Identity-Based Conflicts: A Systemic Approach Evaluation Project

Some of the most difficult conflicts of all are those grounded in identity, which can be analyzed in both personal and societal contexts. The author's goal is to conceptualize identity-based conflict from a systems perspective. He uses ideas from psychology, social psychology, and organization theory, connecting them to concepts of cybernetic control. As is the case with Social Identity Theory, a major challenge for the negotiation field is to provide a better understanding of destructive forms of intergroup behavior and how belief systems allow group members to justify bad treatment of outgroup members.     

Popular post-separation parenting smartphone apps: An evaluation

In recent years a bewildering array of smartphone applications (“apps”) has emerged to support separated parents' communication. Post-separation parenting apps vary in cost and features; they typically comprise a messaging tool, shared calendar, expense tracker and a means to export records for legal purposes. A key challenge for separated parents and family law practitioners alike is knowing which apps or app feature(s) can work well for different family contexts, needs and budgets. The present study sought to evaluate nine popular post-separation parenting apps and their features using small-n Human–Computer Interaction methods. Mediators role-played high conflict ex-couples while completing a set of five common post-separation communication or organizational tasks. A cross-case analysis of ratings was conducted. We found that (a) many of the mediators changed their apparent enthusiasm for co-parenting apps once they had used the apps themselves; (b) all nine apps were rated somewhere between “Poor” to Fair’; and (c) features of some of the best-known apps were not rated as highly as some of the features of more recent, lesser-known apps.     

Entrenched Postseparation Parenting Disputes: The Role of Interparental Hatred?

There is an emerging view that the term “high conflict” oversimplifies the nature of destructive family dynamics, especially with respect to the small but resource‐intensive group of separated parents who remain deeply enmeshed in legal battles and parental acrimony. In this Article we propose that interparental hatred may be a key relationship dynamic driving the behavior of some in this group. We suggest a distinction between two types of interparental hatred: one that arises from responses to separation‐related stresses (reactive hatred) and the other (entrenched hatred) that is indicative of more embedded, dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics and/or personality structures. While reactive hatred is typically time limited and amenable to professional intervention, entrenched hatred tends to overwhelm rationally informed attempts to mediate, negotiate, or even adhere to orders regarding suitable parenting arrangements. We contend that while effective intervention in these cases requires all the generic skills and responses necessary for dealing with highly conflicted disputes, it is also important to name and appropriately challenge interparental hatred when it is detected.     

Determinants of turnover intentions among Chinese off farm migrants

This study examines the determinants of turnover intentions of off farm migrant workers, using data collected from China’s Jiangsu Province. Turnover intention is posited to be a function of demographic/human capital characteristics, job characteristics and job satisfaction. We find that higher levels of education have a positive effect on reported turnover intentions, while higher income and job satisfaction have a negative effect on turnover intentions. To the extent turnover intentions represent a good proxy for actual turnover, the results can be viewed as providing reliable predictors of job mobility among off farm migrant workers at a time when there is a growing shortage of such workers in China’s coastal provinces.

Why Give it Away When You Need it Yourself? Understanding Public Support for Foreign Aid in China

In this study we examine the determinants of public support for foreign aid in China. We find that while political ideology and sense of national identity are the most important determinants of support for foreign aid, several demographic characteristics, such as age, gender and income, are also important. We also find that those living in the lower income western provinces and in provinces with higher poverty rates express less support for giving foreign aid. We draw policy implications from the findings for better targeting engagement strategies designed to garner support for foreign aid.     

Use of 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane as a Tracer to Determine Liability

Both Olin and DuPont owned industrial facilities adjacent to the Solvent property, and Solvent alleged that the chlorinated aliphatic contamination detected in Solvent's groundwater recovery wells was predominately due to releases from the former DuPont chlorinated-solvent production facility. However, Solvent's position was complicated by the fact that during the 1980s, the Solvent property was used as an unlicensed hazardous waste transfer facility by a third-party (Frontenac Environmental Services, Inc.) and had received more than one hundred thousand gallons of chlorinated aliphatics from various entities. Solvent thus needed a method of determining the source for the chlorinated aliphatics in their groundwater recovery wells. One of the methods that Solvent used was based on its knowledge that chlorinated solvent production at DuPont involved certain intermediates such as 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA) that would likely not be present in any of the waste products stored on the Solvent property. The judge found that Solvent's use of a TeCA tracer was compelling evidence regarding the source of chlorinated aliphatics and largely agreed to Solvent's suggested allocation.     

Considering the Orange legacy: patterns of political participation in the Euromaidan Revolution

The proximity of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution (2004) andEuromaidan Revolution (2014) provides an opportunity to considerwhy some individuals remain active across protest cycles whileothers defect. Many social movement scholars explain differentialparticipation in terms of micro-structural, biographical, or cognitivefactors. Others rely on rational choice theories of collective actionbased on coordination. Testing competing explanations arecomplicated because the variables included in structural andagency-based models are often the same, although the underlyingcausal mechanisms are different. In this article, I argue that thekey to understanding the role of agency and structure in protestparticipation is to relax strong assumptions about the unified natureof society and consider the multiple paths to participation. Thisapproach suggests that both structural and agency-based causalmechanisms can influence political engagement depending onindividual experiences, identities, and perceptions of events.     

Community registered design invalidated by prior registered trade mark

In a series of four decisions, the OHIM Invalidity Divisionhas declared invalid Community registered designs 00016245-0001to 0004 in the light of international trade mark registration810732, designating various European Union Member States. Thisis believed to be the first time that a Community registereddesign has been declared invalid on the basis of an earliertrade mark right.