Sat, Feb 28, 2004

New Online Videos: Concordia University Peace and Conflict Resolution Academic Series

The Concordia University Peace and Conflict Resolution Academic Series address issues of peace building and management of deep-rooted conflict in local and international arenas. The ongoing series has been videotaped and most events are available online. Examples of current videos include:
Pluralism and Conflict Resolution Lecture Series Lecture 1: Steven Lukes
Lecture 2: Pluralism, Conflict and Resolution by John Kekes
Lecture 3: How Pluralism Impoverishes Conflict Resolution by Charles Blattsberg

Peacemakers Account: Love Lost and Lessons Learned?
Lecture 1: Building Bridges on Sand: Is Inter-Religious Dialogue Realistic? with Rabbi Leigh Lerner and Professor Mahmoud Ayoub

Lecture 2: Frontlines: Community Peacemakers with Professor Gregory Baum, Avrum Rosensweig, and Professor Moin Kermani

The Series, which was developed in response to the well-publicized conflicts that occurred at Concordia in September of 2002, is grounded in the wide range of student and faculty interests and expertise while contributing to public debate.

Free “Got Conflict?” Bumper Sticker from Mediate.com

Mediate.com, a provider of conflict resolution information and web-hosting, now offers a free bumper sticker to reach out to folks who are banging their heads against brick walls.

Chronicle of Higher Education Job Listings now provide Job Search Agent w Email Alerts

The Chronicle of Higher Education jobs page now provides an email alert service on a daily or weekly basis, using the search terms and criteria you indicate. This includes keywords, job categories, and by zipcode or region. After you run a search, you are offered the choice of creating an email search agent. Then when new items are posted that meet your criteria, you get an email announcement.

Mon, Feb 23, 2004

ADR Cyberweek is happening online Feb 23-27!

ADR Cyberweek is an annual event (6 years now!) that showcases various tech-related conflict resolution tools and techniques. This year’s event is specifically focused on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), a growing field that uses various forums and polling systems to enable conflict resolution between parties working at a distance. Cyberweek is free and all online.

Mon, Feb 16, 2004

At Loggerheads: The Canada-U.S. Softwood Lumber Dispute

A multimedia timeline of the lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada is provided by the CBC as part of their Archives Timeline project. A Flash-based timeline provides links to audio and video content, as well as text. The windows media player is required for viewing. A teachers section provides sample activities, including a webquest outline. As described on the site:
“Canada and the United States are the world’s largest trading partners, but there’s one thing they’ve never agreed on: softwood lumber. The dispute dates back hundreds of years, but in the 1980s it turned nasty. The U.S. has slapped billions of dollars of fines on Canadian wood, jeopardizing thousands of jobs. The dispute raises serious questions about trade, sovereignty, and the real nature of Canada-U.S. relations.”

Burnt Church Lobster Fishing Dispute Audio Archive

CBC Radio program “As It Happens”  has an online archive of their broadcasts relating to the Lobster Fishing dispute that came to a head in Burnt Church, Nova Scotia in 2000.

Citizen X - BBCi online learning

The Citizen X website offers a co-ordinated package of online, student-centered resources based on the Citizenship National Curriculum for England. It uses animations, photostories, and interactive activities to address nine topics:
1.  Rights and Responsibilities
2.  Identity
3.  Conflict
4.  Local Democracy
5.  Community Action
6.  Government and Parliament
7.  Crime
8.  Global Community
9.  EU, UN and Commonwealth
The website is divided into 4 main areas - Being a Citizen, Local Citizen, National Citizen and Global Citizen. The nine topics can be found in each of these sections and will inform the user about areas of a citizen’s life.

Sat, Feb 14, 2004

Internet Archive Moving Picture Collection - 1950 Film on Conflict Resolution

The Internet Archive’s Moving Pictures collection provides free to use films that can be viewed online, including this 1950 instructional film for pre-teens from Coronet films about ways to solve conflicts. In Ways to Settle Disputes, everyday incidents at school and at play teach Alice, Jerry and Eddie to resolve conflicts by compromise, by obeying rules, by finding facts, or finding opinions. Note emphasis on obeying the rules…

Fri, Feb 13, 2004

Goodwill Virtual Learning Community - Training for Workplace Conflict Prevention

The Getting Along at Work module at the Goodwill Virtual Community training website provides a broad overview of conflict resolution skills for the workplace, using flash with audio to engage the user. The multi-part lessons cover Good Relationships; Respect; Social Boundaries; Communication Skills; and Conflict Management. Exercises include quizes to check for comprehension. Simple and clean interface, albiet poor use of the word “click” in place of “hover over”.

Soup up Your Use of Google with Soople

Soople seeks to provide a easy-to-use interface into the advanced features of Google. Zero in on what you’re looking for with options you didn’t know you even had. Also available at the site is a forms-based calculator for those moments when you just have to crunch some numbers.

The Mascot Dilemma: Pride or Prejudice?

This week’s “Best of the Week” at BestWebQuests.com is all about conflict and perceptions. Intended to support highschool social studies, english and language arts, the online activity explores the continuing problem of sports mascots. The Mascot Dilemma: Pride or Prejudice seems like a topic and activity germaine to higher education as well…

The BestWebQuests description follows:

“Many professional sports teams have Native American mascots and names. Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, etc. In our own state, Oklahoma, many schools also have Native American names and mascots. Catoosa Indians, Union Redskins, Glenpool Warriors, to name a few. The same is true with schools all across our country.”  “You are a student at Broken Drum High School, home of the three-years-running undefeated BDHS Savages football team. Lately, the school has come under criticism for its team’s name and mascot, Chief Eagle Feather. The four-member school board is considering changing the team’s name, but several members of the community are in favor of keeping it. They say it’s been a tradition for 70 years. Critics of the mascot say it mocks Native American sacred religious traditions.” Question: Where do you stand? Is this a case of modern day racism, or political correctness run amok?”

Tue, Feb 03, 2004

Discordia: New Film on Student Riots at Concordia University

A new National Film Board of Canada film debuts this week. The film is entitled Discordia: When Netanyahu Came to Town… (link goes to Flash website about the film).
The brief synopis:
“It’s September 9, 2002, and a scheduled appearance by Benjamin Netanyahu has sparked heated debate at Montreal’s Concordia University. By the end of the day, the “Concordia riot” has made international news, from CNN to Al-Jazeera.Discordia documents the fallout from that eventful day Û following three young campus activists as they negotiate the most formative year of their lives.  Filmmakers Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal jump into the fray with street-smart bravado and a handheld camera. Buoyed along by hip-hop artist Buck 65, they offer a tonic reflection on the current state of Canadian student activism Û and the enduring value of a tolerant and open mind.”

Conflict Management in Education (CME) Legislative Database Project

Georgia State University’s CNCR’s new CRiSP Conflict Management in Education (CME) Legislative Database  provides access to current and pending school conflict management legislation for school stakeholders, conflict management practitioners, and policy makers.

Legislation, and the regulations supporting it, often provides a variety of resources, including funding, consultation and assistance in establishing a program, direction on program design, and curriculum and training materials. Unfortunately, many school stakeholders do not have ready access to this information, none of which is organized and made available in a single easily accessible location and format. Additionally, policy makers are unable to easily compare the various models of legislation on conflict management in education so as to make more informed choices in creating new legislation in this area.

The CME Legislative Database seeks to address these gaps. Users may search by key word, jurisdiction, or legal form of legislation (statute, bill or regulation) to access information on school conflict management legislation of particular interest to them. The database provides abstracts of legislation, links to the full text of legislation where available, and key information organized by categories including:

*    Title of the legislation;
*    Status (pending, effective, abandoned);
*    Effective date (if applicable);
*    Funding source and contact;
*    Grades covered by legislation (elementary, middle, high school or other);
*    Whether the legislation supports a mandate or merely a recommended course of action;
*    Agency contact for more information;
*    Availability of supporting materials such as manuals, curricula, videos, etc.

The database is updated annually to ensure access to current information.

Go to:  http://law.gsu.edu/area51/crisp/search.php

To provide feedback regarding the usefulness and functionality of the database, please e-mail Carolyn Benne, CNCR Director, at:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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