin; Lentini, Pia E; Wintle, Brendan A; Nicholson, Emily; Raymond, Christopher M

2014-08-01

The consideration of information on social values in conjunction with biological data is critical for achieving both socially acceptable and scientifically defensible conservation planning outcomes. However, the influence of social values on spatial conservation priorities has received limited attention and is poorly understood. We present an approach that incorporates quantitative data on social values for conservation and social preferences for development into spatial conservation planning. We undertook a public participation GIS survey to spatially represent social values and development preferences and used species distribution models for 7 threatened fauna species to represent biological values. These spatially explicit data were simultaneously included in the conservation planning software Zonation to examine how conservation priorities changed with the inclusion of social data. Integrating spatially explicit information about social values and development preferences with biological data produced prioritizations that differed spatially from the solution based on only biological data. However, the integrated solutions protected a similar proportion of the species' distributions, indicating that Zonation effectively combined the biological and social data to produce socially feasible conservation solutions of approximately equivalent biological value. We were able to identify areas of the landscape where synergies and conflicts between different value sets are likely to occur. Identification of these synergies and conflicts will allow decision makers to target communication strategies to specific areas and ensure effective community engagement and positive conservation outcomes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Experience-Dependency of Reliance on Local Visual and Idiothetic Cues for Spatial Representations Created in the Absence of Distal Information

PubMed Central

Draht, Fabian; Zhang, Sijie; Rayan, Abdelrahman; Schönfeld, Fabian; Wiskott, Laurenz; Manahan-Vaughan, Denise

2017-01-01

Spatial encoding in the hippocampus is based on a range of different input sources. To generate spatial representations, reliable sensory cues from the external environment are integrated with idiothetic cues, derived from self-movement, that enable path integration and directional perception. In this study, we examined to what extent idiothetic cues significantly contribute to spatial representations and navigation: we recorded place cells while rodents navigated towards two visually identical chambers in 180° orientation via two different paths in darkness and in the absence of reliable auditory or olfactory cues. Our goal was to generate a conflict between local visual and direction-specific information, and then to assess which strategy was prioritized in different learning phases. We observed that, in the absence of distal cues, place fields are initially controlled by local visual cues that override idiothetic cues, but that with multiple exposures to the paradigm, spaced at intervals of days, idiothetic cues become increasingly implemented in generating an accurate spatial representation. Taken together, these data support that, in the absence of distal cues, local visual cues are prioritized in the generation of context-specific spatial representations through place cells, whereby idiothetic cues are deemed unreliable. With cumulative exposures to the environments, the animal learns to attend to subtle idiothetic cues to resolve the conflict between visual and direction-specific information. PMID:28634444

Biotechnology

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-01-12

The short-arm centrifuge subjects an astronaut to conflicting sensory input and study the astronaut's perception of motion. It is one of several instruments used in the Spatial Reorientation Following Space Flight investigation to be conducted after astronauts return to Earth. During space flight, the vestibular organs no longer respond in a familiar way. Instead, inputs from the irner ear do not match those coming from the eyes. While on Earth, you can open your eyes to see if you truly are spinning, but astronauts do not have this luxury. Astronauts can see the floor, but have no sense of down; when they bend their heads forward, the otoliths are not stimulated properly. This state, called sensory conflict, must be resolved by the brain to maintain orientation. When they first return to Earth, astronauts are again disoriented because of sensory conflict. They undergo a period of spatial reorientation, as their brains reconcile what their eyes see and what their vestibular system senses. Recovery can take anywhere from hours to days depending on the length of the mission. Principal Investigator: Dr. William Paloski, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-01-12

The short-arm centrifuge subjects an astronaut to conflicting sensory input and study the astronaut's perception of motion. It is one of several instruments used in the Spatial Reorientation Following Space Flight investigation to be conducted on crewmembers. During space flight, the vestibular organs no longer respond in a familiar way. Instead, inputs from the irner ear do not match those coming from the eyes. While on Earth, you can open your eyes to see if you truly are spinning, but astronauts do not have this luxury. Astronauts can see the floor, but have no sense of down; when they bend their heads forward, the otoliths are not stimulated properly. This state, called sensory conflict, must be resolved by the brain to maintain orientation. When they first return to Earth, astronauts are again disoriented because of sensory conflict. They undergo a period of spatial reorientation, as their brains reconcile what their eyes see and what their vestibular system senses. Recovery can take anywhere from hours to days depending on the length of the mission. Principal Investigator: Dr. William Paloski, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX.

A multidimensional model of the effect of gravity on the spatial orientation of the monkey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merfeld, D. M.; Young, L. R.; Oman, C. M.; Shelhamer, M. J.

1993-01-01

A "sensory conflict" model of spatial orientation was developed. This mathematical model was based on concepts derived from observer theory, optimal observer theory, and the mathematical properties of coordinate rotations. The primary hypothesis is that the central nervous system of the squirrel monkey incorporates information about body dynamics and sensory dynamics to develop an internal model. The output of this central model (expected sensory afference) is compared to the actual sensory afference, with the difference defined as "sensory conflict." The sensory conflict information is, in turn, used to drive central estimates of angular velocity ("velocity storage"), gravity ("gravity storage"), and linear acceleration ("acceleration storage") toward more accurate values. The model successfully predicts "velocity storage" during rotation about an earth-vertical axis. The model also successfully predicts that the time constant of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex is reduced and that the axis of eye rotation shifts toward alignment with gravity following postrotatory tilt. Finally, the model predicts the bias, modulation, and decay components that have been observed during off-vertical axis rotations (OVAR).

Power effects on cognitive control: Turning conflict into action.

PubMed

Schmid, Petra C; Kleiman, Tali; Amodio, David M

2015-06-01

Power is known to promote effective goal pursuit, especially when it requires one to overcome distractions or bias. We proposed that this effect involves the ability to engage and implement cognitive control. In Study 1, we demonstrated that power enhances behavioral performance on a response conflict task and that it does so by enhancing controlled processing rather than by reducing automatic processing. In Study 2, we used an event-related potential index of anterior cingulate activity to test whether power effects on control were due to enhanced conflict sensitivity or action implementation. Power did not significantly affect neural sensitivity to conflict; rather, high power was associated with a stronger link between conflict processing and intended action, relative to low power. These findings suggest a new perspective on how social factors can affect controlled processing and offer new evidence regarding the transition between conflict detection and the implementation of action control. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Adaptation to Emotional Conflict: Evidence from a Novel Face Emotion Paradigm

PubMed Central

Clayson, Peter E.; Larson, Michael J.

2013-01-01

The preponderance of research on trial-by-trial recruitment of affective control (e.g., conflict adaptation) relies on stimuli wherein lexical word information conflicts with facial affective stimulus properties (e.g., the face-Stroop paradigm where an emotional word is overlaid on a facial expression). Several studies, however, indicate different neural time course and properties for processing of affective lexical stimuli versus affective facial stimuli. The current investigation used a novel task to examine control processes implemented following conflicting emotional stimuli with conflict-inducing affective face stimuli in the absence of affective words. Forty-one individuals completed a task wherein the affective-valence of the eyes and mouth were either congruent (happy eyes, happy mouth) or incongruent (happy eyes, angry mouth) while high-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. There was a significant congruency effect and significant conflict adaptation effects for error rates. Although response times (RTs) showed a significant congruency effect, the effect of previous-trial congruency on current-trial RTs was only present for current congruent trials. Temporospatial principal components analysis showed a P3-like ERP source localized using FieldTrip software to the medial cingulate gyrus that was smaller on incongruent than congruent trials and was significantly influenced by the recruitment of control processes following previous-trial emotional conflict (i.e., there was significant conflict adaptation in the ERPs). Results show that a face-only paradigm may be sufficient to elicit emotional conflict and suggest a system for rapidly detecting conflicting emotional stimuli and subsequently adjusting control resources, similar to cognitive conflict detection processes, when using conflicting facial expressions without words. PMID:24073278

Adaptation to emotional conflict: evidence from a novel face emotion paradigm.

PubMed

Clayson, Peter E; Larson, Michael J

2013-01-01

The preponderance of research on trial-by-trial recruitment of affective control (e.g., conflict adaptation) relies on stimuli wherein lexical word information conflicts with facial affective stimulus properties (e.g., the face-Stroop paradigm where an emotional word is overlaid on a facial expression). Several studies, however, indicate different neural time course and properties for processing of affective lexical stimuli versus affective facial stimuli. The current investigation used a novel task to examine control processes implemented following conflicting emotional stimuli with conflict-inducing affective face stimuli in the absence of affective words. Forty-one individuals completed a task wherein the affective-valence of the eyes and mouth were either congruent (happy eyes, happy mouth) or incongruent (happy eyes, angry mouth) while high-density event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. There was a significant congruency effect and significant conflict adaptation effects for error rates. Although response times (RTs) showed a significant congruency effect, the effect of previous-trial congruency on current-trial RTs was only present for current congruent trials. Temporospatial principal components analysis showed a P3-like ERP source localized using FieldTrip software to the medial cingulate gyrus that was smaller on incongruent than congruent trials and was significantly influenced by the recruitment of control processes following previous-trial emotional conflict (i.e., there was significant conflict adaptation in the ERPs). Results show that a face-only paradigm may be sufficient to elicit emotional conflict and suggest a system for rapidly detecting conflicting emotional stimuli and subsequently adjusting control resources, similar to cognitive conflict detection processes, when using conflicting facial expressions without words.

Carving executive control at its joints: Working memory capacity predicts stimulus-stimulus, but not stimulus-response, conflict.

PubMed

Meier, Matt E; Kane, Michael J

2015-11-01

Three experiments examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and 2 different forms of cognitive conflict: stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (S-R) interference. Our goal was to test whether WMC's relation to conflict-task performance is mediated by stimulus-identification processes (captured by S-S conflict), response-selection processes (captured by S-R conflict), or both. In Experiment 1, subjects completed a single task presenting both S-S and S-R conflict trials, plus trials that combined the 2 conflict types. We limited ostensible goal-maintenance contributions to performance by requiring the same goal for all trial types and by presenting frequent conflict trials that reinforced the goal. WMC predicted resolution of S-S conflict as expected: Higher WMC subjects showed reduced response time interference. Although WMC also predicted S-R interference, here, higher WMC subjects showed increased error interference. Experiment 2A replicated these results in a version of the conflict task without combined S-S/S-R trials. Experiment 2B increased the proportion of congruent (nonconflict) trials to promote reliance on goal-maintenance processes. Here, higher WMC subjects resolved both S-S and S-R conflict more successfully than did lower WMC subjects. The results were consistent with Kane and Engle's (2003) 2-factor theory of cognitive control, according to which WMC predicts executive-task performance through goal-maintenance and conflict-resolution processes. However, the present results add specificity to the account by suggesting that higher WMC subjects better resolve cognitive conflict because they more efficiently select relevant stimulus features against irrelevant, distracting ones. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Ageing differentially affects neural processing of different conflict types-an fMRI study.

PubMed

Korsch, Margarethe; Frühholz, Sascha; Herrmann, Manfred

2014-01-01

Interference control and conflict resolution is affected by ageing. There is increasing evidence that ageing does not compromise interference control in general but rather shows distinctive effects on different components of interference control. Different conflict types, [e.g., stimulus-stimulus (S-S) or stimulus-response (S-R) conflicts] trigger different cognitive processes and thus activate different neural networks. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we used a combined Flanker and Stimulus Response Conflict (SRC) task to investigate the effect of ageing on S-S and S-R conflicts. Behavioral data analysis revealed larger SRC effects in elderly. fMRI Results show that both age groups recruited similar regions [caudate nucleus, cingulate gyrus and middle occipital gyrus (MOG)] during Flanker conflict processing. Furthermore, elderly show an additional activation pattern in parietal and frontal areas. In contrast, no common activation of both age groups was found in response to the SRC. These data suggest that ageing has distinctive effects on S-S and S-R conflicts.

The Dyadic Construction of Romantic Conflict Recovery Sabotage

PubMed Central

Haydon, Katherine C.; Jonestrask, Cassandra; Guhn-Knight, Haley; Salvatore, Jessica E.

2017-01-01

This longitudinal study of 100 couples assessed individual and dyadic processes associated with romantic conflict recovery, or how couples behave in the moments following conflict. Couples completed measures of attachment anxiety and avoidance; a conflict discussion during which affect, behavior, and conflict resolution were coded; a cool-down discussion during which post-conflict behavior was coded; and measures of relationship satisfaction and stability one year later. Recovery sabotage (negative behavior and perseveration on conflict in the moments following conflict) was associated with high attachment anxiety and low avoidance. Recovery sabotage was unrelated to affect expressed during conflict and was instead tied to whether partners aired or suppressed grievances. Consistent with the demand-withdraw conflict pattern, recovery sabotage was associated with lower actor conflict avoidance but higher partner conflict avoidance. These effects were independent of conflict resolution, which was not significantly associated with recovery sabotage when other features of conflict were controlled. Recovery sabotage and conflict resolution also differentially predicted satisfaction and stability one year later. Findings suggest recovery sabotage is a distinct, developmentally organized relationship process tied to attachment history and behavioral, rather than affective, transactions between partners during conflict. PMID:29398761

Impairment of conflict processing in alexithymic individuals.

PubMed

Zhang, Lei; Zhu, Chunyan; Ye, Rong; Cao, Zhaolun; Tian, Yanghua; Yang, Ping; Hu, Panpan; Wang, Kai

2011-10-31

Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing feelings and in distinguishing between feelings and bodily sensations. Several researchers have examined the impairment of executive functioning in alexithymia; however, only a few studies have been specifically concerned with conflict processing in alexithymia. Utilizing the attention network test (ANT), we investigated whether alexithymia is related to or independent of executive function, especially with respect to conflict processing. Participants included 33 subjects with high alexithymia scores on the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and 30 matched subjects with low alexithymia scores. On the ANT, we found a significant difference between the two groups in conflict processing, and no significant difference in alerting and orienting dimensions. These findings suggested that subjects with high alexithymia scores have selective impairment in conflict processing. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Subthalamic nucleus stimulation impairs emotional conflict adaptation in Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Irmen, Friederike; Huebl, Julius; Schroll, Henning; Brücke, Christof; Schneider, Gerd-Helge; Hamker, Fred H; Kühn, Andrea A

2017-10-01

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) occupies a strategic position in the motor network, slowing down responses in situations with conflicting perceptual input. Recent evidence suggests a role of the STN in emotion processing through strong connections with emotion recognition structures. As deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) inhibits monitoring of perceptual and value-based conflict, STN DBS may also interfere with emotional conflict processing. To assess a possible interference of STN DBS with emotional conflict processing, we used an emotional Stroop paradigm. Subjects categorized face stimuli according to their emotional expression while ignoring emotionally congruent or incongruent superimposed word labels. Eleven PD patients ON and OFF STN DBS and eleven age-matched healthy subjects conducted the task. We found conflict-induced response slowing in healthy controls and PD patients OFF DBS, but not ON DBS, suggesting STN DBS to decrease adaptation to within-trial conflict. OFF DBS, patients showed more conflict-induced slowing for negative conflict stimuli, which was diminished by STN DBS. Computational modelling of STN influence on conflict adaptation disclosed DBS to interfere via increased baseline activity. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Improved emotional conflict control triggered by the processing priority of negative emotion.

PubMed

Yang, Qian; Wang, Xiangpeng; Yin, Shouhang; Zhao, Xiaoyue; Tan, Jinfeng; Chen, Antao

2016-04-18

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for emotional conflict resolution, and this control mechanism is affected by the emotional valence of distracting stimuli. In the present study, we investigated effects of negative and positive stimuli on emotional conflict control using a face-word Stroop task in combination with functional brain imaging. Emotional conflict was absent in the negative face context, in accordance with the null activation observed in areas regarding emotional face processing (fusiform face area, middle temporal/occipital gyrus). Importantly, these visual areas negatively coupled with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, the significant emotional conflict was observed in the positive face context, this effect was accompanied by activation in areas associated with emotional face processing, and the default mode network (DMN), here, DLPFC mainly negatively coupled with DMN, rather than visual areas. These results suggested that the conflict control mechanism exerted differently between negative faces and positive faces, it implemented more efficiently in the negative face condition, whereas it is more devoted to inhibiting internal interference in the positive face condition. This study thus provides a plausible mechanism of emotional conflict resolution that the rapid pathway for negative emotion processing efficiently triggers control mechanisms to preventively resolve emotional conflict.

Improved emotional conflict control triggered by the processing priority of negative emotion

PubMed Central

Yang, Qian; Wang, Xiangpeng; Yin, Shouhang; Zhao, Xiaoyue; Tan, Jinfeng; Chen, Antao

2016-01-01

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for emotional conflict resolution, and this control mechanism is affected by the emotional valence of distracting stimuli. In the present study, we investigated effects of negative and positive stimuli on emotional conflict control using a face-word Stroop task in combination with functional brain imaging. Emotional conflict was absent in the negative face context, in accordance with the null activation observed in areas regarding emotional face processing (fusiform face area, middle temporal/occipital gyrus). Importantly, these visual areas negatively coupled with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, the significant emotional conflict was observed in the positive face context, this effect was accompanied by activation in areas associated with emotional face processing, and the default mode network (DMN), here, DLPFC mainly negatively coupled with DMN, rather than visual areas. These results suggested that the conflict control mechanism exerted differently between negative faces and positive faces, it implemented more efficiently in the negative face condition, whereas it is more devoted to inhibiting internal interference in the positive face condition. This study thus provides a plausible mechanism of emotional conflict resolution that the rapid pathway for negative emotion processing efficiently triggers control mechanisms to preventively resolve emotional conflict. PMID:27086908

Collaboration and Conflict: Insights regarding Reducing Barriers to Participation through a Survey Study of Parents and School Administrators during Special Education Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucker, Vanessa E.

2009-01-01

Parents and school administrators are both stakeholders in the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) process. While the inclusion of parents in the process as full members is mandated by IDEA 2004 there remains a growing problem of conflict within this process. Research has reviewed the process of conflict during the IEP meeting and other…

Perceptual conflict during sensorimotor integration processes - a neurophysiological study in response inhibition.

PubMed

Chmielewski, Witold X; Beste, Christian

2016-05-25

A multitude of sensory inputs needs to be processed during sensorimotor integration. A crucial factor for detecting relevant information is its complexity, since information content can be conflicting at a perceptual level. This may be central to executive control processes, such as response inhibition. This EEG study aims to investigate the system neurophysiological mechanisms behind effects of perceptual conflict on response inhibition. We systematically modulated perceptual conflict by integrating a Global-local task with a Go/Nogo paradigm. The results show that conflicting perceptual information, in comparison to non-conflicting perceptual information, impairs response inhibition performance. This effect was evident regardless of whether the relevant information for response inhibition is displayed on the global, or local perceptual level. The neurophysiological data suggests that early perceptual/ attentional processing stages do not underlie these modulations. Rather, processes at the response selection level (P3), play a role in changed response inhibition performance. This conflict-related impairment of inhibitory processes is associated with activation differences in (inferior) parietal areas (BA7 and BA40) and not as commonly found in the medial prefrontal areas. This suggests that various functional neuroanatomical structures may mediate response inhibition and that the functional neuroanatomical structures involved depend on the complexity of sensory integration processes.

A spatially explicit risk assessment approach: Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea)

PubMed Central

Arcangeli, Antonella; Prado Fonseca, Vinícius; Campana, Ilaria; Pierce, Graham J.; Rotta, Andrea; Bellido, Jose Maria

2017-01-01

Spatially explicit risk assessment is an essential component of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), which provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment, minimizing environmental impacts and conflicts among users. In this study, we assessed the risk of the exposure to high intensity vessel traffic areas for the three most abundant cetacean species (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus and Balaenoptera physalus) in the southern area of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which is the only pelagic Marine Protected Area (MPA) for marine mammals in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, we modeled the occurrence of the three cetacean species as a function of habitat variables in June by using hierarchical Bayesian spatial-temporal models. Similarly, we modelled the marine traffic intensity in order to find high risk areas and estimated the potential conflict due to the overlap with the cetacean home ranges. Results identified two main hot-spots of high intensity marine traffic in the area, which partially overlap with the area of presence of the studied species. Our findings emphasize the need for nationally relevant and transboundary planning and management measures for these marine species. PMID:28644882

A spatially explicit risk assessment approach: Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea).

PubMed

Pennino, Maria Grazia; Arcangeli, Antonella; Prado Fonseca, Vinícius; Campana, Ilaria; Pierce, Graham J; Rotta, Andrea; Bellido, Jose Maria

2017-01-01

Spatially explicit risk assessment is an essential component of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), which provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment, minimizing environmental impacts and conflicts among users. In this study, we assessed the risk of the exposure to high intensity vessel traffic areas for the three most abundant cetacean species (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus and Balaenoptera physalus) in the southern area of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which is the only pelagic Marine Protected Area (MPA) for marine mammals in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, we modeled the occurrence of the three cetacean species as a function of habitat variables in June by using hierarchical Bayesian spatial-temporal models. Similarly, we modelled the marine traffic intensity in order to find high risk areas and estimated the potential conflict due to the overlap with the cetacean home ranges. Results identified two main hot-spots of high intensity marine traffic in the area, which partially overlap with the area of presence of the studied species. Our findings emphasize the need for nationally relevant and transboundary planning and management measures for these marine species.

Complementary modulation of N2 and CRN by conflict frequency.

PubMed

Grützmann, Rosa; Riesel, Anja; Klawohn, Julia; Kathmann, Norbert; Endrass, Tanja

2014-08-01

The present study investigated the modulation of the N2 and the correct-related negativity (CRN) by conflict frequency. Conflict costs, as measured by reaction times and error rate, were reduced with increasing conflict frequency, indicating improved conflict resolution. N2 amplitudes in incompatible trials increased with higher conflict frequency, while postresponse CRN amplitudes decreased. In concert with behavioral findings of reduced conflict costs and greater interference suppression, the increase of N2 might reflect enhanced conflict resolution during stimulus processing. The CRN, however, might reflect postresponse implementation of cognitive control, which is reduced when conflict is already adequately resolved during stimulus processing. Furthermore, N2 and CRN in incompatible trials were inversely related on the between- and within-subject level, implying that the two modes of implementing cognitive control are applied complementarily. Copyright © 2014 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Work Processes, Role Conflict, and Role Overload: The Case of Nurses and Engineers in the Public Sector.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bacharach, Samuel B.; And Others

1990-01-01

Study of five sets of work process variables and their relationship to role conflict and overload among public sector nurses and engineers found managerial strategies appropriate for minimizing role conflict not necessarily appropriate for minimizing role overload. Some work process predictors may be similar across professions, and managerial…

Parametric Analysis of Surveillance Quality and Level and Quality of Intent Information and Their Impact on Conflict Detection Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guerreiro, Nelson M.; Butler, Ricky W.; Hagen, George E.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Lewis, Timothy A.

2016-01-01

A loss-of-separation (LOS) is said to occur when two aircraft are spatially too close to one another. A LOS is the fundamental unsafe event to be avoided in air traffic management and conflict detection (CD) is the function that attempts to predict these LOS events. In general, the effectiveness of conflict detection relates to the overall safety and performance of an air traffic management concept. An abstract, parametric analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of surveillance quality, level of intent information, and quality of intent information on conflict detection performance. The data collected in this analysis can be used to estimate the conflict detection performance under alternative future scenarios or alternative allocations of the conflict detection function, based on the quality of the surveillance and intent information under those conditions.Alternatively, this data could also be used to estimate the surveillance and intent information quality required to achieve some desired CD performance as part of the design of a new separation assurance system.

Event-related potential N270 as an index of social information conflict in explicit processing.

PubMed

Wang, Pei; Tan, Chen-Hao; Li, Yu; Zhang, Qin; Wang, Yi-Bo; Luo, Jun-Long

2018-01-01

As N270 has been widely shown to be sensitive to nonsocial information conflict, the present study investigated whether social information conflict can elicit increased N270 in either explicit or implicit processing conditions. Gender stereotype-related picture-word pairs and picture-word pairs in specific colors were used as social and nonsocial information, respectively. Participants performed an explicit task based on the S1-S2 paradigm in Study 1, and both social and nonsocial information conditions elicited larger N270 than the no-conflict condition. In Study 2, participants performed a word judgment task that was modified from the S1-S2 paradigm of Study 1. However, neither social information nor nonsocial information elicited larger N270 within the conflict condition. Social trials generally elicited a more negative ERP waveform than nonsocial trials overall. These findings suggest that N270 may reflect the processing of social information conflict only in explicit conditions and also that the cognitive basis of N270 is thus a general but explicit processing of working memory representation conflict. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Age-related changes in cognitive conflict processing: an event-related potential study.

PubMed

Mager, Ralph; Bullinger, Alex H; Brand, Serge; Schmidlin, Maria; Schärli, Heinz; Müller-Spahn, Franz; Störmer, Robert; Falkenstein, Michael

2007-12-01

Cognitive tasks involving conflicting stimuli and responses are associated with an early age-related decline in performance. Conflict and conflict-induced interference can be stimulus- or response-related. In classical stimulus-response compatibility tasks, such as the Stroop task, the event-related potential (ERP) usually reveals a greater negativity on incongruent versus congruent trials which has often been linked with conflict processing. However, it is unclear whether this negativity is related to stimulus- or response-related conflict, thus rendering the meaning of age-related changes inconclusive. In the present study, a modified Stroop task was used to focus on stimulus-related interference processes while excluding response-related interference. Since we intended to study work-relevant effects ERPs and performance were determined in young (about 30 years old) and middle-aged (about 50 years old) healthy subjects (total n=80). In the ERP, a broad negativity developed after incongruent versus congruent stimuli between 350 and 650 ms. An age-related increase of the latency and amplitude of this negativity was observed. These results indicate age-related alterations in the processing of conflicting stimuli already in middle age.

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

PubMed

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

2015-07-01

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

Spatially explicit modeling of conflict zones between wildlife and snow sports: prioritizing areas for winter refuges.

PubMed

Braunisch, Veronika; Patthey, Patrick; Arlettaz, Raphaël

2011-04-01

Outdoor winter recreation exerts an increasing pressure upon mountain ecosystems, with unpredictable, free-ranging activities (e.g., ski mountaineering, snowboarding, and snowshoeing) representing a major source of stress for wildlife. Mitigating anthropogenic disturbance requires the spatially explicit prediction of the interference between the activities of humans and wildlife. We applied spatial modeling to localize conflict zones between wintering Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix), a declining species of Alpine timberline ecosystems, and two free-ranging winter sports (off-piste skiing [including snow-boarding] and snowshoeing). Track data (snow-sports and birds' traces) obtained from aerial photographs taken over a 585-km transect running along the timberline, implemented within a maximum entropy model, were used to predict the occurrence of snow sports and Black Grouse as a function of landscape characteristics. By modeling Black Grouse presence in the theoretical absence of free-ranging activities and ski infrastructure, we first estimated the amount of habitat reduction caused by these two factors. The models were then extrapolated to the altitudinal range occupied by Black Grouse, while the spatial extent and intensity of potential conflict were assessed by calculating the probability of human-wildlife co-occurrence. The two snow-sports showed different distribution patterns. Skiers' occurrence was mainly determined by ski-lift presence and a smooth terrain, while snowshoers' occurrence was linked to hiking or skiing routes and moderate slopes. Wintering Black Grouse avoided ski lifts and areas frequented by free-ranging snow sports. According to the models, Black Grouse have faced a substantial reduction of suitable wintering habitat along the timberline transect: 12% due to ski infrastructure and another 16% when adding free-ranging activities. Extrapolating the models over the whole study area results in an overall habitat loss due to ski infrastructure of 10%, while there was a > 10% probability of human-wildlife encounters on 67% of the remaining area of suitable wintering habitat. Only 23% of the wintering habitat was thus free of anthropogenic disturbance. By identifying zones of potential conflict, while rating its relative intensity, our model provides a powerful tool to delineate and prioritize areas where wildlife winter refuges and visitor steering measures should be implemented.

Neural circuitry of emotional and cognitive conflict revealed through facial expressions.

PubMed

Chiew, Kimberly S; Braver, Todd S

2011-03-09

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

The neural oscillations of conflict adaptation in the human frontal region.

PubMed

Tang, Dandan; Hu, Li; Chen, Antao

2013-07-01

Incongruency between print color and the semantic meaning of a word in a classical Stroop task activates the human conflict monitoring system and triggers a behavioral conflict. Conflict adaptation has been suggested to mediate the cortical processing of neural oscillations in such a conflict situation. However, the basic mechanisms that underlie the influence of conflict adaptation on the changes of neural oscillations are not clear. In the present study, electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded from sixteen healthy human participants while they were performing a color-word Stroop task within a novel look-to-do transition design that included two response modalities. In the 'look' condition, participants were informed to look at the color of presented words but no responses were required; in the 'do' condition, they were informed to make arranged responses to the color of presented words. Behaviorally, a reliable conflict adaptation was observed. Time-frequency analysis revealed that (1) in the 'look' condition, theta-band activity in the left- and right-frontal regions reflected a conflict-related process at a response inhibition level; and (2) in the 'do' condition, both theta-band activity in the left-frontal region and alpha-band activity in the left-, right-, and centro-frontal regions reflected a process of conflict control, which triggered neural and behavioral adaptation. Taken together, these results suggest that there are frontal mechanisms involving neural oscillations that can mediate response inhibition processes and control behavioral conflict. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neural Circuitry of Emotional and Cognitive Conflict Revealed through Facial Expressions

PubMed Central

Chiew, Kimberly S.; Braver, Todd S.

2011-01-01

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

Conflict monitoring and adaptation as reflected by N2 amplitude in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Riesel, A; Klawohn, J; Kathmann, N; Endrass, T

2017-06-01

Feelings of doubt and perseverative behaviours are key symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and have been linked to hyperactive error and conflict signals in the brain. While enhanced neural correlates of error monitoring have been robustly shown, far less is known about conflict processing and adaptation in OCD. We examined event-related potentials during conflict processing in 70 patients with OCD and 70 matched healthy comparison participants, focusing on the stimulus-locked N2 elicited in a flanker task. Conflict adaptation was evaluated by analysing sequential adjustments in N2 and behaviour, i.e. current conflict effects as a function of preceding conflict. Patients with OCD showed enhanced N2 amplitudes compared with healthy controls. Further, patients showed stronger conflict adaptation effects on reaction times and N2 amplitude. Thus, the effect of previous compatibility was larger in patients than in healthy participants as indicated by greater N2 adjustments in change trials (i.e. iC, cI). As a result of stronger conflict adaptation in patients, N2 amplitudes were comparable between groups in incompatible trials following incompatible trials. Larger N2 amplitudes and greater conflict adaptation in OCD point to enhanced conflict monitoring leading to increased recruitment of cognitive control in patients. This was most pronounced in change trials and was associated with stronger conflict adjustment in N2 and behaviour. Thus, hyperactive conflict monitoring in OCD may be beneficial in situations that require a high amount of control to resolve conflict, but may also reflect an effortful process that is linked to distress and symptoms of OCD.

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.

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2015-01-01

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

Where Does Conflict Management Fit in the System's Leadership Puzzle?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Vickie S.; Johnston, Linda M.

2008-01-01

Superintendents are faced with conflicts every day. The conflicts arise around issues of personnel, community roles, funding, politics, and work/life balance. Good leadership involves an understanding of how to deal with conflict, whom to involve in the conflict resolution, how to set up structures and processes that ensure conflict doesn't…

The Paradox of Intragroup Conflict: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2012-01-01

Since the meta-analysis by De Dreu and Weingart (2003b) on the effects of intragroup conflict on group outcomes, more than 80 new empirical studies of conflict have been conducted, often investigating more complex, moderated relationships between conflict and group outcomes, as well as new types of intragroup conflict, such as process conflict. To…

Is conflict adaptation due to active regulation or passive carry-over? Evidence from eye movements.

PubMed

Hubbard, Jason; Kuhns, David; Schäfer, Theo A J; Mayr, Ulrich

2017-03-01

Conflict-adaptation effects (i.e., reduced response-time costs on high-conflict trials following high-conflict trials) supposedly represent our cognitive system's ability to regulate itself according to current processing demands. However, currently it is not clear whether these effects reflect conflict-triggered, active regulation, or passive carry-over of previous-trial control settings. We used eye movements to examine whether the degree of experienced conflict modulates conflict-adaptation effects, as the conflict-triggered regulation view predicts. Across 2 experiments in which participants had to identify a target stimulus based on an endogenous cue while-on conflict trials-having to resist a sudden-onset distractor, we found a clear indication of conflict adaptation. This adaptation effect disappeared however, when participants inadvertently fixated the sudden-onset distractor on the previous trial-that is, when they experienced a high degree of conflict. This pattern of results suggests that conflict adaptation can be explained parsimoniously in terms of a broader memory process that retains recently adopted control settings across trials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Is Conflict Adaptation due to Active Regulation or Passive Carry-Over? Evidence from Eye Movements

PubMed Central

Hubbard, Jason; Kuhns, David; Schäfer, Theo A.J.; Mayr, Ulrich

2017-01-01

Conflict-adaptation effects (i.e., reduced response-time costs on high-conflict trials following high-conflict trials) supposedly represent our cognitive system’s ability to regulate itself according to current processing demands. However, currently it is not clear whether these effects reflect conflict-triggered, active regulation, or passive carry-over of previous-trial control settings. We used eye movements to examine whether the degree of experienced conflict modulates conflict-adaptation effects, as the conflict-triggered regulation view predicts. Across two experiments in which participants had to identify a target stimulus based on an endogenous cue while––on conflict trials––having to resist a sudden-onset distractor, we found a clear indication of conflict adaptation. This adaptation effect disappeared however, when participants inadvertently fixated the sudden-onset distractor on the previous trial––that is, when they experienced a high degree of conflict. This pattern of results suggests that conflict adaptation can be explained parsimoniously in terms of a broader memory process that retains recently adopted control settings across trials. PMID:27656869

Urban Space as the Commons - New Modes for Urban Space Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ondrejicka, Vladimir; Finka, Maros; Husar, Milan; Jamecny, Lubomir

2017-12-01

The significant growing of urban population, globalization of social-ecological systems, fuzzification of spatial structures, the diversity of actors in spatial development, their power and interest in using the resources including space, especially in high-density urban areas. Spatial development is connected with a high concentration of economic activities and population in urban systems. In many cases very rapid processes of urbanization and suburbanization approach natural spatial/territorial limits, such as carrying capacity of land, transport and infrastructural systems, absorption capacities of recipients and others [1]. Growing shortage of space and problems in their accessibility (physical, functional, etc.) leads to growing tension and conflicts among the actors/users of urban spaces and represent the initial phase of space deprivations processes. There is a parallel with “tragedy of commons” as defined by Hardin [2] and was reinterpreted by many other academics and researchers. Urban space can be clearly interpreted as the commons or commons good for their community of users and relevant actors, so innovative governance modes overlapping defined “tragedy of commons” representing a possible approach for a new concept of urban public spaces management. This paper presents a possible new approach to the management of urban spaces reflecting the current challenges in spatial development based on the theory of commons and innovative governance modes. The new approach is built on innovations in institutional regimes, the algorithm of decision-making and economic expression and interpretation of quality of the space. The theory of the commons as the base source for this approach has been broadly proved in practice and Elinor Ostrom as the author of this theory [3-5] was awarded by Nobel Prize in 2009.

Resource selection by elk at two spatial scales in the Black Hills, South Dakota

Treesearch

Mark A. Rumble; R. Scott Gamo

2011-01-01

Understanding resource selection by elk (Cervus elaphus) at multiple spatial scales may provide information that will help resolve the increasing number of resource conflicts involving elk. We quantified vegetation at 412 sites where the precise location of elk was known by direct observation and 509 random sites in the Black Hills of South Dakota during 1998-2001. We...

A failure of conflict to modulate dual-stream processing may underlie the formation and maintenance of delusions.

PubMed

Speechley, W J; Murray, C B; McKay, R M; Munz, M T; Ngan, E T C

2010-03-01

Dual-stream information processing proposes that reasoning is composed of two interacting processes: a fast, intuitive system (Stream 1) and a slower, more logical process (Stream 2). In non-patient controls, divergence of these streams may result in the experience of conflict, modulating decision-making towards Stream 2, and initiating a more thorough examination of the available evidence. In delusional schizophrenia patients, a failure of conflict to modulate decision-making towards Stream 2 may reduce the influence of contradictory evidence, resulting in a failure to correct erroneous beliefs. Delusional schizophrenia patients and non-patient controls completed a deductive reasoning task requiring logical validity judgments of two-part conditional statements. Half of the statements were characterized by a conflict between logical validity (Stream 2) and content believability (Stream 1). Patients were significantly worse than controls in determining the logical validity of both conflict and non-conflict conditional statements. This between groups difference was significantly greater for the conflict condition. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that delusional schizophrenia patients fail to use conflict to modulate towards Stream 2 when the two streams of reasoning arrive at incompatible judgments. This finding provides encouraging preliminary support for the Dual-Stream Modulation Failure model of delusion formation and maintenance. 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Emotional conflict processing in adolescent chronic fatigue syndrome: A pilot study using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Wortinger, Laura Anne; Endestad, Tor; Melinder, Annika Maria D; Øie, Merete Glenne; Sulheim, Dag; Fagermoen, Even; Wyller, Vegard Bruun

2017-05-01

Studies of neurocognition suggest that abnormalities in cognitive control contribute to the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in adolescents, yet these abnormalities remain poorly understood at the neurobiological level. Reports indicate that adolescents with CFS are significantly impaired in conflict processing, a primary element of cognitive control. In this study, we examine whether emotional conflict processing is altered on behavioral and neural levels in adolescents with CFS and a healthy comparison group. Fifteen adolescent patients with CFS and 24 healthy adolescent participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing an emotional conflict task that involved categorizing facial affect while ignoring overlaid affect labeled words. Adolescent CFS patients were less able to engage the left amygdala and left midposterior insula (mpINS) in response to conflict than the healthy comparison group. An association between accuracy interference and conflict-related reactivity in the amygdala was observed in CFS patients. A relationship between response time interference and conflict-related reactivity in the mpINS was also reported. Neural responses in the amygdala and mpINS were specific to fatigue severity. These data demonstrate that adolescent CFS patients displayed deficits in emotional conflict processing. Our results suggest abnormalities in affective and cognitive functioning of the salience network, which might underlie the pathophysiology of adolescent CFS.

ADHD patients fail to maintain task goals in face of subliminally and consciously induced cognitive conflicts.

PubMed

Gohil, K; Bluschke, A; Roessner, V; Stock, A-K; Beste, C

2017-07-01

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients have been reported to display deficits in action control processes. While it is known that subliminally and consciously induced conflicts interact and conjointly modulate action control in healthy subjects, this has never been investigated for ADHD. We investigated the (potential) interaction of subliminally and consciously triggered response conflicts in children with ADHD and matched healthy controls using neuropsychological methods (event-related potentials; ERPs) to identify the involved cognitive sub-processes. Unlike healthy controls, ADHD patients showed no interaction of subliminally and consciously triggered response conflicts. Instead, they only showed additive effects as their behavioural performance (accuracy) was equally impaired by each conflict and they showed no signs of task-goal shielding even in cases of low conflict load. Of note, this difference between ADHD and controls was not rooted in early bottom-up attentional stimulus processing as reflected by the P1 and N1 ERPs. Instead, ADHD showed either no or reversed modulations of conflict-related processes and response selection as reflected by the N2 and P3 ERPs. There are fundamental differences in the architecture of cognitive control which might be of use for future diagnostic procedures. Unlike healthy controls, ADHD patients do not seem to be endowed with a threshold which allows them to maintain high behavioural performance in the face of low conflict load. ADHD patients seem to lack sufficient top-down attentional resources to maintain correct response selection in the face of conflicts by shielding the response selection process from response tendencies evoked by any kind of distractor.

Collective memory in primate conflict implied by temporal scaling collapse.

PubMed

Lee, Edward D; Daniels, Bryan C; Krakauer, David C; Flack, Jessica C

2017-09-01

In biological systems, prolonged conflict is costly, whereas contained conflict permits strategic innovation and refinement. Causes of variation in conflict size and duration are not well understood. We use a well-studied primate society model system to study how conflicts grow. We find conflict duration is a 'first to fight' growth process that scales superlinearly, with the number of possible pairwise interactions. This is in contrast with a 'first to fail' process that characterizes peaceful durations. Rescaling conflict distributions reveals a universal curve, showing that the typical time scale of correlated interactions exceeds nearly all individual fights. This temporal correlation implies collective memory across pairwise interactions beyond those assumed in standard models of contagion growth or iterated evolutionary games. By accounting for memory, we make quantitative predictions for interventions that mitigate or enhance the spread of conflict. Managing conflict involves balancing the efficient use of limited resources with an intervention strategy that allows for conflict while keeping it contained and controlled. © 2017 The Author(s).

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

PubMed

Levin, Yulia; Tzelgov, Joseph

2016-02-01

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

Essays on the Impacts of Geography and Institutions on Access to Energy and Public Infrastructure Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Archibong, Belinda

While previous literature has emphasized the importance of energy and public infrastructure services for economic development, questions surrounding the implications of unequal spatial distribution in access to these resources remain, particularly in the developing country context. This dissertation provides evidence on the nature, origins and implications of this distribution uniting three strands of research from the development and political economy, regional science and energy economics fields. The dissertation unites three papers on the nature of spatial inequality of access to energy and infrastructure with further implications for conflict risk , the historical institutional and biogeographical determinants of current distribution of access to energy and public infrastructure services and the response of households to fuel price changes over time. Chapter 2 uses a novel survey dataset to provide evidence for spatial clustering of public infrastructure non-functionality at schools by geopolitical zone in Nigeria with further implications for armed conflict risk in the region. Chapter 3 investigates the drivers of the results in chapter 2, exploiting variation in the spatial distribution of precolonial institutions and geography in the region, to provide evidence for the long-term impacts of these factors on current heterogeneity of access to public services. Chapter 4 addresses the policy implications of energy access, providing the first multi-year evidence on firewood demand elasticities in India, using the spatial variation in prices for estimation.

Stimulus and response conflict processing during perceptual decision making.

PubMed

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

2009-12-01

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

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carvalho, Millicent

2003-01-01

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

Conflict in Somalia: impact on child undernutrition

PubMed Central

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

2017-01-01

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

Resource conflict detection and removal strategy for nondeterministic emergency response processes using Petri nets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Qingtian; Liu, Cong; Duan, Hua

2016-09-01

Correctness of an emergency response process specification is critical to emergency mission success. Therefore, errors in the specification should be detected and corrected at build-time. In this paper, we propose a resource conflict detection approach and removal strategy for emergency response processes constrained by resources and time. In this kind of emergency response process, there are two timing functions representing the minimum and maximum execution time for each activity, respectively, and many activities require resources to be executed. Based on the RT_ERP_Net, the earliest time to start each activity and the ideal execution time of the process can be obtained. To detect and remove the resource conflicts in the process, the conflict detection algorithms and a priority-activity-first resolution strategy are given. In this way, real execution time for each activity is obtained and a conflict-free RT_ERP_Net is constructed by adding virtual activities. By experiments, it is proved that the resolution strategy proposed can shorten the execution time of the whole process to a great degree.

Dynamic adjustments of cognitive control during economic decision making.

PubMed

Soutschek, Alexander; Schubert, Torsten

2014-10-01

Decision making in the Ultimatum game requires the resolution of conflicts between economic self-interest and fairness intuitions. Since cognitive control processes play an important role in conflict resolution, the present study examined how control processes that are triggered by conflicts between fairness and self-interest in unfair offers affect subsequent decisions in the Ultimatum game. Our results revealed that more unfair offers were accepted following previously unfair, compared to previously fair offers. Interestingly, the magnitude of this conflict adaptation effect correlated with the individual subjects' focus on economic self-interest. We concluded that conflicts between fairness and self-interest trigger cognitive control processes, which reinforce the focus on the current task goal. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Age-related reorganization of functional networks for successful conflict resolution: a combined functional and structural MRI study.

PubMed

Schulte, Tilman; Müller-Oehring, Eva M; Chanraud, Sandra; Rosenbloom, Margaret J; Pfefferbaum, Adolf; Sullivan, Edith V

2011-11-01

Aging has readily observable effects on the ability to resolve conflict between competing stimulus attributes that are likely related to selective structural and functional brain changes. To identify age-related differences in neural circuits subserving conflict processing, we combined structural and functional MRI and a Stroop Match-to-Sample task involving perceptual cueing and repetition to modulate resources in healthy young and older adults. In our Stroop Match-to-Sample task, older adults handled conflict by activating a frontoparietal attention system more than young adults and engaged a visuomotor network more than young adults when processing repetitive conflict and when processing conflict following valid perceptual cueing. By contrast, young adults activated frontal regions more than older adults when processing conflict with perceptual cueing. These differential activation patterns were not correlated with regional gray matter volume despite smaller volumes in older than young adults. Given comparable performance in speed and accuracy of responding between both groups, these data suggest that successful aging is associated with functional reorganization of neural systems to accommodate functionally increasing task demands on perceptual and attentional operations. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of neural mechanisms of conflict and error processing during childhood: implications for self-regulation.

PubMed

Checa, Purificación; Castellanos, M C; Abundis-Gutiérrez, Alicia; Rosario Rueda, M

2014-01-01

Regulation of thoughts and behavior requires attention, particularly when there is conflict between alternative responses or when errors are to be prevented or corrected. Conflict monitoring and error processing are functions of the executive attention network, a neurocognitive system that greatly matures during childhood. In this study, we examined the development of brain mechanisms underlying conflict and error processing with event-related potentials (ERPs), and explored the relationship between brain function and individual differences in the ability to self-regulate behavior. Three groups of children aged 4-6, 7-9, and 10-13 years, and a group of adults performed a child-friendly version of the flanker task while ERPs were registered. Marked developmental changes were observed in both conflict processing and brain reactions to errors. After controlling by age, higher self-regulation skills are associated with smaller amplitude of the conflict effect but greater amplitude of the error-related negativity. Additionally, we found that electrophysiological measures of conflict and error monitoring predict individual differences in impulsivity and the capacity to delay gratification. These findings inform of brain mechanisms underlying the development of cognitive control and self-regulation.

Development of neural mechanisms of conflict and error processing during childhood: implications for self-regulation

PubMed Central

Checa, Purificación; Castellanos, M. C.; Abundis-Gutiérrez, Alicia; Rosario Rueda, M.

2014-01-01

Regulation of thoughts and behavior requires attention, particularly when there is conflict between alternative responses or when errors are to be prevented or corrected. Conflict monitoring and error processing are functions of the executive attention network, a neurocognitive system that greatly matures during childhood. In this study, we examined the development of brain mechanisms underlying conflict and error processing with event-related potentials (ERPs), and explored the relationship between brain function and individual differences in the ability to self-regulate behavior. Three groups of children aged 4–6, 7–9, and 10–13 years, and a group of adults performed a child-friendly version of the flanker task while ERPs were registered. Marked developmental changes were observed in both conflict processing and brain reactions to errors. After controlling by age, higher self-regulation skills are associated with smaller amplitude of the conflict effect but greater amplitude of the error-related negativity. Additionally, we found that electrophysiological measures of conflict and error monitoring predict individual differences in impulsivity and the capacity to delay gratification. These findings inform of brain mechanisms underlying the development of cognitive control and self-regulation. PMID:24795676

Can concurrent memory load reduce distraction? A replication study and beyond.

PubMed

Gil-Gómez de Liaño, Beatriz; Stablum, Franca; Umiltà, Carlo

2016-01-01

The effects of concurrent working memory load in attentional processes have been 1 of the most puzzling issues in cognitive psychology. Studies have shown detrimental effects, no effects, and even beneficial effects of working memory load in different attentional tasks. In the present study we attempted to replicate Kim, Kim, and Chun's (2005, Experiment 3b) findings of beneficial effects of concurrent working memory load in a spatial Stroop-like task. In 3 experiments in which our sample was 3 times larger than that in the original Kim et al. study, we could not replicate their findings. The results are discussed in terms of what may have produced the conflicting results, trying to shed light on how working memory load affects attentional tasks. Also, we emphasize the importance of using adequately large samples in cognitive research. Although we acknowledge the relevance of meta-analyses to analyze conflicting results, in the present article we stress (perhaps more important) the power of an essential trademark in science for research development: replicability. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Conflicts in Language Processing: A New Perspective on the N400-P600 Distinction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frenzel, Sabine; Schlesewsky, Matthias; Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, Ina

2011-01-01

Conflicts in language processing often correlate with late positive event-related brain potentials (ERPs), particularly when they are induced by inconsistencies between different information types (e.g. syntactic and thematic/plausibility information). However, under certain circumstances, similar sentence-level interpretation conflicts (inanimate…

Images of war: using satellite images for human rights monitoring in Turkish Kurdistan.

PubMed

de Vos, Hugo; Jongerden, Joost; van Etten, Jacob

2008-09-01

In areas of war and armed conflict it is difficult to get trustworthy and coherent information. Civil society and human rights groups often face problems of dealing with fragmented witness reports, disinformation of war propaganda, and difficult direct access to these areas. Turkish Kurdistan was used as a case study of armed conflict to evaluate the potential use of satellite images for verification of witness reports collected by human rights groups. The Turkish army was reported to be burning forests, fields and villages as a strategy in the conflict against guerrilla uprising. This paper concludes that satellite images are useful to validate witness reports of forest fires. Even though the use of this technology for human rights groups will depend on some feasibility factors such as prices, access and expertise, the images proved to be key for analysis of spatial aspects of conflict and valuable for reconstructing a more trustworthy picture.

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.

Managing Conflict with Effective Communication Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clough, Dick B.

Conflict is a basic social process; there is no conceivable way of removing all conflict from an organization. Interpersonal conflict, often created by interdependency of people and tasks within an organization, lowers staff morale and employee productivity and drives people away. Difficult employees who foster conflicts fall into five distinct…

Preparing Students for Early Work Conflicts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Laura L.; Larson, R. Sam

2005-01-01

To improve college students' skills in resolving workplace conflict, the authors studied the types of workplace conflicts that students encounter with peers or supervisors in part-time or seasonal work and with whom they discuss these conflicts. The authors found that most students report conflicts that are process or relational in nature, with…

Post-conflict slowing: cognitive adaptation after conflict processing.

PubMed

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

2011-02-01

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

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.

Conflict in medical teams: opportunity or danger?

PubMed

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

2012-10-01

  Intragroup conflicts often occur when people are called upon to collaborate in the accomplishment of a task. For example, when surgeons and nurses work together during an operation, conflicts may emerge because of differences in functional understanding. Whether these conflicts are beneficial or detrimental to team outcomes has been the source of much debate. From one perspective, a conflict that stems from differences in members' functional understanding may enhance team members' understanding and performance of the task at hand. By contrast, such a conflict may cause hostility, emotionality and distraction from actual task accomplishment.   This study reviews findings on the relationships between intragroup conflict and team outcomes, discusses potential conflict resolution strategies for intragroup conflicts and explores how these link to the field of medical education.   Three primary types of conflict have been distinguished, involving, respectively, task-, process- and relationship-associated conflict. Both process conflict, or conflict about the logistics of task accomplishment, and relationship conflict, or conflict about interpersonal incompatibilities, have been shown to detract from effective team functioning. Task conflict, or conflict about the content of the task itself, is also generally negative for team functioning, but under certain conditions its negative effects may be minimised. For example, when teams can clearly separate task issues from relationship issues, task conflicts are less destructive for team outcomes. However, achieving such a separation in practice, and thereby realising the benefits of task conflict, is quite difficult to achieve.   Intragroup conflicts pose a challenge to effective team functioning. In the education of medical professionals, effective training in conflict management skills and their application to specific team conflict dynamics, such as with reference to how to resolve task as opposed to relationship conflict, is critical. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

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.

Theta oscillations are sensitive to both early and late conflict processing stages: effects of alcohol intoxication.

PubMed

Kovacevic, Sanja; Azma, Sheeva; Irimia, Andrei; Sherfey, Jason; Halgren, Eric; Marinkovic, Ksenija

2012-01-01

Prior neuroimaging evidence indicates that decision conflict activates medial and lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Theoretical accounts of cognitive control highlight anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a central node in this network. However, a better understanding of the relative primacy and functional contributions of these areas to decision conflict requires insight into the neural dynamics of successive processing stages including conflict detection, response selection and execution. Moderate alcohol intoxication impairs cognitive control as it interferes with the ability to inhibit dominant, prepotent responses when they are no longer correct. To examine the effects of moderate intoxication on successive processing stages during cognitive control, spatio-temporal changes in total event-related theta power were measured during Stroop-induced conflict. Healthy social drinkers served as their own controls by participating in both alcohol (0.6 g/kg ethanol for men, 0.55 g/kg women) and placebo conditions in a counterbalanced design. Anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) approach was applied to complex power spectra for theta (4-7 Hz) frequencies. The principal generator of event-related theta power to conflict was estimated to ACC, with contributions from fronto-parietal areas. The ACC was uniquely sensitive to conflict during both early conflict detection, and later response selection and execution stages. Alcohol attenuated theta power to conflict across successive processing stages, suggesting that alcohol-induced deficits in cognitive control may result from theta suppression in the executive network. Slower RTs were associated with attenuated theta power estimated to ACC, indicating that alcohol impairs motor preparation and execution subserved by the ACC. In addition to their relevance for the currently prevailing accounts of cognitive control, our results suggest that alcohol-induced impairment of top-down strategic processing underlies poor self-control and inability to refrain from drinking.

Eating behaviour associated with differences in conflict adaptation for food pictures.

PubMed

Husted, Margaret; Banks, Adrian P; Seiss, Ellen

2016-10-01

The goal conflict model of eating (Stroebe, Mensink, Aarts, Schut, & Kruglanski, 2008) proposes differences in eating behaviour result from peoples' experience of holding conflicting goals of eating enjoyment and weight maintenance. However, little is understood about the relationship between eating behaviour and the cognitive processes involved in conflict. This study aims to investigate associations between eating behaviour traits and cognitive conflict processes, specifically the application of cognitive control when processing distracting food pictures. A flanker task using food and non-food pictures was used to examine individual differences in conflict adaptation. Participants responded to target pictures whilst ignoring distracting flanking pictures. Individual differences in eating behaviour traits, attention towards target pictures, and ability to apply cognitive control through adaptation to conflicting picture trials were analysed. Increased levels of external and emotional eating were related to slower responses to food pictures indicating food target avoidance. All participants showed greater distraction by food compared to non-food pictures. Of particular significance, increased levels of emotional eating were associated with greater conflict adaptation for conflicting food pictures only. Emotional eaters demonstrate greater application of cognitive control for conflicting food pictures as part of a food avoidance strategy. This could represent an attempt to inhibit their eating enjoyment goal in order for their weight maintenance goal to dominate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do intergroup conflicts necessarily result from outgroup hate?

PubMed

Mäs, Michael; Dijkstra, Jacob

2014-01-01

We developed a new experimental design to test whether or not individuals engage in conflict between social groups because they seek to harm outgroup members. Challenging prominent social psychological theories, we did not find support for such negative social preferences. Nevertheless, subjects heavily engaged in group conflict. Results support the argument that processes that act within social groups motivate engagement in conflict between groups even in the absence of negative social preferences. In particular, we found that "cheap talk" communication between group members fuels conflict. Analyses did not support the notion that the effect of communication results from guilt-aversion processes.

Conflict control in task conflict and response conflict.

PubMed

Braverman, Ami; Meiran, Nachshon

2015-03-01

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

The interplay of conflict and analogy in multidisciplinary teams.

PubMed

Paletz, Susannah B F; Schunn, Christian D; Kim, Kevin H

2013-01-01

Creative teamwork in multidisciplinary teams is a topic of interest to cognitive psychologists on the one hand, and to both social and organizational psychologists on the other. However, the interconnections between cognitive and social layers have been rarely explored. Drawing on mental models and dissonance theories, the current study takes a central variable studied by cognitive psychologists-analogy-and examines its relationship to a central variable examined by social psychologists-conflict. In an observational, field study, over 11h of audio-video data from conversations of the Mars Exploration Rover scientists were coded for different types of analogy and micro-conflicts that reveal the character of underlying psychological mechanisms. Two different types of time-lagged logistic models applied to these data revealed asymmetric patterns of associations between analogy and conflict. Within-domain analogies, but not within-discipline or outside-discipline analogies, preceded science and work process conflicts, suggesting that in multidisciplinary teams, representational gaps in very close domains will be more likely to spark conflict. But analogies also occurred in reaction to conflict: Process and negative conflicts, but not task conflicts, preceded within-discipline analogies, but not to within-domain or outside-discipline analogies. This study demonstrates ways in which cognition can be bidirectionally tied to social processes and discourse. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the line transect method: an examination of the spatial patterns of down and standing dead wood

Treesearch

Duncan C. Lutes

2002-01-01

The line transect method, its underlying assumptions, and the spatial patterning of down and standing pieces of dead wood were examined at the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest in central Montana. The accuracy of the line transect method was not determined due to conflicting results of t-tests and ordinary least squares regression. In most instances down pieces were...

Effects of spatial scale on the perception and assessment of risk of natural disturbance in forested ecosystems: examples from northeastern Oregon

Treesearch

R. James Barbour; Miles Hemstrom; Alan Ager; Jane L. Hayes

2005-01-01

The perception and measurement of the risk of natural disturbances often varies depending on the spatial and temporal scales over which information is collected or analyzed. This can lead to conflicting conclusions about severity of current or past disturbances or the risk of future ones. Failure to look across scales also complicates local implementation of policies...

Parent–Child Conflict and Early Childhood Adjustment in Two-Parent Low-Income Families: Parallel Developmental Processes

PubMed Central

Shaw, Daniel S.; Crossan, Jennifer L.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Wilson, Melvin N.

2015-01-01

Parent–child conflict is central to most intervention models focused on reducing child problem behavior, yet few longitudinal studies have examined these processes during early childhood. The current study investigates (1) growth in mother–child and father figure (FF)–child conflict, (2) associations between trajectories of mother–child and FF–child conflict and children’s adjustment; and (3) intervention effects in attenuating conflict. Participants are 195 ethnically diverse mother–FF–child triads drawn from a larger parenting intervention study for families with children at risk for developing conduct problems. Mother–child conflict decreased from ages 2 to 4, but decreases were unrelated to changes in children’s adjustment problems. In contrast, the slope of FF–child conflict was positively related to the slope of child externalizing behaviors. Random assignment to a family-centered parenting intervention predicted rate of decline in mother–child conflict. Findings are discussed with respect to developmental patterns of parent–child conflict in early childhood and implications for prevention. PMID:24610382

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

PubMed

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

2007-07-01

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

Cognitive processes and conflict in close relationships: an attribution-efficacy model.

PubMed

Fincham, F D; Bradbury, T N

1987-12-01

A recently proposed model of cognitive processes underlying conflict in close relationships (Doherty, 1978, 1981a, 1981b) is revised and tested in two studies. Central to the original model are the causal attributions made for conflict and the perceived efficacy or ability to resolve conflict. The model is revised to incorporate judgments of responsibility and to provide a closer link to self-efficacy theory. The first study examines attributions and efficacy expectations in mother-child relationships. As anticipated, only weak evidence was obtained for predictions retained from the original model, high-lighting the relationship-specific nature of cognitive processes for conflict in families. A second study examines husband-wife relationships and provides evidence for the usefulness of an attribution-efficacy model for marital conflict. The attributional component of the model received greater support than that pertaining to efficacy expectations. In both studies, support was obtained for the proposal that the relation between conflict dimensions (e.g., blame) and causal dimensions is mediated by judgments of responsibility. The significance of the revisions to Doherty's model for understanding conflict in close relationships is discussed, and several avenues for further research are outlined.

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.

The Influence of Reward Associations on Conflict Processing in the Stroop Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krebs, Ruth M.; Boehler, Carsten N.; Woldorff, Marty G.

2010-01-01

Performance in a behavioral task can be facilitated by associating stimulus properties with reward. In contrast, conflicting information is known to impede task performance. Here we investigated how reward associations influence the within-trial processing of conflicting information using a color-naming Stroop task in which a subset of ink colors…

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): A Different Framework for Conflict Resolution in Educational Settings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turan, Selahattin; Taylor, Charles

This paper briefly introduces alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes and their fundamental principles. The paper provides a review of the literature on ADR and discusses its applicability in educational settings. The concept of conflict is explained, along with analysis of the limitations of traditional conflict resolution processes. The…

Cognitive and affective control in a flanker word task: common and dissociable brain mechanisms.

PubMed

Alguacil, Sonia; Tudela, Pío; Ruz, María

2013-08-01

In the present study we compared the nature of cognitive and affective conflict modulations at different stages of information processing using electroencephalographic recordings. Participants performed a flanker task in which they had to focus on a central word target and indicate its semantic category (cognitive version) or its valence (affective version). Targets were flanked by congruent or incongruent words in both versions. Although tasks were equivalent at the behavioral level, event-related potentials (ERPs) showed common and dissociable cognitive and emotional conflict modulations. At early stages of information processing, both tasks generated parallel sequential conflict effects in the P1 and N170 potentials. Later, the N2 and the first part of the P3 wave were exclusively modulated by cognitive conflict, whereas the last section of the P3 deflection/Late Positive Component (LPC) was only involved in affective current conflict processing. Therefore, the whole data set suggests the existence of early common mechanisms that are equivalent for cognitive and affective materials and later task-specific conflict processing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is Conflict Adaptation Due to Active Regulation or Passive Carry-Over? Evidence from Eye Movements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Jason; Kuhns, David; Schäfer, Theo A. J.; Mayr, Ulrich

2017-01-01

Conflict-adaptation effects (i.e., reduced response-time costs on high-conflict trials following high-conflict trials) supposedly represent our cognitive system's ability to regulate itself according to current processing demands. However, currently it is not clear whether these effects reflect conflict-triggered, active regulation, or passive…

Using Multicriteria Analysis in Issues Concerning Adaptation of Historic Facilities for the Needs of Public Utility Buildings with a Function of a Theatre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obracaj, Piotr; Fabianowski, Dariusz

2017-10-01

Implementations concerning adaptation of historic facilities for public utility objects are associated with the necessity of solving many complex, often conflicting expectations of future users. This mainly concerns the function that includes construction, technology and aesthetic issues. The list of issues is completed with proper protection of historic values, different in each case. The procedure leading to obtaining the expected solution is a multicriteria procedure, usually difficult to accurately define and requiring designer’s large experience. An innovative approach has been used for the analysis, namely - the modified EA FAHP (Extent Analysis Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process) Chang’s method of a multicriteria analysis for the assessment of complex functional and spatial issues. Selection of optimal spatial form of an adapted historic building intended for the multi-functional public utility facility was analysed. The assumed functional flexibility was determined in the scope of: education, conference, and chamber spectacles, such as drama, concerts, in different stage-audience layouts.

Cognitive control adjustments in healthy older and younger adults: Conflict adaptation, the error-related negativity (ERN), and evidence of generalized decline with age.

PubMed

Larson, Michael J; Clayson, Peter E; Keith, Cierra M; Hunt, Isaac J; Hedges, Dawson W; Nielsen, Brent L; Call, Vaughn R A

2016-03-01

Older adults display alterations in neural reflections of conflict-related processing. We examined response times (RTs), error rates, and event-related potential (ERP; N2 and P3 components) indices of conflict adaptation (i.e., congruency sequence effects) a cognitive control process wherein previous-trial congruency influences current-trial performance, along with post-error slowing, correct-related negativity (CRN), error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) amplitudes in 65 healthy older adults and 94 healthy younger adults. Older adults showed generalized slowing, had decreased post-error slowing, and committed more errors than younger adults. Both older and younger adults showed conflict adaptation effects; magnitude of conflict adaptation did not differ by age. N2 amplitudes were similar between groups; younger, but not older, adults showed conflict adaptation effects for P3 component amplitudes. CRN and Pe, but not ERN, amplitudes differed between groups. Data support generalized declines in cognitive control processes in older adults without specific deficits in conflict adaptation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Team negotiation: social, epistemic, economic, and psychological consequences of subgroup conflict.

PubMed

Halevy, Nir

2008-12-01

Large collectives (e.g., organizations, political parties, nations) are seldom unitary players. Rather, they consist of different subgroups that often have conflicting interests. Nonetheless, negotiation research consistently regards negotiating teams, who represent these collectives, as monolithic parties with uniform interests. This article integrates concepts from social psychology, management, political science, and behavioral game theory to explore the effects of subgroup conflict on team negotiation. Specifically, the present research introduced a conflict of interests within negotiating teams and investigated how this internal conflict affects the outcome of the negotiation between teams. An experiment with 80 four-person teams found that conflict between subgroups had a detrimental effect on the performance of negotiating teams. This research also employed a recent model of motivated information processing in groups to investigate possible processes underlying the effect of subgroup conflict on team negotiation.

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.

Aggression, segregation and stability in a dominance hierarchy

PubMed Central

Ang, Tzo Zen; Manica, Andrea

2010-01-01

Central to our understanding of social group formation and maintenance is the question of how within-group conflict resolution is achieved in the face of asymmetrical competition over resources and reproduction. A crucial yet implicit assumption of many conflict resolution models dealing with reproductive skew is that subordinates have perfect knowledge of the extent of conflict between themselves and their dominants, enabling behavioural responses on an individual rather than evolutionary scale. However, a mechanism enabling subordinates to accurately assess their relative conflict levels has yet to be empirically demonstrated. Here, we show in the angelfish Centropyge bicolor that the rate of overt mild aggression from dominants to subordinates acts as a signal of increasing rank conflict. The clarity of this signal can be reduced by spatial segregation, causing subordinates to be less able to respond appropriately by regulation of their foraging rates. A reduced signal ultimately leads to a less well-defined dominance hierarchy and destabilization of the social group. Our study suggests that, contrary to previous suggestions, dominant aggression rates play a crucial role as an accurate information signal required for the evolutionary stability of skew models. PMID:20053647

Understanding Children's Emotional Processes and Behavioral Strategies in the Context of Marital Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koss, Kalsea J.; George, Melissa R. W.; Bergman, Kathleen N.; Cummings, E. M.; Davies, Patrick T.; Cicchetti, Dante

2011-01-01

Marital conflict is a distressing context in which children must regulate their emotion and behavior; however, the associations between the multidimensionality of conflict and children's regulatory processes need to be examined. The current study examined differences in children's (N=207, mean age=8.02 years) emotions (mad, sad, scared, and happy)…

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…

Do Intergroup Conflicts Necessarily Result from Outgroup Hate?

PubMed Central

Mäs, Michael; Dijkstra, Jacob

2014-01-01

We developed a new experimental design to test whether or not individuals engage in conflict between social groups because they seek to harm outgroup members. Challenging prominent social psychological theories, we did not find support for such negative social preferences. Nevertheless, subjects heavily engaged in group conflict. Results support the argument that processes that act within social groups motivate engagement in conflict between groups even in the absence of negative social preferences. In particular, we found that “cheap talk” communication between group members fuels conflict. Analyses did not support the notion that the effect of communication results from guilt-aversion processes. PMID:24896100

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

DTIC Science & Technology

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

Dissociable neural systems resolve conflict from emotional versus nonemotional distracters.

PubMed

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

2008-06-01

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

The nature of conflict in palliative care: A qualitative exploration of the experiences of staff and family members.

PubMed

François, Karemah; Lobb, Elizabeth; Barclay, Sarah; Forbat, Liz

2017-08-01

Conflict is a significant and recurring problem in healthcare. This study aimed to understand staff and relatives' perspectives on the characteristics of conflict and serious disagreement in adult palliative care, including triggers, risk factors and the impact on themselves and clinical care. Qualitative study of 25 staff and seven bereaved relatives using individual interviews, recruited from a multidisciplinary specialist palliative care setting in Australia. Data were analysed thematically. Communication was frequently cited as a cause of conflict. Further, different understandings regarding disease process, syringe drivers and providing nutrition/hydration caused conflict. Staff applied empathy to moderate their responses to conflict. Relatives' reactions to conflict followed a trend of anger/frustration followed by explanations or justifications of the conflict. Relatives identified systemic rather than interpersonal issues as triggering conflict. The data illustrate connections with conflict literature in other clinical areas, but also points of convergence such as the compassion shown by both families and staff, and the identification of systemic rather than always individual causes. Family meetings may fruitfully be applied to prevent and de-escalate conflict. Clinical audits may be useful to identify and provide support to families where there may be unresolved conflict impacting grief process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reactive recruitment of attentional control in math anxiety: an ERP study of numeric conflict monitoring and adaptation.

PubMed

Suárez-Pellicioni, Macarena; Núñez-Peña, María Isabel; Colomé, Àngels

2014-01-01

This study uses event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of numeric conflict monitoring in math-anxious individuals, by analyzing whether math anxiety is related to abnormal processing in early conflict detection (as shown by the N450 component) and/or in a later, response-related stage of processing (as shown by the conflict sustained potential; Conflict-SP). Conflict adaptation effects were also studied by analyzing the effect of the previous trial's congruence in current interference. To this end, 17 low math-anxious (LMA) and 17 high math-anxious (HMA) individuals were presented with a numerical Stroop task. Groups were extreme in math anxiety but did not differ in trait or state anxiety or in simple math ability. The interference effect of the current trial (incongruent-congruent) and the interference effect preceded by congruence and by incongruity were analyzed both for behavioral measures and for ERPs. A greater interference effect was found for response times in the HMA group than in the LMA one. Regarding ERPs, the LMA group showed a greater N450 component for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity, while the HMA group showed greater Conflict-SP amplitude for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity. Our study showed that the electrophysiological correlates of numeric interference in HMA individuals comprise the absence of a conflict adaptation effect in the first stage of conflict processing (N450) and an abnormal subsequent up-regulation of cognitive control in order to overcome the conflict (Conflict-SP). More concretely, our study shows that math anxiety is related to a reactive and compensatory recruitment of control resources that is implemented only when previously exposed to a stimuli presenting conflicting information.

Reactive Recruitment of Attentional Control in Math Anxiety: An ERP Study of Numeric Conflict Monitoring and Adaptation

PubMed Central

Suárez-Pellicioni, Macarena; Núñez-Peña, María Isabel; Colomé, Àngels

2014-01-01

This study uses event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of numeric conflict monitoring in math-anxious individuals, by analyzing whether math anxiety is related to abnormal processing in early conflict detection (as shown by the N450 component) and/or in a later, response-related stage of processing (as shown by the conflict sustained potential; Conflict-SP). Conflict adaptation effects were also studied by analyzing the effect of the previous trial’s congruence in current interference. To this end, 17 low math-anxious (LMA) and 17 high math-anxious (HMA) individuals were presented with a numerical Stroop task. Groups were extreme in math anxiety but did not differ in trait or state anxiety or in simple math ability. The interference effect of the current trial (incongruent-congruent) and the interference effect preceded by congruence and by incongruity were analyzed both for behavioral measures and for ERPs. A greater interference effect was found for response times in the HMA group than in the LMA one. Regarding ERPs, the LMA group showed a greater N450 component for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity, while the HMA group showed greater Conflict-SP amplitude for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity. Our study showed that the electrophysiological correlates of numeric interference in HMA individuals comprise the absence of a conflict adaptation effect in the first stage of conflict processing (N450) and an abnormal subsequent up-regulation of cognitive control in order to overcome the conflict (Conflict-SP). More concretely, our study shows that math anxiety is related to a reactive and compensatory recruitment of control resources that is implemented only when previously exposed to a stimuli presenting conflicting information. PMID:24918584

Electrophysiological explorations of the bilingual advantage: evidence from a Stroop task.

PubMed

Coderre, Emily L; van Heuven, Walter J B

2014-01-01

Bilinguals have been shown to exhibit a performance advantage on executive control tasks, outperforming their monolingual counterparts. Although a wealth of research has investigated this 'bilingual advantage' behaviourally, electrophysiological correlates are lacking. Using EEG with a Stroop task that manipulated the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of word and colour presentation, the current study addressed two facets of the bilingual advantage. The possibility that bilinguals experience superior conflict processing relative to monolinguals (a 'conflict-specific advantage') was investigated by comparing behavioural interference effects as well as the amplitude of the Ninc, a conflict-related ERP component occurring from approximately 300-500 ms after the onset of conflict. In contrast, the hypothesis that bilinguals experience domain-general, conflict-independent enhancements in executive processing (a 'non-conflict-specific advantage') was evaluated by comparing the control condition (symbol strings) between groups. There was some significant, but inconsistent, evidence for a conflict-specific bilingual advantage. In contrast, strong evidence emerged for a non-conflict-specific advantage, with bilinguals demonstrating faster RTs and reduced ERP amplitudes on control trials compared to monolinguals. Importantly, when the control stimulus was presented before the colour, ERPs to control trials revealed group differences before the onset of conflict, suggesting differences in the ability to ignore or suppress distracting irrelevant information. This indicates that bilinguals experience superior executive processing even in the absence of conflict and semantic salience, and suggests that the advantage extends to more efficient proactive management of the environment.

Electrophysiological Explorations of the Bilingual Advantage: Evidence from a Stroop Task

PubMed Central

Coderre, Emily L.; van Heuven, Walter J. B.

2014-01-01

Bilinguals have been shown to exhibit a performance advantage on executive control tasks, outperforming their monolingual counterparts. Although a wealth of research has investigated this ‘bilingual advantage’ behaviourally, electrophysiological correlates are lacking. Using EEG with a Stroop task that manipulated the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of word and colour presentation, the current study addressed two facets of the bilingual advantage. The possibility that bilinguals experience superior conflict processing relative to monolinguals (a ‘conflict-specific advantage’) was investigated by comparing behavioural interference effects as well as the amplitude of the Ninc, a conflict-related ERP component occurring from approximately 300–500 ms after the onset of conflict. In contrast, the hypothesis that bilinguals experience domain-general, conflict-independent enhancements in executive processing (a ‘non-conflict-specific advantage’) was evaluated by comparing the control condition (symbol strings) between groups. There was some significant, but inconsistent, evidence for a conflict-specific bilingual advantage. In contrast, strong evidence emerged for a non-conflict-specific advantage, with bilinguals demonstrating faster RTs and reduced ERP amplitudes on control trials compared to monolinguals. Importantly, when the control stimulus was presented before the colour, ERPs to control trials revealed group differences before the onset of conflict, suggesting differences in the ability to ignore or suppress distracting irrelevant information. This indicates that bilinguals experience superior executive processing even in the absence of conflict and semantic salience, and suggests that the advantage extends to more efficient proactive management of the environment. PMID:25068723

The impact of conflicting spatial representations in airborne unmanned aerial system sensor control

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

Their methodology, however, was limited – participants were only seated in a forward configured seat in a civilian aircraft and only rudimentary...a starboard seat , facing towards the center of the aircraft , great discord between these spatial representations and their relevant sensory inputs...configuration provided space for three participants to be run at a time in three different seating orientations: forward, backward, and center of the aircraft

Conflict control processing in adults with developmental dyslexia: an event related potentials study.

PubMed

Mahé, Gwendoline; Doignon-Camus, Nadège; Dufour, André; Bonnefond, Anne

2014-01-01

The present study investigated the time course for processing conflict in dyslexic adults using a flanker task. Sixteen dyslexic and 15 control adults performed a flanker task comprising congruent and incongruent trials in which participants had to indicate the direction of targets surrounded by flankers. Early negative potentials associated with orienting of attention (i.e., N1) and conflict monitoring (i.e., N2) and two positive potentials associated with conflict resolution (i.e., P3b and Nogo P3) were recorded. The behavioral data showed differences between incongruent and congruent trials for reaction times in both groups but for error rate only in dyslexics. As in previous studies, controls displayed greater N1, N2 and NoGo P3 as well as a smaller P3b in incongruent trials. Dyslexics lacked N1, N2 and P3b modulation whereas NoGo P3 effect was preserved. Dyslexics showed impairments in conflict monitoring and in some aspects of conflict resolution (i.e., the allocation of attentional resources) whereas other aspects of conflict resolution (i.e., the inhibition) were preserved. This is the first study to investigate conflict control processing in dyslexic adults using ERPs. Results provide evidence for deficits in orienting of attention, conflict monitoring and allocation of attentional resources in dyslexics. Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the Psychological Conflict of Contemporary Street Aesthetics in China from the Views of Media Communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Chen; Xu, Hua Wei

2018-06-01

New media patterns generate more complicated and diversified space forms. Spatial experiences that are instant, fragmented, reality-virtuality interlaced are ubiquitous. Such interlacing brings an enormous impact on traditional Chinese streetscapes, increases the risks of the fragmentation of streetscapes, and leads to the disorder of visual aesthetics. Moreover, it necessarily imposes a great impact on traditional street aesthetics, and causes various psychological conflicts. This study aims to describe this phenomenon and try to explore the reason behind it in new view.

Conflict Resolution, Can It Really Make a Difference in the Classroom: Conflict Resolution Strategies for Classroom Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollan, Savannah; Wilson-Younger, Dylinda

2012-01-01

This article discusses conflict and provides five resolutions for teachers on managing negative behaviors within the classroom. Acknowledging and implementing conflict resolution strategies in the classroom enables every student to fully participate in the learning process.

The cerebellum mediates conflict resolution.

PubMed

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

2007-12-01

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

The emotive nature of conflict monitoring in the medial prefrontal cortex.

PubMed

Saunders, Blair; Lin, Hause; Milyavskaya, Marina; Inzlicht, Michael

2017-09-01

The detection of conflict between incompatible impulses, thoughts, and actions is a ubiquitous source of motivation across theories of goal-directed action. In this overview, we explore the hypothesis that conflict is emotive, integrating perspectives from affective science and cognitive neuroscience. Initially, we review evidence suggesting that the mental and biological processes that monitor for information processing conflict-particularly those generated by the anterior midcingulate cortex-track the affective significance of conflict and use this signal to motivate increased control. In this sense, variation in control resembles a form of affect regulation in which control implementation counteracts the aversive experience of conflict. We also highlight emerging evidence proposing that states and dispositions associated with acceptance facilitate control by tuning individuals to the emotive nature of conflict, before proposing avenues for future research, including investigating the role of affect in reinforcement learning and decision making. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptation to recent conflict in the classical color-word Stroop-task mainly involves facilitation of processing of task-relevant information.

PubMed

Purmann, Sascha; Pollmann, Stefan

2015-01-01

To process information selectively and to continuously fine-tune selectivity of information processing are important abilities for successful goal-directed behavior. One phenomenon thought to represent this fine-tuning are conflict adaptation effects in interference tasks, i.e., reduction of interference after an incompatible trial and when incompatible trials are frequent. The neurocognitive mechanisms of these effects are currently only partly understood and results from brainimaging studies so far are mixed. In our study we validate and extend recent findings by examining adaption to recent conflict in the classical Stroop task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Consistent with previous research we found increased activity in a fronto-parietal network comprising the medial prefrontal cortex, ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex when contrasting incompatible with compatible trials. These areas have been associated with attentional processes and might reflect increased cognitive conflict and resolution thereof during incompatible trials. While carefully controlling for non-attentional sequential effects we found smaller Stroop interference after an incompatible trial (conflict adaptation effect). These behavioral conflict adaptation effects were accompanied by changes in activity in visual color-selective areas (V4, V4α), while there was no modulation by previous trial compatibility in a visual word-selective area (VWFA). Our results provide further evidence for the notion, that adaptation to recent conflict seems to be based mainly on enhancement of processing of the task-relevant information.

The Basal Ganglia Striosomes Affect the Modulation of Conflicts by Subliminal Information-Evidence from X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism.

PubMed

Beste, Christian; Mückschel, Moritz; Rosales, Raymond; Domingo, Aloysius; Lee, Lillian; Ng, Arlene; Klein, Christine; Münchau, Alexander

2018-07-01

Cognitive control is relevant when distracting information induces behavioral conflicts. Such conflicts can be produced consciously and by subliminally processed information. Interestingly, both sources of conflict interact suggesting that they share neural mechanisms. Here, we ask whether conjoint effects between different sources of conflict are modulated by microstructural basal ganglia dysfunction. To this end, we carried out an electroencephalography study and examined event-related potentials (ERPs) including source localization using a combined flanker-subliminal priming task in patients with X-linked dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP) and a group of healthy controls. XDP in its early stages is known to predominantly affect the basal ganglia striosomes. The results suggest that conjoint effects between subliminal and conscious sources of conflicts are modulated by the striosomes and were stronger in XDP patients. The neurophysiological data indicate that this effect is related to modulations in conflict monitoring and response selection (N2 ERP) mechanisms engaging the anterior cingulate cortex. Bottom-up perceptual gating, attentional selection, and motor response activation processes in response to the stimuli (P1, N1, and lateralized readiness potential ERPs) were unaffected. Taken together, these data indicate that striosomes modulate the processing of conscious and subliminal sources of conflict suggesting that microstructural basal ganglia properties are relevant for cognitive control.

LTP saturation and spatial learning disruption: effects of task variables and saturation levels.

PubMed

Barnes, C A; Jung, M W; McNaughton, B L; Korol, D L; Andreasson, K; Worley, P F

1994-10-01

The prediction that "saturation" of LTP/LTE at hippocampal synapses should impair spatial learning was reinvestigated in the light of a more specific consideration of the theory of Hebbian associative networks, which predicts a nonlinear relationship between LTP "saturation" and memory impairment. This nonlinearity may explain the variable results of studies that have addressed the effects of LTP "saturation" on behavior. The extent of LTP "saturation" in fascia dentata produced by the standard chronic LTP stimulation protocol was assessed both electrophysiologically and through the use of an anatomical marker (activation of the immediate-early gene zif268). Both methods point to the conclusion that the standard protocols used to induce LTP do not "saturate" the process at any dorsoventral level, and leave the ventral half of the hippocampus virtually unaffected. LTP-inducing, bilateral perforant path stimulation led to a significant deficit in the reversal of a well-learned spatial response on the Barnes circular platform task as reported previously, yet in the same animals produced no deficit in learning the Morris water task (for which previous results have been conflicting). The behavioral deficit was not a consequence of any after-discharge in the hippocampal EEG. In contrast, administration of maximal electroconvulsive shock led to robust zif268 activation throughout the hippocampus, enhancement of synaptic responses, occlusion of LTP produced by discrete high-frequency stimulation, and spatial learning deficits in the water task. These data provide further support for the involvement of LTP-like synaptic enhancement in spatial learning.

Decision making in depression: differences in decisional conflict between healthy and depressed individuals.

PubMed

van Randenborgh, Annette; de Jong-Meyer, Renate; Hüffmeier, Joachim

2010-01-01

This study investigated differences in the emergence of decisional conflict in healthy and depressed participants. The two groups of interest were questioned about their experience of decisional conflict and ongoing thoughts and impressions during decision making. As predicted, depressed participants experienced more decisional conflict than healthy participants. Furthermore, the diverse processes hypothesis was supported: In healthy participants, preoccupation with the task was the only predictor of decisional conflict. In depressed participants, decisional conflict was predicted by a combination of depression-related processes (e.g., low self-efficacy, lack of concentration, rumination, etc.). This research reduces the gap between the relevance of the symptom of indecisiveness (e.g., for diagnostic purposes) and the lack of knowledge in this realm of psychopathology. (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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.

Conflict Resolution in the Parent-Child, Marital, and Peer Contexts and Children's Aggression in the Peer Group: A Process-Oriented Cultural Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2010-01-01

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…

Business Education and Training: A Value-Laden Process. Volume I: Education and Value Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natale, Samuel M., Ed.; Fenton, Mark B., Ed.

The 19 papers in this volume explore value conflicts in all professions. "Worlds in Collision: Value Conflicts in the Training of Professionals" (Samuel M. Natale, William G. O'Neill, Tara M. Madden) introduces the papers and explores what is meant by values, ethics, and conflict. The papers are as follows: "Values and Conflicts in School-Based…

Measuring the Impact of the Micronegotiation Technique on Team Member Satisfaction and Team Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Jeffery David

2013-01-01

Conflict is not an uncommon element of team interactions and processes; however, if unchecked it can cause issues in the ability of the team to achieve maximum performance. Research on task conflict and relationship conflict by de Wit, Greer, and Jehn (2012) found that while in many cases task conflict and relationship conflict within teams can…

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

Intergroup Conflict and Rational Decision Making

PubMed Central

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

2014-01-01

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

Intergroup conflict and rational decision making.

PubMed

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

2014-01-01

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

Neural cascade of conflict processing: Not just time-on-task.

PubMed

McKay, Cameron C; van den Berg, Berry; Woldorff, Marty G

2017-02-01

In visual conflict tasks (e.g., Stroop or flanker), response times (RTs) are generally longer on incongruent trials relative to congruent ones. Two event-related-potential (ERP) components classically associated with the processing of stimulus conflict are the fronto-central, incongruency-related negativity (N inc ) and the posterior late-positive complex (LPC), which are derived from the ERP difference waves for incongruent minus congruent trials. It has been questioned, however, whether these effects, or other neural measures of incongruency (e.g., fMRI responses in the anterior cingulate), reflect true conflict processing, or whether such effects derive mainly from differential time-on-task. To address this question, we leveraged high-temporal-resolution ERP measures of brain activity during two behavioral tasks. The first task, a modified Erikson flanker paradigm (with congruent and incongruent trials), was used to evoke the classic RT and ERP effects associated with conflict. The second was a non-conflict control task in which, participants visually discriminated a single stimulus (with easy and hard discrimination conditions). Behaviorally, the parameters were titrated to yield similar RT effects of conflict and difficulty (27ms). Neurally, both within-task contrasts showed an initial fronto-central negative-polarity wave (N2-latency effect), but they then diverged. In the difficulty difference wave, the initial negativity led directly into the posterior LPC, whereas in the incongruency contrast the initial negativity was followed a by a second fronto-central negative peak (N inc ), which was then followed by a considerably longer-latency LPC. These results provide clear evidence that the longer processing for incongruent stimulus inputs do not just reflect time-on-task or difficulty, but include a true conflict-processing component. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural cascade of conflict processing: not just time-on-task

PubMed Central

McKay, Cameron C.; van den Berg, Berry; Woldorff, Marty G.

2017-01-01

In visual conflict tasks (e.g., Stroop or flanker), response times (RTs) are generally longer on incongruent trials relative to congruent ones. Two event-related-potential (ERP) components classically associated with the processing of stimulus conflict are the fronto-central, incongruency-related negativity (Ninc) and the posterior late-positive complex (LPC), which are derived from the ERP difference waves for incongruent minus congruent trials. It has been questioned, however, whether these effects, or other neural measures of incongruency (e.g., fMRI responses in the anterior cingulate), reflect true conflict processing, or whether such effects derive mainly from differential time-on-task. To address this question, we leveraged high-temporal-resolution ERP measures of brain activity during two behavioral tasks. The first task, a modified Erikson flanker paradigm (with congruent and incongruent trials), was used to evoke the classic RT and ERP effects associated with conflict. In the second, a non-conflict comparison condition, participants visually discriminated a single stimulus (with easy and hard discrimination conditions). Behaviorally, the parameters were titrated to yield similar RT effects of conflict and difficulty (27 ms). Neurally, both within-task contrasts showed an initial fronto-central negative-polarity wave (N2-latency effect), but they then diverged. In the difficulty difference wave, the initial negativity led directly into the posterior LPC, whereas in the incongruency contrast the initial negativity was followed a by a second fronto-central negative peak (Ninc), which was then followed by a considerably longer-latency LPC. These results provide clear evidence that the longer processing for incongruent stimulus inputs do not just reflect time-on-task or difficulty, but include a true conflict-processing component. PMID:28017818

Gender role conflict and emotional approach coping in men with cancer.

PubMed

Hoyt, Michael A

2009-10-01

The utility of emotional approach coping (EAC), or expressing and processing emotions, has been equivocal for men. Gender role conflict, or the negative cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences associated with male gender role socialisation, likely shape coping responses and may negatively affect the efficacy of men's emotion-directed coping efforts and adjustment to cancer. Perceptions of receptiveness of one's interpersonal environment may be particularly important to the effectiveness of EAC. This study examined the relationships among EAC, gender role conflict, and distress in a group of 183 men with cancer. Structural equation modelling revealed that higher gender role conflict was associated with lower emotional expression, which in turn was associated with greater distress. Gender role conflict was not related to emotional processing. Higher gender role conflict also was associated directly with more distress. In subsequent analyses, social constraints and age were examined as possible moderators of EAC. Emotional expression was related to more psychological distress for those in highly constrained environments; and emotional processing was associated with more distress with younger age. Emotional expression may be particularly affected by social influences related to gender and social receptivity. More research is needed to better distinguish constructive and unconstructive emotional processing.

Complex land use and cover trajectories in the northern Choco bioregion of Colombia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Carolina

The Choco bioregion in Northwestern Colombia is a lowland rain forest and hotspot of biodiversity. Significant land use and cover change (LUCC) is occurring throughout the region driven by global markets, illicit drug production, and civil unrest. The dominant land cover conversion is from primary forest to African Palm plantations, mediated and modified by complex combinations of social and biophysical drivers. This research combined a remote sensing based methodology to monitor LUCC in the region with an analytical approach for evaluating the possible trajectories of LUCC in a complex biological, socio-economical, and political environment. Synoptic LUCC models were developed using textural classification derived from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images for the period 1995 to 2010. LUCC models along with empirical social and spatial biophysical drivers were used to project historical land use trajectories. DINAMICA EGO a complex systems based spatial analytical framework was adopted as the platform to model land use change. The RADAR backscatter was able to capture areas were forest has been converted to African Oil Palm Plantations. However, an in depth characterization of the LUC dynamics was problematic given the spectral and spatial limitations of the sensor combined with the lack of ground data. The results of the LUC model suggest that under the current socio-political conditions African oil palm plantations will continue to expand toward forested areas into the territories traditionally inhabited by Afro-Colombians and Indigenous populations. Insecure land tenure appears as a main driver of the transformation in close association with the conditions created by the armed conflict, and the drug traffic. The rate of the transformation appears to slow down in the period after 2007. However, according to the model by 2020 most of the area inhabited by ethnic groups will be transform to AOP. This study contributes towards the understanding of land use change in the context of social conflict. Although, it is recognized that conflicts impact the land--use and land-cover, few studies have address the linkages between particular circumstances and events in the conflict and the consequences for the land. As resource conflicts spread around the globe a better understanding of how it impacts the land and the people is paramount.

42 CFR 50.604 - Responsibilities of Institutions regarding Investigator financial conflicts of interest.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., written, and enforced administrative process to identify and manage financial conflicts of interest with... Investigator financial conflicts of interest. 50.604 Section 50.604 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE... Research § 50.604 Responsibilities of Institutions regarding Investigator financial conflicts of interest...

A regional strategy for ecological sustainability: A case study in Southwest China.

PubMed

Wu, Xue; Liu, Shiliang; Cheng, Fangyan; Hou, Xiaoyun; Zhang, Yueqiu; Dong, Shikui; Liu, Guohua

2018-03-01

Partitioning, a method considering environmental protection and development potential, is an effective way to provide regional management strategies to maintain ecological sustainability. In this study, we provide a large-scale regional division approach and present a strategy for Southwest China, which also has extremely high development potential because of the "Western development" policy. Based on the superposition of 15 factors, including species diversity, pattern restriction, agricultural potential, accessibility, urbanization potential, and topographical limitations, the environmental value and development benefit in the region were quantified spatially by weighting the sum of indicators within environmental and development categories. By comparing the scores with their respective median values, the study area was divided into four different strategy zones: Conserve zones (34.94%), Construction zones (32.95%), Conflict zones (16.96%), and Low-tension zones (15.16%). The Conflict zones in which environmental value and development benefit were both higher than the respective medians were separated further into the following 5 levels: Extreme conflict (36.20%), Serious conflict (28.07%), Moderate conflict (12.28%), Minor conflict (6.55%), and Slight conflict (16.91%). We found that 9.04% of nature reserves were in Conflict zones, and thus should be given more attention. This study provides a simple and feasible method for regional partitioning, as well as comprehensive support that weighs both the environmental value and development benefit for China's current Ecological Red Line and space planning and for regional management in similar situations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conflict Monitoring in Dual Process Theories of Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Neys, Wim; Glumicic, Tamara

2008-01-01

Popular dual process theories have characterized human thinking as an interplay between an intuitive-heuristic and demanding-analytic reasoning process. Although monitoring the output of the two systems for conflict is crucial to avoid decision making errors there are some widely different views on the efficiency of the process. Kahneman…

Effects of marital conflict on children: recent advances and emerging themes in process-oriented research.

PubMed

Cummings, E Mark; Davies, Patrick T

2002-01-01

The effects of marital conflict on children's adjustment are well documented. For the past decade research has increasingly focused on advancing a process-level understanding of these effects, that is, accounting for the particular responses and patterns embedded within specific contexts, histories, and developmental periods that account for children's outcomes over time. As a vehicle for presenting an update, this review follows the framework for process-oriented research initially proposed by Cummings and Cummings (1988), concentrating on recent research developments, and also considering new and emerging themes in this area of research. In this regard, areas of advancement include (a) greater articulation of the effects of specific context/stimulus characteristics of marital conflict, (b) progress in identifying the psychological response processes in children (e.g., cognitive, emotional, social, physiological) that are affected and their possible role in accounting for relations between marital conflict and child outcomes, (c) greater understanding of the role of child characteristics, family history, and other contextual factors, including effects on children due to interrelations between marital conflict and parenting, and (d) advances in the conceptualization of children's outcomes, including that effects may be more productively viewed as dynamic processes of functioning rather than simply clinical diagnoses. Understanding of the impact of marital conflict on children as a function of time-related processes remains a gap in a process-oriented conceptualization of effects. Based on this review, a revised model for a process-oriented approach on the effects of marital discord on children is proposed and suggestions are made for future research directions.

The paradox of intragroup conflict: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

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

2012-03-01

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

Conflict monitoring in dual process theories of thinking.

PubMed

De Neys, Wim; Glumicic, Tamara

2008-03-01

Popular dual process theories have characterized human thinking as an interplay between an intuitive-heuristic and demanding-analytic reasoning process. Although monitoring the output of the two systems for conflict is crucial to avoid decision making errors there are some widely different views on the efficiency of the process. Kahneman [Kahneman, D. (2002). Maps of bounded rationality: A perspective on intuitive judgement and choice. Nobel Prize Lecture. Retrieved January 11, 2006, from: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/2002/kahnemann-lecture.pdf] and Evans [Evans, J. St. B. T. (1984). Heuristic and analytic processing in reasoning. British Journal of Psychology, 75, 451-468], for example, claim that the monitoring of the heuristic system is typically quite lax whereas others such as Sloman [Sloman, S. A. (1996). The empirical case for two systems of reasoning. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 3-22] and Epstein [Epstein, S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologists, 49, 709-724] claim it is flawless and people typically experience a struggle between what they "know" and "feel" in case of a conflict. The present study contrasted these views. Participants solved classic base rate neglect problems while thinking aloud. In these problems a stereotypical description cues a response that conflicts with the response based on the analytic base rate information. Verbal protocols showed no direct evidence for an explicitly experienced conflict. As Kahneman and Evans predicted, participants hardly ever mentioned the base rates and seemed to base their judgment exclusively on heuristic reasoning. However, more implicit measures of conflict detection such as participants' retrieval of the base rate information in an unannounced recall test, decision making latencies, and the tendency to review the base rates indicated that the base rates had been thoroughly processed. On control problems where base rates and description did not conflict this was not the case. Results suggest that whereas the popular characterization of conflict detection as an actively experienced struggle can be questioned there is nevertheless evidence for Sloman's and Epstein's basic claim about the flawless operation of the monitoring. Whenever the base rates and description disagree people will detect this conflict and consequently redirect attention towards a deeper processing of the base rates. Implications for the dual process framework and the rationality debate are discussed.

Spatial complementarity and the coexistence of species.

PubMed

Velázquez, Jorge; Garrahan, Juan P; Eichhorn, Markus P

2014-01-01

Coexistence of apparently similar species remains an enduring paradox in ecology. Spatial structure has been predicted to enable coexistence even when population-level models predict competitive exclusion if it causes each species to limit its own population more than that of its competitor. Nevertheless, existing hypotheses conflict with regard to whether clustering favours or precludes coexistence. The spatial segregation hypothesis predicts that in clustered populations the frequency of intra-specific interactions will be increased, causing each species to be self-limiting. Alternatively, individuals of the same species might compete over greater distances, known as heteromyopia, breaking down clusters and opening space for a second species to invade. In this study we create an individual-based model in homogeneous two-dimensional space for two putative sessile species differing only in their demographic rates and the range and strength of their competitive interactions. We fully characterise the parameter space within which coexistence occurs beyond population-level predictions, thereby revealing a region of coexistence generated by a previously-unrecognised process which we term the triadic mechanism. Here coexistence occurs due to the ability of a second generation of offspring of the rarer species to escape competition from their ancestors. We diagnose the conditions under which each of three spatial coexistence mechanisms operates and their characteristic spatial signatures. Deriving insights from a novel metric - ecological pressure - we demonstrate that coexistence is not solely determined by features of the numerically-dominant species. This results in a common framework for predicting, given any pair of species and knowledge of the relevant parameters, whether they will coexist, the mechanism by which they will do so, and the resultant spatial pattern of the community. Spatial coexistence arises from complementary combinations of traits in each species rather than solely through self-limitation.

Spatial Complementarity and the Coexistence of Species

PubMed Central

Velázquez, Jorge; Garrahan, Juan P.; Eichhorn, Markus P.

2014-01-01

Coexistence of apparently similar species remains an enduring paradox in ecology. Spatial structure has been predicted to enable coexistence even when population-level models predict competitive exclusion if it causes each species to limit its own population more than that of its competitor. Nevertheless, existing hypotheses conflict with regard to whether clustering favours or precludes coexistence. The spatial segregation hypothesis predicts that in clustered populations the frequency of intra-specific interactions will be increased, causing each species to be self-limiting. Alternatively, individuals of the same species might compete over greater distances, known as heteromyopia, breaking down clusters and opening space for a second species to invade. In this study we create an individual-based model in homogeneous two-dimensional space for two putative sessile species differing only in their demographic rates and the range and strength of their competitive interactions. We fully characterise the parameter space within which coexistence occurs beyond population-level predictions, thereby revealing a region of coexistence generated by a previously-unrecognised process which we term the triadic mechanism. Here coexistence occurs due to the ability of a second generation of offspring of the rarer species to escape competition from their ancestors. We diagnose the conditions under which each of three spatial coexistence mechanisms operates and their characteristic spatial signatures. Deriving insights from a novel metric — ecological pressure — we demonstrate that coexistence is not solely determined by features of the numerically-dominant species. This results in a common framework for predicting, given any pair of species and knowledge of the relevant parameters, whether they will coexist, the mechanism by which they will do so, and the resultant spatial pattern of the community. Spatial coexistence arises from complementary combinations of traits in each species rather than solely through self-limitation. PMID:25532018

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

Spatial Bayesian belief networks as a planning decision tool for mapping ecosystem services trade-offs on forested landscapes.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Redin, Julen; Luque, Sandra; Poggio, Laura; Smith, Ron; Gimona, Alessandro

2016-01-01

An integrated methodology, based on linking Bayesian belief networks (BBN) with GIS, is proposed for combining available evidence to help forest managers evaluate implications and trade-offs between forest production and conservation measures to preserve biodiversity in forested habitats. A Bayesian belief network is a probabilistic graphical model that represents variables and their dependencies through specifying probabilistic relationships. In spatially explicit decision problems where it is difficult to choose appropriate combinations of interventions, the proposed integration of a BBN with GIS helped to facilitate shared understanding of the human-landscape relationships, while fostering collective management that can be incorporated into landscape planning processes. Trades-offs become more and more relevant in these landscape contexts where the participation of many and varied stakeholder groups is indispensable. With these challenges in mind, our integrated approach incorporates GIS-based data with expert knowledge to consider two different land use interests - biodiversity value for conservation and timber production potential - with the focus on a complex mountain landscape in the French Alps. The spatial models produced provided different alternatives of suitable sites that can be used by policy makers in order to support conservation priorities while addressing management options. The approach provided provide a common reasoning language among different experts from different backgrounds while helped to identify spatially explicit conflictive areas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotions in conflicts: understanding emotional processes sheds light on the nature and potential resolution of intractable conflicts.

PubMed

Halperin, Eran; Tagar, Michal Reifen

2017-10-01

In recent years, researchers have been making substantial advances in understanding the central role of emotions in intractable conflict. We now know that discrete emotions uniquely shape policy preferences in conflict through their unique emotional goals and action tendencies in all stages of conflict including conflict management, conflict resolution and reconciliation. Drawing on this understanding, recent research also points to emotion regulation as a path to reduce conflict and advance peace, exploring both direct and indirect strategies of emotion regulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Management of Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, M. J., Jr.

1985-01-01

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

Marital Conflict, Depressive Symptoms, and Functional Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Heejeong; Marks, Nadine F

2008-01-01

Guided by a stress process perspective, we investigated (a) whether marital conflict might directly lead to changes in depression and functional impairment, (b) whether marital conflict might indirectly lead to changes in functional impairment via depression, and (c) whether marital conflict might indirectly lead to changes in depression via…

Building a Narrative Based Requirements Engineering Mediation Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Nan; Hall, Tracy; Barker, Trevor

This paper presents a narrative-based Requirements Engineering (RE) mediation model to help RE practitioners to effectively identify, define, and resolve conflicts of interest, goals, and requirements. Within the SPI community, there is a common belief that social, human, and organizational issues significantly impact on the effectiveness of software process improvement in general and the requirements engineering process in particularl. Conflicts among different stakeholders are an important human and social issue that need more research attention in the SPI and RE community. By drawing on the conflict resolution literature and IS literature, we argue that conflict resolution in RE is a mediated process, in which a requirements engineer can act as a mediator among different stakeholders. To address socio-psychological aspects of conflict in RE and SPI, Winslade and Monk (2000)'s narrative mediation model is introduced, justified, and translated into the context of RE.

Feature-based attention and conflict monitoring in criminal offenders: interactive relations of psychopathy with anxiety and externalizing.

PubMed

Zeier, Joshua D; Newman, Joseph P

2013-08-01

As predicted by the response modulation model, psychopathic offenders are insensitive to potentially important inhibitory information when it is peripheral to their primary focus of attention. To date, the clearest tests of this hypothesis have manipulated spatial attention to cue the location of goal-relevant versus inhibitory information. However, the theory predicts a more general abnormality in selective attention. In the current study, male prisoners performed a conflict-monitoring task, which included a feature-based manipulation (i.e., color) that biased selective attention toward goal-relevant stimuli and away from inhibitory distracters on some trials but not others. Paralleling results for spatial cuing, feature-based cuing resulted in less distracter interference, particularly for participants with primary psychopathy (i.e., low anxiety). This study also investigated the moderating effect of externalizing on psychopathy. Participants high in psychopathy but low in externalizing performed similarly to primary psychopathic individuals. These results demonstrate that the abnormal selective attention associated with primary psychopathy is not limited to spatial attention but, instead, applies to diverse methods for establishing attentional focus. Furthermore, they demonstrate a novel method of investigating psychopathic subtypes using continuous analyses. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Górniak-Zimroz, Justyna; Pactwa, Katarzyna

2016-10-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2014-07-30

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

Basic psychological needs and neurophysiological responsiveness to decisional conflict: an event-related potential study of integrative self processes.

PubMed

Di Domenico, Stefano I; Le, Ada; Liu, Yichuan; Ayaz, Hasan; Fournier, Marc A

2016-10-01

Fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy is believed to facilitate people's integrative tendencies to process psychological conflicts and develop a coherent sense of self. The present study therefore used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the relation between need fulfillment and the amplitude of conflict negativity (CN), a neurophysiological measure of conflict during personal decision making. Participants completed a decision-making task in which they made a series of forced choices according to their personal preferences. Three types of decision-making situations were created on the basis of participants' unique preference ratings, which were obtained prior to ERP recording: low-conflict situations (choosing between an attractive and an unattractive option), high-conflict approach-approach situations (choosing between two similarly attractive options), and high-conflict avoidance-avoidance situations (choosing between two similarly unattractive options). As expected, CN amplitudes were larger in high- relative to low-conflict situations, and source localization analyses suggested that the anterior cingulate cortex was the generating structure of the CN. Most importantly, people reporting higher need fulfillment exhibited larger CN amplitudes in avoidance-avoidance situations relative to low-conflict situations; to a lesser extent, they also exhibited larger CN amplitudes in approach-approach situations relative to low-conflict situations. By contrast, people reporting lower need fulfillment exhibited CN amplitudes that poorly discriminated the three decision situations. These results suggest that need fulfillment may promote self-coherent functioning by increasing people's receptivity to and processing of events that challenge their abilities to make efficient, self-congruent choices.

Adolescent Girls' Perceptions of Daily Conflicts with Their Mothers: Within-Conflict Sequences and Their Relationship to Autonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Anna; Kunnen, Saskia; van Geert, Paul

2010-01-01

This article reports on a 1-year diary study of conflicts between seventeen 15-year-old girls and their mothers assessing (a) within-conflict sequences according to the emotional processes related to a girl's level of self-assertion and perceived control and (b) the relationship between these within-conflict sequences and the level of autonomy.…

Geographic overlaps between priority areas for forest carbon-storage efforts and those for delivering peacebuilding programs: implications for policy design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castro-Nunez, Augusto; Mertz, Ole; Sosa, Chrystian C.

2017-05-01

Of the countries considering national-level policies for incentivizing reductions in forest-based greenhouse gas emissions (REDD+), some 25 are experiencing (or are emerging from) armed-conflicts. It has been hypothesized that the outcomes of the interactions between carbon-storage and peacebuilding efforts could result in either improved or worsened forest conservation and likewise increased or decreased conflict. Hence, for this study we explore potential interactions between forest carbon-storage and peacebuilding efforts, with Colombia as a case study. Spatial associations between biomass carbon and three conflict-related variables suggest that such interactions may exist. Nonetheless, while priority areas for carbon-focused conservation are presumably those at highest risks of deforestation, our research indicates that forests with lower risk of deforestation are typically those affected by armed-conflict. Our findings moreover highlight three possible roles played by Colombian forested municipalities in armed groups’ military strategies: venues for battle, hideouts, and sources of natural resources to finance war.

The Role of Extra-Vestibular Inputs in Maintaining Spatial Orientation in Military Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-02-01

flow contribute to spatial orientation. Disordered regulation of any of these factors can be identified in land based tests and allows us to study pre...adaptation disorders . 1,2 The sensory conflict theory of motion sickness states that motion sickness arises when one or several inputs from the body’s sensory...several episodes of severe motion sickness during an operational military assignment (usually aboard ship), but demonstrate no balance disorder or ear

TRACON Aircraft Arrival Planning and Optimization Through Spatial Constraint Satisfaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergh, Christopher P.; Krzeczowski, Kenneth J.; Davis, Thomas J.; Denery, Dallas G. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

A new aircraft arrival planning and optimization algorithm has been incorporated into the Final Approach Spacing Tool (FAST) in the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS) developed at NASA-Ames Research Center. FAST simulations have been conducted over three years involving full-proficiency, level five air traffic controllers from around the United States. From these simulations an algorithm, called Spatial Constraint Satisfaction, has been designed, coded, undergone testing, and soon will begin field evaluation at the Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver International airport facilities. The purpose of this new design is an attempt to show that the generation of efficient and conflict free aircraft arrival plans at the runway does not guarantee an operationally acceptable arrival plan upstream from the runway -information encompassing the entire arrival airspace must be used in order to create an acceptable aircraft arrival plan. This new design includes functions available previously but additionally includes necessary representations of controller preferences and workload, operationally required amounts of extra separation, and integrates aircraft conflict resolution. As a result, the Spatial Constraint Satisfaction algorithm produces an optimized aircraft arrival plan that is more acceptable in terms of arrival procedures and air traffic controller workload. This paper discusses the current Air Traffic Control arrival planning procedures, previous work in this field, the design of the Spatial Constraint Satisfaction algorithm, and the results of recent evaluations of the algorithm.

Domain-specific control mechanisms for emotional and nonemotional conflict processing.

PubMed

Soutschek, Alexander; Schubert, Torsten

2013-02-01

Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that the human brain activates dissociable cognitive control networks in response to conflicts arising within the cognitive and the affective domain. The present study tested the hypothesis that nonemotional and emotional conflict regulation can also be dissociated on a functional level. For that purpose, we examined the effects of a working memory and an emotional Go/Nogo task on cognitive control in an emotional and a nonemotional variant of the Stroop paradigm. The data confirmed the hypothesized dissociation: Working memory efforts selectively suppressed conflict regulation in the nonemotional Stroop task, while the demands of an emotional Go/Nogo task impaired only conflict regulation in the emotional Stroop task. We conclude that these findings support a modular architecture of cognitive control with domain-specific conflict regulation processes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cerebral Correlates of Abnormal Emotion Conflict Processing in Euthymic Bipolar Patients: A Functional MRI Study.

PubMed

Favre, Pauline; Polosan, Mircea; Pichat, Cédric; Bougerol, Thierry; Baciu, Monica

2015-01-01

Patients with bipolar disorder experience cognitive and emotional impairment that may persist even during the euthymic state of the disease. These persistent symptoms in bipolar patients (BP) may be characterized by disturbances of emotion regulation and related fronto-limbic brain circuitry. The present study aims to investigate the modulation of fronto-limbic activity and connectivity in BP by the processing of emotional conflict. Fourteen euthymic BP and 13 matched healthy subjects (HS) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a word-face emotional Stroop task designed to dissociate the monitoring/generation of emotional conflict from its resolution. Functional connectivity was determined by means of psychophysiological interaction (PPI) approach. Relative to HS, BP were slower to process incongruent stimuli, reflecting higher amount of behavioral interference during emotional Stroop. Furthermore, BP showed decreased activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the monitoring and a lack of bilateral amygdala deactivation during the resolution of the emotional conflict. In addition, during conflict monitoring, BP showed abnormal positive connectivity between the right DLPFC and several regions of the default mode network. Overall, our results highlighted dysfunctional processing of the emotion conflict in euthymic BP that may be subtended by abnormal activity and connectivity of the DLPFC during the conflict monitoring, which, in turn, leads to failure of amygdala deactivation during the resolution of the conflict. Emotional dysregulation in BP may be underpinned by a lack of top-down cognitive control and a difficulty to focus on the task due to persistent self-oriented attention.

Analytic and heuristic processes in the detection and resolution of conflict.

PubMed

Ferreira, Mário B; Mata, André; Donkin, Christopher; Sherman, Steven J; Ihmels, Max

2016-10-01

Previous research with the ratio-bias task found larger response latencies for conflict trials where the heuristic- and analytic-based responses are assumed to be in opposition (e.g., choosing between 1/10 and 9/100 ratios of success) when compared to no-conflict trials where both processes converge on the same response (e.g., choosing between 1/10 and 11/100). This pattern is consistent with parallel dual-process models, which assume that there is effective, rather than lax, monitoring of the output of heuristic processing. It is, however, unclear why conflict resolution sometimes fails. Ratio-biased choices may increase because of a decline in analytical reasoning (leaving heuristic-based responses unopposed) or to a rise in heuristic processing (making it more difficult for analytic processes to override the heuristic preferences). Using the process-dissociation procedure, we found that instructions to respond logically and response speed affected analytic (controlled) processing (C), leaving heuristic processing (H) unchanged, whereas the intuitive preference for large nominators (as assessed by responses to equal ratio trials) affected H but not C. These findings create new challenges to the debate between dual-process and single-process accounts, which are discussed.

Pedestrian temporal and spatial gap acceptance at mid-block street crossing in developing world.

PubMed

Pawar, Digvijay S; Patil, Gopal R

2015-02-01

Most of the midblock pedestrian crossings on urban roads in India are uncontrolled; wherein the high degree of discretion in pedestrians' behavior while crossing the traffic stream, has made the situation complex to analyze. Vehicles do not yield to pedestrians, even though the traffic laws give priority to pedestrians over motorized vehicles at unsignalized pedestrian crossings. Therefore, a pedestrian has to decide if an available gap is safe or not for crossing. This paper aims to investigate pedestrian temporal and spatial gap acceptance for midblock street crossings. Field data were collected using video camera at two midblock pedestrian crossings. The data extraction in laboratory resulted in 1107 pedestrian gaps. Available gaps, pedestrians' decision, traffic volume, etc. were extracted from the videos. While crossing a road with multiple lanes, rolling gap acceptance behavior was observed. Using binary logit analysis, six utility models were developed, three each for temporal and spatial gaps. The 50th percentile temporal and spatial gaps ranged from 4.1 to 4.8s and 67 to 79 m respectively, whereas the 85th percentile temporal and spatial gaps ranged from 5 to 5.8s and 82 to 95 m respectively. These gap values were smaller than that reported in the studies in developed countries. The speed of conflicting vehicle was found to be significant in spatial gap but not in temporal gap acceptance. The gap acceptance decision was also found to be affected by the type of conflicting vehicles. The insights from this study can be used for the safety and performance evaluation of uncontrolled midblock street crossings in developing countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Sustained attention ability in schizophrenia: Investigation of conflict monitoring mechanisms.

PubMed

Hoonakker, Marc; Doignon-Camus, Nadège; Marques-Carneiro, José Eduardo; Bonnefond, Anne

2017-09-01

The main goal of the current study was to assess, with a time-on-task approach, sustained attention ability in schizophrenia, and to investigate conflict monitoring underlying this ability. Behavioral and event-related potentials data (N2 and P3a amplitudes) were recorded in a long-lasting sustained attention Go/NoGo task (sustained attention to response task, SART), over a period of 30min, in 29 patients with schizophrenia and 29 pair-matched healthy subjects. Our results revealed spared sustained attention ability in patients throughout the task. Impairment of conflict detection (N2) in patients was particularly significant at the end of the task. Furthermore, both schizophrenia and healthy subjects exhibited a decline in conflict detection from the beginning to the middle of the task. Whereas controls' conflict detection recovered in the last part of the task, patients' did not, suggesting a deficit in recovery processes reflecting a lack of additional resources sustained attention Go/NoGo task. Conflict resolution (P3a) was preserved throughout the task in both groups. Conflict monitoring processes are increasingly impaired in schizophrenia during a long-lasting sustained attention Go/NoGo task. This impairment at the end of the task may rely on deficit in recovery processes, rather than a deficit in conflict detection per se in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interaction before Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Pre-School Boys with Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2006-01-01

Background: Children with language impairment (LI) experience social difficulties, including conflict management. The factors involved in peer-conflict progression in pre-school children with LI, and which of these processes may differ from pre-school children with typical language development (TL), is therefore examined. Aims: To describe the…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2005-01-01

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

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2015-01-01

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

49 CFR 40.125 - What relationship may an MRO have with a laboratory?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... TRANSPORTATION WORKPLACE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING PROGRAMS Medical Review Officers and the Verification Process... relationship with an employer's laboratory that creates a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict... that the Department views as creating a conflict of interest or the appearance of such a conflict, see...

Nurses' perceptions of conflict as constructive or destructive.

PubMed

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

2015-09-01

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

Adolescents' and Best Friend's Depressive Symptoms and Conflict Management: Intraindividual and Interpersonal Processes Over Time.

PubMed

Boersma-van Dam, Elise; Hale, Bill; Koot, Hans; Meeus, Wim; Branje, Susan

2016-12-12

This 6-year longitudinal study examined the relation between 3 conflict management styles (i.e., problem solving, conflict engagement, and compliance) and depressive symptoms in adolescent-best friend relationships. Participants were 479 Dutch adolescents and their best friend who reported annually on depressive symptoms and conflict management styles toward each other. Bidirectional effects between conflict management styles and depressive symptoms were studied both within adolescents (intraindividual) and between adolescent best friends (interpersonal). A positive interpersonal effect of depressive symptoms of one dyad member on depressive symptoms of the other member was found. Similarly, higher positive problem solving and conflict engagement of one dyad member predicted respectively higher problem solving and conflict engagement of the other dyad member. Adolescents who reported more depressive symptoms reported more conflict engagement and compliance over time. In addition, for boys, higher levels of depressive symptoms of one dyad member were related to more problem solving by the other member over time. The current study contributed to the literature by showing that depressive symptoms and conflict management are related constructs in adolescents and that both intrapersonal and interpersonal processes contribute to this relation.

Conflict of spatial development and water supply under climate change in case of water dependent ecosystem of Ljubljana Moor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bračič Železnik, Branka; Souvent, Petra; Čenčur Curk, Barbara

2013-04-01

Water resources are vulnerable to climate change and to many other socio-economic drivers of change. A key aspect of vulnerability is that it is spatially variable, reflecting variations of physical and socio-economic conditions. Given the real representation of vulnerability and a set of climate change adaptation options there is need to develop a common transnational strategy for vulnerability reduction. The latter is the goal of SEE CC-WARE project. Among others, ecosystem services, land use change, improving water use efficiency and economic incentives for water management have large potentials to decrease water resources vulnerability. Especially, forests, wetlands and grasslands are important ecosystems, which together with their management emerged as an important means for a sustainable future drinking water supply. The Ljubljana Moor is one of the biggest and most important complexes of wet meadows in Slovenia, which have, due to land use high biodiversity. The Ljubljana Moor extends from the southern part of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, where in the last two centuries extensive irrigation and river regulation projects were implemented to develop agricultural land. Biodiversity of the area is high due to large zones of wet meadows, some flood forest patches, bog areas, and open water courses habitats. The Ljubljana Moor is therefore protected as Natura 2000 site. The Ljubljana Moor is changing very fast and impacts are especially intense in the present years, mostly due to spreading of urbanization and monocultures. In this area the water well field Brest has been designed as important future drinking water source for Ljubljana, pumping mainly water from confined aquifer. The pressure from urbanisation and agriculture and high subsidence that are noticed in the central and eastern part of the aquifer, those two phenomena pose high risk to stable drinking water supply and wetland habitats that are protected as NATURA 2000. Water protection areas with limitation of land use were delineated for protection of drinking water from Brest pumping station. A part of Ljubljana Moor area is also protected as Landscape Park. These legal acts are in conflict with existing agricultural practices, spatial development plans and further urbanisation processes (including new and larger roads, flood areas disconnections and destruction). No attention has been given yet to integrated water management and there is no consideration of long term hydrological and hydrogeological processes.

Conflict Resolution Communications.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lincoln, Melinda G.

2002-01-01

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

Conflict adaptation and congruency sequence effects to social-emotional stimuli in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

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

2015-11-01

The modification of performance following conflict can be measured using conflict adaptation tasks thought to measure the change in the allocation of cognitive resources in order to reduce conflict interference and improve performance. While previous studies have suggested atypical processing during nonsocial cognitive control tasks, conflict adaptation (i.e. congruency sequence effects) for social-emotional stimuli have not been previously studied in autism spectrum disorder. A total of 32 participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and 27 typically developing matched controls completed an emotional Stroop conflict task that required the classification of facial affect while simultaneously ignoring an overlaid affective word. Both groups showed behavioral evidence for emotional conflict adaptation based on response times and accuracy rates. However, the autism spectrum disorder group demonstrated a speed-accuracy trade-off manifested through significantly faster response times and decreased accuracy rates on trials containing conflict between the emotional face and the overlaid emotional word. Reduced selective attention toward socially relevant information may bias individuals with autism spectrum disorder toward more rapid processing and decision making even when conflict is present. Nonetheless, the loss of important information from the social stimuli reduces decision-making accuracy, negatively affecting the ability to adapt both cognitively and emotionally when conflict arises. © The Author(s) 2014.

A common neural hub resolves syntactic and non-syntactic conflict through cooperation with task-specific networks

PubMed Central

Hsu, Nina S.; Jaeggi, Susanne M.; Novick, Jared M.

2017-01-01

Regions within the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) have simultaneously been implicated in syntactic processing and cognitive control. Accounts attempting to unify LIFG’s function hypothesize that, during comprehension, cognitive control resolves conflict between incompatible representations of sentence meaning. Some studies demonstrate co-localized activity within LIFG for syntactic and non-syntactic conflict resolution, suggesting domain-generality, but others show non-overlapping activity, suggesting domain-specific cognitive control and/or regions that respond uniquely to syntax. We propose however that examining exclusive activation sites for certain contrasts creates a false dichotomy: both domain-general and domain-specific neural machinery must coordinate to facilitate conflict resolution across domains. Here, subjects completed four diverse tasks involving conflict —one syntactic, three non-syntactic— while undergoing fMRI. Though LIFG consistently activated within individuals during conflict processing, functional connectivity analyses revealed task-specific coordination with distinct brain networks. Thus, LIFG may function as a conflict-resolution “hub” that cooperates with specialized neural systems according to information content. PMID:28110105

Improving the Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework (ICAF) with Intellectual Habits

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-08

27 Figure 4. Parson’s Fundamental Matrix of Explanation of Action .................................32 Figure...peace building process. Reconciliation, which is the process by which relationships are built between conflicting groups, must manage three paradoxes

Transactional Process of African American Adolescents' Family Conflict and Violent Behavior.

PubMed

Choe, Daniel Ewon; Zimmerman, Marc A

2014-12-01

This is the first longitudinal study of urban African American adolescents that has examined bidirectional effects between their family conflict and violent behavior across all of high school. Structured interviews were administered to 681 students each year in high school at ages 15, 16 17, and 18 years. We used structural equation modeling to test a transactional model and found bidirectional effects between family conflict and violent behavior across the middle years of high school, while accounting for sex and socioeconomic status. Findings suggest a reciprocal process involving interpersonal conflict in African American families and adolescent engagement in youth violence.

Leishmaniasis, conflict, and political terror: A spatio-temporal analysis.

PubMed

Berry, Isha; Berrang-Ford, Lea

2016-10-01

Leishmaniasis has been estimated to cause the ninth largest burden amongst global infectious diseases. Occurrence of the disease has been anecdotally associated with periods of conflict, leading to its referral as a disease of 'guerrilla warfare.' Despite this, there have been few studies that quantitatively investigate the extent to which leishmaniasis coincides with conflict or political terror. This study employed a longitudinal approach to empirically test for an association between cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis incidence with occurrence of conflict and political terror at the national level, annually for 15 years (1995-2010). Leishmaniasis incidence data were collected for 54 countries, and combined with UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict and Amnesty International political terror datasets. Mixed effects negative binomial regression models clustered at the country-level were constructed to evaluate the incidence rate ratios against the predictors, while controlling for wealth. Additionally, to understand how and why conflict-terror may be associated with leishmaniasis incidence, we conducted a historical analysis. We identify and discuss posited causal mechanisms in the literature, and critically assessed pathways by which leishmaniasis might occur in places and times of conflict-terror. There was a significant dose-response relationship for disease incidence based on increasing levels of conflict and terror. Country-years experiencing very high levels of conflict-terror were associated with a 2.38 times higher [95% CI: 1.40-4.05] and 6.02 times higher [95% CI: 2.39-15.15] incidence of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis, respectively. Historical analysis indicated that conflict and terror contribute to-or coincide with-leishmaniasis incidence through processes of population displacement and health system deterioration. This research highlights the potentially increased risks for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis incidence in areas of high conflict-terror. Notably, conflict-terror may act as an empirical proxy for indirect and concomitant processes of social breakdown, migration, and instability, which emerge as the dominant processes associated with disease incidence. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed Central

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

2014-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2014-01-01

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

Using neural pattern classifiers to quantify the modularity of conflict-control mechanisms in the human brain.

PubMed

Jiang, Jiefeng; Egner, Tobias

2014-07-01

Resolving conflicting sensory and motor representations is a core function of cognitive control, but it remains uncertain to what degree control over different sources of conflict is implemented by shared (domain general) or distinct (domain specific) neural resources. Behavioral data suggest conflict-control to be domain specific, but results from neuroimaging studies have been ambivalent. Here, we employed multivoxel pattern analyses that can decode a brain region's informational content, allowing us to distinguish incidental activation overlap from actual shared information processing. We trained independent sets of "searchlight" classifiers on functional magnetic resonance imaging data to decode control processes associated with stimulus-conflict (Stroop task) and ideomotor-conflict (Simon task). Quantifying the proportion of domain-specific searchlights (capable of decoding only one type of conflict) and domain-general searchlights (capable of decoding both conflict types) in each subject, we found both domain-specific and domain-general searchlights, though the former were more common. When mapping anatomical loci of these searchlights across subjects, neural substrates of stimulus- and ideomotor-specific conflict-control were found to be anatomically consistent across subjects, whereas the substrates of domain-general conflict-control were not. Overall, these findings suggest a hybrid neural architecture of conflict-control that entails both modular (domain specific) and global (domain general) components. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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.

Constructive Conflict in Academic Bargaining.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birnbaum, Robert

1980-01-01

Collective bargaining is seen as a process of shared authority used in some institutions to manage conflict. Some ways in which parties to bargaining can significantly alter their relationships to promote constructive and creative outcomes of conflict are suggested. (MLW)

Emergence of cooperativity in a model biofilm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rotrattanadumrong, Rachapun; Endres, Robert G.

2017-06-01

Evolution to multicellularity from an aggregate of cells involves altruistic cooperation between individual cells, which is in conflict with Darwinian evolution. How cooperation arises and how a cell community resolves such conflicts remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the spontaneous emergence of cell differentiation and the subsequent division of labour in evolving cellular metabolic networks. In spatially extended cell aggregates, our findings reveal that resource limitation can lead to the formation of subpopulations and cooperation of cells, and hence multicellular communities. A specific example of our model can explain the recently observed oscillatory growth in Bacillus subtilis biofilms.

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.

Social cognitive conflict resolution: Contributions of domain general and domain specific neural systems

PubMed Central

Zaki, Jamil; Hennigan, Kelly; Weber, Jochen; Ochsner, Kevin N.

2010-01-01

Cognitive control mechanisms allow individuals to behave adaptively in the face of complex and sometimes conflicting information. While the neural bases of these control mechanisms have been examined in many contexts, almost no attention has been paid to their role in resolving conflicts between competing social cues, which is surprising, given that cognitive conflicts are part of many social interactions. Evidence about the neural processing of social information suggests that two systems—the mirror neuron system (MNS) and mental state attribution system (MSAS)—are specialized for processing nonverbal and contextual social cues, respectively. This could support a model of social cognitive conflict resolution in which competition between social cues would recruit domain-general cognitive control mechanisms, which in turn would bias processing towards the MNS or MSAS. Such biasing could also alter social behaviors, such as inferences made about the internal states of others. We tested this model by scanning participants using fMRI while they drew inferences about social targets' emotional states based on congruent or incongruent nonverbal and contextual social cues. Conflicts between social cues recruited the anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortex, brain areas associated with domain-general control processes. This activation was accompanied by biasing of neural activity towards areas in the MNS or MSAS, which tracked, respectively, with perceivers' behavioral reliance on nonverbal or contextual cues when drawing inferences about targets' emotions. Together, these data provide evidence about both domain general and domain specific mechanisms involved in resolving social cognitive conflicts. PMID:20573895

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.

Study of the combinatorial impact of empathy and emotion on the processing of conflicts of interest with the event-related potential technique.

PubMed

He, Xiaoli; Zhang, Ni

2017-01-01

Studies have found that empathy is important in moral development and violence suppression, and emotion also affects empathy. However, the combinatorial effect of emotion and empathy on the processing of conflicts is not known. A total of 44 undergraduate students (23 in low-empathy group and 21 in high-empathy group) were enrolled in this study. They were subjected to positive, negative, and neutral emotion evoking, as well as conflicting or nonconflicting proposals. Event-related potential technology was used to study the combinatorial effects of empathy and emotion on the processing of conflict of interest. We found that under the influence of a positive emotion, both low- and high-empathy groups exhibited lower rejection rates. In the context of conflict, individuals in the high-empathy group showed fewer refusals under positive emotion. In the low-empathy group, there was no significant difference between responses to different emotions, but conflicting proposals induced more negative medial frontal negativity than nonconflicting proposals. Individuals in the low-empathy group showed different late positive potentials when responding to different types of proposals under both neutral and negative emotions, whereas those in the high-empathy group only showed different late positive potentials responding to different types of proposals under negative emotion. Our results indicate that under positive emotion, individuals with low empathy show less difference in processing either conflicting or nonconflicting proposals, whereas under negative emotion, individuals with high empathy show enhanced motivation toward nonconflicting proposals.

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

Conflict processing in juvenile patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and healthy controls - Two pathways to success.

PubMed

Bluschke, Annet; von der Hagen, Maja; Papenhagen, Katharina; Roessner, Veit; Beste, Christian

2017-01-01

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) is a monogenetic autosomal-dominant disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms and is commonly associated with cognitive deficits. Patients with NF1 frequently exhibit cognitive impairments like attention problems, working memory deficits and dysfunctional inhibitory control. The latter is also relevant for the resolution of cognitive conflicts. However, it is unclear how conflict monitoring processes are modulated in NF1. To examine this question in more detail, we used a system neurophysiological approach combining high-density ERP recordings with source localisation analyses in juvenile patients with NF1 and controls during a flanker task. Behaviourally, patients with NF1 perform significantly slower than controls. Specifically on trials with incompatible flanker-target pairings, however, the patients with NF1 made significantly fewer errors than healthy controls. Yet, importantly, this overall successful conflict resolution was reached via two different routes in the two groups. The healthy controls seem to arrive at a successful conflict monitoring performance through a developing conflict recognition via the N2 accompanied by a selectively enhanced N450 activation in the case of perceived flanker-target conflicts. The presumed dopamine deficiency in the patients with NF1 seems to result in a reduced ability to process conflicts via the N2. However, NF1 patients show an increased N450 irrespective of cognitive conflict. Activation differences in the orbitofrontal cortex (BA11) and anterior cingulate cortex (BA24) underlie these modulations. Taken together, juvenile patients with NF1 and juvenile healthy controls seem to accomplish conflict monitoring via two different cognitive neurophysiological pathways.

Conflict adaptation in emotional task underlies the amplification of target.

PubMed

Chechko, Natalia; Kellermann, Thilo; Schneider, Frank; Habel, Ute

2014-04-01

A primary function of cognitive control is to adjust the cognitive system according to situational demands. The so-called "conflict adaptation effect" elicited in laboratory experiments is supposed to reflect the above function. Neuroimaging studies suggest that adaptation of nonemotional conflict is mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex through a top-down enhancement of task-relevant (target), relative to task-irrelevant (distractor), stimulus representation in the sensory cortices. The adaptation of emotional conflict, on the other hand, is suggested to be related to the rostral anterior cingulate inhibiting the processing of emotional distractors through a top-down modulation of amygdala responsivity. In the present study, we manipulated, on a trial-by-trial basis, the levels of semantic interference conflict triggered by the incompatibility between emotional faces (targets) and emotional words (distractors) in a modified version of the emotional Stroop task. Similar to previous observations involving nonemotional interference effects, the behavioral adaptation of emotional conflict was found to be paralleled by a stronger recruitment of the fusiform face area. Additional areas related to the conflict adaptation effect were the bilateral insula, the bilateral frontal operculum (fO), the right amygdala, the left precentral and postcentral gyri, and the parietal cortex. These findings suggest that augmentation of cortical responses to task-relevant information in emotional conflict may be related to conflict adaptation processes in a way that has been observed in nonemotional conflict, challenging the view that brain circuitries underlying the conflict adaptation effect depend only on the nature of conflict.

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

PubMed

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

2016-10-01

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

Memory and language improvements following cognitive control training.

PubMed

Hussey, Erika K; Harbison, J Isaiah; Teubner-Rhodes, Susan E; Mishler, Alan; Velnoskey, Kayla; Novick, Jared M

2017-01-01

Cognitive control refers to adjusting thoughts and actions when confronted with conflict during information processing. We tested whether this ability is causally linked to performance on certain language and memory tasks by using cognitive control training to systematically modulate people's ability to resolve information-conflict across domains. Different groups of subjects trained on 1 of 3 minimally different versions of an n-back task: n-back-with-lures (High-Conflict), n-back-without-lures (Low-Conflict), or 3-back-without-lures (3-Back). Subjects completed a battery of recognition memory and language processing tasks that comprised both high- and low-conflict conditions before and after training. We compared the transfer profiles of (a) the High- versus Low-Conflict groups to test how conflict resolution training contributes to transfer effects, and (b) the 3-Back versus Low-Conflict groups to test for differences not involving cognitive control. High-Conflict training-but not Low-Conflict training-produced discernable benefits on several untrained transfer tasks, but only under selective conditions requiring cognitive control. This suggests that the conflict-focused intervention influenced functioning on ostensibly different outcome measures across memory and language domains. 3-Back training resulted in occasional improvements on the outcome measures, but these were not selective for conditions involving conflict resolution. We conclude that domain-general cognitive control mechanisms are plastic, at least temporarily, and may play a causal role in linguistic and nonlinguistic performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Neural correlates of distraction and conflict resolution for nonverbal auditory events.

PubMed

Stewart, Hannah J; Amitay, Sygal; Alain, Claude

2017-05-09

In everyday situations auditory selective attention requires listeners to suppress task-irrelevant stimuli and to resolve conflicting information in order to make appropriate goal-directed decisions. Traditionally, these two processes (i.e. distractor suppression and conflict resolution) have been studied separately. In the present study we measured neuroelectric activity while participants performed a new paradigm in which both processes are quantified. In separate block of trials, participants indicate whether two sequential tones share the same pitch or location depending on the block's instruction. For the distraction measure, a positive component peaking at ~250 ms was found - a distraction positivity. Brain electrical source analysis of this component suggests different generators when listeners attended to frequency and location, with the distraction by location more posterior than the distraction by frequency, providing support for the dual-pathway theory. For the conflict resolution measure, a negative frontocentral component (270-450 ms) was found, which showed similarities with that of prior studies on auditory and visual conflict resolution tasks. The timing and distribution are consistent with two distinct neural processes with suppression of task-irrelevant information occurring before conflict resolution. This new paradigm may prove useful in clinical populations to assess impairments in filtering out task-irrelevant information and/or resolving conflicting information.

Contribution of fronto-striatal regions to emotional valence and repetition under cognitive conflict.

PubMed

Chun, Ji-Won; Park, Hae-Jeong; Kim, Dai Jin; Kim, Eosu; Kim, Jae-Jin

2017-07-01

Conflict processing mediated by fronto-striatal regions may be influenced by emotional properties of stimuli. This study aimed to examine the effects of emotion repetition on cognitive control in a conflict-provoking situation. Twenty-one healthy subjects were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a sequential cognitive conflict task composed of emotional stimuli. The regional effects were analyzed according to the repetition or non-repetition of cognitive congruency and emotional valence between the preceding and current trials. Post-incongruence interference in error rate and reaction time was significantly smaller than post-congruence interference, particularly under repeated positive and non-repeated positive, respectively, and post-incongruence interference, compared to post-congruence interference, increased activity in the ACC, DLPFC, and striatum. ACC and DLPFC activities were significantly correlated with error rate or reaction time in some conditions, and fronto-striatal connections were related to the conflict processing heightened by negative emotion. These findings suggest that the repetition of emotional stimuli adaptively regulates cognitive control and the fronto-striatal circuit may engage in the conflict adaptation process induced by emotion repetition. Both repetition enhancement and repetition suppression of prefrontal activity may underlie the relationship between emotion and conflict adaptation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms mediating parallel action monitoring in fronto-striatal circuits.

PubMed

Beste, Christian; Ness, Vanessa; Lukas, Carsten; Hoffmann, Rainer; Stüwe, Sven; Falkenstein, Michael; Saft, Carsten

2012-08-01

Flexible response adaptation and the control of conflicting information play a pivotal role in daily life. Yet, little is known about the neuronal mechanisms mediating parallel control of these processes. We examined these mechanisms using a multi-methodological approach that integrated data from event-related potentials (ERPs) with structural MRI data and source localisation using sLORETA. Moreover, we calculated evoked wavelet oscillations. We applied this multi-methodological approach in healthy subjects and patients in a prodromal phase of a major basal ganglia disorder (i.e., Huntington's disease), to directly focus on fronto-striatal networks. Behavioural data indicated, especially the parallel execution of conflict monitoring and flexible response adaptation was modulated across the examined cohorts. When both processes do not co-incide a high integrity of fronto-striatal loops seems to be dispensable. The neurophysiological data suggests that conflict monitoring (reflected by the N2 ERP) and working memory processes (reflected by the P3 ERP) differentially contribute to this pattern of results. Flexible response adaptation under the constraint of high conflict processing affected the N2 and P3 ERP, as well as their delta frequency band oscillations. Yet, modulatory effects were strongest for the N2 ERP and evoked wavelet oscillations in this time range. The N2 ERPs were localized in the anterior cingulate cortex (BA32, BA24). Modulations of the P3 ERP were localized in parietal areas (BA7). In addition, MRI-determined caudate head volume predicted modulations in conflict monitoring, but not working memory processes. The results show how parallel conflict monitoring and flexible adaptation of action is mediated via fronto-striatal networks. While both, response monitoring and working memory processes seem to play a role, especially response selection processes and ACC-basal ganglia networks seem to be the driving force in mediating parallel conflict monitoring and flexible adaptation of actions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changing the Spatial Scope of Attention Alters Patterns of Neural Gain in Human Cortex

PubMed Central

Garcia, Javier O.; Rungratsameetaweemana, Nuttida; Sprague, Thomas C.

2014-01-01

Over the last several decades, spatial attention has been shown to influence the activity of neurons in visual cortex in various ways. These conflicting observations have inspired competing models to account for the influence of attention on perception and behavior. Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to assess steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) in human subjects and showed that highly focused spatial attention primarily enhanced neural responses to high-contrast stimuli (response gain), whereas distributed attention primarily enhanced responses to medium-contrast stimuli (contrast gain). Together, these data suggest that different patterns of neural modulation do not reflect fundamentally different neural mechanisms, but instead reflect changes in the spatial extent of attention. PMID:24381272

Parametric Effects of Syntactic-Semantic Conflict in Broca's Area during Sentence Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2012-01-01

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…

Forest fire spatial pattern analysis in Galicia (NW Spain).

PubMed

Fuentes-Santos, I; Marey-Pérez, M F; González-Manteiga, W

2013-10-15

Knowledge of fire behaviour is of key importance in forest management. In the present study, we analysed the spatial structure of forest fire with spatial point pattern analysis and inference techniques recently developed in the Spatstat package of R. Wildfires have been the primary threat to Galician forests in recent years. The district of Fonsagrada-Ancares is one of the most seriously affected by fire in the region and, therefore, the central focus of the study. Our main goal was to determine the spatial distribution of ignition points to model and predict fire occurrence. These data are of great value in establishing enhanced fire prevention and fire fighting plans. We found that the spatial distribution of wildfires is not random and that fire occurrence may depend on ownership conflicts. We also found positive interaction between small and large fires and spatial independence between wildfires in consecutive years. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Landscape conditions predisposing grizzly bears to conflicts on private agricultural lands in the western USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, S.M.; Madel, M.J.; Mattson, D.J.; Graham, J.M.; Merrill, T.

2006-01-01

We used multiple logistic regression to model how different landscape conditions contributed to the probability of human-grizzly bear conflicts on private agricultural ranch lands. We used locations of livestock pastures, traditional livestock carcass disposal areas (boneyards), beehives, and wetland-riparian associated vegetation to model the locations of 178 reported human-grizzly bear conflicts along the Rocky Mountain East Front, Montana, USA during 1986-2001. We surveyed 61 livestock producers in the upper Teton watershed of north-central Montana, to collect spatial and temporal data on livestock pastures, boneyards, and beehives for the same period, accounting for changes in livestock and boneyard management and beehive location and protection, for each season. We used 2032 random points to represent the null hypothesis of random location relative to potential explanatory landscape features, and used Akaike's Information Criteria (AIC/AICC) and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistics for model selection. We used a resulting "best" model to map contours of predicted probabilities of conflict, and used this map for verification with an independent dataset of conflicts to provide additional insights regarding the nature of conflicts. The presence of riparian vegetation and distances to spring, summer, and fall sheep or cattle pastures, calving and sheep lambing areas, unmanaged boneyards, and fenced and unfenced beehives were all associated with the likelihood of human-grizzly bear conflicts. Our model suggests that collections of attractants concentrated in high quality bear habitat largely explain broad patterns of human-grizzly bear conflicts on private agricultural land in our study area. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inertia and Decision Making.

PubMed

Alós-Ferrer, Carlos; Hügelschäfer, Sabine; Li, Jiahui

2016-01-01

Decision inertia is the tendency to repeat previous choices independently of the outcome, which can give rise to perseveration in suboptimal choices. We investigate this tendency in probability-updating tasks. Study 1 shows that, whenever decision inertia conflicts with normatively optimal behavior (Bayesian updating), error rates are larger and decisions are slower. This is consistent with a dual-process view of decision inertia as an automatic process conflicting with a more rational, controlled one. We find evidence of decision inertia in both required and autonomous decisions, but the effect of inertia is more clear in the latter. Study 2 considers more complex decision situations where further conflict arises due to reinforcement processes. We find the same effects of decision inertia when reinforcement is aligned with Bayesian updating, but if the two latter processes conflict, the effects are limited to autonomous choices. Additionally, both studies show that the tendency to rely on decision inertia is positively associated with preference for consistency.

Inertia and Decision Making

PubMed Central

Alós-Ferrer, Carlos; Hügelschäfer, Sabine; Li, Jiahui

2016-01-01

Decision inertia is the tendency to repeat previous choices independently of the outcome, which can give rise to perseveration in suboptimal choices. We investigate this tendency in probability-updating tasks. Study 1 shows that, whenever decision inertia conflicts with normatively optimal behavior (Bayesian updating), error rates are larger and decisions are slower. This is consistent with a dual-process view of decision inertia as an automatic process conflicting with a more rational, controlled one. We find evidence of decision inertia in both required and autonomous decisions, but the effect of inertia is more clear in the latter. Study 2 considers more complex decision situations where further conflict arises due to reinforcement processes. We find the same effects of decision inertia when reinforcement is aligned with Bayesian updating, but if the two latter processes conflict, the effects are limited to autonomous choices. Additionally, both studies show that the tendency to rely on decision inertia is positively associated with preference for consistency. PMID:26909061

Parent-Offspring Conflict Theory: An Evolutionary Framework for Understanding Conflict within Human Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlomer, Gabriel L.; Del Giudice, Marco; Ellis, Bruce J.

2011-01-01

Decades of research demonstrate that conflict shapes and permeates a broad range of family processes. In the current article, we argue that greater insight, integration of knowledge, and empirical achievement in the study of family conflict can be realized by utilizing a powerful theory from evolutionary biology that is barely known within…

Cognitive Conflict in a Syllable Identification Task Causes Transient Activation of Speech Perception Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saetrevik, Bjorn; Specht, Karsten

2012-01-01

It has previously been shown that task performance and frontal cortical activation increase after cognitive conflict. This has been argued to support a model of attention where the level of conflict automatically adjusts the amount of cognitive control applied. Conceivably, conflict could also modulate lower-level processing pathways, which would…

Diagnostic reframing of intractable environmental problems: Case of a contested multiparty public land-use conflict

Treesearch

Stanley T. Asah; David N. Bengston; Keith Wendt; Kristen C. Nelson

2012-01-01

Intractable conflicts are omnipresent in environmental management. These conflicts do not necessarily resist resolution but need to be fundamentally transformed in order to reach agreement. Reframing, a process that allows disputants to create new alternative understandings of the problem, is one way of transforming these conflicts. Cognitive and interactional...

Effective coping strategies in stressful outdoor recreation situations: conflict on the Ocoee River

Treesearch

Rudy Schuster; William Hammitt

2000-01-01

This study was designed to identify conflict situations that cause stress, and predict appraisals of stress, coping strategies and outcomes of the coping process among private boaters on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. Results show that 72 percent of the respondents experienced conflict. Conflict was of moderate intensity and concern, boaters generally psychologically...

Associations between social understanding, sibling relationship quality, and siblings' conflict strategies and outcomes.

PubMed

Recchia, Holly E; Howe, Nina

2009-01-01

Sibling relationship quality and social understanding (second-order false belief, conflict interpretation, and narrative conflict perspective references) were examined as unique and interactive correlates of sibling conflict behavior in 62 dyads (older M age = 8.39 years and younger M age = 6.06 years). High-quality relationships were associated with positive conflict processes. Younger siblings' second-order false belief scores were negatively associated with constructive conflict strategies, and older siblings' narrative self-referential focus was negatively associated with compromise. Associations between younger children's social understanding (conflict interpretation and narrative perspective references) and siblings' dyadic conflict behavior were moderated by relationship quality. Results suggest that links between social understanding and conflict behavior should be considered in conjunction with the quality of children's relationships.

An intrinsic algorithm for parallel Poisson disk sampling on arbitrary surfaces.

PubMed

Ying, Xiang; Xin, Shi-Qing; Sun, Qian; He, Ying

2013-09-01

Poisson disk sampling has excellent spatial and spectral properties, and plays an important role in a variety of visual computing. Although many promising algorithms have been proposed for multidimensional sampling in euclidean space, very few studies have been reported with regard to the problem of generating Poisson disks on surfaces due to the complicated nature of the surface. This paper presents an intrinsic algorithm for parallel Poisson disk sampling on arbitrary surfaces. In sharp contrast to the conventional parallel approaches, our method neither partitions the given surface into small patches nor uses any spatial data structure to maintain the voids in the sampling domain. Instead, our approach assigns each sample candidate a random and unique priority that is unbiased with regard to the distribution. Hence, multiple threads can process the candidates simultaneously and resolve conflicts by checking the given priority values. Our algorithm guarantees that the generated Poisson disks are uniformly and randomly distributed without bias. It is worth noting that our method is intrinsic and independent of the embedding space. This intrinsic feature allows us to generate Poisson disk patterns on arbitrary surfaces in IR(n). To our knowledge, this is the first intrinsic, parallel, and accurate algorithm for surface Poisson disk sampling. Furthermore, by manipulating the spatially varying density function, we can obtain adaptive sampling easily.

Accounting for the ecosystem services of migratory species: Quantifying migration support and spatial subsidies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Semmens, Darius J.; Diffendorfer, James E.; López-Hoffman, Laura; Shapiro, Carl D.

2011-01-01

Migratory species support ecosystem process and function in multiple areas, establishing ecological linkages between their different habitats. As they travel, migratory species also provide ecosystem services to people in many different locations. Previous research suggests there may be spatial mismatches between locations where humans use services and the ecosystems that produce them. This occurs with migratory species, between the areas that most support the species' population viability – and hence their long-term ability to provide services – and the locations where species provide the most ecosystem services. This paper presents a conceptual framework for estimating how much a particular location supports the provision of ecosystem services in other locations, and for estimating the extent to which local benefits are dependent upon other locations. We also describe a method for estimating the net payment, or subsidy, owed by or to a location that balances benefits received and support provided by locations throughout the migratory range of multiple species. The ability to quantify these spatial subsidies could provide a foundation for the establishment of markets that incentivize cross-jurisdictional cooperative management of migratory species. It could also provide a mechanism for resolving conflicts over the sustainable and equitable allocation of exploited migratory species.

A web-based multicriteria evaluation of spatial trade-offs between environmental and economic implications from hydraulic fracturing in a shale gas region in Ohio.

PubMed

Liu, X; Gorsevski, P V; Yacobucci, M M; Onasch, C M

2016-06-01

Planning of shale gas infrastructure and drilling sites for hydraulic fracturing has important spatial implications. The evaluation of conflicting and competing objectives requires an explicit consideration of multiple criteria as they have important environmental and economic implications. This study presents a web-based multicriteria spatial decision support system (SDSS) prototype with a flexible and user-friendly interface that could provide educational or decision-making capabilities with respect to hydraulic fracturing site selection in eastern Ohio. One of the main features of this SDSS is to emphasize potential trade-offs between important factors of environmental and economic ramifications from hydraulic fracturing activities using a weighted linear combination (WLC) method. In the prototype, the GIS-enabled analytical components allow spontaneous visualization of available alternatives on maps which provide value-added features for decision support processes and derivation of final decision maps. The SDSS prototype also facilitates nonexpert participation capabilities using a mapping module, decision-making tool, group decision module, and social media sharing tools. The logical flow of successively presented forms and standardized criteria maps is used to generate visualization of trade-off scenarios and alternative solutions tailored to individual user's preferences that are graphed for subsequent decision-making.

The nexus of oil, conflict, and climate change vulnerability of pastoral communities in northwest Kenya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schilling, J.; Locham, R.; Weinzierl, T.; Vivekananda, J.; Scheffran, J.

2015-11-01

Turkana, in northwest Kenya, is the country's poorest and least developed county. Pastoralism in Turkana is well adapted to the harsh climatic conditions, but an increase in drought frequency associated with global climate change and intensifying violent conflicts between pastoral groups poses significant challenges for local communities. The conflicts are especially violent in the border region between the Turkana and the Pokot communities. In this very region significant oil reserves have recently been found. The first aim of this paper is to analyse how the oil exploration affects the communities' vulnerability to climate change. Secondly, the paper explores the risk of the oil explorations creating new conflicts or aggravating existing ones. The primary method of the study is qualitative field research supplemented with a geo-spatial analysis of conflict data. The field research was conducted in October 2013 and April 2014 in three villages with different levels of engagement with the oil exploration. At the time of the research, oil exploration was expected close to Lokwamosing, while it had recently started in the vicinity of Lopii and had been ongoing for a longer time close to Nakukulas. The findings suggest that the oil exploration increases the community's vulnerability to climate change. Further, unmet community expectations for water, employment and development pose a significant risk for violent conflict between local communities and the operating oil company. Intercommunal conflict over water and land could increase as well.

Developmental changes in brain regions involved in phonological and orthographic processing during spoken language processing

PubMed Central

Cone, Nadia E.; Burman, Douglas D.; Bitan, Tali; Bolger, Donald J.; Booth, James R.

2008-01-01

Developmental differences in brain activation of 9- to 15-year-old children were examined during an auditory rhyme decision task to spoken words using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As a group, children showed activation in left superior/middle temporal gyri (BA 22, 21), right middle temporal gyrus (BA 21), dorsal (BA 45, pars opercularis) and ventral (BA 46, pars triangularis) aspects of left inferior frontal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus (BA 37). There was a developmental increase in activation in left middle temporal gyrus (BA 22) across all lexical conditions, suggesting that automatic semantic processing increases with age regardless of task demands. Activation in left dorsal inferior frontal gyrus also showed developmental increases for the conflicting (e.g. PINT-MINT) compared to the non-conflicting (e.g. PRESS-LIST) non-rhyming conditions, indicating that this area becomes increasingly involved in strategic phonological processing in the face of conflicting orthographic and phonological representations. Left inferior temporal/fusiform gyrus (BA 37) activation was also greater for the conflicting (e.g. PINT-MINT) condition, and a developmental increase was found in the positive relationship between individuals' reaction time and activation in left lingual/fusiform gyrus (BA 18) in this condition, indicating an age-related increase in the association between longer reaction times and greater visual-orthographic processing in this conflicting condition. These results suggest that orthographic processing is automatically engaged by children in a task that does not require access to orthographic information for correct performance, especially when orthographic and phonological representations conflict, and especially for longer response latencies in older children. PMID:18413290

Conflict-specific effects of accessory stimuli on cognitive control in the Stroop task and the Simon task.

PubMed

Soutschek, Alexander; Müller, Hermann J; Schubert, Torsten

2013-01-01

Both the Stroop and the Simon paradigms are often used in research on cognitive control, however, there is evidence that dissociable control processes are involved in these tasks: While conflicts in the Stroop task may be resolved mainly by enhanced task-relevant stimulus processing, conflicts in the Simon task may be resolved rather by suppressing the influence of task-irrelevant information on response selection. In the present study, we show that these control mechanisms interact in different ways with the presentation of accessory stimuli. Accessory stimuli do not affect cognitive control in the Simon task, but they impair the efficiency of cross-trial control processes in the Stroop task. Our findings underline the importance of differentiating between different types of conflicts and mechanisms of cognitive control.

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.

Emotional conflict occurs at an early stage: evidence from the emotional face-word Stroop task.

PubMed

Zhu, Xiang-ru; Zhang, Hui-jun; Wu, Ting-ting; Luo, Wen-bo; Luo, Yue-jia

2010-06-30

The perceptual processing of emotional conflict was studied using electrophysiological techniques to measure event-related potentials (ERPs). The emotional face-word Stroop task in which emotion words are written in prominent red color across a face was use to study emotional conflict. In each trial, the emotion word and facial expression were either congruent or incongruent (in conflict). When subjects were asked to identify the expression of the face during a trial, the incongruent condition evoked a more negative N170 ERP component in posterior lateral sites than in the congruent condition. In contrast, when subjects were asked to identify the word during a trial, the incongruent condition evoked a less negative N170 component than the congruent condition. The present findings extend our understanding of the control processes involved in emotional conflict by demonstrating that differentiation of emotional congruency begins at an early perceptual processing stage. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Story of a Mediation in the Clinical Setting.

PubMed

Morreim, Haavi

2016-01-01

Conflicts in the clinical setting can spiral downward with remarkable speed, as parties become ever more incensed and entrenched in their positions. Productive conversations seem unlikely at best. Nevertheless, such situations can sometimes be turned into collaborative problem solving with equally remarkable speed. For this to happen, those providing conflict-resolution services such as mediation need to bring, not just a set of skills, but also some key norms: the process must be voluntary for all; the mediator must abjure giving advice or taking sides, and must honor the privacy of privately offered thoughts. This article describes a conflict that had reached the point of a hospital's requesting judicial coercion. However, a conflict-resolution process was then initiated that, in the end, led to amicable resolution and mended relationships, obviating the need for court orders. This article describes that conflict and the resolution process in detail, along the way annotating specific strategies that are often highly effective. Copyright 2016 The Journal of Clinical Ethics. All rights reserved.

Microfinance for Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-21

include: conflict resolution, health, nutrition , education, and literacy training.30 Speaking of primary and secondary goals, Mercy Corps International...processes; or by funding processes in which members of opposing social groups participate (e.g. soccer games, leader meetings, training workshops).46

Child emotional security and interparental conflict.

PubMed

Davies, Patrick T; Harold, Gordon T; Goeke-Morey, Marcie C; Cummings, E Mark; Shelton, Katherine; Rasi, Jennifer A

2002-01-01

Guided by the emotional security hypothesis developed by Davies & Cummings (1994), studies were conducted to test a conceptual refinement of children's adjustment to parental conflict in relation to hypotheses of other prominent theories. Study 1 examined whether the pattern of child responses to simulations of adult conflict tactics and topics was consistent with the emotional security hypothesis and social learning theory in a sample of 327 Welsh children. Supporting the emotional security hypothesis, child reports of fear, avoidance, and involvement were especially prominent responses to destructive conflict. Study 2 examined the relative roles of child emotional insecurity and social-cognitive appraisals in accounting for associations between parental conflict and child psychological symptoms in a sample of 285 Welsh children and parents. Findings indicated that child emotional insecurity was a robust intervening process in the prospective links between parental conflict and child maladjustment even when intervening processes proposed in the social-cognitive models were included in the analyses. Studies 3 and 4 explored pathways among parental conflict, child emotional insecurity, and psychological adjustment in the broader family context with a sample of 174 children and mothers. Supporting the emotional security hypothesis, Study 3 findings indicated that child insecurity continued to mediate the link between parental conflict and child maladjustment even after specifying the effects of other parenting processes. Parenting difficulties accompanying interparental conflict were related to child maladjustment through their association with insecure parent-child attachment. In support of the emotional security hypothesis, Study 4 findings indicated that family instability, parenting difficulties, and parent-child attachment insecurity potentiated mediational pathways among parental conflict, child insecurity, and maladjustment. Family cohesiveness, interparental satisfaction, and interparental expressiveness appeared to be protective factors in these mediational paths. No support was found for the social learning theory prediction that parent-child warmth would amplify associations between parental conflict and child disruptive behaviors.

Dynamic goal states: adjusting cognitive control without conflict monitoring.

PubMed

Scherbaum, Stefan; Dshemuchadse, Maja; Ruge, Hannes; Goschke, Thomas

2012-10-15

A central topic in the cognitive sciences is how cognitive control is adjusted flexibly to changing environmental demands at different time scales to produce goal-oriented behavior. According to an influential account, the context-sensitive recruitment of cognitive control is mediated by a specialized conflict monitoring process that registers current conflict and signals the demand for enhanced control in subsequent trials. This view has been immensely successful not least due to supporting evidence from neuroimaging studies suggesting that the conflict monitoring function is localized within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) which, in turn, signals the demand for enhanced control to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In this article, we propose an alternative model of the adaptive regulation of cognitive control based on multistable goal attractor network dynamics and adjustments of cognitive control within a conflict trial. Without incorporation of an explicit conflict monitoring module, the model mirrors behavior in conflict tasks accounting for effects of response congruency, sequential conflict adaptation, and proportion of incongruent trials. Importantly, the model also mirrors frequency tagged EEG data indicating continuous conflict adaptation and suggests a reinterpretation of the correlation between ACC and the PFC BOLD data reported in previous imaging studies. Together, our simulation data propose an alternative interpretation of both behavioral data as well as imaging data that have previously been interpreted in favor of a specialized conflict monitoring process in the ACC. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Principles and process in the development of the Mayo Clinic's individual and institutional conflict of interest policy.

PubMed

Camilleri, Michael; Gamble, Gail L; Kopecky, Stephen L; Wood, Michael B; Hockema, Marianne L

2005-10-01

In 1995, federal regulations required all academic medical centers to implement policies to manage individual financial conflict of interest. At the Mayo Clinic, all staff are salaried, and all medically related intellectual property from the staff belongs to the clinic. Hence, it was necessary to develop a policy for institutional conflict of interest to complement the policy for individual conflicts of interest. This article addresses the principles and process that led to the development of the Mayo Clinic's policies that guide the management of conflict of interest of individuals and of the institution. Empowered by the Bayh-Dole Act, the Mayo Clinic participates in technology transfer through its entity Mayo Medical Ventures. Individual conflicts of interest arising from such technology transfer are associated with Institutional conflicts because all individual intellectual property belongs to the institution, per clinic policy. This policy addresses conflicts of interest that arise in research, leadership, clinical practice, investments, and purchasing. Associated with the statutory annual disclosure on personal consulting and other relationships with Industry, which are guided by federal regulations, all research protocols or grant applications require financial disclosure on initial submission and in annual progress reports. The clinic's Conflict of Interest Review Board was established to review each disclosure and recommend management of individual and institutional conflicts of interest according to policy.

Transactional Process of African American Adolescents’ Family Conflict and Violent Behavior

PubMed Central

Choe, Daniel Ewon; Zimmerman, Marc A.

2014-01-01

This is the first longitudinal study of urban African American adolescents that has examined bidirectional effects between their family conflict and violent behavior across all of high school. Structured interviews were administered to 681 students each year in high school at ages 15, 16 17, and 18 years. We used structural equation modeling to test a transactional model and found bidirectional effects between family conflict and violent behavior across the middle years of high school, while accounting for sex and socioeconomic status. Findings suggest a reciprocal process involving interpersonal conflict in African American families and adolescent engagement in youth violence. PMID:25400490

Optimizing Negotiation Conflict in the Cloud Service Negotiation Framework Using Probabilistic Decision Making Model

PubMed Central

Rajavel, Rajkumar; Thangarathinam, Mala

2015-01-01

Optimization of negotiation conflict in the cloud service negotiation framework is identified as one of the major challenging issues. This negotiation conflict occurs during the bilateral negotiation process between the participants due to the misperception, aggressive behavior, and uncertain preferences and goals about their opponents. Existing research work focuses on the prerequest context of negotiation conflict optimization by grouping similar negotiation pairs using distance, binary, context-dependent, and fuzzy similarity approaches. For some extent, these approaches can maximize the success rate and minimize the communication overhead among the participants. To further optimize the success rate and communication overhead, the proposed research work introduces a novel probabilistic decision making model for optimizing the negotiation conflict in the long-term negotiation context. This decision model formulates the problem of managing different types of negotiation conflict that occurs during negotiation process as a multistage Markov decision problem. At each stage of negotiation process, the proposed decision model generates the heuristic decision based on the past negotiation state information without causing any break-off among the participants. In addition, this heuristic decision using the stochastic decision tree scenario can maximize the revenue among the participants available in the cloud service negotiation framework. PMID:26543899

Optimizing Negotiation Conflict in the Cloud Service Negotiation Framework Using Probabilistic Decision Making Model.

PubMed

Rajavel, Rajkumar; Thangarathinam, Mala

2015-01-01

Optimization of negotiation conflict in the cloud service negotiation framework is identified as one of the major challenging issues. This negotiation conflict occurs during the bilateral negotiation process between the participants due to the misperception, aggressive behavior, and uncertain preferences and goals about their opponents. Existing research work focuses on the prerequest context of negotiation conflict optimization by grouping similar negotiation pairs using distance, binary, context-dependent, and fuzzy similarity approaches. For some extent, these approaches can maximize the success rate and minimize the communication overhead among the participants. To further optimize the success rate and communication overhead, the proposed research work introduces a novel probabilistic decision making model for optimizing the negotiation conflict in the long-term negotiation context. This decision model formulates the problem of managing different types of negotiation conflict that occurs during negotiation process as a multistage Markov decision problem. At each stage of negotiation process, the proposed decision model generates the heuristic decision based on the past negotiation state information without causing any break-off among the participants. In addition, this heuristic decision using the stochastic decision tree scenario can maximize the revenue among the participants available in the cloud service negotiation framework.

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.

Application of Focal Conflict Theory to Psychoeducational Groups: Implications for Process, Content, and Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Champe, Julia; Rubel, Deborah J.

2012-01-01

Group psychoeducation is a common group type used for a range of purposes. The literature presents balancing content and process as a challenge for psychoeducational group leaders. While the significance of group psychoeducation is supported, practitioners are given little direction for addressing process in these groups. Focal Conflict Theory…

Modernization and multiscale databases at the U.S. geological survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morrison, J.L.

1992-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has begun a digital cartographic modernization program. Keys to that program are the creation of a multiscale database, a feature-based file structure that is derived from a spatial data model, and a series of "templates" or rules that specify the relationships between instances of entities in reality and features in the database. The database will initially hold data collected from the USGS standard map products at scales of 1:24,000, 1:100,000, and 1:2,000,000. The spatial data model is called the digital line graph-enhanced model, and the comprehensive rule set consists of collection rules, product generation rules, and conflict resolution rules. This modernization program will affect the USGS mapmaking process because both digital and graphic products will be created from the database. In addition, non-USGS map users will have more flexibility in uses of the databases. These remarks are those of the session discussant made in response to the six papers and the keynote address given in the session. ?? 1992.

Perception of the Body in Space: Mechanisms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Laurence R.

1991-01-01

The principal topic is the perception of body orientation and motion in space and the extent to which these perceptual abstraction can be related directly to the knowledge of sensory mechanisms, particularly for the vestibular apparatus. Spatial orientation is firmly based on the underlying sensory mechanisms and their central integration. For some of the simplest situations, like rotation about a vertical axis in darkness, the dynamic response of the semicircular canals furnishes almost enough information to explain the sensations of turning and stopping. For more complex conditions involving multiple sensory systems and possible conflicts among their messages, a mechanistic response requires significant speculative assumptions. The models that exist for multisensory spatial orientation are still largely of the non-rational parameter variety. They are capable of predicting relationships among input motions and output perceptions of motion, but they involve computational functions that do not now and perhaps never will have their counterpart in central nervous system machinery. The challenge continues to be in the iterative process of testing models by experiment, correcting them where necessary, and testing them again.

Ground-based training for the stimulus rearrangement encountered during spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reschke, M. F.; Parker, D. E.; Harm, D. L.; Michaud, L.

1988-01-01

Approximately 65-70% of the crew members now experience motion sickness of some degree during the first 72 h of orbital flight on the Space Shuttle. Lack of congruence among signals from spatial orientation systems leads to sensory conflict, which appears to be the basic cause of space motion sickness. A project to develop training devices and procedures to preadapt astronauts to the stimulus rearrangements of microgravity is currently being pursued. The preflight adaptation trainers (PATs) are intended to: demonstrate sensory phenomena likely to be experienced in flight, allow astronauts to train preflight in an altered sensory environment, alter sensory-motor reflexes, and alleviate or shorten the duration of space motion sickness. Four part-task PATs are anticipated. The trainers are designed to evoke two adaptation processes, sensory compensation and sensory reinterpretation, which are necessary to maintain spatial orientation in a weightless environment. Recent investigations using one of the trainers indicate that self-motion perception of linear translation is enhanced when body tilt is combined with visual surround translation, and that a 270 degrees phase angle relationship between tilt and surround motion produces maximum translation perception.

Actions Speak Louder than Words: How Do Special Education Administrators Prevent and Resolve Conflict with Families?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Tracy Gershwin; Piantoni, Shawn

2013-01-01

Conflict between parents of children with disabilities and school district members has been an ongoing issue for decades. Special education administrators are often designated to address conflict with the intent to find an amicable resolution. Otherwise, conflict can lead to due process hearings that move valuable time and money away from general…

Carving Executive Control at Its Joints: Working Memory Capacity Predicts Stimulus-Stimulus, but Not Stimulus-Response, Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meier, Matt E.; Kane, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Three experiments examined the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and 2 different forms of cognitive conflict: stimulus-stimulus (S-S) and stimulus-response (S-R) interference. Our goal was to test whether WMC's relation to conflict-task performance is mediated by stimulus-identification processes (captured by S-S conflict),…

The Role of Facial Microexpression State (FMES) Change in the Process of Conceptual Conflict

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, Mei-Hung; Chou, Chin-Cheng; Wu, Wen-Lung; Liaw, Hongming

2014-01-01

This paper explores whether facial microexpression state (FMES) changes can be used to identify moments of conceptual conflict, one of the pathways to conceptual change. It is known that when the preconditions of conceptual conflicts are met and conceptual conflicts are detected in students, it is then possible for conceptual change to take place.…

Differential effects of phasic and tonic alerting on the efficiency of executive attention.

PubMed

Asanowicz, Dariusz; Marzecová, Anna

2017-05-01

The study examined how alerting and executive attention interact in a task involving conflict resolution. We proposed a tentative scenario in which an initial exogenous phasic alerting phase is followed by an endogenous tonic alerting phase, and hypothesized that these two processes may have distinct effects on conflict resolution. Phasic alerting was expected to increase the conflict, whereas tonic alerting was expected to decrease the conflict. Three experiments were conducted using different variants of the flanker task with visual alerting cues and varied cue-target intervals (SOA), to differentiate between effects of phasic alerting (short SOA) and tonic alerting (long SOA). The results showed that phasic alerting consistently decreased the efficiency of conflict resolution indexed by response time and accuracy, whereas tonic alerting increased the accuracy of conflict resolution, but at a cost in the speed of processing the conflict. The third experiment additionally showed that the effects of phasic alerting may be modulated by the psychophysical strength of alerting cues. Discussed are possible mechanisms that could account for the observed interactions between alerting and conflict resolution, as well as some discrepancies between the current and previous studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The application of remote sensing for climate change adaptation in Sahel region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deafalla, Taisser H. H.; Csaplovics, Elmar; El-Abbas, Mustafa M.

2014-10-01

In recent years, there is no doubt that global climate change (CC) has observable development impacts, which seriously threatens the ability of individuals and communities at all levels. During this process, the clear degradation in the situation of ecosystems has produced a global concern of the urgency to mitigate climate threats and related effects. Assessing the impacts and vulnerability of CC requires accurate, up-to-date and improved information. Coupled with the ready availability of historical remote sensing (RS) data, the reduction in data cost and increased resolution from satellite platforms, RS technology appears poised to make a great impact on planning agencies and providing better understanding the dynamics of the climate system, predict and mitigate the expected global changes and the effects on human civilization involved in mapping Land Use Land Cover (LU/LC) at a variety of spatial scales. This research was designed to study the impact of CC in conflict zones and potential flashpoints in Sudan namely Nuba Mountains, where the community in this area living in fragile and unstable conditions, which making them more vulnerable to the risk of violent conflict and CC effects. And to determine the factors that exacerbate vulnerability in the study area as well as to map and assess the LU/LC change during the period 1984 to 2011 covered the years (1999, 2002 and 2009). Multispectral satellite data (i.e. LANDSAT TM and TERRA ASTER) were used. Change detection techniques were applied to analyze the rate of changes, causal factors as well as the drivers of changes. Recent study showed the importance of spatial variables in tackling CC which promoted the use of maps made within a RS. In addition to provide an input for climate models; and thus plan adaptation strategies.

Amygdala Lesions Reduce Anxiety-like Behavior in a Human Benzodiazepine-Sensitive Approach-Avoidance Conflict Test.

PubMed

Korn, Christoph W; Vunder, Johanna; Miró, Júlia; Fuentemilla, Lluís; Hurlemann, Rene; Bach, Dominik R

2017-10-01

Rodent approach-avoidance conflict tests are common preclinical models of human anxiety disorder. Their translational validity mainly rests on the observation that anxiolytic drugs reduce rodent anxiety-like behavior. Here, we capitalized on a recently developed approach-avoidance conflict computer game to investigate the impact of benzodiazepines and of amygdala lesions on putative human anxiety-like behavior. In successive epochs of this game, participants collect monetary tokens on a spatial grid while under threat of virtual predation. In a preregistered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we tested the effect of a single dose (1 mg) of lorazepam (n = 59). We then compared 2 patients with bilateral amygdala lesions due to Urbach-Wiethe syndrome with age- and gender-matched control participants (n = 17). Based on a previous report, the primary outcome measure was the effect of intra-epoch time (i.e., an adaptation to increasing potential loss) on presence in the safe quadrant of the spatial grid. We hypothesized reduced loss adaptation in this measure under lorazepam and in patients with amygdala lesions. Lorazepam and amygdala lesions reduced loss adaptation in the primary outcome measure. We found similar results in several secondary outcome measures. The relative reduction of anxiety-like behavior in patients with amygdala lesions was qualitatively and quantitatively indistinguishable from an impact of anterior hippocampus lesions found in a previous report. Our results establish the translational validity of human approach-avoidance conflict tests in terms of anxiolytic drug action. We identified the amygdala, in addition to the hippocampus, as a critical structure in human anxiety-like behavior. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A generalized exponential link function to map a conflict indicator into severity index within safety continuum framework.

PubMed

Zheng, Lai; Ismail, Karim

2017-05-01

Traffic conflict indicators measure the temporal and spatial proximity of conflict-involved road users. These indicators can reflect the severity of traffic conflicts to a reliable extent. Instead of using the indicator value directly as a severity index, many link functions have been developed to map the conflict indicator to a severity index. However, little information is available about the choice of a particular link function. To guard against link misspecification or subjectivity, a generalized exponential link function was developed. The severity index generated by this link was introduced to a parametric safety continuum model which objectively models the centre and tail regions. An empirical method, together with full Bayesian estimation method was adopted to estimate model parameters. The safety implication of return level was calculated based on the model parameters. The proposed approach was applied to the conflict and crash data collected from 21 segments from three freeways located in Guangdong province, China. The Pearson's correlation test between return levels and observed crashes showed that a θ value of 1.2 was the best choice of the generalized parameter for current data set. This provides statistical support for using the generalized exponential link function. With the determined generalized exponential link function, the visualization of parametric safety continuum was found to be a gyroscope-shaped hierarchy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scale dependence of felid predation risk: Identifying predictors of livestock kills by tiger and leopard in Bhutan

Treesearch

Susana Rostro-Garcia; Lhendup Tharchen; Leandro Abade; Christos Astaras; Samuel A. Cushman; David W. Macdonald

2016-01-01

Livestock predation by tiger and leopard in Bhutan is a major threat to the conservation of these felids. Conflict mitigation planning would benefit from an improved understanding of the spatial pattern of livestock kills by the two predators.

Reward reduces conflict by enhancing attentional control and biasing visual cortical processing.

PubMed

Padmala, Srikanth; Pessoa, Luiz

2011-11-01

How does motivation interact with cognitive control during challenging behavioral conditions? Here, we investigated the interactions between motivation and cognition during a response conflict task and tested a specific model of the effect of reward on cognitive processing. Behaviorally, participants exhibited reduced conflict during the reward versus no-reward condition. Brain imaging results revealed that a group of subcortical and fronto-parietal regions was robustly influenced by reward at cue processing and, importantly, that cue-related responses in fronto-parietal attentional regions were predictive of reduced conflict-related signals in the medial pFC (MPFC)/ACC during the upcoming target phase. Path analysis revealed that the relationship between cue responses in the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and interference-related responses in the MPFC during the subsequent target phase was mediated via signals in the left fusiform gyrus, which we linked to distractor-related processing. Finally, reward increased functional connectivity between the right IPS and both bilateral putamen and bilateral nucleus accumbens during the cue phase, a relationship that covaried with across-individual sensitivity to reward in the case of the right nucleus accumbens. Taken together, our findings are consistent with a model in which motivationally salient cues are employed to upregulate top-down control processes that bias the selection of visual information, thereby leading to more efficient stimulus processing during conflict conditions.

The effects of bilingualism on conflict monitoring, cognitive control, and garden-path recovery.

PubMed

Teubner-Rhodes, Susan E; Mishler, Alan; Corbett, Ryan; Andreu, Llorenç; Sanz-Torrent, Monica; Trueswell, John C; Novick, Jared M

2016-05-01

Bilinguals demonstrate benefits on non-linguistic tasks requiring cognitive control-the regulation of mental activity to resolve information-conflict during processing. This "bilingual advantage" has been attributed to the consistent management of two languages, yet it remains unknown if these benefits extend to sentence processing. In monolinguals, cognitive control helps detect and revise misinterpretations of sentence meaning. Here, we test if the bilingual advantage extends to parsing and interpretation by comparing bilinguals' and monolinguals' syntactic ambiguity resolution before and after practicing N-back, a non-syntactic cognitive-control task. Bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on a high-conflict but not a no-conflict version of N-back and on sentence comprehension, indicating that the advantage extends to language interpretation. Gains on N-back conflict trials also predicted comprehension improvements for ambiguous sentences, suggesting that the bilingual advantage emerges across tasks tapping shared cognitive-control procedures. Because the overall task benefits were observed for conflict and non-conflict trials, bilinguals' advantage may reflect increased cognitive flexibility. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A common neural hub resolves syntactic and non-syntactic conflict through cooperation with task-specific networks.

PubMed

Hsu, Nina S; Jaeggi, Susanne M; Novick, Jared M

2017-03-01

Regions within the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) have simultaneously been implicated in syntactic processing and cognitive control. Accounts attempting to unify LIFG's function hypothesize that, during comprehension, cognitive control resolves conflict between incompatible representations of sentence meaning. Some studies demonstrate co-localized activity within LIFG for syntactic and non-syntactic conflict resolution, suggesting domain-generality, but others show non-overlapping activity, suggesting domain-specific cognitive control and/or regions that respond uniquely to syntax. We propose however that examining exclusive activation sites for certain contrasts creates a false dichotomy: both domain-general and domain-specific neural machinery must coordinate to facilitate conflict resolution across domains. Here, subjects completed four diverse tasks involving conflict -one syntactic, three non-syntactic- while undergoing fMRI. Though LIFG consistently activated within individuals during conflict processing, functional connectivity analyses revealed task-specific coordination with distinct brain networks. Thus, LIFG may function as a conflict-resolution "hub" that cooperates with specialized neural systems according to information content. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age of second language acquisition affects nonverbal conflict processing in children: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Mohades, Seyede Ghazal; Struys, Esli; Van Schuerbeek, Peter; Baeken, Chris; Van De Craen, Piet; Luypaert, Robert

2014-09-01

In their daily communication, bilinguals switch between two languages, a process that involves the selection of a target language and minimization of interference from a nontarget language. Previous studies have uncovered the neural structure in bilinguals and the activation patterns associated with performing verbal conflict tasks. One question that remains, however is whether this extra verbal switching affects brain function during nonverbal conflict tasks. In this study, we have used fMRI to investigate the impact of bilingualism in children performing two nonverbal tasks involving stimulus-stimulus and stimulus-response conflicts. Three groups of 8-11-year-old children--bilinguals from birth (2L1), second language learners (L2L), and a control group of monolinguals (1L1)--were scanned while performing a color Simon and a numerical Stroop task. Reaction times and accuracy were logged. Compared to monolingual controls, bilingual children showed higher behavioral congruency effect of these tasks, which is matched by the recruitment of brain regions that are generally used in general cognitive control, language processing or to solve language conflict situations in bilinguals (caudate nucleus, posterior cingulate gyrus, STG, precuneus). Further, the activation of these areas was found to be higher in 2L1 compared to L2L. The coupling of longer reaction times to the recruitment of extra language-related brain areas supports the hypothesis that when dealing with language conflicts the specialization of bilinguals hampers the way they can process with nonverbal conflicts, at least at early stages in life.

Foraging behavior of lactating South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) and spatial-temporal resource overlap with the Uruguayan fisheries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riet-Sapriza, Federico G.; Costa, Daniel P.; Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Marín, Yamandú; Chocca, Julio; González, Bernardo; Beathyate, Gastón; Louise Chilvers, B.; Hückstadt, Luis A.

2013-04-01

Resource competition between fisheries and marine mammal continue to raise concern worldwide. Understanding this complex conflict requires data on spatial and dietary overlap of marine mammal and fisheries. In Uruguay the South American sea lions population has been dramatically declining over the past decade. The reasons for this population decline are unknown but may include the following: (1) direct harvesting; (2) reduced prey availability and distribution as a consequence of environmental change; or (3) biological interaction with fisheries. This study aims to determine resource overlap and competition between South American sea lions (SASL, Otaria flavescens, n=10) and the artisanal fisheries (AF), and the coastal bottom trawl fisheries (CBTF). We integrated data on sea lions diet (scat analysis), spatial and annual consumption estimates; and foraging behavior-satellite-tracking data from lactating SASL with data on fishing effort areas and fisheries landings. We found that lactating SASL are benthic divers and forage in shallow water within the continental shelf. SASL's foraging areas overlapped with CBTF and AF fisheries operational areas. Dietary analysis indicated a high degree of overlap between the diet of SASL and the AF and CBTF fisheries catch. The results of our work show differing degrees of spatial resource overlap with AF and CBTF, highlighting that there are differences in potential impact from each fishery; and that different management/conservation approaches may need to be taken to solve the fisheries-SASL conflict.

Less Is More: Semantic Information Survives Interocular Suppression When Attention Is Diverted.

PubMed

Eo, Kangyong; Cha, Oakyoon; Chong, Sang Chul; Kang, Min-Suk

2016-05-18

The extent of unconscious semantic processing has been debated. It is well established that semantic information is registered in the absence of awareness induced by inattention. However, it has been debated whether semantic information of invisible stimuli is processed during interocular suppression, a procedure that renders one eye's view invisible by presenting a dissimilar stimulus to the other eye. Inspired by recent evidence demonstrating that reduced attention attenuates interocular suppression, we tested a counterintuitive hypothesis that attention withdrawn from the suppressed target location facilitates semantic processing in the absence of awareness induced by interocular suppression. We obtained an electrophysiological marker of semantic processing (N400 component) while human participants' spatial attention was being manipulated with a cueing paradigm during interocular suppression. We found that N400 modulation was absent when participants' attention was directed to the target location, but present when diverted elsewhere. In addition, the correlation analysis across participants indicated that the N400 amplitude was reduced with more attention being directed to the target location. Together, these results indicate that inattention attenuates interocular suppression and thereby makes semantic processing available unconsciously, reconciling conflicting evidence in the literature. We discuss a tight link among interocular suppression, attention, and conscious awareness. Interocular suppression offers a powerful means of studying the extent of unconscious processing by rendering a salient stimulus presented to one eye invisible. Here, we provide evidence that attention is a determining factor for unconscious semantic processing. An electrophysiological marker for semantic processing (N400 component) was present when attention was diverted away from the suppressed stimulus but absent when attention was directed to that stimulus, indicating that inattention facilitates unconscious semantic processing during the interocular suppression. Although contrary to the common sense assumption that attention facilitates information processing, this result is in accordance with recent studies showing that attention modulates interocular suppression but is not necessary for semantic processing. Our finding reconciles the conflicting evidence and advances theories of consciousness. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/365489-09$15.00/0.

Spatial access priority mapping (SAPM) with fishers: a quantitative GIS method for participatory planning.

PubMed

Yates, Katherine L; Schoeman, David S

2013-01-01

Spatial management tools, such as marine spatial planning and marine protected areas, are playing an increasingly important role in attempts to improve marine management and accommodate conflicting needs. Robust data are needed to inform decisions among different planning options, and early inclusion of stakeholder involvement is widely regarded as vital for success. One of the biggest stakeholder groups, and the most likely to be adversely impacted by spatial restrictions, is the fishing community. In order to take their priorities into account, planners need to understand spatial variation in their perceived value of the sea. Here a readily accessible, novel method for quantitatively mapping fishers' spatial access priorities is presented. Spatial access priority mapping, or SAPM, uses only basic functions of standard spreadsheet and GIS software. Unlike the use of remote-sensing data, SAPM actively engages fishers in participatory mapping, documenting rather than inferring their priorities. By so doing, SAPM also facilitates the gathering of other useful data, such as local ecological knowledge. The method was tested and validated in Northern Ireland, where over 100 fishers participated in a semi-structured questionnaire and mapping exercise. The response rate was excellent, 97%, demonstrating fishers' willingness to be involved. The resultant maps are easily accessible and instantly informative, providing a very clear visual indication of which areas are most important for the fishers. The maps also provide quantitative data, which can be used to analyse the relative impact of different management options on the fishing industry and can be incorporated into planning software, such as MARXAN, to ensure that conservation goals can be met at minimum negative impact to the industry. This research shows how spatial access priority mapping can facilitate the early engagement of fishers and the ready incorporation of their priorities into the decision-making process in a transparent, quantitative way.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vela, Adan Ernesto

2011-12-01

From 2010 to 2030, the number of instrument flight rules aircraft operations handled by Federal Aviation Administration en route traffic centers is predicted to increase from approximately 39 million flights to 64 million flights. The projected growth in air transportation demand is likely to result in traffic levels that exceed the abilities of the unaided air traffic controller in managing, separating, and providing services to aircraft. Consequently, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other air navigation service providers around the world, are making several efforts to improve the capacity and throughput of existing airspaces. Ultimately, the stated goal of the Federal Aviation Administration is to triple the available capacity of the National Airspace System by 2025. In an effort to satisfy air traffic demand through the increase of airspace capacity, air navigation service providers are considering the inclusion of advisory conflict-detection and resolution systems. In a human-in-the-loop framework, advisory conflict-detection and resolution decision-support tools identify potential conflicts and propose resolution commands for the air traffic controller to verify and issue to aircraft. A number of researchers and air navigation service providers hypothesize that the inclusion of combined conflict-detection and resolution tools into air traffic control systems will reduce or transform controller workload and enable the required increases in airspace capacity. In an effort to understand the potential workload implications of introducing advisory conflict-detection and resolution tools, this thesis provides a detailed study of the conflict event process and the implementation of conflict-detection and resolution algorithms. Specifically, the research presented here examines a metric of controller taskload: how many resolution commands an air traffic controller issues under the guidance of a conflict-detection and resolution decision-support tool. The goal of the research is to understand how the formulation, capabilities, and implementation of conflict-detection and resolution tools affect the controller taskload (system demands) associated with the conflict-resolution process, and implicitly the controller workload (physical and psychological demands). Furthermore this thesis seeks to establish best practices for the design of future conflict-detection and resolution systems. To generalize conclusions on the conflict-resolution taskload and best design practices of conflict-detection and resolution systems, this thesis focuses on abstracting and parameterizing the behaviors and capabilities of the advisory tools. Ideally, this abstraction of advisory decision-support tools serves as an alternative to exhaustively designing tools, implementing them in high-fidelity simulations, and analyzing their conflict-resolution taskload. Such an approach of simulating specific conflict-detection and resolution systems limits the type of conclusions that can be drawn concerning the design of more generic algorithms. In the process of understanding conflict-detection and resolution systems, evidence in the thesis reveals that the most effective approach to reducing conflict-resolution taskload is to improve conflict-detection systems. Furthermore, studies in the this thesis indicate that there is significant exibility in the design of conflict-resolution algorithms.

Multi-scale 46-year remote sensing change detection of diamond mining and land cover in a conflict and post-conflict setting

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dewitt, Jessica D.; Chirico, Peter G.; Bergstresser, Sarah E.; Warner, Timothy A.

2017-01-01

The town of Tortiya was created in the rural northern region of Côte d′Ivoire in the late 1940s to house workers for a new diamond mine. Nearly three decades later, the closure of the industrial-scale diamond mine in 1975 did not diminish the importance of diamond profits to the region's economy, and resulted in the growth of artisanal and small-scale diamond mining (ASM) within the abandoned industrial-scale mining concession. In the early 2000s, the violent conflict that arose in Côte d′Ivoire highlighted the importance of ASM land use to the local economy, but also brought about international concerns that diamond profits were being used to fund the rebellion. In recent years, cashew plantations have expanded exponentially in the region, diversifying economic activity, but also creating the potential for conflict between diamond mining and agricultural land uses. As the government looks to address the future of Tortiya and this potential conflict, a detailed spatio-temporal understanding of the changes in these two land uses over time may assist in informing policymaking. Remotely sensed imagery presents an objective and detailed spatial record of land use/land cover (LULC), and change detection methods can provide quantitative insight regarding regional land cover trends. However, the vastly different scales of ASM and cashew orchards present a unique challenge to comprehensive understanding of land use change in the region. In this study, moderate-scale categories of LULC, including cashew orchards, uncultivated forest, urban space, mining/ bare, and mixed vegetation, were produced through supervised classification of Landsat multispectral imagery from 1984, 1991, 2000, 2007, and 2014. The fine-scale ASM land use was identified through manual interpretation of annually acquired high resolution satellite imagery. Corona imagery was also integrated into the study to extend the temporal duration of the remote sensing record back to the period of industrial-scale mining. These different-scale analyses were then integrated to create a record of 46 years of mining activity and land cover change in Tortiya. While similar in spatial extent, the mining/ bare class in the integrated analysis exhibits a substantially different spatial distribution than in the original classifications. This additional information regarding the locations of ASM activity in the Tortiya area is important from a policy and planning perspective. The results of this study also suggest that LULC classifications of Landsat imagery do not consistently capture areas of ASM in the Côte d′Ivoire landscape.

Spatial Conflict of Mining Land in Tolitoli District -Province of Central Sulawesi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suwarno, Y.; Windiastuti, R.

2018-05-01

Spatial planning is supposed to be applied in the use of space, so there will be no overlapping space utilization. In fact, there are still overlapping uses of land, between the area of mining and plantation, as well as with forest areas. The purpose of this study was to find out the conflicts that occured due to overlapping permits given to mining and plantation companies, and also to forest status. The method used was by overlaying the maps of Mining Business Permit with that of Plantation Business Permit, and also with Forest Area Map. In Tolitoli District there were 23 mining business permit holders with 7 types of mining commodities, covering total areaof 81,503.54 Hectare. In addition, there were 5 companies holding plantation business permits, mostly on palm oil, and only 2 companies with rubber and sengon wood business commodities, with a total area of 80,005.35 Hectare. From the result of spatial analysis, it was found that there was an overlapping area of 22,869.70 Hectare, while the area of 118,072.93 Hectare did not overlap. The Mining Business Permit overlapped with the Plantation Business Permit covering an area of 18,853.32 Hectare, and 4,301.77 Hectare were located in Forest Protected Area and Nature Reserve.

Decisional Conflict: Relationships Between and Among Family Context Variables in Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Lim, Jung-Won; Shon, En-Jung

2016-07-01

To investigate the relationships among life stress, family functioning, family coping, reliance on formal and informal resources, and decisional conflict in cancer survivors. 
. Cross-sectional.
. Participants were recruited from the California Cancer Surveillance Program, hospital registries, and community agencies in southern California and Cleveland, Ohio. 
. 243 European American, African American, Chinese American, and Korean American cancer survivors diagnosed with breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer.
. The merged data from an ethnically diverse cohort of cancer survivors participating in the two survey studies were used. Standardized measures were used to identify family context variables and decisional conflict. 
. Life stress, family functioning, family coping, reliance on formal and informal resources, and decisional conflict.
. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that life stress was significantly associated with decisional conflict. Family functioning significantly mediated the impact of life stress on decisional conflict through family coping. Reliance on formal and informal resources moderated the relationships among the study variables. 
. The role of the family context, which includes family functioning and coping, on decisional conflict is important in the adjustment process to make high-quality decisions in cancer survivorship care. 
. Findings present nursing practice and research implications that highlight the need for efforts to encourage and support family involvement in the decision-making process and to enhance cancer survivors' adjustment process.

Errors and conflict at the task level and the response level.

PubMed

Desmet, Charlotte; Fias, Wim; Hartstra, Egbert; Brass, Marcel

2011-01-26

In the last decade, research on error and conflict processing has become one of the most influential research areas in the domain of cognitive control. There is now converging evidence that a specific part of the posterior frontomedian cortex (pFMC), the rostral cingulate zone (RCZ), is crucially involved in the processing of errors and conflict. However, error-related research has focused primarily on a specific error type, namely, response errors. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether errors on the task level rely on the same neural and functional mechanisms. Here we report a dissociation of both error types in the pFMC: whereas response errors activate the RCZ, task errors activate the dorsal frontomedian cortex. Although this last region shows an overlap in activation for task and response errors on the group level, a closer inspection of the single-subject data is more in accordance with a functional anatomical dissociation. When investigating brain areas related to conflict on the task and response levels, a clear dissociation was perceived between areas associated with response conflict and with task conflict. Overall, our data support a dissociation between response and task levels of processing in the pFMC. In addition, we provide additional evidence for a dissociation between conflict and errors both at the response level and at the task level.

Experimental Evidence that Social Relationships Determine Individual Foraging Behavior.

PubMed

Firth, Josh A; Voelkl, Bernhard; Farine, Damien R; Sheldon, Ben C

2015-12-07

Social relationships are fundamental to animals living in complex societies. The extent to which individuals base their decisions around their key social relationships, and the consequences this has on their behavior and broader population level processes, remains unknown. Using a novel experiment that controlled where individual wild birds (great tits, Parus major) could access food, we restricted mated pairs from being allowed to forage at the same locations. This introduced a conflict for pair members between maintaining social relationships and accessing resources. We show that individuals reduce their own access to food in order to sustain their relationships and that individual foraging activity was strongly influenced by their key social counterparts. By affecting where individuals go, social relationships determined which conspecifics they encountered and consequently shaped their other social associations. Hence, while resource distribution can determine individuals' spatial and social environment, we illustrate how key social relationships themselves can govern broader social structure. Finally, social relationships also influenced the development of social foraging strategies. In response to forgoing access to resources, maintaining pair bonds led individuals to develop a flexible "scrounging" strategy, particularly by scrounging from their pair mate. This suggests that behavioral plasticity can develop to ameliorate conflicts between social relationships and other demands. Together, these results illustrate the importance of considering social relationships for explaining behavioral variation due to their significant impact on individual behavior and demonstrate the consequences of key relationships for wider processes. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Quantitative analysis of pedestrian safety at uncontrolled multi-lane mid-block crosswalks in China.

PubMed

Zhang, Cunbao; Zhou, Bin; Chen, Guojun; Chen, Feng

2017-11-01

A lot of pedestrian-vehicle crashes at mid-block crosswalks severely threaten pedestrian's safety around the world. The situations are even worse in China due to low yielding rate of vehicles at crosswalks. In order to quantitatively analyze pedestrian's safety at multi-lane mid-block crosswalks, the number of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts was utilized to evaluate pedestrian's accident risk. Five mid-block crosswalks (Wuhan, China) were videoed to collect data of traffic situation and pedestrian-vehicle conflicts, and the quantity and spatial distribution of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts at multi-lane mid-block crosswalk were analyzed according to lane-based post-encroachment time(LPET). Statistical results indicate that conflicts are mainly concentrated in lane3 and lane6. Percentage of conflict of each lane numbered from 1 to 6 respectively are 4.1%, 13.1%, 19.8%, 8.4%, 19.0%, 28.1%. Conflict rate under different crossing strategies are also counted. Moreover, an order probit (OP) model of pedestrian-vehicle conflict analysis (PVCA) was built to find out the contributions corresponding to those factors (such as traffic volume, vehicle speed, pedestrian crossing behavior, pedestrian refuge, etc.) to pedestrian-vehicle conflicts. The results show that: pedestrian refuge have positive effects on pedestrian safety; on the other hand, high vehicle speed, high traffic volume, rolling gap crossing pattern, and larger pedestrian platoon have negative effects on pedestrian safety. Based on our field observation and PVCA model, the number of conflicts will rise by 2% while the traffic volume increases 200 pcu/h; similarly, if the vehicle speed increases 5km/h, the number of conflicts will rise by 12% accordingly. The research results could be used to evaluate pedestrian safety at multi-lane mid-block crosswalks, and useful to improve pedestrian safety by means of pedestrian safety education, pedestrian refuge setting, vehicle speed limiting, and so on. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed

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

2010-11-01

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

Opposing influences on conflict-driven adaptation in the Eriksen flanker task

PubMed Central

Bugg, Julie M.

2009-01-01

Compatibility effects in conflict paradigms are reduced following incompatible trials, and this effect is referred to as conflict adaptation. A perplexing pattern exists, however, with conflict-driven adaptation emerging in several paradigms (e.g., Stroop, Simon) but not consistently in the Eriksen and Eriksen (1974) flanker task. The present experiments address the seemingly elusive presence of conflict adaptation in this task. Experiment 1 shows that a negative-priming-like slowing may be masking conflict adaptation in the flanker task. In Experiment 2, conflict adaptation was revealed when a larger stimulus set designed to reduce negative priming was implemented. Taken together, the findings indicate that a consideration of processes opposing conflict adaptation in the flanker task may help reconcile prior findings. PMID:18927038

Family conflict among Chinese- and Mexican-origin adolescents and their parents in the U.S.: an introduction.

PubMed

Juang, Linda P; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J

2012-01-01

This volume explores how cultural and family contexts inform parent-adolescent conflict and adjustment among Chinese- and Mexican-origin families in the United States. Collectively, the chapters examine outcomes associated with family conflict and provide an in-depth analysis of how and for whom conflict is related to adjustment. Findings, for example, illustrate how cultural factors (e.g., acculturation) modify the links between conflict and adjustment. Furthermore, the collection allows for a simultaneous examination of normative, everyday parent-adolescent conflict and conflict that is specific to the process of cultural adaptation, and furthers our understanding of how both developmental and cultural sources of conflict are linked to adjustment. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Nanoscale spatial analysis of clay minerals containing cesium by synchrotron radiation photoemission electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Shiwaku, Hideaki; Kobayashi, Toru; Shimoyama, Iwao; Matsumura, Daiju; Tsuji, Takuya; Nishihata, Yasuo; Kogure, Toshihiro; Ohkochi, Takuo; Yasui, Akira; Yaita, Tsuyoshi

2018-01-01

A synchrotron radiation photoemission electron microscope (SR-PEEM) was applied to demonstrate the pinpoint analysis of micrometer-sized weathered biotite clay particles with artificially adsorbed cesium (Cs) atoms. Despite the insulating properties of the clay, we observed the spatial distributions of constituent elements (Si, Al, Cs, Mg, and Fe) without charging issues and clarified reciprocal site-correlations among these elements with nanometer resolution. We found that Cs atoms were likely to be adsorbed evenly over the entire particle; however, we identified an occupational conflict between Cs and Mg atoms, implying that Cs sorption involves ion exchange processes. Spatially resolved X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of the Cs4,5 M-edge region showed Cs to be present in a monocation state (Cs+) as typically observed for Cs compounds. Further pinpoint XAS measurements were also performed at the Fe L2,3-edge to determine the chemical valence of the Fe atoms. The shapes of the spectra were similar to those for Fe2O3, indicating that Fe in the clay was in a 3+ oxidation state. From these observations, we infer that charge compensation facilitates Cs adsorption in the vicinity of a substitution site where Si4+ ions are replaced by Fe3+ ions in SiO4 tetrahedral sheets. Our results demonstrate the utility of SR-PEEM as a tool for spatially resolved chemical analyses of various environmental substances, which is not limited by the poor conductivity of samples.

Relating Climate and Enviornmental Stress to Conflict... or Cooperation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelley, C. P.

2016-12-01

There are many factors which contribute to social unrest, including governance, economy, access to resources and others. As global climate change progresses, many regions and nations, particularly those that are most vulnerable and least resilient, will face increasing challenges with respect to water and food scarcity. Increasing population and demand for water, combined with declining access to groundwater, will greatly increase exisiting vulnerability. Syria, Yemen and other countries serve as examples of nations that have experienced increasing both environmental stress and conflict. The Syria case in particular has had clear global repercussions, most notably contributing to a global refugee crisis. However, there are also examples of nations that have experienced increasing environmental stress that instead demonstrated transboundary water cooperation rather than conflict. An important and emerging body of work is that which seeks to better understand and characterize real-time resilience and vulnerability in order to better mitigate the consequences of future regional climate change. Prediction of potential conflict is a formidable challenge, one that is highly complex and multivariate, operating on many different temporal and spatial scales.

Conflict and societal change in late prehistoric eastern North America.

PubMed

Milner, George R; Chaplin, George; Zavodny, Emily

2013-01-01

As recently as the 1980s, archeologists focusing on prehistoric eastern North America paid little attention to intergroup conflict. Today the situation is quite different, as indicated by this Special Issue. Archeologists now face three principal challenges: to document the temporal and spatial distribution of evidence of conflict; to identify the cultural and environmental conditions associated with variation in the nature and frequency of warfare over long periods of time and large geographical areas; and to determine the extent to which intergroup tensions contributed to or resulted from changes in sociopolitical complexity, economic systems, and population size and distribution. We present data from habitation and mortuary sites in the Eastern Woodlands, notably the midcontinent, that touch on all three issues. Palisaded sites and victims of attacks indicate the intensity of conflicts varied over time and space. Centuries-long intervals of either high or low intergroup tensions can be attributed to an intensification or relaxation of pressure on resources that arose in several ways, such as changes in local population density; technological innovations, including subsistence practices; and the natural environment. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Preparedness Web: Utilizing Regional Collaborative Networks for Homeland Security Preparedness

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-01

Hughes’ conflict strategies could then be used to develop methodologies for improved conflict management . 45 D. ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Emergency...has training in place to develop collaborative skills (e.g., conflict management , team process skills). * 2.3 (0.7) * 4 point scale; 1...included (a) knowledge of other agencies’ capabilities, (b) communication, (c) inter-agency trust and respect, and (d) conflict management . Further

Exploring Conflict Management: A Qualitative Study on the Lack of Compromise and Collaboration in Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Mississippi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Alvin L., II.

2017-01-01

Conflict management is a very important part of higher education, and is the process of limiting negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of collaboration. The success of conflict management in HBCUs has become ineffective due to the lack of collaboration and compromise in HBCU leader practice. Prior research concerning…

An age-related deficit in spatial-feature reference memory in homing pigeons (Columba livia).

PubMed

Coppola, Vincent J; Flaim, Mary E; Carney, Samantha N; Bingman, Verner P

2015-03-01

Age-related memory decline in mammals has been well documented. By contrast, very little is known about memory decline in birds as they age. In the current study we trained younger and older homing pigeons on a reference memory task in which a goal location could be encoded by spatial and feature cues. Consistent with a previous working memory study, the results revealed impaired acquisition of combined spatial-feature reference memory in older compared to younger pigeons. Following memory acquisition, we used cue-conflict probe trials to provide an initial assessment of possible age-related differences in cue preference. Both younger and older pigeons displayed a similarly modest preference for feature over spatial cues. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Are We Good at Detecting Conflict during Reasoning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pennycook, Gordon; Fugelsang, Jonathan A.; Koehler, Derek J.

2012-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that people are highly efficient at detecting conflicting outputs produced by competing intuitive and analytic reasoning processes. Specifically, De Neys and Glumicic (2008) demonstrated that participants reason longer about problems that are characterized by conflict (as opposed to agreement) between stereotypical…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2012-01-01

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

Analyzing the generality of conflict adaptation effects.

PubMed

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

2010-02-01

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

Reversal of alcohol-induced effects on response control due to changes in proprioceptive information processing.

PubMed

Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Mückschel, Moritz; Beste, Christian

2017-01-01

Recent research has drawn interest to the effects of binge drinking on response selection. However, choosing an appropriate response is a complex endeavor that usually requires us to process and integrate several streams of information. One of them is proprioceptive information about the position of limbs. As to now, it has however remained elusive how binge drinking affects the processing of proprioceptive information during response selection and control in healthy individuals. We investigated this question using neurophysiological (EEG) techniques in a response selection task, where we manipulated proprioceptive information. The results show a reversal of alcohol-induced effects on response control due to changes in proprioceptive information processing. The most likely explanation for this finding is that proprioceptive information does not seem to be properly integrated in response selection processes during acute alcohol intoxication as found in binge drinking. The neurophysiological data suggest that processes related to the preparation and execution of the motor response, but not upstream processes related to conflict monitoring and spatial attentional orienting, underlie these binge drinking-dependent modulations. Taken together, the results show that even high doses of alcohol have very specific effects within the cascade of neurophysiological processes underlying response control and the integration of proprioceptive information during this process. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Selection, integration, and conflict monitoring; assessing the nature and generality of prefrontal cognitive control mechanisms.

PubMed

Badre, David; Wagner, Anthony D

2004-02-05

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) supports flexible behavior by mediating cognitive control, though the elemental forms of control supported by PFC remain a central debate. Dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) is thought to guide response selection under conditions of response conflict or, alternatively, may refresh recently active representations within working memory. Lateral frontopolar cortex (FPC) may also adjudicate response conflict, though others propose that FPC supports higher order control processes such as subgoaling and integration. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is hypothesized to upregulate response selection by detecting response conflict; it remains unclear whether ACC functions generalize beyond monitoring response conflict. The present fMRI experiment directly tested these competing theories regarding the functional roles of DLPFC, FPC, and ACC. Results reveal dissociable control processes in PFC, with mid-DLPFC selectively mediating resolution of response conflict and FPC further mediating subgoaling/integration. ACC demonstrated a broad sensitivity to control demands, suggesting a generalized role in modulating cognitive control.

Emotions in cognitive conflicts are not aversive but are task specific.

PubMed

Schacht, Annekathrin; Dimigen, Olaf; Sommer, Werner

2010-09-01

It has been suggested that cognitive conflicts require effortful processing and, therefore, are aversive (Botvinick, 2007). In the present study, we compared conflicts emerging from the inhibition of a predominant response tendency in a go/no-go task with those between incompatible response activations in a Simon task in a within-subjects design, using the same type of stimuli. Whereas no-go trials elicited reduced skin conductance and pupillometric responses, but prolonged corrugator muscle activity, as compared with go trials, incompatible and compatible Simon trials were indistinguishable with respect to these parameters. Furthermore, the conflict-sensitive N2 components of the event-related brain potential were similar in amplitude, but showed significantly different scalp distributions, indicating dissociable neural generator systems. The present findings suggest the involvement of different emotional and cognitive processes in both types of cognitive conflicts-none being aversive, however. In addition, the N2 findings call into question claims of common monitoring systems for all kinds of cognitive conflicts.

Preschool-age problem behavior and teacher-child conflict in school: direct and moderation effects by preschool organization.

PubMed

Skalická, Věra; Belsky, Jay; Stenseng, Frode; Wichstrøm, Lars

2015-01-01

The hypothesis was tested that the new open-group Norwegian day-care centers would more than traditionally organized centers negatively affect (a) current and (b) future teacher-child relationships, and (c) the developmental legacy of preschool problem behavior. The focus was on eight hundred and fifty 4-year-olds from 153 centers who were followed up in first grade. Results of this natural quasi-experiment revealed that children from open-group centers (a) experienced less teacher-child closeness in preschool and (b) more teacher-child conflict in first grade, and (c) that high levels of preschool problem behavior forecast especially high levels of future teacher-child conflict, but only for children from open-group centers. Results highlight the importance of spatial and social organization of day care and their translational implications. © 2015 The Authors. Child Development © 2015 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

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

PubMed

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

2006-09-01

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

Stepping into a Map: Initial Heading Direction Influences Spatial Memory Flexibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gagnon, Stephanie A.; Brunyé, Tad T.; Gardony, Aaron; Noordzij, Matthijs L.; Mahoney, Caroline R.; Taylor, Holly A.

2014-01-01

Learning a novel environment involves integrating first-person perceptual and motoric experiences with developing knowledge about the overall structure of the surroundings. The present experiments provide insights into the parallel development of these egocentric and allocentric memories by intentionally conflicting body- and world-centered frames…

Focused cognitive control in dishonesty: Evidence for predominantly transient conflict adaptation.

PubMed

Foerster, Anna; Pfister, Roland; Schmidts, Constantin; Dignath, David; Wirth, Robert; Kunde, Wilfried

2018-04-01

Giving a dishonest response to a question entails cognitive conflict due to an initial activation of the truthful response. Following conflict monitoring theory, dishonest responding could therefore elicit transient and sustained control adaptation processes to mitigate such conflict, and the current experiments take on the scope and specificity of such conflict adaptation in dishonesty. Transient adaptation reduces differences between honest and dishonest responding following a recent dishonest response. Sustained adaptation has a similar behavioral signature but is driven by the overall frequency of dishonest responding. Both types of adaptation to recent and frequent dishonest responses have been separately documented, leaving open whether control processes in dishonest responding can flexibly adapt to transient and sustained conflict signals of dishonest and other actions. This was the goal of the present experiments which studied (dis)honest responding to autobiographical yes/no questions. Experiment 1 showed robust transient adaptation to recent dishonest responses whereas sustained control adaptation failed to exert an influence on behavior. It further revealed that transient effects may create a spurious impression of sustained adaptation in typical experimental settings. Experiments 2 and 3 examined whether dishonest responding can profit from transient and sustained adaption processes triggered by other behavioral conflicts. This was clearly not the case: Dishonest responding adapted markedly to recent (dis)honest responses but not to any context of other conflicts. These findings indicate that control adaptation in dishonest responding is strong but surprisingly focused and they point to a potential trade-off between transient and sustained adaptation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Conflict and Criterion Setting in Recognition Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curran, Tim; DeBuse, Casey; Leynes, P. Andrew

2007-01-01

Recognition memory requires both retrieval processes and control processes such as criterion setting. Decision criteria were manipulated by offering different payoffs for correct "old" versus "new" responses. Criterion setting influenced the following late-occurring (1,000+ ms), conflict-sensitive event-related brain potential (ERP) components:…

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 Role of Conflict Identification and Management in Sustaining Community Collaboration: Report on a Four-Year Exploratory Study.

PubMed

Blanch, Andrea K; Boustead, Robyn; Boothroyd, Roger A; Evans, Mary E; Chen, Huey-Jen

2015-07-01

Community collaboration has become increasingly common in behavioral health services. Conflict is likely to occur in any community coalition bringing together organizations with differing mandates, missions, and histories. However, research on how coalitions identify and handle conflict, and on the impact of conflict on sustainability is scarce. An exploratory study examined conflict in two federally funded children's "systems of care" using site visits and concept mapping to describe differences in how sites conceptualize and respond to conflict. Results suggest that unacknowledged and unaddressed conflict can negatively affect the development and sustainability of sites, and that focusing on cooperation may, paradoxically, make it more difficult to acknowledge conflict and to implement conflict transformation processes. Implications for behavioral health administrators are discussed, including potential interventions that could address these issues.

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.

The neural networks of subjectively evaluated emotional conflicts.

PubMed

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

2016-06-01

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

Working with Conflict in Clinical Supervision: Wise Supervisors' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Mary Lee; Barnes, Kristin L.; Evans, Amelia L.; Triggiano, Patrick J.

2008-01-01

Eight female and 4 male supervisors identified by professional peers as highly competent were interviewed about experiences of conflict in supervision and their dependable strategies for managing it. Highly competent supervisors were open to conflict and interpersonal processing, willing to acknowledge shortcomings, developmentally oriented, and…

Conflict-Induced Perceptual Filtering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wendt, Mike; Luna-Rodriguez, Aquiles; Jacobsen, Thomas

2012-01-01

In a variety of conflict paradigms, target and distractor stimuli are defined in terms of perceptual features. Interference evoked by distractor stimuli tends to be reduced when the ratio of congruent to incongruent trials is decreased, suggesting conflict-induced perceptual filtering (i.e., adjusting the processing weights assigned to stimuli…

Conflicts as Aversive Signals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dreisbach, Gesine; Fischer, Rico

2012-01-01

Theories of human action control deal with the question of how cognitive control is dynamically adjusted to task demands. The conflict monitoring theory of anterior cingulate (ACC) function suggests that the ACC monitors for response conflicts in the ongoing processing stream thereby triggering the mobilization of cognitive control. Alternatively,…

Assessing sexual conflict in the Drosophila melanogaster laboratory model system

PubMed Central

Rice, William R; Stewart, Andrew D; Morrow, Edward H; Linder, Jodell E; Orteiza, Nicole; Byrne, Phillip G

2006-01-01

We describe a graphical model of interlocus coevolution used to distinguish between the interlocus sexual conflict that leads to sexually antagonistic coevolution, and the intrinsic conflict over mating rate that is an integral part of traditional models of sexual selection. We next distinguish the ‘laboratory island’ approach from the study of both inbred lines and laboratory populations that are newly derived from nature, discuss why we consider it to be one of the most fitting forms of laboratory analysis to study interlocus sexual conflict, and then describe four experiments using this approach with Drosophila melanogaster. The first experiment evaluates the efficacy of the laboratory model system to study interlocus sexual conflict by comparing remating rates of females when they are, or are not, provided with a spatial refuge from persistent male courtship. The second experiment tests for a lag-load in males that is due to adaptations that have accumulated in females, which diminish male-induced harm while simultaneously interfering with a male's ability to compete in the context of sexual selection. The third and fourth experiments test for a lag-load in females owing to direct costs from their interactions with males, and for the capacity for indirect benefits to compensate for these direct costs. PMID:16612888

Separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation.

PubMed

Bailey, Kira; Amlung, Michael T; Morris, David H; Price, Mason H; Von Gunten, Curtis; McCarthy, Denis M; Bartholow, Bruce D

2016-04-01

Caffeine is commonly believed to offset the acute effects of alcohol, but some evidence suggests that cognitive processes remain impaired when caffeine and alcohol are coadministered. No previous study has investigated the separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation, processes thought to be critical for self-regulation. This was the purpose of the current study. Healthy, young adult social drinkers recruited from the community completed a flanker task after consuming one of four beverages in a 2 × 2 experimental design: Alcohol + caffeine, alcohol + placebo caffeine, placebo alcohol + caffeine, or placebo alcohol + placebo caffeine. Accuracy, response time, and the amplitude of the N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP), a neural index of conflict monitoring, were examined as a function of whether or not conflict was present (i.e., whether or not flankers were compatible with the target) on both the previous trial and the current trial. Alcohol did not abolish conflict monitoring or adaptation. Caffeine eliminated conflict adaptation in sequential trials but also enhanced neural conflict monitoring. The combined effect of alcohol and caffeine was apparent only in how previous conflict affected the neural conflict monitoring response. Together, the findings suggest that caffeine leads to exaggeration of attentional resource utilization, which could provide short-term benefits but lead to problems conserving resources for when they are most needed.

Conflict coaching training for nurse managers: a case study of a two-hospital health system.

PubMed

Brinkert, Ross

2011-01-01

This study evaluated the application of the Comprehensive Conflict Coaching model in a hospital environment. Conflict coaching involves a coach working with a client to improve the client's conflict understanding, interaction strategies and/or interaction skills. The training of nurse managers as conflict coaches is an innovative continuing education programme that partially addresses conflict-related concerns in nursing. Twenty nurse managers trained as conflict coaches and each coached a supervisee. Qualitative data were gathered from nurse managers, supervisees and senior nursing leaders over an 8-month period and organized using standard programme evaluation themes. Benefits included supervisor conflict coaching competency and enhanced conflict communication competency for nurse managers and supervisees facing specific conflict situations. Challenges included the management of programme tensions. Additional benefits and challenges are discussed, along with study limitations. Conflict coaching was a practical and effective means of developing the conflict communication competencies of nurse managers and supervisees. Additional research is needed. Conflict is common in nursing. Conflict coaching is a new conflict communication and supervision intervention that demonstrates initial promise. Conflict coaching seems to work best when supported by a positive conflict culture and integrated with other conflict intervention processes. © 2010 The Author. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Improved effectiveness of performance monitoring in amateur instrumental musicians☆

PubMed Central

Jentzsch, Ines; Mkrtchian, Anahit; Kansal, Nayantara

2014-01-01

Here we report a cross-sectional study investigating the influence of instrumental music practice on the ability to monitor for and respond to processing conflicts and performance errors. Behavioural and electrophysiological indicators of response monitoring in amateur musicians with various skill levels were collected using simple conflict tasks. The results show that instrumental musicians are better able than non-musicians to detect conflicts and errors as indicated by systematic increases in the amplitude of the error-related negativity and the N200 with increasing levels of instrumental practice. Also, high levels of musical training were associated with more efficient and less reactive responses after experience of conflicts and errors as indicated by reduced post-error interference and post-conflict processing adjustments. Together, the present findings suggest that playing a musical instrument might improve the ability to monitor our behavior and adjust our responses effectively when needed. As these processes are amongst the first to be affected by cognitive aging, our evidence could promote musical activity as a realistic intervention to slow or even prevent age-related decline in frontal cortex mediated executive functioning. PMID:24056298

Interparental conflict, children’s security with parents, and long-term risk of internalizing problems: A longitudinal study from ages 2 to 10

PubMed Central

Brock, Rebecca L.; Kochanska, Grazyna

2015-01-01

Although the negative impact of marital conflict on children has been amply documented, few studies have examined the process of risk in a long-term, longitudinal design. We examined parent–child attachment security as a mechanism that may account for the impact of interparental conflict on children’s long-term risk of internalizing problems. Sixty-two community mothers, fathers, and children were followed from ages 2 to 10. Parents reported on their conflicts when their children were 2. Trained observers produced parent–child attachment security scores (Attachment Q-Set, Waters, 1987), based on lengthy naturalistic observations of the child with each parent. Parents rated children’s internalizing problems at age 10. A conditional process model and bootstrap approach were implemented to examine conditional indirect effects of conflict on child internalizing problems through attachment security for girls versus boys. Maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) increased internalizing problems 8 years later due to the undermined security for girls, whereas negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased internalizing problems for both boys and girls. The emotional aftermath of conflict is often overlooked, yet it appears to be a key dimension influencing emotional security in the family system, with significant consequences for children’s development. PMID:25797703

Interparental conflict, children's security with parents, and long-term risk of internalizing problems: A longitudinal study from ages 2 to 10.

PubMed

Brock, Rebecca L; Kochanska, Grazyna

2016-02-01

Although the negative impact of marital conflict on children has been amply documented, few studies have examined the process of risk in a long-term, longitudinal design. We examined parent-child attachment security as a mechanism that may account for the impact of interparental conflict on children's long-term risk of internalizing problems. Sixty-two community mothers, fathers, and children were followed from ages 2 to 10. Parents reported on their conflicts when their children were 2. Trained observers produced parent-child attachment security scores (Attachment Q-Set, Waters, 1987), based on lengthy naturalistic observations of the child with each parent. Parents rated children's internalizing problems at age 10. A conditional process model and bootstrap approach were implemented to examine conditional indirect effects of conflict on child internalizing problems through attachment security for girls versus boys. Maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) increased internalizing problems 8 years later due to the undermined security for girls, whereas negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased internalizing problems for both boys and girls. The emotional aftermath of conflict is often overlooked, yet it appears to be a key dimension influencing emotional security in the family system, with significant consequences for children's development.

Neural Correlates of Conflict Control on Facial Expressions with A Flanker Paradigm

PubMed Central

Liu, Tongran; Xiao, Tong; Shi, Jian-Nong

2013-01-01

Conflict control is an important cognitive control ability and it is also crucial for human beings to execute conflict control on affective information. To address the neural correlates of cognitive control on affective conflicts, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a revised Eriksen Flanker Task. Participants were required to indicate the valence of the central target expression while ignoring the flanker expressions in the affective congruent condition, affective incongruent condition and neutral condition (target expressions flanked by scramble blocks). Behavioral results manifested that participants exhibited faster response speed in identifying neutral target face when it was flanked by neutral distractors than by happy distractors. Electrophysiological results showed that happy target expression induced larger N2 amplitude when flanked by sad distractors than by happy distractors and scramble blocks during the conflict monitoring processing. During the attentional control processing, happy target expression induced faster P3 response when it was flanked by happy distractors than by sad distractors, and sad target expression evoked larger P3 amplitude when it was flanked by happy distractors comparing with sad distractors. Taken together, the current findings of temporal dynamic of brain activity during cognitive control on affective conflicts shed light on the essential relationship between cognitive control and affective information processing. PMID:23894521

Neural correlates of conflict control on facial expressions with a flanker paradigm.

PubMed

Liu, Tongran; Xiao, Tong; Shi, Jian-Nong

2013-01-01

Conflict control is an important cognitive control ability and it is also crucial for human beings to execute conflict control on affective information. To address the neural correlates of cognitive control on affective conflicts, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a revised Eriksen Flanker Task. Participants were required to indicate the valence of the central target expression while ignoring the flanker expressions in the affective congruent condition, affective incongruent condition and neutral condition (target expressions flanked by scramble blocks). Behavioral results manifested that participants exhibited faster response speed in identifying neutral target face when it was flanked by neutral distractors than by happy distractors. Electrophysiological results showed that happy target expression induced larger N2 amplitude when flanked by sad distractors than by happy distractors and scramble blocks during the conflict monitoring processing. During the attentional control processing, happy target expression induced faster P3 response when it was flanked by happy distractors than by sad distractors, and sad target expression evoked larger P3 amplitude when it was flanked by happy distractors comparing with sad distractors. Taken together, the current findings of temporal dynamic of brain activity during cognitive control on affective conflicts shed light on the essential relationship between cognitive control and affective information processing.

The role of the anterior cingulate cortex in the affective evaluation of conflict

PubMed Central

Braem, Senne; King, Joseph A.; Korb, Franziska M.; Krebs, Ruth M.; Notebaert, Wim; Egner, Tobias

2017-01-01

An influential theory of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function argues that this brain region plays a crucial role in the affective evaluation of performance monitoring and control demands. Specifically, control-demanding processes such as response conflict, are thought to be registered as aversive signals by the ACC, which in turn triggers processing adjustments to support avoidance-learning. In support of conflict being treated as an aversive event, recent behavioural studies demonstrated that incongruent (i.e., conflict-inducing) relative to congruent stimuli can speed up subsequent negative relative to positive affective picture processing. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate directly whether ACC activity in response to negative versus positive pictures is modulated by preceding control demands, consisting of conflict and task-switching conditions. The results show that negative relative to positive pictures elicited higher ACC activation following congruent relative to incongruent trials, suggesting that the ACC’s response to negative (positive) pictures was indeed affectively primed by incongruent (congruent) trials. Interestingly, this pattern of results was observed on task repetitions, but disappeared on task alternations. Our findings support the proposal that conflict induces negative affect, and are the first to show that this affective signal is reflected in ACC activation. PMID:27575278

Perception of emotion-related conflict in human communications: what are the effects of schizophrenia?

PubMed

Mitchell, Rachel L C; Rossell, Susan L

2014-12-15

Our ability to make sense of emotional cues is of paramount importance for understanding state of mind and communicative intent. However, emotional cues often conflict with each other; this presents a significant challenge for people with schizophrenia. We conducted a theoretical review to determine the extent and types of impaired processing of emotion-related conflict in schizophrenia; we evaluated the relationship with medication and symptoms, and considered possible mediatory mechanisms. The literature established that people with schizophrenia demonstrated impaired function: (i) when passively exposed to emotion cues whilst performing an unrelated task, (ii) when selectively attending to one source of emotion cues whilst trying to ignore interference from another source, and (iii) when trying to resolve conflicting emotion cues and judge meta-communicative intent. These deficits showed associations with both negative and positive symptoms. There was limited evidence for antipsychotic medications attenuating impaired emotion perception when there are conflicting cues, with further direct research needed. Impaired attentional control and context processing may underlie some of the observed impairments. Neuroanatomical correlates are likely to involve interhemispheric transfer via the corpus callosum, limbic regions such as the amygdala, and possibly dorsolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex through their role in conflict processing. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conflict resolution: practical principles for surgeons.

PubMed

Lee, Liz; Berger, David H; Awad, Samir S; Brandt, Mary L; Martinez, George; Brunicardi, F Charles

2008-11-01

Historically, surgeons have had little formal training in conflict resolution; however, there has been an increasing body of evidence that poor conflict resolution skills may have an adverse impact on patient outcomes and career advancement. Furthermore, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has recognized the importance of conflict resolution skills in resident training by mandating the training of communication skills and professionalism. These skills have often been taught in other professions, and surgeons may need to acquaint themselves with the literature from those fields. Conflict resolution techniques such as the 7-step model or principle-based conflict resolution can be applied to conflict in the operating room, wards, and among colleagues. We propose a model for conflict resolution by using the basic tools of the history and physical exam, a process well known to all physicians.

Conceptual Model for Mitigating Human - Wildlife Conflict based on System Thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patana, Pindi; Mawengkang, Herman; Silvi Lydia, Maya

2018-01-01

In conservation process it is unavoidably that conflict incidents may occur among the people and wild-life in the surrounding of the conservation area. Mitigating conflict between wildlife and people is considered a top conservation priority, particularly in landscapes where high densities of people and wildlife co-occur. This conflict is also happened in Leuser conservation area located in the border of North Sumatra and Aceh province, Indonesia. Easing the conflict problem is very difficult. This paper proposes a conceptual model based on system thinking to explore factors that may have great influence on the conflict and to figure out mitigating the conflict. We show how this conceptual framework can be utilized to analyze the conflict occur and further how it could used to develop a multi- criteria decision model.

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.

Distinct Patterns of Cognitive Conflict Dynamics in Promise Keepers and Promise Breakers.

PubMed

Calluso, Cinzia; Saulin, Anne; Baumgartner, Thomas; Knoch, Daria

2018-01-01

On a daily basis, we see how different people can be in keeping or breaking a given promise. However, we know very little about the cognitive conflict dynamics that underlie the decision to keep or break a promise and whether this is shaped by inter-individual variability. In order to fill this gap, we applied an ecologically valid promise decision task with real monetary consequences for all involved interaction partners and used mouse tracking to identify the dynamic, on-line cognitive processes that underlie the decision to keep or break a promise. Our findings revealed that on average, the process of breaking a promise is associated with largely curved mouse trajectories, while the process of keeping a promise was not, indicating that breaking a promise is associated with a larger conflict. Interestingly, however, this conflict pattern was strongly shaped by individual differences. Individuals who always kept their promises did not show any signs of conflict (i.e., straight mouse trajectories), indicating that they were not tempted by the monetary benefits associated with breaking the promise. In contrast, individuals who did not always keep their promise exhibited a large conflict (i.e., curved mouse trajectories), irrespective of whether they broke or kept their promise. A possible interpretation of these findings is that these individuals were always tempted by the unchosen decision option - the desire to act in a fair manner when breaking the promise and the monetary benefits when keeping the promise. This study provides the first piece of evidence that there are substantial inter-individual differences in cognitive conflict dynamics that underlie the decision to keep or break promises and that mouse tracking is able to illuminate important insights into individual differences in complex human's decision processes.

The relationship between conflict awareness and behavioral and oscillatory signatures of immediate and delayed cognitive control.

PubMed

Jiang, Jun; Correa, Camile M; Geerts, Jesse; van Gaal, Simon

2018-08-15

Cognitive control over conflict, mediated by the prefrontal cortex, is an important skill for successful decision-making. Although it has been shown that cognitive control may operate unconsciously, it has recently been proposed that control operations may be driven by the metacognitive awareness of conflict, e.g. arising from the feeling of task difficulty or the ease of action selection, and therefore crucially depends on conflict awareness. Behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) data are presented from 64 subjects performing a masked priming paradigm to test this hypothesis. Although the subjective experience of conflict elicited behavioral adaptation, this was also the case when conflict was present, but not experienced. In EEG, typical oscillatory markers of conflict processing in the theta-, alpha- and beta-band were observed (relative broadband), but these were differentially modulated by conflict experience. This demonstrates that conflict adaptation does not depend on conflict experience, but that conflict experience is associated with increased cognitive control. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

LMX, Breach Perceptions, Work-Family Conflict, and Well-Being: A Mediational Model.

PubMed

Hill, Rachel T; Morganson, Valerie J; Matthews, Russell A; Atkinson, Theresa P

2016-01-01

Despite research advances, work-family scholars still lack an understanding of how leadership constructs relate to an employee's ability to effectively manage the work-family interface. In addition, there remains a need to examine the process through which leadership and work-family conflict influence well-being outcomes. Using a sample of 312 workers, a mediated process model grounded in social exchange theory is tested wherein the authors seek to explain how leaders shape employee perceptions, which, in turn, impact organizational fulfillment of expectations (i.e., psychological contract breach), work-family conflict, and well-being. A fully latent structural equation model was used to test study hypotheses, all of which were supported. Building on existing theory, findings suggest that the supervisor plays a critical role as a frontline representative for the organization and that work-family conflict is reduced and well-being enhanced through a process of social exchange between the supervisor and worker.

Social-ecological resilience and social conflict: institutions and strategic adaptation in Swedish water management.

PubMed

Galaz, Victor

2005-11-01

Dealing with uncertainty and complexity in social-ecological systems is profoundly dependent on the ability of natural resource users to learn and adapt from ecological surprises and crises. This paper analyzes why and how learning processes are affected by strategic behavior among natural resource users and how social conflict is affected by social and ecological uncertainty. The claim is that social conflict among natural resource users seriously inhibits the possibilities of learning and adaptation in social-ecological systems. This is done combining insights from political science, experimental economics, and social-psychology and an analytical case study elaborating social conflict and institutional change in Swedish water management institutions. This paper also discusses the crucial role the institutional context plays in defining the outcome of learning processes in Swedish water management institutions and hence highlights previously poorly elaborated political aspects of learning processes and institutional change in social-ecological systems.

Family-Based Processes Associated with Adolescent Distress, Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior in Families Affected by Maternal HIV

PubMed Central

Lester, Patricia; Stein, Judith A.; Bursch, Brenda; Rice, Eric; Green, Sara; Penniman, Typhanye; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

2014-01-01

The present study investigated how maternal HIV and mediating family processes are associated with adolescent distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. Mother–adolescent (ages 12–21) dyads (N=264) were recruited from neighborhoods where the HIV-affected families resided (161 had mothers with HIV). Mediating family processes were youth aggressive conflict style, maternal bonding, maternal role reversal expectations, and overall family functioning. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that youth aggressive conflict resolution style was strongly associated with adolescent distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. In HIV-affected families, youth less frequently reported using an aggressive conflict resolution style and more frequently reported positive maternal bonds; their mothers reported less positive family functioning than control families. Finally, maternal distress indirectly affected adolescent distress and risk behavior via youth aggressive conflict resolution style. PMID:20419574

Family-based processes associated with adolescent distress, substance use and risky sexual behavior in families affected by maternal HIV.

PubMed

Lester, Patricia; Stein, Judith A; Bursch, Brenda; Rice, Eric; Green, Sara; Penniman, Typhanye; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

2010-01-01

The present study investigated how maternal HIV and mediating family processes are associated with adolescent distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. Mother-adolescent (ages 12-21) dyads (N = 264) were recruited from neighborhoods where the HIV-affected families resided (161 had mothers with HIV). Mediating family processes were youth aggressive conflict style, maternal bonding, maternal role reversal expectations, and overall family functioning. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that youth aggressive conflict resolution style was strongly associated with adolescent distress, substance use, and risky sexual behavior. In HIV-affected families, youth less frequently reported using an aggressive conflict resolution style and more frequently reported positive maternal bonds; their mothers reported less positive family functioning than control families. Finally, maternal distress indirectly affected adolescent distress and risk behavior via youth aggressive conflict resolution style.

Forced displacement and women's security in Colombia.

PubMed

Meertens, Donny

2010-04-01

In the protracted Colombian conflict, assistance to internally displaced persons has developed in the context of contradictory political processes. The Colombian government's launching of a transitional justice process in the midst of armed conflict has generated a complex situation displaying both conflict and post-conflict characteristics. The progressive Constitutional Court rulings on internal displacement, in particular the gender-sensitive Auto 092, constitute an attempt to bring together humanitarian interventions and transitional justice measures in a rights-based framework. However, the national government is reluctant to adopt them fully and local realities still hamper their integrated implementation. Displaced women, therefore, remain in an especially vulnerable position. This paper argues that gender-sensitive humanitarian interventions must take into account all of these complexities of scale and political process in order to make legal frameworks more effective at the local level. In these contexts, interventions should pay particular attention to strategies that contribute to transforming pre-existing gender regimes.

The Role of Culture in the Representation of Conflict in Dreams: A Comparison of Bedouin, Irish, and Israeli Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Julia B.

1991-01-01

Representations of conflict in reported dreams of 24 Israeli, 26 Bedouin, and 27 Irish children aged 8.5 to 11 years reflect characteristic coping processes of the dreamer. As such, dreams are a useful measure of culturally mediated ego processes. Cross-cultural differences reflect culturally related socialization processes. (SLD)

Identity Styles and Conflict Resolution Styles: Associations in Mother-Adolescent Dyads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Missotten, Lies Christine; Luyckx, Koen; Branje, Susan; Vanhalst, Janne; Goossens, Luc

2011-01-01

Adolescent identity and parent-adolescent conflict have each attracted considerable research interest. However, few studies have examined the important link between the two constructs. The present study examined the associations between adolescent identity processing styles and adolescent conflict resolution styles in the mother-adolescent dyad.…

Rethinking Intractable Conflict: The Perspective of Dynamical Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallacher, Robin R.; Coleman, Peter T.; Nowak, Andrzej; Bui-Wrzosinska, Lan

2010-01-01

Intractable conflicts are demoralizing. Beyond destabilizing the families, communities, or international regions in which they occur, they tend to perpetuate the very conditions of misery and hate that contributed to them in the first place. Although the common factors and processes associated with intractable conflicts have been identified…

Conflict and Bias in Heuristic Judgment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhatia, Sudeep

2017-01-01

Conflict has been hypothesized to play a key role in recruiting deliberative processing in reasoning and judgment tasks. This claim suggests that changing the task so as to add incorrect heuristic responses that conflict with existing heuristic responses can make individuals less likely to respond heuristically and can increase response accuracy.…

Collectivistic Conflict of Chinese in Counseling: Conceptualization and Therapeutic Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwan, Kwong-Liem Karl

2009-01-01

Rapid Westernization and modernization in most Chinese societies has triggered a process of acculturation to Western value orientations, which induced conflicts between Confucian-based collectivism and Western individualism at both the societal and individual levels. A review of research instruments indicated that a cultural conflict approach is…

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

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

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

2012-01-01

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

Domain-Specific Control Mechanisms for Emotional and Nonemotional Conflict Processing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soutschek, Alexander; Schubert, Torsten

2013-01-01

Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that the human brain activates dissociable cognitive control networks in response to conflicts arising within the cognitive and the affective domain. The present study tested the hypothesis that nonemotional and emotional conflict regulation can also be dissociated on a functional level. For that purpose, we…

Implementation of Conflict Resolution and Mediation Process at a Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metellus, Frantz H.

2017-01-01

Conflicts are inevitable when diverse populations of students, administrators, and staff function in close proximity in the community college setting. Effective methods of resolving conflicts focus on supporting both sides in a dispute while creating an environment within which the participating stakeholders benefit from their interactions. Common…

75 FR 41572 - Office of Financial Stability; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-16

...: 1505-0209. Title: Troubled Asset Relief Program--Conflicts of Interest. Abstract: Authorized under the... Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by codifying section 108 of EESA. Title 31 CFR part 31, TARP Conflict of Interest, sets forth the process for reviewing and addressing actual or potential conflicts of...

78 FR 48770 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Office of Financial Stability

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-09

.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Number: 1505-0209. Title: TARP Capital Purchase Program--Conflicts of Interest... part 31, TARP Conflict of Interest, sets forth the process for reviewing and addressing actual or potential conflicts of interest among any individuals or entities seeking or having a contract or financial...

Dissociating Stimulus-Set and Response-Set in the Context of Task-Set Switching

PubMed Central

Kieffaber, Paul D.; Kruschke, John K.; Cho, Raymond Y.; Walker, Philip M.; Hetrick, William P.

2014-01-01

The primary aim of the present research was to determine how stimulus-set and response-set components of task-set contribute to switch costs and conflict processing. Three experiments are described wherein participants completed an explicitly cued task-switching procedure. Experiment 1 established that task switches requiring a reconfiguration of both stimulus- and response-set incurred larger residual switch costs than task switches requiring the reconfiguration of stimulus-set alone. Between-task interference was also drastically reduced for response-set conflict compared with stimulus-set conflict. A second experiment replicated these findings and demonstrated that stimulus- and response-conflict have dissociable effects on the “decision time” and “motor time” components of total response time. Finally, a third experiment replicated Experiment 2 and demonstrated that the stimulus- and response- components of task switching and conflict processing elicit dissociable neural activity as evidence by event-related brain potentials. PMID:22984990

More than One Way to Get There: Pathways of Change in Coparenting Conflict after a Preventive Intervention.

PubMed

Epstein, Kenneth; Pruett, Marsha Kline; Cowan, Philip; Cowan, Carolyn; Pradhan, Lisa; Mah, Elisabeth; Pruett, Kyle

2015-12-01

This study explored pathways of change in the levels of conflict couples experienced after Supporting Father Involvement, an evidence-based, prevention-oriented couples and parenting intervention that included a diverse low-income and working class group of participants. Pathways of change were examined for couples with baseline conflict scores that were initially low, medium, and high. The growth mixture model analysis found that the best-fitting model for change in couples' conflict was represented by three distinctly different change patterns. The intervention was most successful for High-Conflict couples. This finding contributes to a growing literature examining variations in how relationships change over time and the process of change, especially for couples in distress. This study supports further investigation into the impact and costs associated with universal interventions versus those that target specific groups of higher risk families. © 2015 Family Process Institute.