Group Conflict Theory

“As we know, well-led groups provide many member benefits: feelings of universality, a sense of hope, altruism, acquisition of knowledge and skills, and mutual support...This text is affordable, easy to use, and very suitable for providing group work material in BSW or MSW practice courses.”

— Greg Tully, West Chester University



AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH TO GROUP WORK
Second Edition

Rich Furman, University of Washington, Tacoma
Kimberly Bender, University of Denver
Diana Rowan, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

An Experiential Approach to Group Work is not your typical group work text! Using dozens of exercises that build practice-tested skills, the authors' approach is in perfect step with CSWE's competence-based education requirements. The book is organized into three sections—the first addresses stages of group practice, the second looks at major types of groups, and the final section looks at examples of group work practice with special populations.

Features of the Second Edition

    Expanded! Discussion of the theory of group process and dynamics
    New! Content regarding Canadian, British, and Australian group work practices
    New! Chapters on anti-oppressive practice, group work with immigrants, and macro-practice group work
    New! Content on the use and development of technology to aid group work
    Contains customized exercises for each group work topic, designed to build the student and practitioner’s skills for use in group work sessions
    Special emphasis on how to bring individual sessions or groups to closure
    Provides examples of group work in specialized settings: conflict resolution groups within elementary schools, pregnant teens, Latinos, and HIV/AIDS clients

I have decide to use Cyber Crime Act NO.14 of 2015  in connection with Conflict Theory due to the number of criticism that have been provided by some institutions, lawyers, journalists and other people who claims that some of the provisions of the Act are unconstitutional hence affects some fundamental rights of human beings therefore creates division of classes between the law makers and the law compliers, as those who are suppose to comply with the law feels that such provisions were created to humiliate them. If such provisions were created to humiliate them, then they are not fit for the purpose of protecting the public interest. In that case if people decide not to comply with the said provisions, they will be deemed to commit crime as stipulate by the Act itself. Therefore, creating a possibility on the existence of conflict between those who are arguing against such provisions and those who created the law.

The Jos crisis is one that has attracted the attention of scholars from different disciplines and also policy-makers. Its protracted nature and the dynamics of the conflict gave rise to different views from different scholars as regards its causes. However, the fact still remains that until the deep-rooted causes are attended to and a lasting solution is proffered, the conflict will keep re-escalating. On that note, it is pertinent to examine theories relevant to the Jos crisis. The exploration of conflict theories is important for understanding the nature of the conflict itself. In order to find solutions to the seemingly protracted problems in Jos, Plateau State, these theoretical areas need to be fully explored. Of particular importance are the Human Needs, Relational, Instrumentalist Theory of Religion and Social Identity Theories. It is hoped that the developments in this area will assist researchers and policy-makers to understand the causes of the conflict and also help in the search for a solution.

Atlanta is perhaps the city with the greatest degree of black political empowerment (BPE) in the United States. Yet in 2009 a relatively weak white mayoral candidate nearly won the general and runoff elections over a field of stronger black candidates. Why? Treating Atlanta as a prototypical case, the article examines factors that undermine the capacity of blacks to retain control of mayoralties in strong BPE cities, with an emphasis on disruptions to black electorates, discontent among black citizens, and reinvestment in electoral politics by whites at the local level.

This paper is a contribution to the development of an ontology of conflict. In particular, we single out and we study a peculiar notion of group conflict, that we suggestively label ‘social contradiction’. In order to do so, we shall introduce and discuss the methodology of social choice theory, since it allows for defining the notion of collective attitude that may emerge from a number of possibly divergent individual attitudes. We shall see how collective attitudes lead to define a specific notion of group and therefore a specific notion of group conflict. As a conclusion, we shall present our abstract analysis of group conflicts and we shall position social contradiction with respect to other types of conflicts.

Ecovillages are alternative communities centred on self-sufficiency and a sustainable lifestyle. They develop bottom-up and offer an alternative to mainstream society, which residents experience as disruptive to the environment and social cohesion. These communities form small-scale societies, who also encounter conflicts. The development of an ecovillage into a stable, and functional community with strong social cohesion requires a long process whereby a number of crucial stages need to be completed. These stages are often characterised by conflict. The past has shown that in most of these communities, conflicts lead to a dysfunctional working, in turn leading to the disintegration of the group.
In this research, I focus on the role of conflict on the group development process. Based on Tuckman’s group development model, I try to understand how conflicts arise, their features, and what this entails for group development. This thesis is researched with ethnographic methods, at Lammas, a young ecovillage in Wales set up in 2009. Based on participating observation and semi-structured interviews, the results are as follows: conflicts originated in external structural features and incompatible values and ideals. Different parties were formed in which the positions of the residents can be distinguished by their investment in the conflict and their willingness to compromise. On the one hand, positions in the conflicts become consolidated and on the other hand, a withdrawal from the community occurs. Because no positive group culture was created, with mechanisms to deal with conflicts, the group comes to a standstill and there is no further group development.
By placing conflict in a broader context and understanding the processes by which the members give meaning to conflict, I tried to explain the deeper causes of conflict and how these influence the further development of a group.

Purpose -In order to shed light on whether and how leaders should help manage group members' emotions related to intragroup conflict, the aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of several outcomes associated with two cognitive emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and distraction, in the presence of two distinct types of conflict, relationship or task-oriented. Design/methodology/approach -A 2 £ 3 between subjects' experimental design was employed to investigate the influence of intragroup conflict and emotion regulations strategies on individual-level discrete emotions and group processes and outcomes. Findings -Results suggest that emotion regulation plays an important role in moderating the negative consequences associated with relationships conflict. Specifically, distraction served a critical function to those in the relationship conflict conditions such that both cohesion levels and task performance levels were elevated when group members used distraction as a means of regulating emotions.

This paper is a contribution to the development of an ontology of conflict. In particular, we single out and we study a peculiar notion of group conflict, that we suggestively label 'social contradiction'. In order to do so, we shall introduce and discuss the methodology of social choice theory, since it allows for defining the notion of collective attitude that may emerge from a number of possibly divergent individual attitudes. We shall see how collective attitudes lead to define a specific notion of group and therefore a specific notion of group conflict. As a conclusion, we shall present our abstract analysis of group conflicts and we shall position social contradiction with respect to other types of conflicts.

This paper is a contribution to the development of an ontology of conflict. In particular, we single out and we study a peculiar notion of group conflict, that we suggestively label ‘social contradiction’.
In order to do so, we shall introduce and discuss the methodology of social choice theory, since it allows for defining the notion of collective attitude that may emerge from a number of possibly
divergent individual attitudes.
We shall see how collective attitudes lead to define a specific notion of group and therefore a specific notion of group conflict.
As a conclusion, we shall present our abstract analysis of group conflicts and we shall position social contradiction with respect to other types of conflicts.

We analyze a group contest in which n groups compete to win a group-specific public good prize. Group sizes can be different and any individual player may value the prize differently within and across groups. Players expend costly efforts simultaneously and independently. Only the highest effort (the best-shot) within each group represents the group effort and the winning group is determined by a contest success function. We fully characterize the set of equilibria and show that in any equilibrium at most one player in each group exerts strictly positive effort. There always exists an equilibrium in which only the highest value player in each active group expends positive effort and the contest is reduced to an individual contest between individual players. However, there may also be equilibria in which the highest value players completely free ride on others by exerting no effort. We provide conditions under which this can be avoided and discuss contest design implications. JEL Classification: C72; D70; D72; H41

This paper is a contribution to the development of an ontology of conflict. In particular, we single out and we study a peculiar notion of group conflict, that we suggestively label 'social contradiction'. In order to do so, we shall introduce and discuss the methodology of social choice theory, since it allows for defining the notion of collective attitude that may emerge from a number of possibly divergent individual attitudes. We shall see how collective attitudes lead to define a specific notion of group and therefore a specific notion of group conflict. As a conclusion, we shall present our abstract analysis of group conflicts and we shall position social contradiction with respect to other types of conflicts.

The present paper focuses on the symbolic meanings of metaphors and their potential social effects. Specifically, it examines the case of the Jewish Ultra-Orthodox "Ḥardakim" poster campaign distributed throughout Ultra-Orthodox communities in Israel in 2013. Following social group theory, the paper interprets the symbolic meanings of the main metaphors in the campaign in order to reconstruct the lifeworld of this religious group. On that basis, it offers a discussion of how metaphors were strategically utilized in order to draw social boundaries, uphold social norms and sanction group members who deviate from those. The paper's empirical contribution is a case study of how symbolic meanings of metaphors as a part of propagandistic discourse targets and exploits social identities in order to mobilize collective emotions thereby provoking certain actions. It contributes theoretically by arguing that deeming norm-deviant group members internal threats is an efficient propaganda tool for maintaining intragroup behavioral codes.

Student groups play an important role in Bangladesh. Not only have student groups often been at the vanguard of crucial struggles – like the Language Movement (1947-1952), the Independence movement (1969-71) and the pro-democracy movement (1989-91) – but many contemporary politicians also have roots in student organizations. Student organizations are highly politicized in Bangladesh and operated as important wings of the major parties. The contemporary role of student groups and student politics is often seen in a highly negative light, as part of a wider degeneration of political values, exemplified by a perceived increase in violence and corruption. While not wanting to trade such moralistic reasoning for a critical understanding of student politics in its current form, it is undeniable that student politics today is highly violent. Recent data indeed show the major role that student organizations play in political violence in the country. In the last ten years (2008-2018) campus violence accounted for 13 per cent of political violence in the country. If all off- campus political violence in which one or more student groups participated is included, this increases to over 27 percent, making them one of the most active groups engaging in political violence. Important to note is that in some urban areas (such as Rajshahi and Sylhet), student groups participate in around 50 per cent of all political violence. At the same time, non-violent roles of student groups remain important given that student organizations remain one of the single most important breeding grounds for future political leaders. Given the importance of student politicians in organizing and participating in political violence, as well as student politics’ formative role in the making of party politicians, it is surprising that we still have a limited understanding of how student politics operates across Bangladesh. This report aims to build on the work already done, but to radically expand our comparative understanding of student politics by looking beyond Dhaka, where most of the research till date has focused on. Our research focused on five major cities which are also major centers of higher education – Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet, the important district headquarters of Bogra and one rural university (the Islamic University in Kushtia). Interviews were conducted – with both ruling party and opposition student activists, general students and university or college staff – to gain insights in the profile of student politicians, the organization of student politics in the specific locations, the relations between city politics and student politics, and factionalism and student violence.

We analyze a group contest in which n groups compete to win a group-specific public good prize. Group sizes can be different and any player may value the prize differently within and across groups. Players exert costly efforts simultaneously and independently. Only the highest effort (the best-shot) within each group represents the group effort that determines the winning group. We fully characterize the set of equilibria and show that in any equilibrium at most one player in each group exerts strictly positive effort. There always exists an equilibrium in which only the highest value player in each active group exerts strictly positive effort. However, perverse equilibria may exist in which the highest value players completely free-ride on others by exerting no effort. We provide conditions under which the set of equilibria can be restricted and discuss contest design implications.

Purpose -In order to shed light on whether and how leaders should help manage group members' emotions related to intragroup conflict, the aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of several outcomes associated with two cognitive emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and distraction, in the presence of two distinct types of conflict, relationship or task-oriented. Design/methodology/approach -A 2 £ 3 between subjects' experimental design was employed to investigate the influence of intragroup conflict and emotion regulations strategies on individual-level discrete emotions and group processes and outcomes. Findings -Results suggest that emotion regulation plays an important role in moderating the negative consequences associated with relationships conflict. Specifically, distraction served a critical function to those in the relationship conflict conditions such that both cohesion levels and task performance levels were elevated when group members used distraction as a means of regulating emotions.