Conflict Environment Research Articles

Crises dentro da crise: respostas, incertezas e desencontros no combate à pandemia da Covid-19 no Brasil

RESUMO O autores descrevem a organização, no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde, do arcabouço para resposta a situações de emergência em saúde pública, especificamente a preparação para a entrada da pandemia causada por Sars-CoV-2 no Brasil. São discutidas as contradições da ação do Estado em meio à grave crise político-institucional. A resistência ao conhecimento científico num ambiente de conflito político e crescimento do autoritarismo é representada na disputa de narrativas que sustentam propostas antagônicas para enfrentar a crise. Informações falsas (fake-news) alimentam a cisão e confundem-se com a própria decisão do Governo Federal de dificultar o acesso a informações. A negação da gravidade da situação e a inexistência de um plano nacional de ação são mais exuberantes no momento em que o país se torna um dos epicentros da pandemia de Covid-19.

How Ethical Leadership Relates to Conflict and Turnover Intentions: A Relational Systems Approach

In this paper, we develop and test a theoretical model that supports a relational systems theory approach (Kahn, 1998) to ethical leadership and its relationship with employee turnover intentions. We find support for our model across two different studies with unique employee samples. Specifically, when employees perceive their leader to be highly ethical, they are less likely to desire to leave their organization, even when faced with conflict in the work environment. The indirect relationship between ethical leadership and turnover intentions via conflict was conditional based on the employee’s moral identity. The negative effect of ethical leadership on relationship conflict and, in turn, turnover intentions was stronger for followers who had higher moral identities. In addition, we find that leader holding behaviors negatively moderates the effects of ethical leadership on turnover intentions. We conclude with a discussion, limitations, and future research opportunities.

The construction of environmental knowledge and practices in the favela: challenges of an intercognitive production

Historical political omissions and current lack of access to public services in the favelas generates an conflictive and vunerable environment. This research’s aim is to understand the environmental issues experienced by residents from two slums in Niterói city (Brazil). Based on the actor-oriented perspective, this investigation analyzes the interaction between residents and interveners. The cultivation of plants and animal rearing plays an important role in the reproduction and sociability of one group of dwellers, and is also promoted by interveners, but these practices are juxtaposed with waste/sewage dumps and with the use of forested areas by drug dealers. This paper concludes that a new type of knowledge is generated, which is intercognitive, and it goes beyond just an adaptation or transference of the techniques, since it is a product of a dialogue-oriented process on facing the favela’s contingencies. This shared knowledge is an important subsidy to reflect upon participatory environmental interventions in vulnerable conditions.

Rethinking the Relationship between Inclusive Institutions and Political Violence

In this paper we empirically reexamine the debate over the conflict reducing properties of inclusive political institutions. We examine the purported violence reducing effects of proportional representation (PR) electoral systems, parliamentarism, and federalism, conditioning their effects on ethnic fractionalization and whether a country is conflict prone. In other words, are these institutions more effective in countries that have already experienced major conflict or are they more effective in preventing conflict in countries that have not experienced major conflict? Using a data set that includes a sample of 81 countries and 2488 observations from 1973 to 2018, we test the conditional effects of proportional representation electoral systems, parliamentarism and federalism conditioning these by ethnicity and whether the country has experienced a major conflict (i.e., civil war). We find that these institutions have little effect on reducing the number of riots or political deaths, but PR electoral systems reduces ethnic violence when ethnic fractionalization is high. On the other hand PR electoral systems and parliamentarism reduce ethnic violence in conflict prone countries, but federalism increases the likelihood of ethnic violence. We discuss the implications of these findings with regard to arguments regarding inclusive power sharing arrangements and violence in post conflict environments.

지역간 갈등환경에서 정책하위체제의 정책결정분석: 고속철도 천안아산역 명칭사례를 중심으로

본 연구는 옹호연합모형을 적용하여 지역간 명칭갈등사례를 분석한 것인데, 분석결과는 다음과 같이 제시할 수 있다. 관선 지방행정시대에서 민선 지방자치시대로 이동하는 시간흐름 속에서, 외부환경변수로는 상대적으로 안정적 변수- 행정구역 변동, 공유재문제, 지역정체성 표출, 지방자치법의 부활과 역 명칭과 관련된 측량법과 경부고속철도건설촉진법-와 그리고 동적 변수 - 지방자치의 실시로 사회경제발전, 민선 지방정부의 구성, 파생된 정책갈등- 의 다양한 변화가 나타났다. 이들 외부환경조건은 갈등이 태동하여 확산되는 과정에서 정책하위체제의 구성과 활동에 영향을 주었다. 정책하위체제는 이슈네트워크로 구성되었고, 대립하는 두 옹호연합은 자신들의 신념을 토대로 영향력활동을 하고 있고, 정책중개자이면서 정책결정권자인 중앙정부는 이들 갈등을 중재하는 정책조정을 통하여 수정된 정책산출을 만들었다. 따라서 옹호연합모형이 전제하는 외부환경조건과 정책하위체제의 인과관계는 정책사례분석을 통하여 입증되고 있다. 이연구의 함의는 옹호연합모형이 정책과정이론으로 적실성이 있다는 것과 지방자치시대에 계층제거버넌스의 한계로 새로운 통치방법을 설계할 필요가 있다는 것이다.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE FORMATION IN THE STUDENTS OF TECHNICAL PROFESSIONS

The article presents the problems of the development of social intelligence and its influence on the training of a new generation of specialists: creative and socially active professionals. In order for future specialists to be able to successfully adapt to the new conditions of society, to interact harmoniously and without a conflict in a specific environment, it is necessary that the process of developing abilities, qualities and skills is carried out systematically and routinely in the educational space of the university. Therefore, psychologically favorable atmosphere in the classroom should be considered as a condition for the development of social intelligence of students, which contributes to the development and manifestation of their sociability and curiosity. The task of the educational process should be the creation of a training system for an acmeologically oriented specialist. An analysis of the social competence of engineering students indicates that they can build a strategy for their behavior, are sensitive to non-verbal expression, but they do not always correctly understand linguistic expression, experience difficulties in analyzing situational interpersonal interactions, make mistakes in finding the causes of certain behavior. This is due to the specifics of professional activity - working with technology, and not with people. The article emphasizes the importance of personality-oriented training and a competence-oriented approach to the training of highly qualified specialists. Keywords : social intelligence, social mentality, professional education, social competence, acmeology. Accepted: 10.06.2020 Reviewed: 25.06.2020 Published: 29.06.2020 DOI: h ttp://doi.org/10.31108/3.2020.4.2. 8

Pacing emotional labour of qualitative research in an intractable conflict environment

Qualitative field research in any type of terrain calls for a practice‐oriented reflection on the researcher's emotional labour management in relation to the context of the field before, during, and beyond data collection. Intractable conflict environments (ICE) are characterised by long‐running social crises still unresolved. This particularity makes such contexts risk‐prone in terms of unpredictable dangers and unexpected outcomes, hence, the requirement for thorough ethical evaluation of field research designs. Field researchers, often working on their own, are expected to safely make ethically sound decisions while gathering high‐quality data within complex social realities of which they are often socio‐culturally not savvy. This inevitably exacerbates the emotional burden on the researchers and makes fieldwork challenging. Although feminist geographers notably have significantly contributed to highlighting the social dynamics of fieldwork by initiating and deepening discussions of the emotional and ethical challenge, discussions have rarely gone beyond underlining the need for recognition of the field researchers' emotional labour. Despite academic consensus for reflexive analysis and field diary‐keeping, little has been discussed on how to systematically manage this effort during the research process. In this paper, building on the first author's PhD fieldwork experience in Israel and the West Bank area, we propose a paced field research organisation method – PFROM – which systematically accommodates time and space for the researcher's engagement with and detachment from the field research's intensity. Applying the concept of pacing – intentionally distributing focused attention in such a way that will reduce fatigue prior to the completion of a task – this framework systematically integrates reflexivity within research designs. The PFROM provides researchers with a tool applicable beyond intractable conflict contexts which has the potential to enhance their emotional labour management.

Niñas soldado. Violencia Sexual en escenarios de conflicto bélico

La guerra y los contextos de violencia que de ella surgen, dejan a su paso víctimas incontables de las más atroces vejaciones. Las agresiones y la explotación sexual que padecen las niñas que se encuentran en entornos de conflictos bélicos dan evidencia de la repetida violación a los derechos más básicos de aquellos que se encuentran inmersos en los conflictos armados que se desarrollan en el contexto internacional. Son bastos los ejemplos que a través de discursos articulados nos permiten conocer la realidad de las niñas soldados y los mecanismos de opresión y vulneración que se ponen en práctica en los espacios invadidos por la guerra y que se ejercen de la mano de grupos armados violentos y hostiles en los que los menores de edad no son más que objetos que pueden ser utilizados y desechados sin mayor detenimiento.

Understanding the relationship of conflict and success in software development projects

Abstract Context Software development incorporates numerous people with diverse expertise and expectations. This makes conflict a common phenomenon in software development. Besides human causes, many conflicts in software development root in the tools and processes. Moreover, the growing role of software in any type of system is increasing the heterogeneity in software projects. The number and variety of tools and processes are increasing. Nevertheless, the relationship between conflicts, particularly rooted in non-human elements, and software project success is still unclear. Objective We aim to understand the impact of conflict on the success of software development projects for different types of conflict and different environments. Particularly, we distinguish between human-rooted conflict (HRC) and non-human-rooted conflict (NHRC). Moreover, we investigate whether organization size and team size moderate the impact of conflict on software project success. Methods First, we conduct a survey and analyze it using structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate any correlation between conflict and software project success. Second, we explore the reasons behind the relationship between conflict and software project success by conducting 13 semi-structured expert interviews. Results HRC is always a threat to software project success for any organization or team size. Based on the interviews, resolving an HRC is regularly problematic. On the other hand, NHRC is negatively correlated with software project success only in corporate organizations and small teams. High coordination overhead and dependency on tools and processes make NHRC more influential in corporate organizations. In contrast, overlooking non-human elements and lack of experienced individuals in smaller teams make them more vulnerable to NHRC. Conclusion While the detrimental impact of HRC is constant for software project success, NHRC can be controlled efficiently. Corporate organizations need to frequently improve the non-human elements in the development. Smaller teams should expect tools and processes to be significantly influential in their success.

Contextual sensory integration training via head mounted display for individuals with vestibular disorders: a feasibility study

Purpose Virtual reality (VR) interventions can simulate real-world sensory environments. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of a novel VR application (app) developed for a Head Mounted Display (HMD) to target dizziness, imbalance and sensory integration in a functional context for patients with vestibular disorders. Here we describe the design of the app as well as self-reported and functional outcomes in vestibular patients before and after participating in vestibular rehabilitation using the app. Material and methods Our app includes a virtual street, airport, subway or a park. The clinician controls the visual and auditory load including several levels of direction, amount and speed of virtual pedestrians. Clinicians enrolled 28 patients with central (mild-traumatic brain injury [mTBI] or vestibular migraine) and peripheral vestibular disorders. We recorded the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale (VVAS), Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), 8-foot up and go (8FUG) and Four-Step Square Test (FSST) before and after the intervention. Results Within the 15 patients who completed the study, 12 with peripheral hypofunction showed significant improvements on the VVAS (p = 0.02), DHI (p = 0.008) and ABC (p = 0.02) and a small significant improvement on the FSST (p = 0.015). Within-session changes in symptoms were minimal. Two patients with mTBI showed important improvements, but one patient with vestibular migraine, did not. Conclusion HMD training within increasingly complex immersive environments appears to be a promising adjunct modality for vestibular rehabilitation. Future controlled studies are needed to establish effectiveness. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Virtual Reality allows for gradual introduction of complex semi-real visual environments. Within VR training patients can re-learn to maintain balance when presented with a sensory conflict in a safe environment. Head Mounted Display training appears to be a promising adjunct modality for vestibular rehabilitation. Portability and affordability of the hardware and software enhance the potential clinical outreach.

Conflict Environments and Civil War Onset

Abstract The spread of civil war poses serious risks and costs. We argue that conflict environments, which vary across time and space, systematically exacerbate the spread of civil war. As conflict in a state’s neighborhood becomes more spatially proximate and as lingering effects of conflict accumulate over time, that state’s risk of civil war onset increases. To theorize and test this argument, we construct the conflict environment (CE) score, a concept that taps into spatial and temporal dimensions of violence in a state’s neighborhood. Using the CE score in established empirical models of civil war onset, we demonstrate that a dangerous conflict environment consistently elevates the risk of civil war, outperforming traditional measures of nearby violence, even when domestic factors are taken into account.

Public diplomacy in shaping the operational environment of modern military conflicts

The аrticle is devoted to the issues of using the opportunities of Western public diplomacy to form the operational environment of modern confl icts-hybrid war and color revolution, and to create "gray zones" as instruments of aggression for this purpose. The concept of "theater of hybrid war" is introduced and the conceptual documents of the United States and NATO defi ning strategies for subversive activities against Russia, its allies and partners are studied.

Beyond Orthodox Approaches to Education Reform

This paper looks at how the Republic of South Sudan (RSS) can accelerate the catch up in education by adopting disruptive innovations to implement its well-articulated educational plan modeled on EFA, MDG and SDG. The main argument of the paper is that the prevailing orthodox education strategies and tools currently being utilized will take long to provide all children with good quality education. These work well enough in stable environments, but is ill equipped to deal with fragile and volatile environments. RSS presents a continuous conflict environment full of complex and adaptive challenges with a very new and weak state. RSS has to think out of the box or even no box to fashion out implementation strategies that will deliver her citizens with the education dividend that they have been historically denied of.

РІВЕНЬ КОНФЛІКТНОСТІ В СЕРЕДОВИЩІ СІМЕЙ МЕДИЧНИХ ПРАЦІВНИКІВ

Article contains results of a study the of conflict in the environment of families of medical workers. The article defines the essence of the concept of level of conflict in the environment of families, and also shows the importance of the impact of family conflict on the professional characteristics of the employee. Was found the relationship between the personal characteristics of the couple and the of conflict in the family. Analyzed the state of development of the concept of family conflict in modern psychology. Analyzed the negative influence of the of conflict on the socio-psychological state of the individual and his professional readiness. Highlighted the problems of the study of the of family conflict as a factor of influence on the professional activity of the medical worker. Selected the methods of empirical study of the of conflict in the family environment. Was performed the practical study of the of conflict in families of medical workers. Carried out the analysis of the obtained results of the study of the of conflict is carried out, the primary statistical processing of the results. Determined the results of the research the of conflict in the environment of families of health care workers. Followed the dynamics of the of conflict before and after conducting psycho-correction work. Іn the training program applied methods of group discussion, role-playing games, psycho-gymnastic exercises, art therapy. Established that a large part of families of physicians cannot constructively resolve family conflicts due to lack of experience of joint decision-making, unwillingness to concede to one another and a number of internal and external factors. Determined that the psycho-correction program facilitated the formation in the married couple of skills of constructive solution of interpersonal conflicts in family relationships. Concluded that many couples of health care professionals require skilled help. Determined a prospects of further studies of the of conflict in the environment of families of medical workers.

Q&A: Humanitarian operations, the spread of harmful information and data protection

In this Q&A, the Review talks to Delphine van Solinge and Massimo Marelli of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Van Solinge is the ICRC's focal point for understanding how digital technologies and the spread of harmful information affect populations living in conflict environments, and what this means for humanitarian action. To this end, her portfolio is focused on exploring, on behalf of the ICRC and through partnerships, how to mitigate the risks that digital technologies bring in humanitarian settings and ensure relevant protection responses in the digital age. Marelli is Head of the ICRC's Data Protection Office (DPO). During his tenure with the ICRC, the organization has chartered new pathways for how it can carry out its operational work, while ensuring that the data of the affected people which it serves, as well those of its employees, are well protected.During this conversation, van Solinge and Marelli discuss how their areas of work complement and reinforce each other, forming two halves of the same coin with regard to how digital information and data can both be used for positive change and misused in humanitarian settings. Marelli highlights how humanitarian organizations process, protect and use data and digital information. Van Solinge discusses how through misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, information can be manipulated and spread using digital technologies – particularly in the age of the COVID-19, when populations are more reliant on digital communication technologies. Among the issues they discuss are how digital technologies can be used positively, the ethical considerations that humanitarian organizations should take into account, and the possible paths forward for public–private sector collaborations on this theme.

Professional competences of mediators with varying degree of success in conduct of conciliation procedures

Mediation has become an increasingly popular reconciliation procedure that allows increasing the psychological security of parties to the conflict in educational and social environment, as well as legal practice. The profession of mediator is highly demanded; however, the questions of professional competence of the specialists and requirements to their personality did not receive due coverage in the scientific literature. The goal of this research consist in development of the model of professional competence and assessment of the level of professional competences of mediators with varying degree of success in conduct of reconciliation procedures. A list of professional competences and their indicators mediators, considering the professional standard – “Specialist in the Field of Mediation (mediator)”. The research involved 42 mediators from Arkhangelsk Region. The following methods were applied: questionnaire (the author developed an original questionnaire for self-assessment of professional competences of the mediator), and psychological testing based on the Five-Factor Model of Personality of Costa and McCrae's in adaptation of M. V. Bodunov and S. D. Biryukov. Statistical processing was carried out via the method of descriptive statistics, correlation and step-type multivariate regression analyses (Pearson's chi-squared test) using the software SPSS 23.00 (license agreement No.Z125-3301-14). The following conclusion was made: the model of professional competences of mediator includes communication skills, conflict management, case study, planning, and self-control. The author developed and tested the questionnaire for self-assessment of professional competences of mediators that can be implemented via 360-degree feedback method. It is established that the successful outcome of reconciliation procedure is affected by such professional competences as self-control and communication skills. Out of the list of professionally important qualities of mediator, the author highlights activity, concreteness, openness, self-restraint, self-discipline, responsibility and sociability as directly related to the success of reconciliation procedures.

Investigating Job Stress among Professional Drivers

Purpose: Psychological stress is one of the main occupational hazards. The aim of this study was evaluating psychological stress in terms of role stress and its domains in professional drivers.
 
 Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 heavy vehicle drivers and 330 light vehicle drivers. Data were collected using interview and Osipow job stress questionnaire. T-test ،ANOVA ، chi-square test and linear regression were used in analyzing the data.
 
 Results: 33.2% of the participants had mild to moderate stress. Independent psychological stress predictors were vehicle type, shift work, job satisfaction, and income. Stress scores were higher in work overload, role conflict, responsibility, and work environment in heavy vehicle drivers than light vehicle drivers (p<0.001), while this difference was not significant in terms of role insufficiency and ambiguity.
 
 Conclusion: Nearly one-third of the drivers had mild to moderate stress level. Overall stress level was higher in heavy vehicle drivers than light vehicle drivers. The highest score in stress domains in all drivers attributed to the role insufficiency.

General Patterns and National Features of the Identity Formation in the Post-Soviet Space: the Experience of Moldova

The article discusses the processes of searching for the national identity of the Republic of Moldova during the post-communist transit. The conditions in which the reforms took place in the country and the factors that influenced the directions and priorities of the development of Moldavian society are analyzed. It is shown that the processes of the formation of a political nation in the Republic proceeded in an environment of socio-political crises and conflicts, fluctuations in domestic and foreign policy and had a non-linear wave-like character. The search for national identity in Moldova was accompanied by the emergence of ideological, political and value splits in the political elite and among the masses of Moldavian society, which intensified and softened with a certain frequency. It is stated that the Republic of Moldova is practically the only country in Europe where identification differences were a determining factor in the polarization of political forces, and identity conflicts became a significant factor in political mobilization. It is noted that the incompleteness of the process of national self-identification in Moldova is largely determined by external factors, as a result of which the state acts as an object of influence of more significant subjects of international politics. It is concluded that although the political system of the Republic of Moldova supports the existence of democratic trends, the achievement of value consensus through the creation of a broad dialogue in the public space and general civil discourse remains an urgent task for the national elites.
 The experience of the political transit of the Republic of Moldova has confirmed the fact that during the formation of political nations there are frequent cases when the confrontation of symbols, meanings and historical dates does not occur between different states, but takes place within society itself. Moldova has become a classic example of an identification split that divides the country into East and West, North and South, whose residents appeal to different versions of national history.

Managerial capacity in conflict environments: Management effects of private military and security companies in Iraq

AbstractAn enduring challenge of public administration research is examining whether public management affects the delivery of public policy results. This study extends managerial influence to include public policy delivery in an active conflict environment. Individual manager training is critical in conflict environments because limited bureaucratic capacity and general environmental confusion are common. Organizations under stress use substitute managers. We argue that substitute managers' effectiveness is conditioned by two factors: managerial capability and networking capability. We examine substitute managers in a unique context, the US–Iraq War. Managers coordinated private military and security companies (PMSCs) to provide coalition forces and the civilian population with multiple services. We argue that managers with prior management experience and network capability are more effective substitute managers. The results suggest that managers with prior experience and networking capability are associated with decreases in civilian casualties. The results provide important policy insights into public management and defence policy.

Neoliberal Impact on Social Work in South African Non-Governmental Organisations

The South African social work profession, which can be considered to still be in the early stages of rebirth post-apartheid, has been affected by neoliberal compromise. This paper reflects on the impact of neoliberalism on South African social work, particularly within the context of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as perceived and experienced by front-line social workers and social work managers. The findings highlight some of the unseen struggles of South African social work practice, as the profession is caught between the demands of social development and neoliberalism. This study invites the voices of front-line social workers to join academic debate and offer on-the-ground insight which social work academics might not be able to identify. In doing so, the discussion around neoliberal impact on South African social work and NGOs is deepened, allowing for authentic reflection on the challenges for the profession within an environment of neoliberal and developmental conflict.