The Quality of Government and Civil Conflict

Author(s):  
Annekatrin Deglow ◽  
Hanne Fjelde

What does existing research tell us about the relationship between the quality of government and civil conflict? There is no clearly delineated literature that scholars interested in this relationship ascribe to. In general, scholars have devoted more effort to examining variations in the outlook of formal state institutions, rather than how governance is exercised within these structures. We discuss how research falling under other conceptual umbrellas, such as democracy, state repression, inequality, and institutional trust help inform the debate about the relationship between the quality of government and civil conflict. Through this broader lens we synthesize what we know both about the quality of government as a predictor for conflict outbreak and recurrence, and how civil conflict shapes the quality of government, drawing on macro- and micro-level studies. The chapter concludes by pointing towards fruitful avenues for future research.

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Meessen ◽  
Verena Mainz ◽  
Siegfried Gauggel ◽  
Eftychia Volz-Sidiropoulou ◽  
Stefan Sütterlin ◽  
...  

Abstract. Recently, Garfinkel and Critchley (2013) proposed to distinguish between three facets of interoception: interoceptive sensibility, interoceptive accuracy, and interoceptive awareness. This pilot study investigated how these facets interrelate to each other and whether interoceptive awareness is related to the metacognitive awareness of memory performance. A sample of 24 healthy students completed a heartbeat perception task (HPT) and a memory task. Judgments of confidence were requested for each task. Participants filled in questionnaires assessing interoceptive sensibility, depression, anxiety, and socio-demographic characteristics. The three facets of interoception were found to be uncorrelated and interoceptive awareness was not related to metacognitive awareness of memory performance. Whereas memory performance was significantly related to metamemory awareness, interoceptive accuracy (HPT) and interoceptive awareness were not correlated. Results suggest that future research on interoception should assess all facets of interoception in order to capture the multifaceted quality of the construct.


Author(s):  
Min-Jik Kim ◽  
Byung-Jik Kim

Although there has been extensive research on the corporate social responsibility (CSR)–performance link, full understanding is still elusive. A possible reason for this is the limited understanding of the underlying processes that affect the relationship. Grounded in institutional theory, which emphasizes the importance of micro-level intermediating processes (e.g., employees’ perceptions and attitudes) to explain a macro-level association (i.e., CSR to organizational performance), we built a moderated mediation model where: (i) organization commitment mediated the influence of CSR on organizational performance, and (ii) an employee’s prosocial motivation moderated the relationship between CSR and organizational commitment. Using three-wave time-lagged survey data obtained from 302 Korean workers, we found that organizational commitment is an important micro-level process in the CSR–performance link, and that the level of an employee’s prosocial motivation can positively moderate that link. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, along with limitations and future research directions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Farzana Elahi ◽  
Shamsad Ahmed ◽  
Mahbubul Haque ◽  
Nazreen Chowdhury

<p class="Default">In order to sustain in a competitive market like pharmaceutical in Bangladesh, it is important to get an insight into physicians’ preferences in prescribing the drugs. The aim of this work is to investigate and address the physician requirements through an integrated methodology of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD). In this research, an expert panel has been interviewed to recognize the criteria affecting physicians’ decisions. The results from AHP derived through Expert Choice software demonstrate that from the viewpoint of physicians, out of the five criteria, quality of product offering is ranked highest in prescribing the drugs followed by the reputation of the company, relationship enjoyed with the company, etc. As for the technical aspects, derived from the relationship matrix of AHP and QFD, out of the sixteen, brand image is ranked first followed by the quality of raw and packaging materials, skilled production personnel etc. The contribution of this research is expected to enable the managers in the pharmaceutical companies to recognize the factors that influence physicians in prescribing drugs for the patients and help them find out challenging items with preeminent alternatives. Few suggestions for future research are also put forward. <strong></strong></p>


Author(s):  
Christian Davenport

This chapter explores the relationship between political democracy and state repression. Afer providing an overview of the democracy–repression link, it considers what research has been conducted on the topic and also what has been ignored. It uses the United States and its treatment of African Americans as an example of how existing research in this field should change, as well as to emphasize the importance of disaggregation (regarding institutions, actors, and actions). The chapter concludes by suggesting directions for future research. It argues that researchers need to improve the way in which they think about the relationship between democracy and repression, and that they need to modify how they gather information about democracy and repression.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory D. Meals

Group musical performance, especially large instrumental ensembles, present the outward appearance of an asymmetric, temporally immediate stimulus-response relationship between conductor and ensemble. Interestingly, anecdotal reports from both conductors and performers indicate a degree of variability in the timing of orchestral response to the conductor’s gestures. This observation is not present in anecdotal accounts of other instrumental ensemble settings, like wind bands, but commonplace occurrence among orchestral musicians indicates the potential presence of greater complexity in the observed relationship. This study investigates both the quality and quantity of temporal lag between conductor and ensemble in two common instrumental ensemble configurations – wind bands and orchestras – in an effort to describe the interplay present within conducted group performance. The findings indicate that the anecdotally identified lag is present within all ensemble types, and that it presents a flexible, dynamic temporal relationship between conductor and ensemble. Additionally, both the quantity and quality of lag values are significantly different between ensemble types, experience levels, and musical content. Several avenues for future research are identified, and confounds within the sampled ensembles are examined for their potential roles in the observed relationships.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 205316801881823 ◽  
Author(s):  
William O’Brochta

The relationship between natural resource wealth and civil conflict remains unclear, despite prolonged scholarly attention. Conducting a meta-analysis—a quantitative literature review—can help synthesize this broad and disparate field to provide clearer directions for future research. Meta-analysis tools determine both the aggregate effect of natural resources on conflict and whether any particular ways in which variables are measured systematically bias the estimated effect. I conduct a meta-analysis using sixty-nine studies from sixty-two authors. I find that there is no aggregate relationship between natural resources and conflict. Most variation in variable measurement does not alter the estimated effect. However, measuring natural resource wealth using Primary Commodity Exports and including controls for mountainous terrain and ethnic fractionalization all do significantly impact the results. These findings suggest that it may be worth exploring more nuanced connections between natural resources and conflict instead of continuing to study the overall relationship.


SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn J Bélanger ◽  
Karima A Raafat ◽  
Claudia F Nisa ◽  
Birga M Schumpe

Abstract Study Objectives The present research examines the relationship between people’s frequent involvement in an activity they like and find important (i.e., a passion) and the quality of their sleep. Research on the dualistic model of passion has widely documented the relationship between individuals’ type of passion—harmonious versus obsessive—and the quality of their mental and physical health. However, research has yet to examine the relationship between passion and sleep quality. Building on prior research has shown that obsessive (vs harmonious) passion is related to depressive mood symptoms—an important factor associated with sleep problems—we hypothesized that obsessive passion would be associated with overall worse sleep quality, whereas harmonious passion would predict better sleep quality. Methods A sample of 1,506 Americans filled out an online questionnaire on sleep habits and passion. Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Hierarchical linear regressions and mediation analyses were carried out with results confirming our hypotheses. Results Obsessive passion for an activity was associated with worse sleep quality, whereas harmonious passion was associated with better sleep quality, adjusting for demographics, the type of passionate activity and its self-reported importance, alcohol and tobacco consumption, BMI, self-reported health, and diagnosed health conditions. The relationship between both types of passion and sleep quality was mediated by depressive mood symptoms. Conclusions Our study presents evidence of a strong relationship between sleep quality and passion, opening the door for future research to create new interventions to improve people’s sleep and, consequently, their well-being.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alasdair Roberts

Scholars in public administration now recognize three levels of analysis: macro, meso, and micro. But there is uncertainty about the relationship between levels and concern about a “schism” in research. However, linkages between levels can be demonstrated easily. At the macro-level, leaders develop an overall strategy for pursuing national priorities, which determines the broad architecture of the state. Institutions must be built, renovated, or managed to give effect to these strategies: This is the meso-level of public administration. Overall, strategies also shape the micro-level relationship between people who rule and people who are ruled. This is done by categorizing people—as subjects or citizens, for example—and by redefining categories. Macro-level strategies evolve, with consequences for the agenda at the meso- and micro-levels. Experience at lower levels also shapes strategy at the macro-level. The interaction among levels is illustrated by comparison of three eras in modern American history.


2020 ◽  
pp. 027614672093515
Author(s):  
Zeynep Baktir ◽  
Forrest Watson

This article explores community well-being (CWB) outcomes of institutional trust (and distrust) through entrepreneurship in the context of a refugee-hosting society in Turkey. Existing studies show the positive relationship between institutional trust and quality of life (QOL) as well as entrepreneurship and QOL in subsistence contexts. This research, however, explores the relationship between institutional (dis)trust and entrepreneurship on a path to CWB with a special emphasis on refugee and local interactions in the marketplace. Three different paths to the QOL of refugees and/or locals are presented, but only two lead to CWB outcomes encompassing both refugees and locals. Consideration of refugees and locals as both consumers and business owners provides perspective on the interplay between social trust and institutional trust in a socio-culturally heterogeneous subsistence context. The article also discusses implications for theory and practice.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 592-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Fersch ◽  
Karen N. Breidahl

Purpose Migrants constitute an interesting case concerning the question of how trust in welfare state institutions can emerge, as one can study their newly built relationships with such institutions in a distinct way. The Danish welfare state can be considered a “high trust” context. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of qualitative interviews with migrants on how institutional trust in the welfare state can emerge with migrants in Denmark as a case. Design/methodology/approach With the help of a multi-dimensional theoretical concept, this paper provides an analysis of qualitative interviews with migrants on how institutional trust in the welfare state can emerge. Findings A perceived experience of distributive justice appears to be of crucial importance for building trust. Furthermore, strong trust in the systemic checks and balances of the welfare state can “override” negative experiences at its access points, that is, welfare state professionals. Research limitations/implications Taking into account the relatively limited number of interviews, the presented claims drawn from the empirical material are limited. The aim is to reveal some (new) tendencies that can be investigated in future research. Originality/value The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexity of trust-generating mechanisms.


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