Conflict Paradigm Research Articles

Californios, Anglos, and the Performance of Oligarchy in the U.S. West

Andrew Gibb, currently assistant professor of theater history, theory, and criticism at Texas Tech University, offers an important revision of modern understandings of the U.S. West, particularly California. “Despite the individualist ideology that valorizes the working-class Anglos frontiersman,” Gibb asserts, “the truth is that ever since he began to arrive in the West, he had led a life dominated by local oligarchs (1). As Anglos arrived in California, they discovered a uniquely californio (Mexican Californian) system of social organization. This book draws heavily on theory, particularly the idea of performance, to demonstrate how public events both celebrate and proclaim the power of the oligarchy. This allows the author to focus on cooperation (theater, after all, is collaborative) and deemphasize a more traditional conflict paradigm. Thus, the book is intimately concerned with the development of accommodation and acculturation in California. However, unlike people in other regions of the Americas, californios did not acculturate to Anglo culture; Anglos accepted californio behaviors. In sum, this is the story of how “californios performatively fashioned a unique regional tradition of oligarchic rule into which they invited successive waves of immigrant and conquering Anglo elites” (23).

РЕЛИГИЯ И НАУКА: КОНФЛИКТ ИЛИ ДИАЛОГ? (ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ МИРОВОЗЗРЕНЧЕСКИХ И СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ ПРОТИВОРЕЧИЙ В РОССИЙСКОМ ОБЩЕСТВЕ)

The article is devoted to the study of the worldviews and social contradictions in Russian society on the example of two different positions on the relationship between religion and science. According to one of these positions these relationships are defined as conflict. The second, opposing point of view says there never was and there cannot be any conflict between religion and science. In the publication such points are called “the paradigm of conflict” and “the paradigm of dialogue”. It shows, the first “paradigm” in the Soviet period of Russian history was determined by ideologization of science and was an important part of anti-religious propaganda. On the contrary, “the paradigm of dialogue” has always been represented primarily by religious thinkers. Today it is the official position of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The official Church document “The Basis of the Social Concept” says religion and science are designed to complement each other, especially in solving ethical problems that inevitably arise in the face of modern science. However, secular scientists often see in such statements the Church’s claims to active participation in the public life, including the educational process. Representatives of the academic community often speak out against the introduction of the theological educational programs and the theological departments in secular Universities of the Russian Federation. Thus, in contemporary Russian society some continue to believe that there is a conflict between religion and science, while others insist on the need for dialogue.

Dissociative effects of dorsomedial striatum D1 and D2 receptor antagonism in the regulation of anxiety and learned approach-avoidance conflict decision-making

The dorsal striatum is traditionally known for its role in sensorimotor integration. However, the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) has also been implicated in cost-benefit conflict processing, a role more readily attributed to the ventral striatum (VS), as a site of limbic-motor integration. We recently showed that dopaminergic D1 (D1R) and D2 receptors (D2R) in the VS exert dissociable control over cue-elicited approach-avoidance decision-making, in the presence of conflicting motivational stimuli. We therefore sought to investigate the contribution of DMS dopaminergic receptors in the regulation of cue-elicited and innate approach-avoidance decision-making. Using a conditioned mixed-valence conflict paradigm, we trained rats in a three-arm radial maze to associate visuotactile cues with appetitive, aversive, and neutral outcomes. Rats then received an intra-DMS or intra-dorsolateral striatum (DLS) microinfusion of D1-like antagonist (SCH23390) or D2-like antagonist (sulpiride), and were then tested for the expression of approach-avoidance behavior in a conflict scenario, wherein the appetitive and aversive cues were superimposed within a single maze arm. The results revealed that DMS (but not DLS) D1R antagonism, suppressed approach towards the conflict arm while DMS (but not DLS) D2R antagonism enhanced approach. All rats were subsequently administered an elevated plus maze test as a measure of innate approach-avoidance conflict (anxiety). DMS D1R antagonism decreased anxiety, while DMS D2R and both DLS D1R and D2R antagonism increased anxiety. Our findings suggest that under motivational conflict, activation of DMS D1-like receptors facilitates approach, while activation of D2-like receptors suppress approach behavior. Furthermore, anxiety is regulated by dorsal striatal-mediated dopaminergic mechanisms.

THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND SPIRITUAL EFFICIENCY OF THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM: APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT

The article considers the categories of social, economic, and spiritual efficiency. The emphasis is made on the crisis of modern economic processes. The subject of the article is the contradictions arising in the process of increasing economic efficiency. Existing methodological approaches to the study of these categories are critically reviewed. The main goal of the article is to create the author’s concept of overcoming the contradictions between the growth of economic and social efficiency in the conditions of modern economic organizations. The concept is based on the conflict paradigm. The methodological basis of the study consists of the concepts of foreign and domestic researchers dealing with the effectiveness of social reproduction. The main theoretical concept is neo-Marxism. The purpose of the article is to determine the methodology for reconciling contradictions arising in the process of managing the economic efficiency of an economic system. The thesis of P. Drucker on the inevitability of aggravating the economic crisis is considered as the cause of the conflict. In combination with the totality of such general scientific and special methods of cognition as dialectic, systemic, descriptive, theoretical modelling, the article reveals the main contradictions in the assessment of the growth of the economic and social efficiency of the economic system. The main conclusion of the article is the need to abandon the use of singlefactor methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the functioning of economic systems. The main problem is the fact that the growth of economic efficiency most often has a non-linear effect on the change in social and spiritual efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to use at the same time changes in all three specified directions of efficiency, so one can determine the general vector of changes in the economic system. As a final conclusion, it was proposed to apply the efficiency rule proposed by Pareto to this assessment, according to which the system state is optimal when the value of each particular criterion describing the system state cannot be changed without deteriorating other system indicators. The article presents a table, in which the contradictory changes that are the result of a number of managerial influences are demonstrated for economic and social efficiency. A logical formula for determining the effectiveness of changes in the efficiency of the economic system, based on the indices of changes in individual quantitative indicators, is proposed. Criteria are defined that make it possible to quantify each of the blocks determining efficiency: economic, social, and spiritual. An assessment of possible indicators at the macroeconomic and microeconomic level is given. The article formulates a model for establishing the balance (optimum) of individual indicators of the total efficiency of the economic system. This model is based on the balance of economic interests of employers (owners) and social interests of workers, coordinated through culture, which is defined as one of the priorities of spirituality. A formula is proposed that enables the analytical establishment of the optimal (balance) state of the efficiency of the economic system. On the basis of the conducted research, it becomes possible to talk about a fair (reasonable) distribution of value added. In fact, at the theoretical level, an economic model for managing the socio-economic efficiency of the economic system is proposed, which creates the prerequisites for the effective management of the socioeconomic development of an organization in a permanent crisis environment.

Optimization of the Management Process in Conditions of the Political Space Transformation: Methodology of Conflict Analysis

The problematic area of this article relates to the current direction of research searching for optimal management tools in the context of global changes in the geopolitical and economic space, as well as large-scale migration. The existing conditions have an extremely high conflict-generating potential, which requires the development of effective tools to stabilize and monitor the situation, to seek ways of civilized resolution of conflicts and contradictions.
 The purpose of the article is the identification of mechanisms for optimizing the management process in the context of the transformation of the conflict political space. The authors of the article suggest an innovative approach to the analysis of the phenomenon of transformation of political space at the superstructure level, using a conflict paradigm, as well as systemic and structural-functional approaches. For a productive way of studying management technologies in the context of the transformation of political space, a frame analysis is proposed that allows observing the dynamics of events, including the results of management practices, in the form of a temporary event matrix and a generalized scheme of interpretations by the observer.
 The article presents in detail the well-known and new scientific directions dealing with the problems of effective political management, the optimization of the mechanisms for political decision-making, diagnosis, resolution and prevention of conflicts in the socio-economic, ethno-political and other areas, through a comprehensive analysis of the conflictogenesis of a modern socio-political subject. The authors of the article come to the conclusion that the political-administrative elite, the mass media determine the thematization of political-administrative discourse, the dominance in the political media space and the replication of new meanings and symbols. Mechanisms for optimizing the management process, therefore, should be based on developing technologies for managing political risks and emerging spontaneous changes, taking into consideration the presence of unregulated, natural, yet reportable interactions in the sphere of politics, economics and social communications.

The Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Human Rights: What Should ASEAN Do?

This article will argue that there are three related issues of concern regarding the Rohingya crisis: (1) a singular focus on persecution and nationality in Myanmar; (2) statelessness and displacement in the region; and (3) grave human rights violations amounting to international crimes including genocide and crimes against humanity. This article will discuss active steps that ASEAN should take. To ensure that Myanmar will willingly accept the responsibility to address the source of the problem, the international community, particularly ASEAN, has to stand firm against Myanmar’s gross violation of human rights. At the same time, ASEAN must deal with the refugee crisis by formulating a workable regional framework. This article will deal with the underlying conflict paradigm in all refugee issues: how to reconcile state sovereignty vis-á-vis responsibility and how to ensure protection of both human rights and state security.

Assessing the generalizability of eye dominance across binocular rivalry, onset rivalry, and continuous flash suppression.

It is commonly assumed that one eye is dominant over the other eye. Eye dominance is most frequently determined by using the hole-in-the-card test. However, it is currently unclear whether eye dominance as determined by the hole-in-the-card test (so-called sighting eye dominance) generalizes to tasks involving interocular conflict (engaging sensory eye dominance). We therefore investigated whether sighting eye dominance is linked to sensory eye dominance in several frequently used paradigms that involve interocular conflict. Eye dominance was measured by the hole-in-the-card test, binocular rivalry, and breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS). Relationships between differences in eye dominance were assessed using Bayesian statistics. Strikingly, none of the three interocular conflict tasks yielded a difference in perceptual report between eyes when comparing the dominant eye with the nondominant eye as determined by the hole-in-the-card test. From this, we conclude that sighting eye dominance is different from sensory eye dominance. Interestingly, eye dominance of onset rivalry correlated with that of ongoing rivalry but not with that of b-CFS. Hence, we conclude that b-CFS reflects a different form of eye dominance than onset and ongoing rivalry. In sum, eye dominance seems to be a multifaceted phenomenon, which is differently expressed across interocular conflict paradigms. Finally, we highly discourage using tests measuring sighting eye dominance to determine the dominant eye in a subsequent experiment involving interocular conflict. Rather, we recommend that whenever experimental manipulations require a priori knowledge of eye dominance, eye dominance should be determined using pretrials of the same task that will be used in the main experiment.

‘My words were not cared for’: Customary law, criminality and the ‘woman question’ in late colonial India

Drawing upon the court case of one woman sentenced for killing her infant in the early decades of the last century, this article reads Pierre Bourdieu’s insight on how the trial stages conflicts produced in the social realm as a paradox for explaining how British administrators and Indian village officials negotiated non-conflicting codes of sexual and moral conduct on the basis of colonial ideology and locally fixed caste hierarchies to convict women of infanticide. This article argues that a staging of women’s agency is crucial for understanding the colonial conferral of legal subjectivity and for a gendered critique of the Subaltern Studies paradigm of conflict or collaboration as ‘dominance without hegemony.’

The political is personal - everyday lives of women in Israel/Palestine

This study analyzes women's narratives of their experiences in an intractable conflict. Data were obtained from a series of personal interviews of diverse women - Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians citizens of Israel, and Jewish Israelis. Interviewing these women revealed narratives of their everyday life experiences. Analyzing the women's responses to challenges and achievements in the context of severe political conflict, gender hierarchies and traditional societies, in a climate of surrounding armed conflicts was the key to understanding their narratives. This paper challenges the intractable conflict paradigm that emphasizes the zero-sum nature of conflicts. The interviewees presented longings for a safe space and home, but simultaneously demonstrated emotional capacity to look beyond their own ‘side’ of the conflict and to reach out to the ‘other’ side. Our study contributes to the ongoing debate on women's narratives of security and insecurity in conflict zones.

Dissociable roles of the nucleus accumbens D1 and D2 receptors in regulating cue-elicited approach-avoidance conflict decision-making.

Approach and avoidance decisions are made when an animal experiences a state of motivational conflict inflicted by stimuli imbued with both positive and negative valences. The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a site where valenced information and action selection converge, has recently been found to be critically involved in the resolution of approach-avoidance conflict. However, the individual roles of the region's dopamine receptor D1 (D1R)- and D2 (D2R)-expressing medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in regulating conflict resolution have not been well established. Here, we examined the roles of NAc D1R and D2R in cue-elicited approach-avoidance decision-making. Using a conditioned mixed-valence conflict paradigm, rats were initially trained in a radial maze to associate separate visuotactile cues with sucrose reward, foot shock punishment, and no outcome. Following acquisition of the cue-outcome associations, rats were subjected to a conditioned approach-avoidance conflict scenario, in which they were presented with a maze arm containing a superimposition of the reward and punishment cues, and another arm containing neutral cues. Post-training intra-NAc D1R antagonism (SCH23390) led to an avoidance of the arm containing the mixed-valence cue over the neutral arm, whereas intra-NAc D2R antagonism (sulpiride) resulted in rats exhibiting a preference for the mixed-valence arm. Our results suggest that NAc D1R and D2R exert differential control over decision-making involvingcue-elicited approach-avoidance conflict resolution.

Striatopallidal neurons control avoidance behavior in exploratory tasks

The dorsal striatum has been linked to decision-making under conflict, but the mechanism by which striatal neurons contribute to approach-avoidance conflicts remains unclear. We hypothesized that striatopallidal dopamine D2 receptor (D2R)-expressing neurons promote avoidance, and tested this hypothesis in two exploratory approach-avoidance conflict paradigms in mice: the elevated zero maze and open field. Genetic elimination of D2Rs on striatopallidal neurons (iMSNs), but not other neural populations, increased avoidance of the open areas in both tasks, in a manner that was dissociable from global changes in movement. Population calcium activity of dorsomedial iMSNs was disrupted in mice lacking D2Rs on iMSNs, suggesting that disrupted output of iMSNs contributes to heightened avoidance behavior. Consistently, artificial disruption of iMSN output with optogenetic stimulation heightened avoidance of open areas of these tasks, while inhibition of iMSN output reduced avoidance. We conclude that dorsomedial striatal iMSNs control approach-avoidance conflicts in exploratory tasks, and highlight this neural population as a potential target for reducing avoidance in anxiety disorders.

Eliza Haywood’s Empathy: Creating a Narrative Discourse of Her Own

Based on Suzanne Keen’s theory of narrative empathy, this article shows a variety of narrative techniques employed by the famous eighteenth century English woman writer, Eliza Haywood, in the amatory novel of intrigue “Idalia, Or, The Unfortunate Mistress” (1723) to evoke the reader’s empathy. They include character identification, an excessive conflict paradigm, narrative voice, focalization as well as the narrator’s intrusion, known in narratology as metallepsis. The narrative analysis leads to the conclusion that from the addressee-orientated perspective the author creates an ambassadorial emphatic discourse that enables her to communicate thoughts to other members of the women’s community with a view to involving them in the experience of the main character who is vulnerable to sexual desire and betrayal. By doing so, Haywood pursues the goals of not only exercising women readers in “fellow- feeling” but acquiring knowledge about themselves through empathizing, and influencing attitudes to a woman’s limited role in society as well. Keywords: Eliza Haywood; narrative empathy; character identification; narrative situation; ambassadorial narrative strategy

Changing a Paradigm of Conflict Research in a Second Modern

The article analyzes the main models of the conflictological paradigm, namely dyadic and triadic models of conflict. The first is associated with the name of K. Marx and characterizes the First Modern, and the second - the triadic connected – with G. Zimmel, V. Bühle and to a greater extent relates to the Second Modern. In the context of the dyadic model, the conflict occurs between two social groups, while the main reason for their confrontation is highlighted. The triadic model is based on Simmel's idea that three parties can participate in the conflict, and presupposes, in this connection, the ambiguity and plurality of its subjects and causes. Its main thesis: 1) the heterogeneity of the conflicting parties, the complexity of relations within the group involved in the conflict; 2) multidimensionality of the conflict, which simultaneously occurs at different levels; 3) different functions of the conflict; 4) multipolarity of the social space, with different coalitions and with a third party; 5) the conflict should not be considered as a zero-sum game. An important aspect is the understanding of the essence and attitude to social and political revolutions, the crises in the classical and the modern age. Transnationalization and hybridization of the world's space raise the question of the need for topical studies of globalization, as well as conflicts and crises that are being lethal under its influence in modern societies.

Kenneth R. Hammond’s contributions to the study of judgment and decision making

AbstractKenneth R. Hammond (1917–2015) made several major contributions to the science of human judgment and decision making. As a student of Egon Brunswik, he kept Brunswik’s legacy alive – advancing his theory of probabilistic functionalism and championing his method of representative design. Hammond pioneered the use of Brunswik’s lens model as a framework for studying how individuals use information from the task environment to make clinical judgments, which was the precursor to much ‘policy capturing’ and ‘judgment analysis’ research. Hammond introduced the lens model equation to the study of judgment processes, and used this to measure the utility of different forms of feedback in multiple-cue probability learning. He extended the scope of analysis to contexts in which individuals interact with one another – introducing the interpersonal learning and interpersonal conflict paradigms. Hammond developed social judgment theory which provided a comprehensive quantitative approach for describing and improving judgment processes. He proposed cognitive continuum theory which states that quasi-rationality is an important middle-ground between intuition and analysis and that cognitive performance is dictated by the match between task properties and mode of cognition. Throughout his career, Hammond moved easily from basic laboratory work to applied settings, where he resolved policy disputes, and in doing so, he pointed to the dichotomy between theories of correspondence and coherence. In this paper, we present Hammond’s legacy to a new generation of judgment and decision making scholars.

Is interference control in children with specific language impairment similar to that of children with autistic spectrum disorder?

AimsThe purpose of the study was to examine resistance to proactive interference, which is strongly associated with working memory (WM) performance and language processing, in children with specific language impairment (SLI), with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and with typical development (TD). MethodsSixty children (eight to ten years; matched in age and nonverbal IQ) participated in the study. Resistance to proactive interference was measured using a verbal conflict paradigm. ResultsChildren with SLI and ASD show a deficit in resistance to proactive interference compared to their TD peers, but the source of the problem appears to be different for the two clinical groups. The interference problem exhibited by the children with SLI is related to a more complex deficit involving different cognitive-linguistic functions, whereas the children with ASD show a specific problem in cognitive flexibility. ImplicationsThe theoretical implications are that poor resistance to interference may be caused by weaknesses in different WM functions, such as a deficit in updating or responses based on familiarity rather than recollection. The clinical implications are that children with SLI and ASD show distinct patterns of performance; therefore they need different types of intervention to strengthen their resistance to proactive interference.

Opposite effects of binge drinking on consciously vs. subliminally induced cognitive conflicts

Binge-drinking is very prevalent and potentially harmful, yet very little is known about the specificity of its effects on behavior and the underlying neurophysiologic mechanisms. While it is generally accepted that alcohol impairs top-down cognitive control and conflict monitoring, it has remained unclear whether this also applies to subliminally triggered conflicts, as alcohol may not impair automated processes to the same extent.To investigate this, we used a within-subjects design in a sample of n = 22 healthy young male subjects who performed a complex response conflict paradigm while an EEG was recorded. Behavioral data showed that a binge-like intoxication of 1.1‰ increased the response conflict induced by consciously perceived flankers, but paradoxically decreased the response conflict induced by subliminal primes. The latter was found to be reflected in decreased amplitude differences in the visual N1, which reflects attentional aspects of stimulus processing, and the N2 as well as a following central negativity, which are thought to reflect conflict monitoring and cognitive effort. On the neuroanatomical level, we found the decrease in subliminally induced response conflicts to be based on changes in fronto-parietal networks (including BA 7/the precuneus, BA 40/the postcentral gyrus, BA 23 & 24/the cingulate cortex and BA 13/the insular cortex) that subserve attention allocation, the processing of complex stimuli and cognitive conflict.It can be concluded that alcohol intoxication paradoxically reduces subliminally triggered response conflicts, which may be caused by decreased allocation of attention towards less salient/noticeable stimuli.

Understanding The Radicalism Movement In Indonesia: A Conflict Approach to the Rise of Terrorism

There is an ideology in every movement. Of course, that ideology that constructs the pattern of organizational movement. This phenomenon is an assumption in this paper, and will be broadly elaborated . In particularly; This study will describe the genealogy, reason, and patterns of salafism movement in Indonesia. The reason why this study seeks to understand the theme because the movement of salafism in Indonesia has emerged dramatically. It can be understood from the acts of terrorism that occurred. There are at least 4 acts of terrorism in 2000; 3 acts of terrorism in 2001; And 1 acts of terrorism in the 2000 Bali bombing which Is the most dramatic act of terrorism and the bombing action at J.W. Marriot hotel in 2003. These acts of terrorism are facts which suggest that the movement of salafism flourished in Indonesia. The data also encourages the study of why terrorism appears in Indonesia? What are the reasons? What is the root of the movement of salafism in Indonesia?
 The questions above are the research questions. And it all comes from the research paradigm chosen in this study, which is the paradigm of conflict. Assuming that acts of terrorism can be understood as a conflict process. It is not a single process that is the complete reason why terrorism arises, especially in Indonesia. The perspective of Marxism is considered quite possible to explain the factors causing terrorist acts, and the growing of the network in Indonesia. Actually, by using the paradigm of conflict; Violence, and horror acts perpetrated by terrorist networks can be detected why such malicious acts occurred in Indonesia. To analyze the data, this study uses the interpretative. And it's a concern to analyze the conflict between salafism, and others. This process allows the conclusion that the causal factor is the difference in doctrine between terrorism and the others-state, and the notion of neo-liberalism.

Decolonization as reconciliation: rethinking the national conflict paradigm in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

ABSTRACTThis paper argues that thinking about reconciliation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires a paradigmatic shift in conflict analysis. The international community has approached the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a national conflict between Zionism, as the national movement of the Jewish people, and the Palestinian National Movement. The partition plans proposed from before 1947 until the recent “two-state solution” formula have all been based on this assumption. I argue that the premise of national conflict is fundamentally flawed, and, therefore, reaching a settlement based on partition – let alone reconciliation – is becoming increasingly unlikely. A new paradigm (in the Kuhnian sense) is needed that applies a settler-colonial framework to the conflict while also taking into consideration the national component. Reconciliation in this conflict is conceived as decolonization within a transitional justice framework. This approach overcomes major pitfalls in the hegemonic discourse on reconciliation in this conflict, including the symmetrical analysis and psychologizing the process.

THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT AS A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF ASYMMETRIC CONFLICT

The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the most serious conflicts in the post-USSR area. The aim of the article is to present this conflict in the asymmetric paradigm. Features of the conflict have been characterized respectively and the conflict has been interpreted based on the analysis of the legal status of the conflict sides as well as the goals, strategies and resources the sides’ disposition. Referring to the asymmetric conflict paradigm allows for a new interpretation not only of its nature, but also of causes of the current state and the uncertainty regarding its further development.

Community College Faculty Conceptualizations of Shared Governance: Shared Understandings of a Sociopolitical Reality

Objective: This study seeks to deepen understanding of faculty leaders’ perceptions of the concept of shared governance. Moving beyond descriptive considerations of faculty perceptions of efficacy of good or bad governance and the discourse focused on declining faculty involvement and conflict paradigms, I consider governance a co-constructed sociopolitical phenomenon in a neoliberal environment. Method: Qualitative analysis of interviews with 27 faculty from nine community colleges in five states was deconstructed to uncover common themes and understandings. Results: Themes of the importance of the faculty voice, trust and transparency, apathy and disengagement emerged. The findings support recent research which suggests that social and cultural aspects of soft governance are key variables in how faculty conceptualize shared governance. Contributions: The study addresses a gap in the literature in understanding how faculty conceptualize shared governance, and supports findings of recent research that suggest the importance of communication and trust in governance. In addition, the study suggests the need for further research in understanding how faculty are socialized into governance roles.