Canadian bulk water exports: Analyzing the sun belt conflict using the graph model for conflict resolution

A conflict over the proposed bulk export of water from Canada is systematically studied using the graph model for conflict resolution in order to illustrate how strategic conflicts of this type can be better understood and managed. The ongoing conflict involving a US company, Sun Belt Water Inc., and the Canadian federal and provincial governments is modeled and analyzed using the graph model methodology. This dispute reflects the kinds of controversies that can arise when international trade laws, which stress competition and profits, are in conflict with environmental and social laws. The Sun Belt conflict is especially interesting because of its evolution over several stages; at each stage of the conflict, the objectives of the disputants, and their strategic implications, can be realistically modeled and thereby investigated using the graph model. Amer Obeidi received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Jordan in 1990 and M.A.Sc. in Management Sciences in 2002 from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He is currently pursuing a PhD degree in the Department of Systems Design Engineering, at the University of Waterloo. His currents research interests include confrontation analysis, conflict analysis, negotiation, cognitive and emotional processes effect on decision making, and choice theory. Dr. Hipel’s major research interests are the development and application of conflict resolution and time series analysis techniques from a systems design engineering perspective. The main application areas of these decision technologies are water resources management, hydrology, environmental engineering and sustainable development. Dr. Hipel is the author/co-author of four books, nine edited books, many journal papers and is an associate editor of six international journals. Moreover, he is a professional Engineer and has carried out consulting activities with engineering firms, government agencies, and utilities in many countries. Director of the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies, and Adjunct Professor of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Kilgour’s research interests lie at the intersection of mathematics, social science, and engineering. He has applied game theory and related formal techniques to analyze decision problems in international security and arms control, environmental management, negotiation and arbitration, voting, fair division, and coalition formation, and has pioneered the development of systems for decision support in strategic conflict. His most recent books are Perfect Deterrence (Cambridge) and Designing Institutions for Environmental and Resource Management (Edward Elgar).     

The similarity–attraction relationship revisited: divergence between the affective and behavioral facets of attraction

In contemporary attitudes‐and‐attraction research, attraction has been viewed as a multidimensional construct. Moreover, the effects of dissimilar and similar attitudes have been shown to vary with the facets of attraction measured. The hypotheses tested are that (1) only the proportion of similar attitudes relevant to the social context or interaction goals affects behavioral attraction (i.e. interpersonal distance between the participant and targets), and (2) the proportion of similar attitudes influences affective attraction (i.e. Byrne's attraction measure), regardless of attitude relevance. Two experiments were conducted with classroom activities (Experiment 1) and a writing workshop (Experiment 2) as the social contexts. The results of both experiments supported the hypotheses. Clearly, a solely affective measure of attraction seems inadequate for understanding the similarity–attraction relationship. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictive minds in Ouija board sessions

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - Ouija board sessions are illustrious examples of how subjective feelings of control – the Sense of Agency (SoA) - can be manipulated in real life...     

Using the dual‐criteria methods to supplement visual inspection: An analysis of nonsimulated data

The purpose of our study was to examine the probability of observing false positives in nonsimulated data using the dual‐criteria methods. We extracted data from published studies to produce a series of 16,927 datasets and then assessed the proportion of false positives for various phase lengths. Our results indicate that collecting at least three data points in the first phase (Phase A) and at least five data points in the second phase (Phase B) is generally sufficient to produce acceptable levels of false positives.     

Non-Violent Communication and Marital Relationship: Efficacy of ‘Emotion-Focused Couples’ Communication Program Among Filipino Couples

Non-Violent Communication (NVC), developed by Dr. Marshall B. Rosenberg, fosters intra- and interpersonal relationship through empathetic and compassionate communication. It has been used and proven effective in a variety of settings like schools, health care centers, jails, and in restorative and rehabilitative institutions. However, the use of NVC in the field of marital relationship is found to be relatively few. The present study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the intervention program, Emotion-Focused Couples’ Communication Program (EFCCP) in a Filipino setting. EFCCP which is an intervention program developed by the researchers based on the constructs of NVC has already been proven to be effective in a previous study involving couples in an Indian setting. This present study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of the program’s shortened version in the Filipino setting and to test whether the program is culturally suited for Filipino married couples. Relational Communication Scale and Locke–Wallace Marital Adjustment Test were used to measure the level of communication and marital satisfaction among the couples. The EFCCP-Shortened Version was administered to a group of 12 couples for a period of 3 weeks, and the results revealed a significant difference in the level of couples’ communication and marital satisfaction among the participants. These results provided ample indications to the efficacy of the EFCCP-Shortened Version in enhancing communication and enriching marriage quality among couples across diverse settings.     

Expanding Perspectives on Evangelicalism: How Non-evangelical Students Appreciate Evangelical Christianity

Evangelical students pose a distinctive set of challenges to higher education professionals. These students, though advantaged to some degree because of their Christian identity, commonly report feeling marginalized and silenced on college campuses. In light of these tensions, the purpose of this study was to examine how non-evangelical students come to an appreciative understanding of evangelical Christianity. Specifically, the research focused on the specific campus conditions and experiences that influence non-evangelical students’ appreciative attitudes toward evangelicals. Findings reveal distinct demographic, institution type, and academic major differences in those students’ perspectives toward their evangelical peers. Additionally, the results suggest that appreciative attitudes toward evangelicals are associated with non-evangelical students’ interfaith experiences, albeit to differing degrees based on self-identified worldview. Recognizing that the work of helping non-evangelical students develop an appreciative understanding of evangelicals is as complicated as it is challenging, especially in the collegiate context, the authors conclude with a discussion of implications for research and practice.     

The Impact of Culture on Loss Aversion

Based on the literature on the relationship between culture, emotion, and loss aversion, we derive that culture can influence the degree of loss aversion. To test our hypotheses, we conduct a standardized survey in 53 countries worldwide that includes the questions from the Hofstede survey on cultural dimensions as well as lottery questions on loss aversion. The results show that individualism, power distance, and masculinity increase loss aversion as predicted, whereas the impact of uncertainty avoidance is less significant. Moreover, we also find a relation between the distribution of major religions in a country and loss aversion. In comparison, the connection of loss aversion to macroeconomic variables seems to be much smaller. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.