private synchronized void insertCommittedTaskWinners(HashSet<String> winners, SelectResponse response) {
		if (response.isSetSelectResult()) {
			SelectResult  selectResult = response.getSelectResult();
			java.util.List<Item> itemList = selectResult.getItem();
			for (Item item : itemList) {
				java.util.List<Attribute> attributeList = item.getAttribute();
				String winner = null;
				for (Attribute attribute : attributeList) {
					if (attribute.isSetValue()) {  // only check value since we selected only one attribute name  
						if ( winner == null )
							winner = attribute.getValue();
						else if ( winner.compareTo(attribute.getValue()) < 0 ) {
							logger.info("Invalidating work done by " + winner + " in favor of " + attribute.getValue());
							perf.incrementCounter("discardedMap", 1);   // invalidation only happens for Map, reduce work is never duplicated
							// This is an arbitrary resolution function. Can use any function as long as all nodes consistently resolves to the same winner
							winner = attribute.getValue();
						}
					}
				}
				// add to the overall winner list
				winners.add(winner);
			}
		}           
	}