Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988.

The more than half a century long armed conflicts in the Northeast of India have created a condition of existence in the region that is often described in pathological terms like ‘crisis’ or ‘disorder’. Such diagnostic attitude towards the region invites ‘solutions’ to ‘fix’ it. This has result in increasing militarization of the region on the one hand and opening up markets on the other. In the rush for a ‘solution’ we might have denied intelligibility to the everyday life of people in the region. The report examines some of the creative ways in which people constantly navigate and negotiate a field of contesting powers. In 2000, Hindi films were banned by militant Manipuri nationalist groups in an effort to stop what they have called the process of Indianization. The report explores the circumstances in which the ban took place as well as the trajectories that the ban has taken. In this engagement with the ban, the report uncovers that any attempt, by the Indian state as well as the militant Manipuri nationalist, to put bodies in fixed categories is often frustrated and negotiated in everyday practices. / text

Mediation promises a way for conflicting parties to address differences and reach an agreement to settle their dispute. This study looks at mediation discourse of five cases from a university conflict resolution center through the lens of Girard’s (1977) theory of mimetic desire. Girard (1977) suggests that we are all in a pattern of mimesis. Antagonism that is prevalent in conflict develops, in Girard’s view, from the cycle of desire when one person wants an object and another person copies that desire for the object. The two parties quickly forget the object, but antagonism emerges as the mimetic desire continues. Girard argues parties have a tendency to place blame on a scapegoat to break the antagonism pattern. Alternatively, in her application of Girard’s theory, Cobb (1997, 2003, 2010a, 2010b) advocates a social constructionist perspective where disputants work on turning thin conflict stories into thicker ones to break the pattern. This project addresses a need for research on cycles of antagonism in discourse constructed by disputants during real mediation sessions. Knowing how disputants construct discourse lends insight into how people handle their most challenging interpersonal problems. The analysis of discourse through the guiding frameworks of conflict tactics, production format, and tenor of discourse sheds light on how disputants construct perpetuated mimicked antagonism and how they break the pattern. Additionally, findings highlight the emergence of weapons and wounds in the discourse suggesting that communicative violence is constructed whether or not there was actual physical violence. Components of thin conflict narratives are evident in findings from all five cases. Yet, while two cases are characterized by discourse of perpetuated mimicked antagonism, three represent a break in that pattern without placing blame on a scapegoat or constructing a thicker conflict narrative. The distinctions between a perpetuated and broken cycle are unpacked through the discussion of: a) animator-only position; b) indirectness and presumptive attribution; and c) shift in footing between talking to the other disputant and the mediators. This project provides a more nuanced understanding of the Girardian perspective relating to conflict mediation to contribute to the extant literature on conflict discourse and mediation practice. / text

Austin is alleged to be more contentious than its peer cities with regard to land use decisions. Local blogs and media are critical of the city’s land development code and public processes and there is a perception of unfairness when it comes to changing the city’s zoning ordinance. This research explores land use decisions in Austin, El Paso, and Denver. I look at the level of conflict and the public processes in each city to understand the factors that may make Austin feel more contentious than other cities or if that heightened contentiousness is only the perception of an inherently controversial issue. Through the data collection I found that Austin does have many more changes proposed and granted to its zoning ordinance than its peer cities, likely because of how complicated and out-of-date the land development code is. The approval ratings are similarly high across all cities. This high number of changes, combined with an even higher number of zoning items posted to council agendas but then postponed, may be perpetuating a perception that the land use covenant between the citizens and the city is being amended more often than it should be. I also look at innovative ways that cities across the country are reducing conflict, or the perception of it, with regard to public input, code structures, and public education. With its approval of a new comprehensive plan, Austin is poised to rewrite its land development regulations. The city would likely benefit from exploring some of these, and other, creative solutions to these common municipal conflicts. / text

Past research has found that work-family conflict is related to trait mindfulness, a unique disposition due to its amenability to change through training. This longitudinal study incorporated a mindfulness-based intervention including a mindfulness-based workshop and behavioral self-monitoring (BSM) in an attempt to reduce work-family conflict in employees. Trait mindfulness was correlated with work-family conflict across time. The intervention increased participants' trait mindfulness and decreased WIF, but did not reduce FIW. There was minimal support for the moderating roles of negative affect and perceived stress on the impact of the intervention. Overall the results provide support for the efficacy of mindfulness-based training as a provision to mitigate WIF. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future research directions, are also discussed.

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Conflicts over the optimal allocation of water resources are no longer just a concern but political reality. Increasing population and demands, competing uses, as well as uncertainty over scientific processes all add to the complexity of water management and in turn can lead to complex, difficult, and long standing water conflicts. This research employs Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to evaluate water conflict in interstate settings and examines the relationship between commonly held conceptions of water conflict and actual events. Results reveal a low number of observations in each of the examined basins. Each basin has a unique relationship with the evaluated variables and the use of GIS reveals distinct spatial relationships for conflicts. However, the modifiable unit areal problem presents a real concern for continued application. Results also reveal that generalizing indicators of conflict across basins loses the inherent variability and nuanced relationships that are seen through a basin-by-basin analysis.

The subject of this study is conflict management. The purpose of this paper is to examine how teachers deal with conflicts between pupils in primary education. The purpose is also to get more insight on what a conflict is and show different strategies to manage conflicts.   To learn about how teachers deal with conflicts between pupils in primary school, I chose to do interviews. I interviewed four teachers. In the interviews we talked about: their definition of what a conflict is, what kind of conflict that are most common, and how common it is with conflicts in the school which they work at, how they handle conflicts between students, how they believe that they manage conflicts, if they have received any training or education in conflict management and if the school they work at have any special guidelines for handling conflicts.   My questions are: How do the teachers think about their own involvement in students' conflict management? How do the teachers think about which types of conflicts that can be difficult to manage? The result of the study is that the teachers often let students handle conflicts themselves and they think it is good for them to do it because it is a knowledge that we humans need have. However, all the teachers says that when the conflicts that the children can´t handle themselves, they are there to help and support. Educators' perception of what type of conflict that is difficult to deal with was different. These conflicts were: personal conflicts, situations where students do not realize that there are a conflict, and just believe that the other is just wrong, ethnic conflicts and conflict situations where students are saying different versions and refuse to change their minds. To access the time to manage conflicts also emerged as problematic in some situations. / Ämnet på denna undersökning är konflikthantering. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur pedagoger hanterar konflikter mellan elever i grundskolans tidigare år. Syftet är också att få mer insikt om vad en konflikt är och visa på olika strategier vid konflikthantering.   För att få reda på hur pedagoger hanterar konflikter mellan elever i grundskolans tidigare år valde jag att göra intervjuer. Intervjuerna gjordes med fyra pedagoger. Med de intervjuade pratade jag om: deras definition av vad en konflikt är; vilken typ av konflikt som är vanligast och hur vanligt det är med konflikter där de arbetar; hur de hanterar konflikter mellan elever; hur de själva bedömer att de hanterar konflikter; om de har fått någon utbildning i konflikthantering och om skolan som de arbetar på har några speciella riktlinjer för att hantera konflikter.   Mina frågeställningar är: Hur tänker pedagogerna om sin egen delaktighet i elevernas konflikthantering? Hur tänker pedagogerna om vilken typ av konflikter som kan vara svåra att hantera? Resultatet av studien är att pedagogerna låter ofta eleverna sköta konflikter själva och de anser att det är bra för dem att få göra det då det är en kunskap som vi människor behöver. Dock säger alla pedagogerna att vid de konflikter som barnen inte kan hantera själva så finns de där för att hjälpa till och stötta. Pedagogernas uppfattning av vilken typ av konflikt som är svårare att hantera skiljde sig åt. Dessa konflikter var; personliga konflikter, situationer då eleverna inte inser att det är en konflikt utan anser att den andre bara har fel, etniska konflikter och konfliktsituationer då eleverna säger olika versioner och vägrar ändra åsikt. Att få tillgång till tid för att hantera konflikter framkom också som problematiskt vid vissa situationer.

Interpersonal conflict is a research topic increasingly gaining importance in project management. The purpose of this exploratory study was to find out how relationship conflict affects task conflict in projects. The research investigated the styles individuals prefer to handle task conflict with colleagues in bad personal relationship. The influence of four personal characteristic variables (Gender, Age, Work experience and Culture background) on the choice of conflict handling styles were examined at the same time. ROCI-II was used as the data collection instrument. Questionnaires were published through web-based online survey system. 182 valid responses were collected in two weeks. Data was analyzed with statistic software SPSS. The results revealed that integrating, compromising, avoiding, dominating and obliging are the five styles ranked from highest to lowest preferred by individuals to handle task conflicts with colleagues in bad personal relationships. High value of assertiveness and negative value of cooperativeness indicated that in a situation of relationship conflict, individuals are more assertive and less cooperative to deal with task conflicts with colleagues. Results of the study didn't show significant difference among personal characteristic groups. High correlations among conflict handling styles were discovered from this study. Implications of the research findings for theoretical and practical organizations or individuals are provided. Areas and recommendations for future research are suggested.