Reducing conflict-related employee strain: The benefits of an internal locus of control and a problem-solving conflict management strategy

Workplace conflict is a potent stressor, but most previous research has focused on its effect on productivity and performance rather than on individual well-being. This paper examines the moderating roles of an individual's internal locus of control and a problem-solving conflict management strategy. In the cross-sectional study, among 774 health care workers in the Netherlands, employees' internal locus of control did moderate the relationship between experienced conflict at work and psychological strain, which was measured using a 13-item Dutch adaptation of the Occupational Stress Indicator. In addition, this moderation was mediated by the active conflict management strategy of problem solving; people with a more internal locus of control use a problem-solving conflict management strategy more often and, as a result, experience less psychological strain in cases of workplace conflict. Implications for conflict theory, for future research, and for practice are discussed

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Culture and Negotiation. The Resolution of Water Disputes

Culture -- along with many other variables -- often impacts international negotiations. This book offers a unique contribution by focusing on the distinctive impact of culture, both in creating unexpected opportunities for dispute settlement and in imposing obstacles to agreement. The first part of this book presents expert views on the nature and limits of culture's influence on negotiation. Part II comprises the core of the book, and contains a wealth of case studies and analyses of international disputes regarding water resources. Each case asks the following key questions: What are the different cultural components that made a difference in the outcome? How did culture play a role in the negotiation process? What are some specific illustrations of culture's contributing role, both to the dispute and to the ways in which it was handled? Part III includes implications for practitioners and policymakers, along with new directions for future studies. "Culture and Negotiation" is an essential resource for international relations practitioners in both the private and public sectors, as well as scholars and researchers interested in either culture or the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution

Power and Negotiation

The volume produces new findings about the concept of power and about its applications in negotiations. Rejecting the notions of power as a resource and power as an ability, the work defines power as an act that is designed to cause another party to move in a desired direction, thus separating the concept both from its source and from its effects and leaving it open to much more detailed analysis. At the same time, this book examines perceived power on the basis of which symmetries and asymmetries in the relations between parties can be identified. As I. William Zartman and Jeffrey Rubin argue, negotiations between countries that are not equal in power tend to be more efficient and effective than during symmetrical negotiations. When weaker and stronger parties are negotiating, each knows its role and is able to get appropriate benefits in the agreement. In cases of symmetry or near symmetries the countries, whether equally weak or equally strong, tend to spend most of the time maintaining their status and allowing inordinate amounts of time to pass before reaching an agreement. These conclusions run counter to the most accepted wisdom of negotiations they do confirm evidence from careful experiments. The volume looks at negotiations with clear asymmetry (the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, U.S.-Egyptian aid, U.S.-Indonesian aid, E.C.-Andorra trade association, Nepal-India water resource agreement, and the North-South coalitions at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development), two cases of symmetry (the Mali-Burkina Faso armistice negotiations and the U.S. Chinese armistice negotiations in Korea), and one mixed situation (Arab-Israeli peace negotiations). The book concludes with a careful examination of lessons for practice and lessons for theory