Dimensions Of Conflict Research Articles

Emergence, Development, and Impact of Population Displacement in Damascus During Syria’s Civil War

Although displacement has been an important feature of many contemporary conflicts, this has not been accompanied by a sustained recognition or acknowledgement that it is an active or ongoing dimension of conflict, with the result that it, more often than not, has been viewed and discussed as a consequence of conflict; that is, as something that occurs as a result of armed conflict. Although the manipulation of civilian populations for political purposes has been discussed and recognized by counter-insurgency theorists, this has not yet informed nor produced a full and complete understanding of displacement, or more precisely its strategic dimensions, in the contemporary context. In other instances, the specificity of displacement more generally has been ignored, with the result that it has been equated with ethnic cleansing. This article seeks to contribute to an enhanced understanding of displacement by showing how it became part of the Syrian regime’s attempts to re-establish control of suburban areas of Damascus. In doing so, I break the practice into its specific components, which include siege operations, extensive use of aerial bombardment and the use of weapons likely to produce massive civilian casualties, including chemical weapons, ‘earthquake’ and ‘vacuum’ bombs and unguided munitions with wide-area effects. I conclude that in these areas of the capital, Regime actions most closely approximated to the depopulation model of strategic displacement.

Cross-culture analysis of batik sub-culture Pekalongan: A case study on the complexity dimensions of representation, diversity and conflict

Pekalongan batik sub-culture development is influenced by three cultures namely Javanese, Chinese and Arabic. Most studies of batik use a cultural and socioeconomic analysis by focusing mainly its cultural aspects. This research aims to analysis transformation of social and economic assets, by using a different perspective namely cross-cultural theory and democratization framework in order to explain the political economic contestation among the entrepreneurs. This research uses Robert Dahl’s conceptual framework regarding the development of democracy and only uses three of the seven relevant aspects, namely: (a) representation, (b) diversity, and (c) conflict. Case studies as a qualitative methodology are used with in-depth interview techniques, observation and literature reviews as data collection tools. The results of this study are, Pekalongan batik sub-culture has formed a kind of long acculturation formation in the cultural perspective, but secondly it also contributes to develop a kind of political contestation, conflicts and gender-bias political practices This study concludes that regional autonomy and decentralization policies have created space for political contestation and opened up opportunities to transform the social/economic capital of batik entrepreneurs as assets for political contestation and have even raised the issue of identity politics.

The Effect of Role Stress on Burnout in IT Support

The widespread digitalization in society has resulted in technological advances in various fields growing rapidly so the number of workers in the field of Information and Communication Technology is increasing. However, it cannot be denied that the burden and demands of work in the IT field are very heavy and might cause burnout. The research aims to find out whether there is an influence of the multidimensional construct of role stress on burnout in IT Support workers. This research uses a quantitative correlational approach using simple linear regression analysis and multiple linear regression. 140 IT support workers aged 21 – 35 years who had experience in the IT field for at least 1 year participated in this study. The result of this study revealed that there is a positive and significant influence on the role of stress on burnout. The role ambiguity and role overflow dimensions have a positive effect on burnout, but the role conflict dimension does not affect burnout.

Assessing a potential conflict associated with the production of Moringa oleifera in the Limpopo Province of South Africa: A systems thinking approach

The increased movement of humans throughout the world allowed the transportation of several species, such as Moringa oleifera Lam. (moringa), into biomes far away from their native habitation. Native to India, moringa is a versatile, drought-tolerant, and fast-growing tree that is easily adaptable to wide-ranging tropical and sub-tropical conditions around the world. It is used in cosmetics, as food and medicine for humans, livestock feed, crop biostimulant, and green manure. Even though moringa is an alien species to South Africa, its production is increasing, and its numerous uses are recognised by communities. Moringa forms part of a highly complex (social, ecological, and economic) system. This is because it is on the Species Under Surveillance for Possible Eradication or Containment Targets (SUSPECT) list under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act (NEM:BA) of South Africa. Listing species that are regarded as beneficial to communities on national regulations can cause conflicts and uncertainties among various stakeholders (i.e., environmental policymakers, farmers, rural communities, and government bodies). In this paper, a systems thinking approach was applied to address complex and conflicting issues linked to the production and overall status (economic, ecological, legal, and social) of moringa in South Africa. The Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) was developed to present a broad insight into the complexity of moringa in South Africa and assist in underscoring the feedback mechanisms within the system. Moreover, the CLD indicated that the position of moringa within the country comprised a variety of interdependent variables of government policies, environment, and society, which are interconnected into a multifaceted system. The potential conflict dimensions and types associated with allocating moringa an impact category within the South African context were identified, and this may serve as a useful tool for facilitating engagements and decision-making processes among stakeholders in resolving the status of moringa in South Africa.

Development of the Arabic Inventory of Parent and Domestic Worker Attachment (A-IPDWA): A tool to assess adolescents' attachment to secondary figures.

Adolescents' attachment security toward parental figures has been assessed in multiple cultures and languages. In some cultural contexts, the presence of a secondary parental figure is ubiquitous, though its effect on children's and adolescents' well-being has been understudied. The present study aimed to validate a culture-specific Arabic instrument of attachment security, in an adolescent sample of Qatar. Since foreign domestic workers (Khadama) play a key role as secondary caring figures in Middle Eastern countries, the new instrument included parents (i.e., mother and father) and domestic workers as providers of attachment security. A sample of 387 adolescents (ages 12-17 years; 48.3% females) participated in the study in the 2020-2021 school term. While 286 students completed the version in modern Arabic, 101 counterparts attending international schools filled in the English version for comparison purposes. Confirmatory Factor Analysis for all three forms (i.e., mother, father, and domestic worker) showed the one-dimension of the Arabic tool. Optimal Tucker's Phi coefficient indicated a comparable one-factor structure of attachment security across linguistic versions. Moderate correlations (positive and negative, respectively) of attachment security towards father and mother (but not towards domestic workers) with family cohesion and family conflict dimensions of the Family Environment Scale provided evidence for the concurrent validity. Gender differences in the links between adolescents' attachment security and family conflict were observed; culturally relevant relationship family patterns are stressed. The practical implications of the Arabic Inventory of Parent and Domestic Worker Attachment (A-IPDWA) validation are discussed.

From climate conflicts to environmental peacebuilding: Exploring local dimensions

Environmental change and armed conflict are major challenges of the 21st century. Meanwhile, scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize the environment and natural resources as not only sources of conflict and violence but also as potential means for peacebuilding. While research on both fronts is rapidly progressing, the literature on the climate–conflict nexus and environmental peacebuilding has remained disconnected, although climate conflicts will (and already) require peacebuilding efforts. We address this gap by identifying overlaps that open opportunities for an integrated research agenda. Particularly, we call for a deeper exploration of the local dimensions of climate-related conflicts and environmental peacebuilding. Local actors, knowledge, networks, and identities shape peacebuilding outcomes and are key in building climate-resilient peace. However, romanticizing the local sphere might also mask significant inequalities, power differences, and ethical concerns.

Do Parties Matter? Party Positions and European Voters’ Attitudes toward Economic and Political Globalization

Abstract To what extent do party positions influence voters’ attitudes toward the economic and political aspects of globalization? Initially an issue following a left-right dimension of conflict, globalization increasingly divides mainstream from nonmainstream parties. In this study, I argue that parties help citizens form opinions on globalization issues. I then use data on voters’ attitudes and party positions on globalization to test this supply-side theory of globalization attitudes on both economic and political dimensions. Holding demand-side factors such as economic self-interest and predispositions/values constant, I find that party positions strongly affect voters’ views on economic and political globalization, with the effect being similar to that of education. Moreover, I find that the effect of cues from left- and right-populist parties is much more negative than that of mainstream parties, replicating previous elite-level findings on the positioning of these party families. Finally, green party cues show conflicting results for the economic and political dimensions, with green cues affecting voters negatively on economic globalization but positively on political globalization. The findings in this study call for a deeper exploration of the supply-side determinants of globalization attitudes.

Interparental conflict dimensions and children's psychological problems: Emotion recognition as a mediator.

This study tested children's emotion recognition as a mediator of associations between their exposure to hostile and cooperative interparental conflict and their internalizing and externalizing symptoms. From 2018 to 2022, 238 mothers, their partners, and preschool children (Mage = 4.38, 52% female; 68% White; 18% Black; 14% Multiracial or another race; and 16% Latinx) participated in three annual measurement occasions. Path analyses indicated that Wave 1 observations of hostile interparental conflict predicted residualized increases in children's emotion recognition accuracy (i.e., angry, sad, and happy) at Wave 2 (β = .27). Wave 2 emotion recognition, in turn, predicted residualized decreases in children's internalizing symptoms at Wave 3 (β = -.22). Mediational findings were partly attributable to children's accuracy in identifying angry and high-intensity expressions.

Introduction: Cyber-conflict – Moving from speculation to investigation

Investigating cyber conflict is enormously difficult. The domain is complex, quality data are sparse, international affairs are shrouded in secrecy, and despite its seeming ubiquity, cyber power has only recently entered the battlefield. In the face of these challenges, we must rise to meet the challenges of cybersecurity research by deploying creative methods that collect verifiable and probatory data, and which allow for predictive models of cyber behavior. Against this backdrop, our special issue offers a vision of cybersecurity research that embraces a culture of rigorous inquiry based on theoretically robust, and policy relevant investigation. We highlight two key features. First, research at the intersection of cybersecurity and political science must incorporate the human dimension of cyber conflict. A human security approach to cybersecurity places people as the primary objects of security and recognizes that individual-level analyses can shed light on macro-level trends. Second, cyber research must adopt rigorous, empirical methods. We embrace a broad tent of empirical data collection techniques – spanning qualitative and quantitative, experimental, and observational research. What is integral is that all scholarship abides by the highest standards of replicability and falsifiability. The articles contained in this special issue collectively form a proof of concept that expands the horizons of cybersecurity research from a substantive viewpoint (adding a human dimension to the prevalent military/strategic analyses), and from a methodological perspective (propounding the importance of empirical scrutiny). Together, these 10 pieces of scholarship collectively affirm that there is now a critical mass of substantively diverse and empirically rigorous research in the field of cybersecurity, and that we as a community are capable of making bold, theoretically grounded, and empirically tested claims that verify how cyber power is or is not altering the nature of peace, conflict and international relations.

Cyber-enabled influence operations as a ‘center of gravity’ in cyberconflict: The example of Russian foreign interference in the 2016 US federal election

Russia’s cyber-enabled influence operations (CEIO) have garnered significant public, academic and policy interest. 126 million Americans were reportedly exposed to Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 US election on Facebook. Indeed, to the extent that such efforts shape political outcomes, they may prove far more consequential than other, more flamboyant forms of cyber conflict. Importantly, CEIOs highlight the human dimension of cyber conflict. Focused on ‘hacking human minds’ and affecting individuals behind keyboards, as opposed to hacking networked systems, CEIOs represent an emergent form of state cyber activity. Importantly, data for studying CEIOs are often publicly available. We employ semantic network analysis (SNA) to assess data seldom analyzed in cybersecurity research – the text of actual advertisements from a prominent CEIO. We examine the content, as well as the scope and scale of the Russian-orchestrated social media campaign. While often described as ‘disinformation,’ our analysis shows that the information utilized in the Russian CEIO was generally factually correct. Further, it appears that African Americans, not white conservatives, were the target demographic that Russia sought to influence. We conclude with speculation, based on our findings, about the likely motives for the CEIO.

The Effectiveness of an Educational Program Based on the Threats and Opportunities of Remote Work for Dual-Career Couples During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Work-Family Conflict and Its Dimensions

Objective: The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program based on the threats and opportunities of remote work for dual-career couples during the COVID-19 pandemic on work-family conflict and its dimensions. Method: This was a quantitative, applied research employing a quasi-experimental design, utilizing a pre-test/post-test with a control group. The sample consisted of dual-career couples from Kerman city who sought counseling for various reasons. Collaboration was negotiated with a private counseling center, and agreements were made. Couples scoring above the cutoff on the prepared questionnaires were purposively selected, resulting in 20 couples who were then randomly assigned to either the experimental group (10 couples) or the control group (10 couples). The experimental group underwent the educational program while the control group received no training. The data collection instrument was the work-family conflict questionnaire by Carlson et al. (2000). Data in the quantitative section were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance with the help of SPSS software. Findings: Given that the computed F-value for the effect of groups on work-family conflict and its dimensions was statistically significant at the 5% level (p < .05), it can be concluded that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups after the intervention, and the intervention significantly impacted work-family conflict and its dimensions. The Benferroni post-hoc test indicated that the effects of the educational program based on opportunities and threats of remote work on work-family conflict and its dimensions showed suitable stability during the follow-up phase. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that the educational package derived from the lived experiences of dual-career couples during the quarantine period of the COVID-19 outbreak was effective on the dimensions of work-family conflict among couples, and this effect was also stable in the follow-up phase.

Rehabilitation of the Constructive Dimension of Conflict as the Foundation of a Political Research Program for Shared Governance of the Enterprise

Research into corporate governance could benefit from a clearer recognition of the constructive role of conflict in democratic regimes. With a critical perspective, the current study seeks to demonstrate the political implications of the idea of shared governance in enterprises, which often gets reduced to a technical question in studies that adopt contractual or disciplinary views of corporate governance. In contrast, shared governance of an enterprise may require an implemented culture of conflict, as central to the productive organization. Such a culture can encourage complementarity among the personal projects prioritized by various stakeholders and the social union that they form. This orientation also enables a critical view on the evolution of corporate reform, which in turn raises new questions that can inform a research agenda capable of grappling with the polemogenic atmosphere surrounding and shaping the functioning of enterprises in the 21st century.

Visual analysis of commognitive conflict in collaborative problem solving in classrooms.

In today's knowledge-intensive and digital society, collaborative problem-solving (CPS) is considered a critical skill for students to develop. Moreover, international education research has embraced a new paradigm of communication-focused inquiry, and the commognitive theory helps enhance the understanding of CPS work. This paper aims to enhance the CPS skills by identifying, diagnosing, and visualizing commognitive conflicts during the CPS process, thereby fostering a learning-oriented innovative approach and even giving the script of technology-assisted feedback practices. Specifically, we utilized open-ended mathematical tasks and multi-camera video recordings to analyze the commognitive conflicts in CPS among 32 pairs, comprising 64 Year 7 students. After selecting the high-quality, medium-quality, and low-quality student pairs based on the SOLO theory, further investigations were made in the discourse diagnosis and visual analysis for the knowledge dimensions of commognitive conflict. Finally, it was discovered that there is a need to encourage students to focus on and resolve commognitive conflicts while providing timely feedback. Visual studies of commognitive conflict can empower AI-assisted teaching, and the intelligent diagnosis and visual analysis of CPS provide innovative solutions for teaching feedback.

Spillover of domains: testing the influence of work-family conflict on staff at a Southern U.S. prison

ABSTRACT Correctional staff are a valuable resource for prisons. Nevertheless, they work in a unique environment characterized by numerous stressors that may affect them at work and at home. The literature on predictors of job stress (both in corrections and in other work environments) is extensive, but few studies have examined the role of work-family conflict. The current study examined how the four types of work-family conflict (i.e., time-, strain-, behavior-, and family-based) affect job stress among staff at a large, state-operated correctional facility in the Southern U.S. While time-, strain-, and behavior-based conflict were positively correlated with job stress at the bivariate level, the influence of time-based conflict on job stress became non-significant after controlling for other demographic and contextual variables. Only strain- and behavior-based conflict remained significant predictors of job stress in the multivariate regression analyses. These findings highlight the importance of differentiating between the various dimensions of work-family conflict. Furthermore, all correctional staff need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of work-family conflict and should be trained in the proper responses and places to refer colleagues when necessary.

Conflict of Interest: An Epidemic Dilemma Within the South African Public Procurement System

Background: Challenges of the South African public procurement system continues unabated to make visible footprints in the yearly Auditor-General’s reports. At the centre of the challenges is the failure to comply with the legislative framework regulating public procurement resulting in irregular expenditure. Compliance failures are at the root of evil deeds and misconduct in the South African public sector.Setting: The existence of a plethora of legislative frameworks, polices and standard operating procedures and the yearly reports of the Auditor-General leaves one pondering in relation to the difficulty for procurement officials to adhere to these prescripts. Aim: It against this notion that this conceptual paper gives an analysis of the impact of conflict of interests as suspect in chief on failure by procurement officials to adhere on procurement regulations. Of essence is to examine causal factors and inherent consequences which in most instances is conflicting interest by public officials.Method: This paper analyses secondary data with regard to conflict of interest with in the South African public procurement system. This is done by means of literature and government documentation.Conclusion: This paper concludes that the concept of conflict of interest is not new within the procurement space, yet procurement officials still grapple on how to effectively deal with it whenever it arises. This therefore calls for reform in procurement processes especially in ensuring consequentialism for wrongdoers.Contribution: The paper contributes towards the shaping of public procurement policies and ethical guidelines in all spheres of government. This paper further contributes to the body of knowledge considering that it will unearth critical dimensions of conflict of interests particularly for the public sector.

Countervailing Conflicts of Interest in Delegation Games

In this paper, we investigate optimal delegation mechanisms in the presence of countervailing conflicts of interest in the context of principal–agent problems. We introduce two dimensions of conflict of interest—pandering incentives related to the outside option and project biases. We compare three delegation mechanisms: full delegation, veto-based delegation, and communication (no delegation). Contrary to conventional one-dimensional conflict models, our findings reveal a non-monotonic relationship between pandering incentives and bias. These conflicts counterbalance each other, resulting in a principal’s benefit from delegation not strictly decreasing with increased bias. Surprisingly, delegation to a biased agent can be advantageous in certain scenarios. This research sheds light on the complex dynamics of delegation mechanisms when confronted with countervailing conflicts of interest, offering insights into decision-making in principal–agent relationships.

Cultural universality and specificity of teacher-student relationship: a qualitative study in Belgian, Chinese, and Italian primary school teachers.

Extensive evidence highlights the significant influence of dyadic, emotional teacher-student relationship (TSR) on students' cognitive functioning, socio-emotional development, and overall well-being. However, it remains unclear whether the TSR construct and its manifestations can be generalized across cultures. This qualitative study investigated TSR among 60 primary school teachers in Belgium, China, and Italy (i.e., countries with varying positions on the collectivistic-individualistic continuum of culture). Through semi-structured interviews and metatheme analysis, the study examined the similarities and differences in TSR across these countries, revealing a nuanced and diverse picture in various cultural contexts. The findings align with the existing TSR model by including dimensions of closeness, conflict, and dependency, while also extending the model to identify additional dimensions such as authority, balance, distance, fairness, increasing student motivation, patience, and strictness. Regarding cultural perspective, teachers from these three countries exhibited similar conceptualizations of closeness, conflict, fairness, increasing student motivation, patience, and strictness, whereas the conceptualization of dependency, authority, balance, and distance may be influenced by (collectivistic versus individualistic) culture. Moreover, the manifestations of TSR varied across countries, highlighting the influence of cultural factors such as cultural norms, collectivistic versus individualistic values, and the perceived legitimacy of teacher authority. These findings shed light on the complexities of TSR across countries and emphasize the significance of culturally sensitive approaches in fostering positive TSR in education.

Intragroup conflict in sports: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Intragroup conflict is inevitable in sports teams. The aim of this scoping review is to examine the existing literature in this area in order to derive recommendations for future research on intragroup conflict in sport. Quantitative studies that have investigated intragroup conflict in sport groups were included. Studies that investigated only athlete-coach conflict were excluded. A systematic multi-database search, followed by a systematic forward and backward search, led to the identification of 48 studies. Thus far, research in this area has mainly been conducted in the competitive context of team sports with athletes aged between 18 and 25 years. It has been found that intragroup conflict does not necessarily correlate with team success or failure, while it appears to have a negative relationship with athletes’ mental health. In addition, studies have repeatedly revealed a relationship between intragroup conflict and group cohesion that is either positive or negative, depending on the dimension of intragroup conflict. At present, there are few recommendations for practice that can be derived from extant research. Future research should focus on outcomes, study designs, and a theoretical base in order to obtain a more comprehensive knowledge of intragroup conflict in sport.

Environmental Justice at the Environmental Regulation in Indonesia and Uzbekistan

Justice theory, which emphasizes the fair and equitable allocation of risks and benefits, has significantly influenced the idea of environmental justice. Indonesia and Uzbekistan have made it mandatory for laws and regulations to implement the concept of environmental justice. Still, in practice, the rules created give birth to social-environmental conflict dimensions that are increasingly prevalent and far removed from environmental justice. This research aims to understand and analyze environmental justice regulation in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. This research uses a normative juridical approach with a literature review involving primary and secondary legal sources. The results show that the provisions of the Job Creation Bill in the forestry and environmental sectors negate access to justice via litigation at the State Administrative Court (PTUN) so that there is no public space to continue an AMDAL decision or environmental approval as part of an environmental licensing instrument in the realm of administrative law. Regulatory problems that co-occur and are followed by implementation problems at a later date relating to the legitimacy and protection of people's constitutional rights will harm the community's sense of justice. At the same time, the issue of environmental injustice in Uzbekistan arises from the ecological crisis beginning with green space, waste management, and the water crisis that has afflicted the nation, as indicated by the preceding explanation. The government must establish national policies, institutional instruments, and central and regional environmental management authorities to facilitate development with an eye toward environmental justice.

Outside Workplace Characteristics and Turnover Intention: A Challenge for HR Managers

Private banking sector is one of the most effected sectors facing personnel’s turnover intention and bearing the loss of talented work force. Researchers investigated several factors which pull or push an employee inside or outside the organization. This study is intended to inquire the impact of both dimensions of Work-Family Conflicts (WFC) i.e. the work interface with family & the family interface with work, along with perceived alternative job opportunities (PAJO) on turnover intention (TOI) of banking personnel. This research evaluated the influence of work family conflicts (WFC) and perceived alternative job opportunities (PAJO) on personnel’s turnover (TO) behavior. Results demonstrate that both factors; WFC and PAJO, were found significantly linked with TOI. Private banking sector is facing turnover widely so the need for research specifically in that environment is rising day by day. This research may contribute in making HR (human resource) policies and development of strategies. The results will benefit the managers and HR experts to better understand employees’ needs and intentions and control their behavior. The findings will assist them in reduction of turnover in their organizations. The discoveries will also be beneficial for future studies.