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This white paper represents a summary of work intended to lay the foundation for development of a climatological/agent model of climate-induced conflict. The paper combines several loosely-coupled efforts and is the final report for a four-month late-start Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project funded by the Advanced Concepts Group (ACG). The project involved contributions by many participants having diverse areas of expertise, with the common goal of learning how to tie together the physical and human causes and consequences of climate change. We performed a review of relevant literature on conflict arising from environmental scarcity. Rather than simply reviewing the previous work, we actively collected data from the referenced sources, reproduced some of the work, and explored alternative models. We used the unfolding crisis in Darfur (western Sudan) as a case study of conflict related to or triggered by climate change, and as an exercise for developing a preliminary concept map. We also outlined a plan for implementing agents in a climate model and defined a logical progression toward the ultimate goal of running both types of models simultaneously in a two-way feedback mode, where the behavior of agents influences the climate and climate change affects the agents. Finally,more » we offer some ''lessons learned'' in attempting to keep a diverse and geographically dispersed group working together by using Web-based collaborative tools.« less

The world is full of conflict. Conflict is a matter of life, occurring as frequently as conversation in some cultures. The organization, like any culture, is subject to conflict. The project management organization is even more apt to suffer from conflict, with its constantly changing environment. However, the effects of conflict on the organization are not always negative. How is the individual project manager to know when his or her organization is in a healthy state of conflict? This paper presents one method that engineering managers can use to diagnose conflict in their organizations. The method has been applied to diagnose conflict within the State Public Agency (SPA), engaged in design and construction of civil engineering projects. The results indicate that SPA engineers predominantly use a problem-solving style to find mutual win-win resolutions to conflict, showing that SPA can thrive under conditions of conflict. The results also indicate, however, that SPA may be suffering from a lack of confl...

Introduction. Reflections. Contemporary Conflict Resolution in Asia. Reflections on September 11. Positive Stories of Peacebuilding. Lessons Learned in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding. Central Asia. Regional Introduction. Policy Options for Conflict Prevention and Resolution. Conflicts over Resources. Religion and Conflict in Central Asia. Conflict Surveys: Afghanistan Ferghana Valley Tajikistan Uzbekistan. South Asia. Nonofficial Dialogues and Conflict Management Activities. Confidence-building Measures. Border Conflicts and Territorial Disputes. The Influence of the Demographic Picture and Migration Flows on Regional Conflicts. Water-related Conflicts. Religion and Conflict in South Asia. Multiculturalism in India. Secularism and Communalism in India. The Caste System and Caste Violence. Rising Demands for Autonomy in India. Conflict Surveys: Bangladesh (the Chittagong Hills Tracts) India (the Naxalites the Senas conflicts in the northeast) Jammu and Kashmir Nepal (the Maoists) Pakistan (the Sindhi-Mohajir Conflict Sunnis and Shi'ites) Sri Lanka. Directory. Profiles of approximately 150 central and south Asian NGOs involved in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, organized by country, as well as information on government agencies and international networks and organizations.

Benjamin Reilly makes an important contribution to the debate on the appropriate institutional design of electoral systems for mitigating conflict and sustaining democracy in ethnically plural societies. The dominant position in this debate posits the importance of proportional representation (PR) systems. An alternative position, less widely accepted largely because of an ostensible absence of empirical examples, posits the importance of majoritarian preferential systems that encourage cross-ethnic vote pooling. Reilly extends this debate by drawing on heretofore unknown or understudied cases to examine the operation of both majoritarian (the alternative vote or AV and the supplementary vote or SV) and proportional (single-transferable vote or STV) preferential systems in different social contexts and in different elections (legislative and presidential).

Conflict and political instability have weakened Guinea-Bissau's productive infrastructure considerably during the past three decades. This situation contributes to an increase in the degree of vulnerability of the population, especially in rural areas where most economic activities continue to take place. As growth has been weak, poverty levels remain high. This book provides a collection of papers on conflict, livelihoods, and poverty in Guinea-Bissau based on both the nationally representative 2002 household survey and a small scale survey with both quantitative and qualitative components implemented in 2004. The chapters deal with growth and poverty, institutions and social networks, the determinants of poverty, the means of livelihoods of the population, and finally cashew production and taxation.

In the Introduction, I referred to peacemaking initiatives in Northern Ireland since 1968, both at the political and the community level. The processes involved at the two levels can be differentiated into structural and cultural processes respectively (Ruane and Todd, 1990).

In this Paper, I address the question of whether and under what circumstances the deployment of pro-government militias (PGMs) can reduce violence against civilians, specifically in the Sahel. My analysis - based on a literature review and case studies on Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria - suggests that rather than representing a solution, PGMs tend to become part of the problem. In most cases, PGMs actively carry out acts of violence against civilians or passively contribute to an increase in violence. According to my analysis, PGMs most tend to contribute to violence against civilians when: \ they are aligned with a government that shows little respect for human rights and makes little effort to curb violence against civilians by its own security forces; \ they take on offensive roles and cooperate with state security forces; \ they are a group of ethnically homogenous members that are armed by the state. Only when PGMs are socially embedded in the communities they aim to protect and are at least normatively controlled by local authorities, as well as defensively oriented and predominantly unarmed, do they - for example in Cameroon - contribute to a decrease in violence against civilians. The findings presented in this Paper have implications for German development policy. As outlined, PGMs can - under very specific circumstances - help to strengthen the resilience of the local population in armed conflicts. However, in view of the negative effects of most PGMs, transitional development assistance programmes must be tailored according to the risk arising from the presence of PGMs. Furthermore, since many of these groups prevail past the end of the armed conflict in question, they need to be considered in post-conflict reconstruction processes, especially in demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR) programmes and security sector reforms (SSR) to allow sustainable peace and development.Finally, the findings also have implications for German and European policy on arms transfers. Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria are key partners of Germany’s Enable and Enhance Initiative (Ertüchtigungsinitiative) and may also receive military arms and equipment via the European Peace Facility (EPF). At the same time, three of these governments not only cooperate with PGMs, but have also (allegedly) provided them with weapons. While German arms shipments to countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria are unlikely to take place under the first initiative, they cannot be ruled out under the EPF. This underscores the need for strict arms export restrictions or postshipment controls at the European level.

Putting the humanitarian-development nexus into practice, aid organisations and donors pay most attention to camp populations in protracted refugee situations (PRS). This Paper argues that synergies arise when development aid redefines and expands the area of humanitarian needs regarding developmental objectives and instruments rather than bolstering the mainstream activities of humanitarian actors. Drawing on the case of Colombia, the argument of this Paper is threefold: First, it shows how the conditions to qualify refugees and IDPs as aid recipients must be extended to include forcibly immobilised persons. The Paper understands 'forcibly immobilised persons' as individuals who are forced to stay in the same place for lack of alternatives or constraints on their movement (e.g. through armed groups). Strikingly, forcibly immobilised persons have so far usually been overlooked as persons in need, although they face similar hardships as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). This is why this Paper proposes to replace the classical concept of spatial displacement with a model of displacement that includes both in situ immobilised persons (on the spot) and ex situ immobilised persons (immobilised after initial spatial movement). Second, the Paper argues that individual needs, such as the need for protection, rather than circumstances, should be decisive for aid eligibility. Whether a situation is categorised as "war", for instance, is a highly politicised question and hence not a reliable indicator - whereas a needs-based approach is. Third, the Paper draws on an in-depth analysis of confined communities in Colombia to show that forcibly immobilised persons - like IDPs and refugees - often require humanitarian and development aid, thus showing clear examples for how the nexus could work - as it already does in part. Overall, this Paper thus proposes a reconceptualisation of the humanitarian-development nexus to ensure a more targeted reach for persons in need.

Konflikte um den Bau von Windenergieanlagen sind häufig auch Konflikte um Bilder. Konfliktparteien verwenden Bilder, um die angenommenen Wirkungen von Anlagen darzustellen und ihre Positionen zum Vorhaben zu untermauern. Unterschiedliche Wirklichkeitskonstruktionenringen um Deutungshoheit in der Öffentlichkeit und bereiten Dritten Schwierigkeiten, zwischen seriösen und manipulativen Darstellungen zu unterscheiden. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, wie im Rahmen partizipativer und transparenter Erstellungsprozesse zu Visualisierungen von geplanten Windenergieanlagen Wissen und die Fähigkeit zur "Bildkritik" - analog zur Quellenkritik im Medienjournalismus - gesteigert werden kann. Es werden Wege vorgestellt, die dazu beitragen, die Reflexionsfähigkeit und Kritikfähigkeit allgemein und insbesondere von jenen zu verbessern, die über Planungen zu befinden haben (Kommunalpolitik, Verwaltung, Presse).Damit wird sichergestellt,dass verantwortliche Personenkreise "Interpretationskompetenz" oder "Lese- und Sprechfähigkeit" zur Deutung von Bildern er- langen. Dabei greift der Beitrag auf sozialkonstruktivistische Ansätze der Landschaftsbildbewertung zurück und demonstriert anhand von Beispielen aus der Planungspraxis, wie erkenntnisfördernde Bilddiskurse gestaltet werden können. Planning processes of windfarms are often characterised by image conflicts. Conflicting parties use visualisations of the planned project to picture the assumed impact on the landscape and to underscore their opposing positions to the project. For observers and decision-makers (e.g. municipal leaders, administrators) it is often difficult to distinguish realistic visualisations from manipulative ones. This paper presents ways in which observers may acquire a competence in 'reading' and assessing visualised windfarms - similar to the critical competence in assessing the validity of media sources. The paper also presents criteria for the different states of the visualisation process - from the context of pro[1]duction, to image processing to modes of presentation. These criteria render pictures more transparent and thus may help observers base their interpretations on sounder reasoning. Drawing on social constructivist theories of landscape inter pretation and on extensive experience in conflict moderation, the paper demonstrates how a public planning dialogue, in which contradicting pictures claim validity, may be designed in order to clarify the value of each visualisation for the public.

Code review consists of manual inspection, discussion, and judgment of source code by developers other than the code���s author. Due to discussions around competing ideas and group decision-making processes, interpersonal conflicts during code reviews are expected. This study systematically investigates how developers perceive code review conflicts and addresses interpersonal conflicts during code reviews as a theoretical construct. Through the thematic analysis of interviews conducted with 22 developers, we confirm that conflicts during code reviews are commonplace, anticipated and seen as normal by developers. Even though conflicts do happen and carry a negative impact for the review, conflicts���if resolved constructively���can also create value and bring improvement. Moreover, the analysis provided insights on how strongly conflicts during code review and its context (i.e., code, developer, team, organization) are intertwined. Finally, there are aspects specific to code review conflicts that call for the research and application of customized conflict resolution and management techniques, some of which are discussed in this paper. Data and material: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5848794, Paper also published in the Proceedings of the ACM on Human Computer Interaction (HCI) for the 25th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work And Social Computing (CSCW 2022)

Framing as a concept and theoretical perspective is well established in the modern political package to construct meanings. The messages are encoded and the essence of the angle or perspective induced into the audience for a predictable outcome is the key feature of any of the framing perspectives. Framing in conflict focuses attention on factors beyond what had actually happened. All frames that are used in conflict reporting do not carry equal weightage. This is where frames are often used as tools of political manipulations and to create social mobilisations as prime agents of control over the public. Use of media for exposure and as an agent of a leading character to divert the conflict frames always head-on to seek media as a primary tool of rein. Perceived as a working platform for information, modern media power is often controlled and manipulated by the elite with fixed and constant frames more often in conflicts. The capacities of media as an incredible strength are thus used as a weapon of destruction as the media power declines and political manipulations increase. In the language of control and conflict, media capabilities perform in different criteria. The media by far, is the most important source of information on conflict and politics, and the combined control of these two sources as an influence on ‘public opinion’ is the focus of the paper. Framing as an absolute and relative influence of control in conflict reporting is the success of political communication. Categorising conflict frame under eight major categories-Intended Frame, Routine Frame, Indicative Frame, Identity Frame, Manipulative Frame, Motivational Frame, Peace Frame and Dispute Frame-the paper exemplifies different cases that can define the concept of media’s controlled conflict framing. These frames are embedded in our personal, social and institutional lives and reinforce to exercise prevailing beliefs. The contemporary importance of media frames as a governing power and identity creators aim to exploit the media in order to nurture political goals by restructuring the perceived politics and conflicts in the minds of people. The paper is also a prefatory alternation of conflict management where media can play an integral role as a manager. The peace and routine frames that are often less identified in modern reports can serve as substitutes to manage conflict-promoting harmony. Further, the secondary discussion revolves around the control of mass media over conflict reporting that helps formulate the public perception of political reality in different types of conflict frames. It contributes a wide range of possibilities for analysing different facets of the frames as a means of control for affecting a collective conscience, thereby creating national interest.

Purpose Intractable conflict is a long-time violent and self-perpetuating crisis. The peacemaking revolution has the potential to stop the destructive dynamic of the conflict. The purpose of this paper is to present a contractualist model of a peacemaking revolution and its theoretical foundations. It analyzes the revolutionary peacemaking process in Northern Ireland during the 1990s in light of the contractualist model. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a contractualist model to describe the interplay between leaders (policymakers) and people (public opinion) and its impact on the strategy to cope with situations of intractable conflict. The paper includes theoretical background and a case study analysis. Findings The peacemaking revolution is a process of dynamic equilibrium between peacemaking policy and public expectations for change. It progresses from one point of equilibrium to the next. Originality/value The paper intends to add a fresh perspective to the study of the peacemaking revolution, in general, and the interplay between peacemaking policy and public support in particular. It points out that a consensus-building process, which combines political-elite diplomacy and public diplomacy, has the potential to create the conditions for a peacemaking revolution. Political-elite diplomacy offers diplomatic channels for leaders to begin a peace process, support it and conclude agreements. Public diplomacy offers instruments to involve the people in the peacemaking efforts, prepare them for a change and motivate the leaderships to conclude agreements.

The incentive for international agencies to promote 'local' peacebuilding is commonly premised on the hope that micro-level interventions can nourish grassroots activism and participatory citizenship. Tracing reconciliation processes across Iraq following the defeat of ISIL provides a window through which to view the transactional relationships between 'national' and 'local' forms of politics, conflict and peace in post-Ba'athist Iraq. This paper focuses on the example of Yathrib, Salah al-Din province, where over ninety per cent of residents were displaced in 2014, and an estimated eighty-five per cent subsequently returned following peace negotiations. The paper uses qualitative interview findings to demonstrate on the one hand that seemingly 'local' tribal solutions are built into national-level 'peace strategies', while on the other, state capture and power politics is infused into the management of apparently parochial disputes. While these observations are not an indictment of international efforts to intervene at the subnational level, they serve to thoroughly 'de-romanticise' the local.

This paper discusses the problems of conflicts that may be from time to time initiated and settled in the field tax legal relations. The emphasis is placed on the suggestion that the evolution of scientific concepts of conflict is based on the interdisciplinary approach: the paper concludes on the impossibility of separating the philosophical, social, psycholinguistic and legal aspects of the conflict. Complex and systematic analysis of the "conflict" category using the integrative approach has been performed as part of the research. Differentiated state-of-art approaches to the conflict as a subject of scientific analysis may be classified into two primary groups: 1) the approaches, where the conflict is considered in a narrow specific sense; 2) the approaches where the conflict is studied from interdisciplinary perspective. It is determined that any conflict is based on certain confrontation that plays a systemically important framework role both for individual types of conflicts, and for different level of scientific conflict studies. Nevertheless, is concluded that the presence of such confrontation only creates prerequisites for possible behaviour, while the interpersonal relations – i.e. the social category – are pivotal for individual choice of specific communicative interaction strategy. The legal nature and attributive properties of tax conflicts are also discussed from the financial law perspective. The paper distinguishes five specific groups of factors that confirm the actual presence of conflict tax legal relations. The special attention is paid to the tax dispute characterization (as one of the tax conflict development stages) and the remedies available for taxpayer rights protections. In particular, the paper discusses the issues of the taxpayer legal self-defense as the guaranty of subjective rights exercise and lawful interests protection in legal relations as a key for prevention of tax conflicts and disputes. Finally, the reasons are given to substantiate the conclusion that the tax dispute basically comes down to a mechanism of guaranteeing the interested party’s subjective rights enforcement and the balance of public and private interests in the field of taxation.

Purpose This paper aims to reveal the role of conflict management in the process of trust development. Specifically, this study investigates how the salience of conflict varies with different conflict-handling behaviors and behavioral outcomes and how the variation of the salience of conflict influences the trust development between contracting parties. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was undertaken to collect data from 310 experienced project practitioners. Hierarchical regression analysis and bootstrapping with a structural equation model were mainly used to test the hypotheses. Findings This paper finds that the relational degree of conflict handling behaviors can influence the salience of conflict and furthermore to influence trust between contracting parties, with this relationship mediated by the behavioral outcomes; however, all these relationships are contingent on the stage where relational conflict handling behaviors are adopted and the specific type of outcomes the behaviors result in. Practical implications This study provides some specific directions for the practitioners to conduct relational conflict handling behaviors and generate positive outcomes to keep trust developing between contracting parties in conflictual situations. Originality/value This study contributes to the knowledge of inter-organizational trust development as well as conflict management, by investigating the relationship between conflict and trust in a direction, which is less examined and revealing the process of conflict management, where the conflict handling behaviors influence behavioral outcomes to further manage conflict, in trust development.

PurposeThere has been an increase in the number of highly qualified management graduates specialized in finance from various esteemed universities in India, thus increasing the competition for finance job roles in the country. This, therefore, brings in the need for the employees or the prospective candidates to mold their soft skills so as to make them desirable by the companies and hence employable. The purpose of this paper is to provide a list of skills required by management graduates to become employable for finance job roles from the perspective of corporate executives. This list will enable prospective candidates to prepare themselves for a career in the field of finance.Design/methodology/approachThe research was carried out through the collection of data from 117 finance professionals with a minimum work experience of 5 years with the help of structured questionnaires. This was then analyzed through factor analysis and the list of 15 factors was obtained.FindingsA list of 15 essential factors was obtained through the analysis of the data. The essential skills included empathetic and judicious behavior, professional etiquette and employee well-being, ethical behavior, conflict management, change analysis and prediction; practicality and organizational presence of mind; social and moral presence of mind; self-confidence and effective written communication; effective interpersonal communication and employee value systems; responsibility and self-awareness; problem diagnosis and problem-solving; real-time work and activity experience; professional development and advancement; technology rationalization and effective information generation. The findings also included that a candidate should be able to effectively present crucial information and should possess practical advisory skills.Originality/valueThe study will be highly beneficial for management graduates who have specialized in finance to secure finance job roles in India. This paper will enable the students to prepare themselves in the essential soft skills required for these job roles apart from technical knowledge and hard skills.

President Sadat policies of giving more room for private sector in the economy in the seventies went hand in hand with giving room for NGOs to work. The increasing withdrawal of the state from services such as education and health, and the worsening of economic conditions forced/enabled NGOs to play increasing roles in providing services and charity. NGOs gradually became important actors in development working in under-developed areas, trying to alleviate poverty and better the living conditions of the people. Upper Egypt (south of Egypt) has the lowest development rates and it embraces the poorest villages all overt Egypt. This paper is going to discuss efforts exerted by NGOs in conflict management/transformation. Role of NGOs in conflict management/transformation is of two folds; the first is direct actions taken in case of erupting conflicts such as stop the escalation, providing relief to the victims, mediation and conciliation. The second fold is studying roots of the conflict, different social mechanisms used to counter the conflict and potentials for aborting violence and conflict. Looking at the case in Egypt, NGOs practice the first fold of its role with relative success, yet nothing is done in the second part. The aim of this paper is to discuss potentials for integrating both folds and empower research in this respect. The paper will draw on a specific case study of the Regional center for Mediation and Dialogue (formerly known as the center for Conflict Transformation and Democratization).

Item does not contain fulltext Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) become widely used for numerous applications, varying from healthcare decision support to communication training. In several of such applications, it is useful if IVAs have the ability to take a negative stance towards the user, for instance for anti-bullying or conflict management training. However, the believability of such 'virtual bad guys' is often limited, since they are non-consequential, i.e., are unable to apply serious sanctions to users. To improve this situation, this research explores the potential of endowing IVAs with the ability to provide haptic feedback. This was realized by conducting an experiment in which users interact with a virtual agent that is able to physically 'touch' the user via a haptic gaming vest. The effect on the loudness of the speech and the subjective experience of the participants was measured. Results of the experiment suggest there might be an effect on the subjective experience of the participants and the loudness of their speech. Statistical analysis, however, shows no significant effect but due to the relatively small sample size it is advisable to further look into these aspects. 29th Benelux Conference, BNAIC 2017 (Groningen, The Netherlands, November 8-9, 2017), Revised Selected Papers

Conflicts between humans about wildlife, sometimes also referred to as conservation conflicts, are a challenging issue all over the world. Comparing conservation conflicts from different settings helps to better understand general strategies for conflict management and provides opportunities for mutual learning to solve conservation conflicts. This paper analyses commonalities and differences of conservation conflicts in one Ghanaian and three German national parks, and discusses lessons and implications for conflict management. Using the social-ecological system framework and social conflict theory, we conducted focus groups and interviews with relevant actors, collected secondary sources of information and conducted a qualitative content analysis. Results describe resource systems, resource units, governance systems, and actors. Conflict issues identified for both cases revolve around wildlife populations and wildlife impacts, disagreements about conservation, hunting, disputes among actors, as well as issues of inadequate involvement of actors. Results further indicate that similar drivers such as contrary values, different interests, structural problems, legislative issues and inadequate involvement contribute to conflict development. However, the contexts of the case studies within which these conflicts develop, basically differ. From our findings, we developed both general as well as case-specific management principles necessary for conflict management. The paper concludes that root causes of conflict emergence and social processes should be addressed to facilitate conflict management. If appropriate general and case-specific instruments are chosen, a solution to conservation conflicts can be possible.

In today's turbulent business environment, acquiring and developing leadership skills is one of the key challenges for managers, and emotional and social competencies are predominant among such skills. Possession of this specific set of competencies is a key factor necessary for building a positive psychological climate in an organization. The subject of the paper is the analysis of social competencies of manager, particularly social awareness (empathy and organizational awareness) and relationship management (conflict management, coach and mentor, influence, inspirational leadership and teamwork), as well as the analysis of leadership outcomes manifested through perceived leadership effectiveness by the employees, employee satisfaction with immediate superiors and encouraging employees by managers to put an extra effort into doing their job. The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between social competencies of manager and the outcomes of leadership. The research was conducted on a sample of 30 employees in 8 organizations with more than 50 employees. Standardized ESCI (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory) and MLQ (Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire) questionnaires were used for the purpose of the research. Data analysis was performed using Spearman rank correlation and standard multiple regression. SPSS 25.0 software was used for data processing. A limitation of the study is the sample size.

Konflikt između učenika kao mogući početak krizne situacije u školi dio je školskog procesa i s njim se redovito susreću nastavnici i stručni suradnici. Međutim, konflikt, iako može izazvati krizu, s druge strane, otvara mogućnosti za uspostavljanje bolje i adekvatnije komunikacije među učenicima i stvara prostor za učenje o nenasilnom komuniciranju, medijaciji kao formi rješavanja sukoba te asertivnom zastupanju svojih stavova i uvjerenja, što dugoročno vodi ka jačanju i poduzetničkih kompetencija. Iako se neki vršnjački konflikti zadržavaju samo na razini učenika i eventualno nastavnika u razredu, kada sukobi eskaliraju redovito se traži pomoć stručnih suradnika u školi poput psihologa ili pedagoga. Kakva je komunikacijska uloga tih profesionalaca u procesu medijacije između učenika, kojim tehnikama se oni služe u svom savjetodavnom radu, primjećuju li pomake ili promjene u ponašanju učenika nakon provedene medijacije, što se u njihovoj praksi pokazuje kao najuspješnija metoda svladavanja i razumijevanja konflikta, dio je ispitivanja ovoga rada kroz dubinske intervjue. S druge strane, rad analizira i percepciju učenika kroz anketni upitnik. Javljaju li se stručnim suradnicima za pomoć, kako rješavaju i upravljaju svojim konfliktima, što im je potrebno da prevladaju sukob, te razvijaju li svoje poduzetničke kompetencije, neka su od problemskih pitanja ovoga rada. U nastojanju da se prepoznaju kapaciteti savjetodavnoga rada i uloge medijacije stručnih suradnika u vršnjačkim sukobima u školi, za istraživačku analizu odabrana je Srednja škola Metković, s ciljem determiniranja uloge pedagoga i psihologa u kriznoj situaciji rješavanja učeničkih konflikata kroz primjer iz prakse. Istraživanje je pokazalo kako stručni suradnici imaju ulogu u procesu rješavanja konflikata između učenika, međutim postoji prostor za poboljšanje u smislu dodatnog uključivanja stručnih suradnika u savjetodavni rad s učenicima te rad u edukaciji učenika o ulozi medijacije u interpersonalnoj komunikaciji i poduzetništvu., Conflict between students, as a possible beginning of a crisis situation at school, is an integral part of the school process and is regularly encountered by teachers and professional associates. However, conflict, although it can cause a crisis, opens up opportunities for establishing better and more adequate communication among students as much as it creates space for learning about nonviolent communication, mediation as a form of conflict resolution and assertive representation of their attitudes, beliefs and entrepreneurial competencies. Although some peer conflicts persist only at the student level and possibly teachers in the classroom, when conflicts escalate, the aid from professional school associates such as psychologists or pedagogues is regularly sought. What is the communication role of these professionals in the process of mediation between students, what techniques they use in their counseling work, whether they notice changes in student behavior after mediation, which in their practice proves to be the most successful method of overcoming and understanding conflict - the paper examines all these aspects through in-depth interviews. On the other hand, the paper also analyzes students’ perception through a survey questionnaire. Whether they turn to professional associates for help, how they resolve and manage their conflicts, what they need to overcome conflict, and whether they develop their entrepreneurial competencies are some of the problematic issues of this paper. In an effort to identify the capacity of counseling and the role of mediation of professional associates in peer conflicts at school, Metković High School was selected for research analysis, with the aim of determining the role of pedagogues and psychologists in critical situations of student conflicts through practical examples. The research showed that professional associates have a role in the process of resolving conflicts among students, but there is room for improvement in terms of additional involvement of professional associates in counseling and educating students on the role of mediation in interpersonal communication and entrepreneurship.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the importance of knowledge management as a moderator in the relationship between two of the burnout variables, namely, role ambiguity and work overload. In addition, the paper tests a conceptual model where emotional exhaustion is a moderator in the relationship between role ambiguity, work overload and performance. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured survey instrument, this paper gathered data from 692 respondents from the information technology industry in the southern part of India. The first psychometric properties of the instrument were tested and then hierarchical regression was used as a statistical technique for analyzing the data. Findings Results show that role conflict is positively related to role ambiguity and work overload, role ambiguity is negatively related to performance, work overload is positively related to performance, knowledge management moderates the relationship between role conflict and role ambiguity and role conflict and work overload. The hierarchical regression results also support that emotional exhaustion moderates the relationship between role ambiguity and performance and work overload and performance. Research limitations/implications As the present research is based on self-report measures, the limitations of social desirability bias and common method bias are inherent. However, this study attempts to minimize these limitations by following appropriate statistical techniques and procedures. Practical implications This study contributes to both practicing managers and the literature on conflict management. The study suggests that managers use knowledge management practices to mitigate the ill-effects of role conflict and enhance performance. This study also highlights the role of emotional exhaustion in organizations. Originality/value This study provides new insights about the importance of knowledge management practices and emotional exhaustion in the relationship between role conflict and performance. To the knowledge, the importance of knowledge management practices is underemphasized in conflict management research. The study also provides insights into the role of one of the burnout variables i.e. emotional exhaustion in its influence on performance. The implications of this relationship for organizational role theory and organizational learning theory and for management practice, are discussed.

Empirical research on private sector companies and their business strategies in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCASs) has been rare so far. With the aim of identifying the challenges of and motives for conflict-sensitive employment, this Working Paper presents a qualitative study on construction and transport companies in Afghanistan, based on interviews with company owners and employees in 2015 and 2016. The research reveals that companies do in fact apply a range of employment strategies with conflict-reducing effects out of self-interest. Builders need such strategies for the smooth completion of construction and infrastructure projects, while hauliers seek safe passage on routes through insecure areas of Afghanistan. These companies hire local people and negotiate with elders in communities located around construction sites or, respectively, along transport routes in order inter alia to identify local needs and, where feasible, satisfy them. The Paper argues that a general policy framework for conflict-sensitive employment is futile under conditions of an FCAS, which are characterized by a high level of state corruption and a variety of local powerholders with different interests and the inclination to extract money from companies operating in areas under their control. These insights point to a dilemma for development agencies in their pursuit of an agenda to create stability by engaging with the private sector. Whereas companies pursuing conflict-sensitive employment strategies may help to stabilize local communities, they also stabilize local power relations. In Afghanistan, this implies co-existence of, and competition between, various powerholders controlling different districts or fighting over their control. Underpinned by micro- level data, the study thus contributes meaningfully to the ongoing debate on the potential role of the private sector in peacebuilding. It places the scope of action and limitations of private sector companies into a realistic perspective. The Paper concludes that new Afghan and foreign construction and transport companies can learn lessons from experienced companies and apply systematic, locally adjusted conflict-sensitive employment frameworks to upcoming infrastructure projects.

Border areas are sites of intensive interaction between states and interregional business. Political tensions and armed conflicts have a particularly strong impact on trade flows. In fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS), where states have limited power and where the enforcement of laws, rules and regulations is weak, irregular economies tend to thrive along borders, where state officials often deal with border formalities in arbitrary ways. This Working Paper focuses on transporters, i. e. hauliers, as important actors in the border areas between Afghanistan and its neighbours Pakistan and Iran. The transport sector is sensitive to market fluctuations and a volatile business environment, reacting strongly with increasing or declining employment. This study addresses the question of how haulage companies and workers operate in an insecure environment as found in the border areas of FCAS and identifies strategies for conflict-sensitive employment. Based on the analysis of academic studies, bilateral treaties and their implementation, media reports and interviews with owners and managers of haulage companies and small hauliers, drivers and labourers, this Working Paper presents the particularities of formal and informal trade in the border areas of Afghanistan. A major finding is that states, large companies, small transporters and workers greatly differ in their perceptions of violent conflict, which range from views of alarming insecurity to regarding it as negligible. Moreover, businessmen tend to perceive corrupt practices by state officials and the police as a source of more uncertainty than acts by non-state armed groups. A third insight is that Pakistan and Iran consider cross-border trade with Afghanistan a minor issue as both states are pursuing particular interests in the larger region. Pakistan’s tense relationship with India and Iran’s struggle with Western sanctions inform the trade strategies of these countries, while Afghanistan is a marginal player in these power struggles. Some conflict-sensitive employment strategies, such as employing drivers and assistants according to cultural criteria to facilitate safe passage through areas under the control of various power holders and affected by violent conflict are adopted by cross-border haulage companies out of self-interest. The paper presents additional strategies that major companies can use.

Federations can be different at the level of centralism and in practices of governance. Due to such idiosyncratic features, states can be considered as centralized on the basis of the powerful federal government at the centre or decentralized because of the implementation of the theory of devolution of power and majoritarian federations due to the influential position of majority ethnic groups of the society. Certain federal states can apply a multi-dimensional system of governance, power and authority, while some other states can ascent more centralized and powerful governance. Some scholars alleged that the capability of the Federal state to meet the issue of ethnic diversity diverges transversely to its commitments and different structures. The aforementioned is further claimed that “a formal federal system functions in practice as a unitary system; the system's capacity is not according to the needs to accommodate ethnic and national cleavages” (Kohli, 2004). On the basis of such suggestions, this research paper endeavors to examine federalism as a tool to manage ethnic diversities in Pakistan. This paper argues that a more effective paradigm of the power sharing mechanism can be fruitful to enable federalism in Pakistan to manage ethnic diversities more exclusively.

There are many issues that most Nigerians have an agreement on. As a Contemporary Social Psychologist, one of these is that we want a better Nigeria. We need transformation in all our circumstances as a people and as a nation, to live in peace and unity for enduring economic development. This paper uses the theory of conflict by Karl Marx to interrogate how conflict resolution could be achieved through the process of individual transformation. All Nigerians are likely to agree that they want a peaceful, stable, and prosperous country. Nigerians as also aware of the reality of conflicts manifest in inter- communal clashes, ethnic rivalries, religious rivalries, and terrorism. While government often seek militarized approaches to conflict resolution, this paper, anchored on the belief that all conflicts are first personal before they become communal and national. The paper also proposes the deliberate education of the individual citizen on conflict resolution. The paper therefore examines types of conflicts, actors, conflict development in Nigeria and offers eighteen (18) conflict management approaches.

What can organizations do to cultivate a more conflict-positive workplace? A promising line of inquiry can be found in mindfulness. This paper examines the effect of mindfulness on the constructive management of workplace conflict - conceptualized as high collaboration and low avoidance - and tests the mediating role of cognitive reappraisal. Results reveal that mindfulness facilitates constructive conflict management by increasing collaboration and reducing avoidance, showing that the advantages of mindfulness in conflict management stem from more than its benefits for affect. Results further reveal that while cognitive reappraisal explains how mindfulness increases collaboration, it does not clarify why mindfulness reduces conflict avoidance. Ultimately, this paper shows that mindfulness can be an effective tool for promoting constructive conflict management in the workplace.

In this paper, we will discuss in detail about negotiation and conflict management and its approaches which is necessary everywhere. We will also discuss the steps and stages of negotiation and conflict management. Highlight the important features between the two relationships in almost every field and four - dimensional approach of negotiation and conflict management. We suggest adopting all stages and steps everywhere to sort out issues and problems related to negotiation and conflict management. There are various research and topics which talked about it and suggested many things to handle it, same in this paper present all important aspects of the topic and discuss it in detail and its importance in the emerging technological world. Also, areas that generally adopt negotiation and conflict management for a smooth run of business, organization,personal relationship, and bonding between people for the long term.

PurposeTeams often cannot fulfill their managers’ expectations due to unfairness issues and dysfunctional conflicts with teammates. This paper aims to create a fair team environment, it is important to analyze the interrelationship between unfairness and conflict. However, only a few studies have done this and reported inconsistent results. Using negative reciprocity research as a theoretical foundation, this paper analyzes the interconnection between unfairness and conflict dimensions in the team context. This paper further integrates conflict management research to show employees and managers how to handle unfairness and conflict in teams.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a longitudinal survey study (three points in time) with 237 employees from different German organizations.FindingsThe results of cross-lagged structural equation modeling provide some evidence that interpersonal, procedural and informational unfairness predict relationship conflict and process conflict. Several of these effects become non-significant over time. Further, relationship and process conflict have several significant relationships with the unfairness dimensions, while task conflict did not have any significant relationship. The results also suggest that employees can break up the vicious cycle of unfairness and conflict by using a cooperative conflict management approach.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focuses on members of autonomous, interdependent and existing teams and the interpersonal relationship of a team member with her or his teammates. Future research could analyze leader-member relationships in different team types.Practical implicationsThe application of cooperative conflict management enables employees to break up the vicious cycle of unfairness.Originality/valueThis paper clarifies the interrelationship between unfairness and conflict and shows that a team member can apply a cooperative conflict management style to handle effectively unfairness and conflict.

This paper aims to examine the impact of organizational factors and verify mediating role of conflict management effectiveness on perceived performance of registered construction companies in Pakistan. The study adopts a survey research design using a well-structured questionnaire of 450 employees from construction companies located in Lahore and Karachi. The construction industry is characterized by performance setbacks for decades. Descriptive statistics and mediation analysis were employed to analyze the conceptual model. The research paper concludes that distortions in reduced workforce productivity and relationship conflicts should be overcome by capable professional & administrative services. The analysis depicts that socio-economic and political factors play a significant role to maintain the quality in local construction industry. The findings reveal that performance of construction companies is significantly related to internal factors i.e. workforce productivity, decentralization, perceived organizational politics and relationship conflict. The study provides guidelines to organizational decision-makers and government policy-makers for public reforms in infrastructure to improve their output. The present study was undertaken to provide new horizons and advance understanding on organizational performance (OP) of construction companies in Pakistan. The most significant part of this study is the comprehensive five-factor organizational performance model designed to test mediation among variables using partial least square structural equation modelling (SEM).

Purpose: The main goal of this study is to explore the influence of cultural distance on migration flows in EU to see if there is a model/pattern of general behavior in this regard. Given the exploratory goal of this paper, the paper is focusing on the Romanian case, being the first one in a subsequent series of studies applied to all EU countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: Employing World Bank data for the decades between 1960 and 2000 and a cultural distance based on the six cultural dimensions’ model developed by Hofstede, a SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) methodology is applied using Smart-PLS software. Findings: The results confirm a negative significant correlation between cultural distance and migration flows, suggesting that when cultural distance is increasing, migration flows decrease. Practical Implications: The research has two management implications: firstly, the findings demonstrate that culture is crucial in decision-making and, acknowledging this fact, leads to better solutions to migration problems between various EU countries. Moreover, this research indicates that studying only the economic aspects of migration is not sufficient; there is also a need to grasp the complexity of cultural aspects. In this regard, culture is a powerful resource and can be instrumental in finding proper strategies to migration crisis and conflict management. Originality/Value: The present research adds valuable input to the exiting literature due to several reasons: firstly, is focusing on an Eastern European country with a communist past and with an interesting democratic evolution. Secondly, most of the studies regarding the Romanian migration focuses mainly on its flows to specific countries, such as Italy, Spain, and Germany. Thirdly, this research demonstrates that culture really shapes human actions and it points out that human flows are part of an important cultural assimilation process.

Modern linguistic studies encompass a wide range of approaches for explaining language in use through the set of different semiotic resources. This paper discusses the use and informative significance of such funds in the framework of conflict studies in English fictional discourse. The phenomenon of conflict discourse multimodality, which combines several semiotic systems as particular modes of communication, helps to reveal the communicative and pragmatic value of verbal and nonverbal means of conflict settlement and resolution. The paper aims to determine how the nonverbal means of communication in conflict discourse influence the process of conflict interaction and what implications its interpretation has on conflict development and resolution. To achieve this, the study relies upon the analysis of semantic, formal, and functional peculiarities of nonverbal conflict-management mode in the structural organization of conflict fictional discourse. The analysis of nonverbal mode as a combination of different semiotic resources reveals that nonverbal conflict-management mode is represented by a specific set of patterns in English fictional discourse. Moreover, the process of conflict communication may be regulated nonverbally, governing, completing, strengthening, or resolving the conflict. The obtained results indicate that analysis of the nonverbal means in conflict fiction discourse with a focus on multimodal studies enables to get a true picture of the role of nonverbal conflict-management mode in the actual and potential realization of communicative strategies which in correlation with its pragmatic impact and some sociolinguistic features contribute to the influence on the process of conflict resolution and management.

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the influence of entrepreneur’s political involvement on private-own enterprises’ (POEs’) selection of two inter-organizational conflict resolutions approaches (private approach and public approach), in the context of China’s transition economy.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on a sample of POEs operating in China’s transition economy in the year 2000, this study investigates the possible association between the entrepreneur’s political involvement and the approach chosen to resolve inter-organizational conflicts. A further step is taken to look into the implications of such a choice.FindingsThe empirical study reveals that those POEs with greater entrepreneurial political involvement have the propensity to rely on public approach. In general, POEs are more satisfied with the private approach than the public approach when managing conflicts. Besides, the study shows that the positive effects derived from the entrepreneur’s satisfaction on private approach will be weakened in more established institutions.Originality/valueThis paper has its unique contribution in highlighting the significance of how entrepreneurs’ political involvement interferes with inter-organizational conflict resolution.

In Internet of Things (IoT) ubiquitous environments, a high volume of heterogeneous data is produced from different devices in a quick span of time. In all IoT applications, the quality of information plays an important role in decision making. Data fusion is one of the current research trends in this arena that is considered in this paper. We particularly consider typical IoT scenarios where the sources measurements highly conflict, which makes intuitive fusions prone to wrong and misleading results. This paper proposes a taxonomy of decision fusion methods that rely on the theory of belief. It proposes a data fusion method for the Internet of Things (DFIOT) based on Dempster–Shafer (D–S) theory and an adaptive weighted fusion algorithm. It considers the reliability of each device in the network and the conflicts between devices when fusing data. This is while considering the information lifetime, the distance separating sensors and entities, and reducing computation. The proposed method uses a combination of rules based on the Basic Probability Assignment (BPA) to represent uncertain information or to quantify the similarity between two bodies of evidence. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method in comparison with D–S, Murphy, Deng and Yuan, a comprehensive analysis is provided using both benchmark data simulation and real dataset from a smart building testbed. Results show that DFIOT outperforms all the above mentioned methods in terms of reliability, accuracy and conflict management. The accuracy of the system reached up to $$99.18\%$$ on benchmark artificial datasets and $$98.87\%$$ on real datasets with a conflict of $$0.58 \%$$ . We also examine the impact of this improvement from the application perspective (energy saving), and the results show a gain of up to $$90\%$$ when using DFIOT.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore leader flexibility in the manufacturing sector. The objectives are to understand the nature of uncertainties that leaders face and how their personal attributes facilitate them in responding to uncertain situations. Design/methodology/approach A total of 20 middle- and senior-level executives were interviewed, using seven semi-structured questions, from four states in India. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings In this paper, two themes were identified: the need for flexibility and competencies. The need for flexibility included the factors that warrant adaptability and the performance requirements, such as changes in external environment, reconciling opposing demands, unpredictability of human resources and day-to-day contingencies. Performance requirements included monitoring the environment, anticipating changes, creating shared meanings, developing adaptability in human resources, understanding contradictions and generating alternate solutions. Competencies included balancing different values, roles, and behaviors, coaching and team building skills, planning skills, systems thinking, social skills, conflict management skills and openness to learning. Research limitations/implications Interviews were conducted with only executives; interviewing their subordinates may have revealed different perspectives. With the accounts being retrospective, few details may have been missed or exaggerated. Practical implications The findings can be used to apprise leaders of the challenges they may face and develop competencies required for leader flexibility. Originality/value Leadership research in the manufacturing sector is mostly focused on leaders’ responses to environmental uncertainties. This research identifies the task demands associated with unpredictability of human factors and daily contingencies, and the competencies used to respond.

Conflict awareness would enable managers to tackle the problems of operational performance, sustainability, and governance, more efficiently and effectively. This paper described the Ready-to-Wear (RTW) Store Supervisors’ personal power profile in terms of reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert; and described the conflict management styles, such as competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. Further, this paper determined Sex Difference on the Personal Power Profile and Conflict Management Styles of RTW Store Supervisors. This paper used descriptive method of research. The researchers distributed survey questionnaires to a total of 79 (33 males and 46 females) RTW store supervisors in Nueva Ecija with likert-scale responses and analyzed it through statistical data treatment such as mean, standard deviation and t-test. Based on the result of the study, the researchers concluded that, first, RTW store supervisors mostly prefer referent power in influencing their staff they will feel valued and personally accepted. Second, store supervisor least prefers coercive power to influence others. Third, in terms of conflict management styles, collaborating is always used, and accommodating and compromising are sometimes used as strategies in conflict situations. Last, there is sex difference in terms personal power profile and conflict management styles where female RTW store supervisors report higher on some domains as compared to male RTW store supervisors. In lieu of the forgoing conclusions, the researchers recommend that RTW store supervisors should strengthen the personal power profiles that recognize the value, accept strong relationship, give benefits needed, and show example of commitment. These powers are referent, expert and reward. Conflict situations are normal in any business; thus RTW store supervisors should develop skills in managing conflicts. Collaborating, accommodating and compromising are conflict management styles that often give positive results. It is further recommended that regardless of sex difference, all store supervisors must have training to fully develop skills in managing conflicts.

The Nigerian civil war broke out on July 6, 1967, it was a war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra. Both parties engaged in propaganda activities designed to win the support of the outside world, consequently leading to the internationalization of the conflict. The focus of this study is to historically analyze the nature and dimension of the involvement of African states during the Nigerian civil war, and the consequences in Nigerian foreign relationships after the conflict. To achieve these goals and to understand official foreign reaction by other African states to the conflict in Nigeria, the study firstly explores the federal government’s role in international affairs with these countries prior to Biafran secession. Furthermore, this work analyzes the role played by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its position in the conflict management. Then, the paper observes the way in which Nigerian Government tried to advice and convince other African States that if secession succeeded in Nigeria, these African States could also face the same threat of disintegration. In addition to that, this work wants to put in light other socio-political and economic reasons that led some African countries to be involved into the civil war, backing for one or another side. Concluding, this paper focus its attention on the consequences that such involvements had on the duration of the war and, lastly, on future intrastate relations.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to locate, describe and analyze the differences between the way migrants from communal cultures and local communities in Western Europe resolve intra-communal and inter-communal conflicts, and to use the findings to propose a hybrid alternative model that may be able to bridge across identified differences. Such a hybrid model will facilitate enhanced integration and adaptation between host and migrant communities, contributing to improved conflict resolution outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThis paper starts with an exploration, review and analysis of existing relevant literature describing refugee/migrant–host community interactions and their consequences. The second stage includes review and analysis of relevant alternative dispute resolution (ADR) literature. The third stage undertakes an examination and analysis of the practices identified in stage two, and the fourth stage proposes a method that uses potentially “bridging” practices by incorporating useful and relevant elements from host and refugee communities’ ADR mechanisms, in a way that may help resolve inter-communal disputes.FindingsThe paper demonstrates significant differences between host and migrant communities’ dispute resolution practices and the integrability of relevant ADR approaches toward creating a usable, hybrid, bridging approach to handle inter-communal conflicts.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper proposes a hybrid “bridging” host–refugee inter-communal conflict management model. The proposed model should be tested to prove feasibility and viability.Practical implicationsShould the proposed model prove useful, the practical implications may lead to the construction and use of different (hybrid) conflict management mechanisms in appropriate communities. Such mechanisms may lead to a reduction in the number and severity of inter-communal conflicts.Social implicationsA reduction in inter-communal conflicts within the framework of a host–migrant interface may have strong positive outcome to inter (and intra) communal relations and may reduce friction, crime, marginalization, hostility and radicalization.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the challenges to both migrant and host communities when it comes to finding a common ground for resolving inter-communal disputes and offers a pragmatic hybrid model to bridge cultural and functional gaps and help promote mutually satisfactory outcomes.

Purpose To hinder the high failure rate of strategic networks, recently scholars have concentrated on behavioral aspects such as trust, conflict management, resolution and commitment as fundamental antecedents of strategic network performance. Within this context, this paper focuses on the antecedents of affective commitment, based on the rationale that an increasing affective commitment cannot occur naturally during network evolution. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand how affective commitment is achieved along the development process of small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) strategic networks. Design/methodology/approach To address the aim of the paper, a qualitative approach based on multiple case studies was used. Two case studies of Italian SME strategic networks having an increasing and decreasing level of affective commitment were selected to have a base of comparison, following a “polar types” theoretical sampling approach. Findings By comparing two cases in which partners show a different affective commitment along the network development process, this study allows providing a twofold contribution. The former is to unveil the most relevant elements partners may rely on to achieve an increasing affective commitment and the latter is to propose a dynamic approach toward the study of affective commitment in SME strategic networks. Research limitations/implications Considering the limited generalizability of this exploratory study due to the analysis of two cases, future studies with a larger number of strategic multipartner networks can expand the understanding of the dynamics leading to increasing commitment. Practical implications The paper provides a series of practical guidelines for managers to create a trusting environment with a high level of affective commitment within the context of SME networks, which can contribute to their survival. Originality/value The originality of the study consists in having adopted a dynamic approach toward studying affective commitment in the context of SME networks, which resulted in the identification of relevant factors that can lead to increasing affective commitment.

This paper is an effort in reviewing and assembling the research findings of different researchers on the factors that cause conflicts in schools and the strategies adopted by schools for conflict resolution. The research is limited to certain databases only. The basis for selecting relevant literature for this study is their accessibility, language (English) and relevancy to the topic and only those research papers that highlight teacher-teacher conflicts and teacher-administration conflicts have been selected. The several factors that emerged from the study were classified as Structural and Personal factors only. The originality of this paper rests in an attempt to attract the attention of the research community towards the factors that lead to conflicts in schools and an insight into the strategies used by the school administration to resolve them. This study also recommends that school administrators be trained to identify at least some factors responsible for conflicts among their staff, even among the students of the school so that they can resolve it in a better way.

This paper addresses the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in the training of Secondary Education teachers in Spain as an integral part of the new ecology of learning and proposes some premises from which to design a training program to improve teachers’ communicative competence and their ability to manage conflict affecting the classroom climate. First, the paper explains the experiential and experimental potential in which VR immerses us, its ability to create challenging and personalized virtual worlds, as well as the possibility to generate instant feedback and feedforward. Finally, an example of a prototype scenario designed on this conceptual basis is provided and some ideas are discussed to introduce VR into initial teacher training.

Over the past few decades, international courts and tribunals have once more risen to prominence: their number has grown and their case-load increased significantly, to the point where we are said to live in an ‘era of adjudication’. At the same time, the functions and mandates of courts have changed. Whilst 19th and early 20th century thinkers thought of them as guardians of world peace, contemporary designs of world order seek to ensure peace through varied forms of international organisation. International courts play important roles, but are no longer expected to prevent war and military conflict. In charting this evolution, this Research Paper offers a panorama on two centuries of debate on international arbitration and adjudication., Global Cooperation Research Papers

The increasing spate of communal violence in North – Central region of Nigeria has taken a very high toll on lives and livelihoods and had displaced several people. These resultantly had exacerbated the level of vulnerability, food/economic insecurity, destitution, extreme deprivation and misery in the region especially among the rural farmers thereby exposing them to extreme poverty. This paper focuses therefore on examining the effects of communal violence on rural poverty, the extent to which communal violence has extremely impoverished the rural populace in the North – Central region of Nigeria and ways of minimising its spate. Data for the study was sourced from 405 respondents across the region using questionnaire method. Findings of the study identified the effects of communal violence to include: wanton destruction of human lives, property and other sources of livelihood, psychological trauma, food and health insecurity as well as displacement of small – holder rural farmers, making their living standards miserable and deplorable thereby increasing very extremely the rate of poverty in the area by 85 per cent. The paper therefore recommends immediate trial of perpetrators of violence, conflict management and peace studies and poverty alleviation as actionable solutions. Article visualizations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the necessity of tertiary education in promoting innovations of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area by using cases from other well-developed bay areas. Design/methodology/approach The paper used cases from bay areas of the USA and Japan to discover approaches that have been used to strengthen collaborations between tertiary education and industries by innovations. Findings This paper found that bay areas in the USA and Japan have adopted or developed various approaches to enhancing collaborations between tertiary education and industries. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the well-established knowledge transfer offices in universities help scholars to discover the commercial value of academic findings and help business in reverse. In New York Bay Area, big corporations built research institutes for universities with considerable findings. In Tokyo Bay Area, corporations and universities have developed various internship programs for different levels of students and also provide funds for universities to conduct research works. Originality/value This paper analysed approaches that using by other well-developed bay areas through real cases, and suggested that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area should adopt these experiences in order to strengthen collaborations between tertiary education and industries to promote innovations.

PurposeThis paper aims to identify and explore the overall frequency and characteristics of policy conflicts, with a focus upon those factors affecting conflict resolutions in South Korea.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses data from cases of conflict from the Korean Public Policy Conflict Database (KPPCDB) (1948-2014). For the analysis of data, chi-squared test and multinomial logistic regression are used.FindingsThe findings show a total of 2,030 policy conflicts in 1948-2014, most of which were conflicts of interest (47.9 per cent). More than 70 per cent (71.2 per cent) were policy conflicts between the government and the private sector; the field with the most policy conflicts was regional development (21.0 per cent), and 84.1 per cent of all policy conflicts were resolved. The factors that affected conflict resolution by interest were conflicts between the government and private sector, authoritarian government, national regions and capital areas.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests reforming the current procedures of conflict management, adopting alternative dispute resolutions, and developing a social-consensus-building process for efficiently resolving conflicts.Originality/valueThis study built a database (KPPCDB) examining 66 years of conflict cases that took place between 1948, the year the Korean Government was established, and 2014. This database covers all cases of policy conflicts that occurred in Korea and provides a comprehensive understanding of the phenomena of policy conflicts and conflict resolution.

Purpose Although several studies have evaluated effective factors for conflict occurrence, researchers have developed few methods of determining preventive capacities and determining preventive measures on the basis of an analysis of chain of risks that cause conflict. The purpose of this paper is to devise a mechanism for conflict prevention by evaluating chain of risks that cause conflict and different conflict types. Design/methodology/approach Efforts centered on facilitating the prevention conflicts through analyzing the effects of chain of risks on change causes, decomposing the mixture of conflict types in each conflict and determining the contribution of each conflict type to conflict creation. Findings The paper expands the existing body of knowledge on conflict management through the determination of complex relationships, namely, the relationship between conflict causes and project parties and the coherence between project parties and conflict types. Originality/value A practical example is analyzed to demonstrate the proposed approach capabilities. The results showed that using the developed approach to determine conflict type can serve as a means of control in projects and the developed approach can be incorporated into construction contracts as a conflict resolution mechanism. This paper presents an understanding of complex relationships among the chain of risks which cause conflict, the important players in conflict management process and different conflict types. It also provides a basis to select an effective management method for each conflict.