Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Romantic Resilience: Fractal Conflict Dynamics And Network Flexibility Predict Dating Satisfaction And Commitment, David Pincus

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Previous research has demonstrated that interpersonal dynamics are fractal, and that conflict is a key control parameter that drives fractal complexity. The present study aimed to extend this line of research to examine the putative fractal structure of conflict dynamics over time, and the role that this self-organizing fractal structure may play in the resilience of romantic relationships. An experience sampling methodology was used to assess levels of conflict, satisfaction, and commitment in the dating relationships of undergraduate students, three times per day for 30 days. Hypothesis 1 was supported, with conflict ratings over time generally conforming to an inverse …

Employing Multi-Agent Ai To Model Conflict And Cooperation In Northern Ireland, Katherine O'Lone, Michael Gantley, Justin E. Lane, F. Leron Shults

New England Journal of Public Policy

In this article, we outline the development of a multi-agent artificial intelligence (MAAI) model for post-conflict Northern Ireland. We discuss the insights it provides into the primary drivers of conflict and cooperation in the post-Agreement era. Analyses reveal that leading drivers of cooperation in the model are fairness and sadness, while the main drivers of conflict are related to anxiety and perceived moral authority. We examine these findings in the context of previous computational modeling efforts in Northern Ireland, the social psychological literature on intergroup conflict, and the current geopolitical landscape. We conclude by advocating for the application of this …

Going Nuclear: Conflict Transformation In Asia, Hariharan Murugesan

Student Theses and Dissertations

On July 16th, 1945, codenamed “Trinity,” the world’s first nuclear bomb was detonated, releasing 18.6 kilotons of energy, morphing the sand in the Alamo Desert into green sheet glass.

International relations and its study were fundamentally changed with the creation of nuclear weapons. Mutually Assured Destruction, aptly shortened to MAD became a prevailing theory that tried to explain why countries would acquire nuclear weapons but would never use them; overtime, through various frameworks and treaties, the world tried to control the spread of nuclear weapons, and since 2006, only nine countries have succeeded in creating nuclear weapons, and yet interestingly …

Conflict Within Wildlife Management On Western Landscapes Home On The Range, Trisha A. Hedin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Most of the public lands within the Intermountain West are administered under a multiple-use mandate which emphasizes striking a balance in land use planning among the potentially competing values of livestock grazing, timber production, water supply, extraction of valuable fossil fuels, wildlife, and wilderness. This research sought to dive into a few of these competing values that involve large herbivores that compete for limited forage resources such as livestock and wildlife, on public lands, but also touched upon wildlife on private lands. The first component of research looked specifically at the coexistence of wildlife and livestock on both public and …

Navigating The Threat Posed By The Chinese Communist Party, Adam Opp

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

For decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the economic growth of China has become a threat to the United States. Beginning in 1978, the CCP issued a series of economic, market-oriented reforms which led to a period of economic growth and productivity increase in China. The CCP turned to diplomacy with the United States and other nations to increase foreign investment and implemented the Belt and Road initiative. The impressive scale of Chinese economic growth poses an economic and hegemonic threat to the United States, as China’s economy is projected to outpace the United States and the CCP has …

A Phenomenological Study Of Church Polity And Its Impact On Pastoral Leadership And Congregational Health, Travis L. Biller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is reported that deacon-led churches produce conflict and high pastoral turnover (Harbuck, 2018; Payne, 1996). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how a church governance structure impacts a pastor’s ability to lead, the health of the church, and pastoral retention. The experiences of pastors from deacon-led churches were evaluated for clusters of meaning and compared with the experiences of pastors who serve under an elder-led model of leadership. Nine interviews were conducted—five pastors from deacon-led churches and four from elder-led churches. This study approached the phenomenological design from an interpretive, or hermeneutical approach to understand the …

Review Of Our Brains At War: The Neuroscience Of Conflict And Peacebuilding, Laura Sinville

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Cli-Fi And Class: Socioeconomic Justice In Contemporary American Climate Fiction, Kyhl Lyndgaard

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Review Of Water Management And Violent Conflict In East Africa: Scarcity And Security In Kenya And Uganda, Ken Conca

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

A Short Supplemental Reading List For The Environment: Issues In Justice, Conflict And Peacebuilding, Ronald Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Guns, Bombs, And Pollution: Unraveling The Nexus Between Warfare, Terrorism, And Ecological Devastation In Iraq, Hogr Tarkhani

The Journal of Social Encounters

Iraq's environment has experienced significant pollution and degradation, earning it the dubious distinction of being one of the most polluted and degraded regions globally, according to the Globe Pollution Review. The past three decades of armed conflict have exacted a heavy toll on the country, resulting in widespread human suffering, including countless fatalities, injuries, and a massive displacement of people. Amidst this death and destruction, the ecosystem has also endured severe damage, and its decline carries long-lasting implications.

The environmental crisis in Iraq has been worsened by the presence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) and various …

Opening Remarks For The 34th Annual Peace Studies Conference, Dr. Brian Bruess

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Introduction: The Environment: Issues In Justice, Conflict And Peacebuilding, Ronald Pagnucco

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Against Conflict, Against Occupation: Protest Songs In India And Kashmir, Mridula Sharma

Comparative Woman

The establishment of All India Progressive Writers’ Association in colonial India encouraged artists to articulate and examine social realities. Literary-cultural productions, particularly popular songs in Hindi films, in independent India continued to remain preoccupied with social conflicts such as religious bigotry and communalism. Sahir Ludhianvi’s “Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye” (trans. “What can one gain, even if one gains this world?,” 1958 ) and “Yeh Kiska Lahu Hai, Kaun Mara” (trans. “Whose Blood Has Spilled? Who Died?,” 1961) are early examples of a lasting tide of pessimism owing to communal violence during the 1947 India-Pakistan …

Is Inflation Caused By Conflict?, Nicolas Cachanosky, Emilio Ocampo

Hunt Institute Working Paper Series

We offer a critique of a paper recently published Lorenzoni and Werning (2023) that seeks to make an original contribution to the hypothesis that inflation is primarily caused by conflict and reconcile the Post-Keynesian and New-Keynesian traditions. L&W’s paper has two sections. In the first they develop a barter model that allows them to prove that inflation can occur with conflict and without money. In the second section they incorporate the conflict hypothesis into a broader framework compatible with New Keynesian models. We question the logical consistency and empirical validity of the barter model and the testability of the model …

Experimental Research On Contests, Subhashish M. Chowdhury, Dan Kovenock, Anwesha Mukherjee

ESI Working Papers

Contests are situations in which agents compete by irreversibly expending costly resources in an attempt to win a prize. Due to their applications in conflict, rent-seeking, organizational incentives, sports, litigation, and political campaigns, contests are widely applied in the social sciences. In this survey we summarize some main results and recent developments of experimental studies in contest theory. We also point out their broader applications in the social sciences.

Tigray Conflict And Political Development In Ethiopia: Assessing Governance, Political Participation And Human Rights., Olileanya Amuche Ezugwu, Moses M. Duruji

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

The escalation of intra-state conflicts in Africa has assumed an endemic nature, posing a challenge to regional stability. Conflicts have the capacity to not only cause physical destruction to individuals and property, but also impede the establishment and maintenance of the rule of law, undermine the legitimacy of states, and pose a threat to institutional structures. This paper examines the effect of the Tigray conflict on the political development of Ethiopia: election, political participation and human rights. The objectives of the study include examining the extent the Tigray conflict affected the political development of Ethiopia and efforts made to resolve …

Leveraging Devolution As A Pathway To The Management Of Homegrown Extremism Over Intractable Land-Use Conflicts In Chepyuk Settlement Schemes, Kenya, Graham Oluteyo Amakanji, Pontian G. Okoth, Edmond Maloba Were

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

In an era where globalization is producing homogeneity, ethnic differences continue to produce some of the most violent conflicts. Indeed, the post-cold war period was marked by a decline in interstate contestations. However, violent intra-state contestations have been on the upsurge. These are projected to further rise in the next two decades. Population explosion, urbanization, deteriorating land quality and adverse effects of climate change are set to catalyse these contestations. The African Continent is set to bear the brunt of these contestations. Rooted in a long historical quest for land rights spanning over 100 years, the carnage violent inter-communal conflicts …

A Road Map For Place Based Collaboration For Conflict Reduction, Joseph L. Zecher

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Its Effects On Conflicts, Ann Lalicker

Journal of Global Awareness

Over the last 50 years, scientists studied the Earth’s warming temperatures and the resulting effects. Although climate change is not a new concept in current events, the consequences it has on exacerbating growing tensions and sustaining violent and nonviolent situations are less widely discussed. Of course, conflicts, internal or international, and their causes are multifaceted and cannot just be explained by one factor alone. However, climate change has a definite role in creating tensions that lead to violent or nonviolent conflict, including famine and displacement, as well as war. Although this rapid climate change is relatively recent in human history, …

Food And Commensality In Non-State Armed Groups: The Case Of The Lord's Resistance Army In Northern Uganda, 1987-2008, Eunice Otuko Apio Dr

Peace and Conflict Studies

The subfield of food and eating practices has registered a significant volume of theoretical and empirical studies. However, there is very limited research targeting non-state armed groups. This article contributes to understanding the nuanced role of food and eating practices (or commensality) in conflict, and its significance in the construction and sustenance of sense of community in non-state armed groups that use particularly elaborate means of indoctrination to build a following. Drawing on the case of northern Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that thrived on mass abduction of children, youth and women between 1987 and 2008, this article argues that …

Living Among Wildlife: Elevating Human-Wildlife Interactions And Coexistence, Bridget Rebecca Murphy

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

After a semester of learning, both in class and in nature, my writing honed in further on this human-nature divide. To me, I see humans as part of nature – as we are mammals, animals, part of the food chain, biological beings no higher than others on our planet. We have simply constructed this false narrative around us within our societies, minds and media that embeds this division between us and nature, between us and wildlife. Humans have been managing, stewarding, living off and within landscapes for thousands of years. As time and technology evolved, a lot of people began …

Experiences Of Appalachian People With Conflicting Christian And Lgbtq+ Identities, Zacharias Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of six LGBTQ+ individuals living in Appalachia who have felt conflict between their LGBTQ+ and Christian identities. Using data from six one-on-one intensive interviews, the study examines the various kinds of conflict participants experienced, the strategies they used to manage those conflicts, and the role that Christianity played in their lives. The author found that participant conflicts were grounded in struggles to find acceptance from others while living authentically, to reconcile ideological disputes with the church, and to accept themselves as LGBTQ+ and/or Christian. Included among their various management strategies were finding accepting people and …

Competencies Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Agents Need To Manage Conflict In Master Gardener Programs, Jayla Brook Fry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agents manage volunteer programs with vast efforts in public education. Volunteer programs such as the Texas Master Gardener program are significant to the public because they provide a service by educating people in horticulture and related topics. Extension agents oversee volunteer programs such as the Master Gardener program. The Texas Master Gardener program is comprised of more than 9,000 volunteers who give over 500,000 hours of service to their communities. When there are misaligned goals or personality conflicts, it may impact the program’s mission and educational efforts. Extension agents must manage those situations to retain the …

Israel-Palestine Conflict, Gabriel Mott

Critical Questions

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a powerful surprise attack on the state of Israel, killing more than one thousand people. While this may represent a spike in violence, it is not the beginning. Tensions have existed on the West Bank since the onset of World War I, while a series of negotiations, third party interventions, and frequent violence has exacerbated the problem in the following decades. With this in mind, this Critical Question identifies key actors in the conflict, the history and progression of the conflict, and reasonable predictions for the future of the conflict in the Middle East.

Res Communis Omnium V. Res Nullius In U.S. Space Mining Law & Policy: A Multilevel Theoretical Analysis Of U.S. Public Policy On Space Minerals Mining Under Title Iv, §51301- §403, U.S. 2015 Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (Public Law 114-90) & Its Implications For International Space Law Under Articles I & Ii, 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Samuel Chuks Japhets

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The outer space territory and celestial bodies are unfathomably rich in strategic mineral resources worth trillions of dollars such as water ice, helium-3, platinum, iron, cobalt, and ammonia. These space resources, distinct from their space territorial and celestial bodies loci, need to be located, characterized, captured, processed, concentrated, and transported to points of use in-situ or on Earth by capable state and private space investors, stakeholders, or national agencies, for private benefits. Investors in this embryonic space mining industry need legal certainty and predictability under unambiguous legal and policy frameworks that guarantee property interests over extracted minerals. The Problem is …

Religion And Growth, Sascha O. Becker, Jared Rubin, Ludger Woessmann

ESI Working Papers

We use the elements of a macroeconomic production function—physical capital, human capital, labor, and technology—together with standard growth models to frame the role of religion in economic growth. Unifying a growing literature, we argue that religion can enhance or impinge upon economic growth through all four elements because it shapes individual preferences, societal norms, and institutions. Religion affects physical capital accumulation by influencing thrift and financial development. It affects human capital through both religious and secular education. It affects population and labor by influencing work effort, fertility, and the demographic transition. And it affects total factor productivity by constraining or …

Doing Business And Contributing To Conflict Prevention And Development In Ghana, Abdul Karim Issifu, Musa Essuman, Felix Dade

Journal of Global Business Insights

While some scholars argue that companies implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) for altruistic reasons, to gain an advantage over rivals in the industry, to enhance corporate reputation, and to be seen as ethical for addressing environmental and socio-economic difficulties, other scholars view CSR as unnecessary. These scholars argue that CSR initiatives adversely affect corporate profits. The understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete, especially with the lack of empirical understanding about why corporate bodies execute CSR in spite of their primary goal of maximizing profits. To better understand this gap in knowledge, this case study of the Newmont Ghana Gold Limited …

Elucidating College Students’ Stressors: Photovoice As A Pedagogical Tool And Qualitative Methodology, Deanne Priddis, Heather L. Hundley

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Traditional research examining student stress relies on surveys using pre-determined categories. This study diverts from that approach by adopting a Communication in Conflict class assignment over seven classes (N = 115) using photovoice to determine if results fluctuate by using a different methodology. Additionally, we sought to understand if the sources of stress vary by gender and semester. The data revealed seven categories as the main stressors of student conflict: 1) time management, 2) mental health, 3) finding oneself, 4) future uncertainty, 5) other, 6) financial, and 7) past mistakes. Regardless of participants’ sex/gender or semester in which the data …

Climate & Conflict: View Into A Warming World, Faelynn Carroll

Master's Theses

Unlike weather patterns, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a large-scale, cyclical climate system that is now predictable for up to a year and a half in advance. ENSO cycles occur every two to seven years for approximately two years at a time, affecting large swaths of the globe with plausibly random variation in the exact location and strength of local effects. However, its systemic nature allows for aggregate effects to be accounted for by its outcomes. This research uses novel 0.5 x 0.5 degree ENSO teleconnection analysis for precipitation and temperature to uncover environmental mechanisms that underly the …