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The aim of the following analysis is to update academic knowledge about failures of modern asymmetric and irregular conflicts. Basing upon statistical data up to 1998, authors briefly analyse recent interventions and conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to draw conclusions and provide some suggestions on the matter of conducting modern irregular warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between conflict and the effectiveness of work groups. The authors used multi-dimentional models of intra group conflict and performance groups. The first model includes three levels of conflict such as interpersonal conflict (between individuals), microgroup conflict (between some individuals and non formal subgroups within a group) and group conflict (between some individuals and a group). Each of these levels contain within them two types of conflicts -- job conflict and subject conflict. The second model shows two types of performance effectiveness and social effectiveness each of which has certain indicators. Data was collected from 334 workers from 42 groups and from different government and commercial organizations. The research was conducted on computers using 4 respondents connected to a Group Profile Computer Technique. Hypotheses were tested on the connections and levels of conflict with indicators of the two types of performance groups. Results show that job effectiveness according to the assesment of experts has inverse relationship at different levels and types of conflict, however, according to the assesment of group members from two types of microgroup conflict Social effectiveness groups are connected with interpersonal and group conflict. The levels and types of conflict occur based on group and subgroup effectiveness working together in unison and not separately. Four regressive models are highlighted that show the connection between several levels and types of conflict with the indicators of job effectiveness groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the concept of social tension and it potential in conflict diagnosis. There are two parts in the study. The first one describes the concept of social tension. The second one presents methodology of applied study of this phenomenon and results of representative survey which was conducted in 2015 in Saint-Petersburg. The notion of the social tension is quite often seen in connection with conflicts. Different elements of the concept of social tension are considered in the works of T. Parsons, M. Orru, N. Smelser, J. Galtung, E. Stepanov, P. Kukonkov, R. Merton, V. Nagaytsev. Our analysis of modern scientific literature has shown that social tension is addressed in different areas of scientific knowledge and at different levels of society. Social tension is accompanied by the spread of negative sentiments among the population and manifests itself in mass actions. It is recognized as a phenomenon that in one form or another is always present in society. However, to address social tension as purely negative phenomenon is incorrect, because it has positive characteristics as well. The mentioned survey was conducted with the purpose of testing the tools designed for measurement of social tensions in the urban community. For the measurement of social tension were used different indicators: attitude to life in general; attitude to political institutions; attitude to participation in mass protests. Data obtained by the group of authors, help to characterize the current state of the Russian society as a crisis. Indicators of social tension used in our study provide important information about the main types of negative social attitudes and the degree of their spread in different population groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While group and teamwork have become essential to organizations, the complexity of cultural diversity and intra-group interactions among culturally diverse group members have not been examined thoroughly. Moreover, findings reported a few decades ago may not hold true now due to globalization and cultural assimilation of ethnically diverse individuals. This study empirically investigates the relationships between three types of intra-group conflicts (task, process, and relationship) and perceived group performance in culturally diverse work groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study of intergroup behavior through virtual confederates. Explored are bias and conflicts among the studied participants, mentioning the usage of experimental designs which include computer-mediated, paper-and-pencil and face-to-face interaction with other participants. The cognitive process of social categorization is investigated as well as the social identity and engagement of participants in decision-making task. The usage of computer algorithms and computer simulation in analyzing the mental abilities of participants is noted.

This study examines the presentation of self on Facebook by looking at user perceptions and behavior in times of conflict. Through semi-structured interviews with Facebook users, we examined users' perceptions of Facebook as a front stage for social performance as well as the context of conflicts that they experience on Facebook. The findings show that interviewees experience conflicts when they encounter unexpected behaviors from peers that disturb their "performances" on Facebook. Violated norms activate different coping mechanisms, and interviewees often considered the goal of self-presentation when adopting coping mechanisms during online conflicts. We also found that transitions in life situations were related to the heightened concerns of self-presentation. Our study sheds light on the nature of conflicts occurring on Facebook and contributes to our understanding of a user's decision-making process in pursuing the dual goals of impression management and interpersonal relationship maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research into romantic relationships indicates that communication behaviors in response to conflict are at once both influenced by attachment styles, and themselves influence relational outcomes. This study proposed and investigated a model positioning accommodation behaviors as adult attachment behaviors mediating the connection between internal working models and love. Participants completed structured self-report measures of attachment, accommodation, and love within romantic relationships. Results confirmed that secure attachment predicts an increased rate of favorable responses to conflict, and lower usage of damaging ones; whereas, insecure attachment is significantly positively correlated with enactment of fewer constructive and more destructive behaviors. Furthermore, these accommodation strategies also function as predictors of enhanced or reduced feelings of love, especially for Secure and Dismissive profiles. Theoretical and practical coherences provide a basis for framing relationship maintenance strategies as attachment behaviors, while regression analyses support viewing these behaviors as mediators rather than as independent variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popularity of conflict-oriented news programs and ideological blogs elicits worries of increasing political incivility, but the concept of incivility has been understudied in an academic context. Research has linked uncivil mediated messages to decreased political trust, but also to increased levels of arousal, entertainment value, and political interest. The current study builds on previous research by conducting a 2(civil/uncivil message) x 2(television/blog) factorial experiment to compare the effects of uncivil messages mediated through different formats. Statistical tests show no significant relationship between the civility of messages and political trust and no significant moderating effect of communicating incivility through different media. The study finds that participants in the uncivil conditions perceived significantly more entertainment value from both televised and blogged messages than participants in the civil conditions. The implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the importance and role of third-party imagined interactions (TPIIs) in conflict and visualization of plans in communication. It is stated that both TPIIs and Imagined Interactions (IIs) are mental imagery, the only difference occurs that IIs concerns with viewing the self in an interaction whether TPPIIS concerns with viewing others. It further discusses functions, characteristics and conflict situation in TPIIs

The article discusses the possibility that organizations are characterized by distinct conflict cultures and that such conflict cultures have antecedents in leader and member characteristics. Collaborative, dominating and avoidant are revealed by research to be three distinguishable types of conflict culture. It is found that branches with members who are agreeable are apt to develop collaborative conflict cultures while branches with extraverted and disagreeable members are likely to have dominating conflict cultures. Avoidant conflict cultures are also found to be less likely to develop in branches with leaders who are introverted, have a high need for closure, and raised in a household characterized by low levels of conflict avoidance.

The article presents the results of research on conflict between entrepreneurs and angel investors in terms of financial exit strategies, focusing on distinctions between perceived conflict and actual incompatibility. An overview of related previous studies is provided, along with details of the research protocol, which involved surveys of both Belgian and Californian firms. It was found that investors tended to remain invested the longest when they perceived their firms to be exhibiting moderate performance.

We argue in this article that the association between topic avoidance and dissatisfaction in romantic relationships is bi-directional, but that this association probably differs for men and women, especially in situations where the topic avoidance turns into conflict avoidance. We contend in our Standards for Openness Hypothesis that when women are avoiding with their partner and/or they think their partner is avoiding with them, it is more likely to make them dissatisfied than it is men because women have been socialized to maintain and identify problems in their relationships. More specifically, the hypothesis states that the discrepancy between how much people think their partner ought to be open with them (standards) and how much they perceive their partner is really open with them, will predict their dissatisfaction. This will be especially the case for women and will be exacerbated in conflict inducing situations. These standards are grounded in cultural and individual ideals for relationships. Because openness is equated with healthy relationships in the United States culture (Bochner, 1982; Parks, 1982), people are likely to equate avoidance with potential trouble areas in their relationships and ruminate about why they (or their partner) are avoiding, which should make them dissatisfied. We also argue that unmet standards for openness should also reduce women's commitment to their relationship, which should result in relational dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction, in turn, is likely to create an even wider "communication gap" or discrepancy between the standards for openness and reality. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the case of Northern Uganda, a region at the forefront of debates about international versus local mechanisms of justice in societies dealing with conflict and human rights abuses. Using accounts of NGOs and other field practitioners, I explore the foundational principles of justice and reconciliation in Acholi culture, the specific ceremonies and rituals used in Acholi communities, and the potential effectiveness of local justice mechanisms. I argue that local mechanisms hold great potential for helping Northern Uganda to address the effects of their decades-long conflict, but such mechanisms would require significant modification to be most effective. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on academic cheating dates to the turn of the twentieth century with the earliest studies having been conducted in the fields of education and educational psychology (Campbell, 1931; Hartshorne and May, 1928). A 1941 study concluded that a fierce competition for grades feeds the engines of cheating (Drake). Since then it seems the problem has continued to grow, with students placing more emphasis on competition than on academic integrity (Nuss, 1984; Center For Academic Integrity, 2006). Adding to this is the much-written about decline in ethical standards among leaders in both the public and private sector. Enron, Tyco, and WorldComm are but a few contributors to the national conversation on this perceived decline in ethics. Robbins, et al. (1996) that the United States was suffering an ethics crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of over 20,000 teams across 178 studies we meta-analyze the relationships between team diversity, conflict, and team outcomes (performance and morale). Notwithstanding a consistent negative association between conflict and outcomes, we find positive associations between informational-diversity and task conflict, and under certain conditions, task conflict and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined how culture, other-positive, other-negative, self-positive, and self-negative face goals influence individuals' use of three different avoiding behaviors, avoiding as if nothing has happened, avoiding current conflict and future relationship, and avoiding but seeking future revenge. Participants (US: N = 394; China: N = 259) reacted to created conflict scenarios. Several major findings resulted from this study. First, the main effects of national culture were quite strong in predicting the three avoiding behaviors in interpersonal conflict. Chinese were more likely than U.S. Americans to avoid the conflict as if nothing has happened or avoid future relationships with the other party in the conflict. Moreover, culture interacted with self-positive and other-negative face goals or self-negative and other-negative face goals to influence the use of avoiding future relationship and avoiding but seeking future revenge strategies. Self-negative and other-negative face goals were found to affect the use of avoiding as if nothing has happened and avoiding future relationships, whereas the other-positive face goal was found to affect the use of avoiding future relationships and avoiding but seeking revenge. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Revisiting Media in Conflict: In Search of Peacebuilding Media Most studies that explore the relationship between wars and media focus on the role of propaganda for war promotion. The frequent hypothesis in the literature claims considerable impact of media on the promotion of war. Assuming media have played an important role in inciting violence, it seems logical to examine the prospects for the reverse perspective - media's contribution to violence cessation or conflict resolution. Therefore, this study attempts to document the efforts of positive engagement of mass media (peacebuilding media) in peace processes. This study documents media projects from 18 countries, 13 conflict sites and generates a total of about forty peacebuilding media efforts. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was conducted of 218 children in kindergarten through sixth grade regarding their fright reactions to violence, war, and conflict in the news. Results showed that 35.3% of children reported being frightened by the news. In spite of its topical prominence, war was rarely mentioned spontaneously. Reporting on what frightened them in their own words, the most frequent news topics were natural disasters (24.7% of children frightened by news), followed by kidnappings (10.4%), the War in Iraq (7.8%) and burglaries (7.8%0); 33.8% of frightened children referred to people being hurt or killed. Family rules and the home viewing environment were generally unrelated to news exposure and fear from news. Implications for parental guidance and research methods are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from a 2005 representative sample of 1,785 working adults in the 50 United States, we examine the association between job authority and three core forms of relational conflict in the workplace: being the target of gossip, being unfairly blamed or criticized for problems, and having to deal with the sloppy or incompetent work of others. In addition, we examine gender- and age-contingent patterns in these focal associations. Overall, we observe a positive association between job authority and all three forms of relational conflict. Moreover, significant gender and age contingencies indicate that these associations are the strongest among younger workersâ?”especially men. We also examine the influence of occupation, job sector, role-set multiplicity, and work conditions as potential explanatory mechanisms. In this effort, we have sought to contribute to a previously undocumented social epidemiology of relational conflict among American workers. Our observations have implications for theoretical views on social variations in the interpersonal costs of power in the workplace. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A content analysis was conducted of eight newspapers in four countries to better understand the role that conflict plays in newspaper reporting of Christians and Muslims. Six variables were tested: conflict frame, violence, religion's relationship to violence, discrimination, intolerance, and conflict with the legal system. The English-language newspapers shared remarkably similar values when it came to associating Islam with conflict and violent, but significant differences arose in the French and Turkish newspapers, especially in their reporting on Christianity. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since March 20, 2003, the United States has officially found itself within an international armed conflict with Iraq. Although this mission was declared accomplished by the President of the United States, on May 1, 2003, it is evident that the conflict itself has not yet ended. The purpose of this paper is to engage theories of inter-group conflict, in order to gain a better understating of the current conflict between the United States and Iraq. Previous research indicates that some authors equate competition over resources with conflict and treat the two concepts interchangeably (Sherif 1963). Other authors make a distinction between competition and conflict, stating that competition is not a necessary precursor to conflict (Mack 1965). Authors also propose different explanations for causes leading to conflict. A complete analysis of the current war cannot exclude any of these theories. Indeed they are all necessary. This current conflict cannot be boiled down to a single cause. Both subjective and objective (or realistic and unrealistic) analyses are necessary in order to fully understand the complexities of the current situation. Not only is competition over resources a component of this conflict, but so is inter-group bias. The current conflict is complex and reducing to a simple matter of sheer competition over resources or caused solely by prejudice, would be simplistic and irresponsible. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Call of the Wild: the Cultural Re-enchatment of Narture is a study in cultural sociology about how the environmental and animal rights movements of the past 35 years have revived and devloped a romantic concept of nature, namely that the land and its creatures are in some sense "sacred" or "enchanted." In this culture, landscapes, trees, coral reefs, and all kinds of animals are seen as having intrinsic value and integrity and participate in a larger, transcendent spirit or mystery of nature. In the most extreme formulations, writers and activists resurrect a fully animistic concept of nature. This new culture of enchantment breaks from what classical sociologists such as Marx, Weber, and Durkheim saw as fundamental, irreversible processes of modernization, secularization, rationalization, and dis-enchantment. As modern society developed, the land and animals were conceptualized as inert resources for human use, without any kind of consciousness, intrinsic value, or spiritual significance. Call of the Wild, a manuscript under contract with Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt, Inc., shows how the onpoing cultural re-enchantment of the past 30 years challenges this pattern. What different landscapes and wild animals mean are now openly contested and have become a source of tremendous cultural, political, and social conflicts. (The dispute over oil drilling in ANWR is but one example.) My paper will outline the basic ideas and themes of my book. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In former work we showed that, compared to analyzing intergenerational solidarity and conflict separately, combining solidarity and conflict extends our understanding of adult child-parent relationships (Van Gaalen & Dykstra, submitted paper). Inspired by Bengtson and colleagues (1996; 2001), we developed a typology of adult child-parent relationships by including levels and types of both solidarity and conflict in one analysis. Using latent class analysis, we found 40% sociable (high solidarity/low conflict), 29% bargaining (high solidarity/high conflict), 16% habitual (medium solidarity/medium conflict) relationships, as well as 11% intimate-but-distant (medium solidarity/low conflict) and 4% detached (low solidarity/medium conflict) relationships. We now aim to investigate under what conditions different combinations of solidarity and conflict between adult children and their parents occur. In this paper, we firstly model these conditions considering the exchange of support, defined by the needs and opportunities the child and the parent have, focussing on exchange mechanisms regarding geographic distance, resources, fate control, gender and social substitutes. Second, we consider the social embeddedness of parents and children in the relationship itself and in the kinship network as a whole, using multi-actor data of a large number of ties per family. We apply multinomial logit regression analysis and use data from the highly innovative data set 'The Netherlands Kinship Panel Study' (NKPS; 2004; N=5,000). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of cultural diversity on relationship, process, and task conflict and on group outcomes in 76 science research groups. The results show that cultural diversity, defined as group members' dissimilarity in terms of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism, is mediated by the three conflict variables. The findings support the often untested contention that cultural diversity is a hotbed for group conflict and can result in sub-optimal group outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the roles that brokers play in teams, particularly with respect to the providing expertise and conflict handling behavior. Based on the data from a virtual database design team working in a major U.S. defense contracting organization, we found that brokers are seen as contributing more expertise to the team than other team members; however, expertise ratings varied by type of brokerage with gatekeepers and coordinators seen as having greater expertise than consultants and representatives. Our results also indicate a key role for brokers as self-appointed conflict handlers in teams. Contrary to previous research, our results suggest brokers may play a facilitative, rather than a self-interested role in organizations. We consider the implications of our findings for team development, especially for virtual teams where more informal linkages among members are impossible, and propose further research to explore possible tensions between pro-social and self-interested behavior among brokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section presents abstracts of several papers on conflict management. Some of the papers include "Knowing Your Place: Self-Perceptions of Status in Social Groups," which focuses on the impact of social categorization and disagreement on individuals' affective and cognitive reactions in decision-making settings; "The Impact of Social Similarity on Affective and Cognitive Reactions to Opinion Conflict," about how workers interact and resolve conflicts in businesses; and "Are Prime Movers More Powerful? Evidence from Experiments on Competitive Choice and Interaction," which examines the effect of outside options on trust and trustworthiness.

The article explores lay perspectives of misunderstanding. Misunderstandings were negative, ranging from mildly unpleasant to severely troublesome. Consequences ranged from ending a relationship to heated conflict. More importantly, misunderstandings were negative differences. The misunderstandings can be understood as voids or chasms separating friends or romantic partners. The widest chasm was called fundamental misunderstanding. This involves people who are essentially different. It can be characterized as a form of dislike.

The author discusses his study of interpersonal relationships in organizations in Hong Kong, China. The author says that something different is happening in Hong Kong organizations. It was found that conflict and competition are much more pervasive than thought, while harmony behaviors are chiefly explained by instrumental motivations. It is not accurate to describe Hong Kong Chinese as conflict avoidant and non-competitive because it misses ways wherein conflict and competition take place.

Using the chilling effect research as a framework, this study aimed to show the significance binge drinking could play in suppressing grievances in both romantic and close platonic relationships (n = 317). Results demonstrated the association between binge drinking and chilling effects, although this link was only seen in friendships. Chilling effects were found to be related to low partner commitment levels, chilling effects due to regrettable incidents following binge drinking were stronger in platonic than romantic relationships, and males and females did not differ in their chilling responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do firm-stakeholder conflicts escalate? I propose that how firms manage stakeholder relationships affects the likelihood of conflict. This paper reports a comparative case study of companies implementing cash-balance pension plans. Companies that encouraged stakeholder participation and actively contested the policy experienced less stakeholder conflict than companies that did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores conflict in older women's friendships and its impact on health (aged 55 and older; median age, 67; range 55 to 85 years). We know a fair amount about the salutary effects of women's friendships; however, there is little scholarly research about the manifestations and health effects of conflict. This project begins to fill the gap by giving voice to older women's understandings of health, their understandings of friendship, and the relationship between conflict, friendship, and health. Older women are intensively interviewed about their friendship- and health-histories. They speak in rich and varied terms about the conflicts they experience in their friendships, the loss of past friendships, reciprocity and imbalance, and the effect teasing, disagreements, disapproval, and quarrels on their health and well being. Using a grounded theory methodology, their words lead to concepts that provide new avenues of exploration for scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is an examination of interpersonal conflict using meaning-based attributions about messages. The processes associated with making attributions about one's own messages and the messages communicated by others are explored. We sought to validate an underlying assumption of attribution processes -- that message making is a common form of human behavior, therefore, we should attribute messages to ourselves and others as a part of making sense out of our interpersonal interactions and relationships, regardless of whether or not those messages were actually communicated during an exchange. Participants completed surveys after a conflict with either a friend or romantic relationship partner that included both scales measuring power, interdependence and satisfaction, and open-ended questions about their perceptions of the conflict and the message strategies enacted by both themselves and their partner. The responses were coded using a typology of compliance-gaining strategies. Results indicate a large degree of consistency in the responses of participants, and that emotional reactions to the conflict are overwhelmingly negative. However, the results also suggest that conflict participants are able to make message-based attributions about their partner's behavior during the conflict as well as their own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road rage is a type of interpersonal conflict episode. The ways in which drivers use their vehicles to rectify other people's offensive driving implicates the symbolic nature of road rage. Participants offered detailed accounts of recent road rage experiences. These were coded to portray the precipitating actions, behavioral responses, emotional reactions, and attributions that people might have for their own and other people's driving behavior. Results indicate that people largely rely on Vehicular Communication (e.g., tailgating, honking the horn), Aggressive Communication (e.g., obscene gestures, threats), and Avoidance (e.g., ignore the other person) to manage road rage episodes. Emotional reactions included anger, fear, surprise, and relief. Not surprisingly, participants largely reported that the road rage episode was the responsibility of the other driver and reflected features of the other person that are stable, internal, global, intentional, and blameworthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to assess how the perceptions of another's emotional state influences cognitive processes, especially regarding conflict episodes. When people interact, especially during conflict episodes, they attempt to make sense of the other's behavior. Perceptions of an emotional state may greatly influence the nature of these cognitions. Through an experimental design in which the emotion felt (anger, fear, guilt, or control) and behavior (avoidant, distributive, or integrative conflict strategies) were varied, we examined the moderating effect that emotion had on assessments of communication competence, conversational satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction and stability. For avoidant conflict strategies, findings support this hypothesis in that people who were believed to be guilty or fearful were judged to be less effective in terms of the outcome of the interaction that people who were believed to be angry, or those in the control condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to articulate a framework that depicts factors contributing to integrative conflict resolution. The integrative strategy and third-party mediation receive special attention in this paper because these two strategies shed light on breeding cooperation and resolving conflict. The following factors inherent in conflict are investigated as an analytical framework: the source ad nature of conflict, the level of conflict and participants involved, power and resource, the role of time and relation continuity, and cost and consequence. Moreover, the perspective of cross-cultural psychology is adopted with emphasis on individualistic and collectivistic cultural syndromes, for further understanding cultural factors contributing to conflict resolution. Essentially, the Far-eastern culture that emphasizes authority, order, harmony, loyalty and personal relationship and guanxi, in contrast to American tradition that values individualism, goal attainment, constructive conflict, and independent-self orientation, help explain the nuances and complexity of the cross-cultural conflict resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work-family conflict and expatriate adjustment are burgeoning areas of inquiry in the management literature. In this study we examine the antecedents and performance related outcomes of work-family conflict in a sample of expatriates. Using multiple source data (expatriates, spouses, and colleagues) in this study, our results demonstrate that both work and family variables contribute to work-family conflict. However, it is family interference with work conflict that emerges as the sole predictor of lower performance effort on the job. As a further extension of the extant work-family conflict and expatriate literatures, we performed exploratory tests using Big Five personality variables as moderators of the relationship between work-family conflict and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed and validated a multi-dimensional measure of work-family conflict. The six dimensions of conflict measured include time, strain, and behavior crossed with work interference with family and family interference with work. Content adequacy, dimensionality, reliability, factor structure invariance, and construct validity of the scale were assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research suggests that task conflict is often constructive, while relationship conflict is destructive. The two conflict types are intercorrelated in ongoing groups, however, which creates a prescriptive dilemma. We propose that trust moderates this relationship by affecting conflict interpretation processes. Data from 79 top management teams supports our hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically found that the quality of group decisions is determined by the quality of group resources and the degree to which group members exchange facts and reasons and refrain from positional arguments, and that the Consensual Conflict Resolution intervention modified the group verbal behavior, thereby improved group effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidimensional scaling techniques were used to inductively derive the dimensions necessary to represent peoples' cognitive interpretations of conflict (i.e., conflict frames). The resulting configuration consisted o f three dimensions: 1) Relationship vs. Task; 2) Emotional vs. Intellectual; and 3) Compromise vs. Win. In comparison to disputants, mediator interpretations were more likely to be viewed in relationship, compromise terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compromising is represented as an intermediate mode in terms of cooperativeness and assertiveness. However people view compromising as highly cooperative and assertive. Data are reported which suggest that compromising is not a unitary phenomenon but a loosely structured concept which people interpret according to their preference for cooperation or competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much emphasis has been placed on building closer relationships between buyers and sellers and the virtues of relationship marketing (Morgan and Hunt 1994; Palmatier, Dant, Grewal, and Evans 2006). However, relatively little attention has been paid to issues surrounding relationship dissolution (Dwyer and Tanner 2009; Ping and Dwyer 1992). Relationships among companies do not necessarily last forever and various factors can result in the termination of collaborative relationships (Oh, Kang, and Kim 2004). Relationship dissolution can be the result of a failure of the relationship process. We use social exchange theory (Blau 1964) to develop our conceptual framework. We examine four key unexplored drivers of relationship dissolution intent, namely, conflict, unfairness, goal incongruity, and trust. Our framework and model examines the effect of and interaction between conflict, unfairness, goal incongruity and trust as it shapes the intent of a party to exit a relationship. Our conceptual model is tested using a sample survey from the Korean dairy industry. Three hundred sixty completed responses were obtained using an online survey. Multi-item measures from the existing literature were modified where appropriate to measure the constructs. All constructs exhibited strong composite reliability (0.77 to 0.90) and coefficient alpha reliability (0.76 to 0.90). The factor loadings provide strong evidence of convergent validity. All constructs had average variance extracted greater than 0.50 and Fornell and Larcker's (1981) test was used to provide evidence of discriminant validity. Common method variance testing using Harmon's one factor approach indicated no problems as well (Podsakoff et al. 2003). Results indicate support for the posited hypotheses. The research empirically verifies the role of goal incongruence, conflict, unfairness, and trust in shaping dissolution intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the paper "Understanding Latent Conflict in Marketing Teams," by Ruth Maria Stock and Martin Klarmann is presented.

Social systems perpetuate themselves and fight to ensure their survival. Whether they are multinational corporations or small nuclear families, each social system attempts to create some mechanism through which it can maintain a semblance of cohesion. Notwithstanding the amount of success enjoyed by any system which has this task, it is the rare one that easily surrenders to forces which would tear it apart. How social systems, particularly religious systems, protect themselves from these divisive forces is the focal point of this article. For the particular church whose conflict is the focus of this paper managing the brewing levels of dissension and dissatisfaction that resulted became critically important. The goal of this research is to analyze the changes in public discourse that took place within this historic church as it fought to overcome the conflict that threatened its destruction. Prayers, sermons, and comments made by officiating ministers reflected the church community's attempt to maintain a tolerable level of conflict and remain a cohesive community. This ethnographic account provides insight into how this was accomplished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has shown that conflict and bizarre human-interest stories are often staples of foreign news reporting. In recent years, there has also been a growing trend to sensationalize foreign news coverage, especially in terms of the way it is presented on television. This paper compares foreign and domestic news in terms of several indicators of sensationalism and conflict: topics: "actors," graphics, animation, background music, slow and speeded up motion, repetition of visuals, gory visuals, soft focus, color change, and extreme emotion. We assume that, in order to attract viewers and keep them tuned to foreign news, conflict and sensational news themes and their presentation styles are played up more in foreign than in domestic news. In addition, increasing media privatization and competition among commercial television channels in many countries seems to be sensationalizing the news. Thus the paper also examines potential differences between commercial and public service stations in terms of the ways they cover foreign news events. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A content analysis was conducted of media releases and media reports relating to a series of sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy in 2002 to investigate the effectiveness of image repair strategies and the usefulness of contingency theory perspectives in crisis management. The study found that communicating during crises is a dialectic process where the conflict of the situation serves to change the perspectives of the institution and the media as the crisis proceeds. Findings also suggested that a proactive approach was most effective in generating positive media coverage. Bolstering was the most effective image repair strategy while apologizing was ineffective. Looking at crises as something that can be managed ignores the complexity of crisis situations. The study suggests a complexity approach to crises might better prepare communicative entities to deal with a crisis. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though much is known about the use of violence during intimate partner conflicts, relatively less is known about the content and context of such conflicts. The marital interaction literature addresses the content and context of intimate conflicts in terms of demand-withdraw conflict patterns, wherein one partner places a demand on the other partner, who in turn, withdraws and avoids (Caughlin & Vangelisti, 2000). However, the validity of demand-withdraw conflict patterns has not been assessed in dating, college populations. Additionally, men and women may differ in their reports of why a given conflict occurred, who was to blame for the conflict, and what about the conflict made it worse than other conflicts. The current study addresses these conflict-related variables using both self-report data and personal narratives from a culturally diverse college sample (N = 107). Overall, survey data indicate that the top three reasons cited for 'what caused the fight' did not differ by gender, and include: disrespect or inconsideration, lying, and cheating or flirting with others. However, there were gender differences in reports of one's own jealousy. Specifically, women were much more likely than men to attribute the worst conflict to their own jealousy. No gender differences were found for reports of partner jealousy, as males and females were equally likely to attribute the worst conflict to their partner's jealousy. Of the full sample, 50 narratives were qualitatively reviewed that were in response to the open-ended questions: What did I do that made this fight the worst fight? What did my partner do to make this fight the worst fight? Unlike the survey self-report data, the narratives suggested that men and women differed thematically. The general response themes of females' narratives suggest that women more often attribute the severity of the conflict to their partner's infidelity and partner's withdrawal, as well as their own jealousy related to both perceived infidelity and being ignored. These themes are not indicated in male narratives, as males more often cite their partners' emotional demands, or their own responses to such emotional demands to explain why the selected conflict was experienced as the worst. Although roughly 40% reported experiencing and perpetrating minor physical violence sometime in the past, only one woman and only two men reported their worst conflict as being violent. Why neither men nor women select a violent episode, gender differences in reasons cited for the worst conflict, along with thematic differences in narratives and demand-withdraw conflict patterns will be discussed, as will be implications of how these gender differences map onto the power differentials between men and women. The importance of using mixed methods to study interpersonal relationships will also be discussed. At time of presentation, we plan on completing the coding of all narratives and strengthening analyses by adding commentary on potential cultural similarities and differences in how conflicts are constructed. REFERENCECaughlin, J.P. & Vangelisti, A.L. (2000). An individual difference explanation of why married couples engage in the demand/withdraw pattern of conflict. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17, 523-552. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When confronting a relational partner's problematic behavior, individuals vary with regard to how directly they express their relational complaints. This study examined the relationship between belief in mindreading and the type of grievance expression between romantic partners. Among a sample of undergraduate daters, belief in mindreading was positively related to the self-reported use of the silent treatment to transmit relational grievances. Belief in mindreading was also positively correlated with becoming increasingly upset if the partner fails to realize there is a problem and to report becoming verbally aggressive toward them. When angered by a partner, belief in mindreading was positively related to responding to a partner's queries about whether there is a problem by stonewalling and admonishing the partner. Contrary to expectations, when angered, belief in mindreading was positively related to disclosing the problem to the partner. Study limitations and future research implications are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the characteristics of irresolvable interpersonal conflicts. It compares iirresolvable conflicts to resolvable and resolved conflicts on each of Coleman's common social psychological factors associated with intractable conflicts. Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to complete questionnaires about an irresolvable conflict, a resolvable conflict or a resolved conflict. Participants reported on conflicts in romantic relationships or parental relationships.