Mon, Aug 30, 2004
Syllabus for Campus Restorative Justice Facilitator Training
The University of Oregon’s College of Education recently offered a one-credit course designed to train their restorative justice program facilitators. Course instructors were Annie Bentz and Chris Loschiavo. The syllabus is available as a pdf. Because this is an emerging area of practice, the syllabus is still rather unique as a working example.
The Cyprus Conflict - An Educational Website
The Cyprus Conflict website is a balanced narrative exploring the history of the Greek/Turkish conflict over Cyprus. It also includes information on various conflict resolution attempts that have been made over the years. As the site explains:
“The Mediterranean island of Cyprus has suffered a long history of foreign domination, violence, and civil strife.Ü Since the 1950s, when still a colony of Britain, Cyprus has been a battleground between its two main ethnic/religious populations—-Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.Ü The history of the conflict includes a militant confrontation with British imperialism, a set of treaties giving a limited form of independence, the breakdown of that constitutional structure, ruthless meddling by the Greek and Turkish “motherlands” and the major powers, a Greek coup d’etat and the Turkish invasion that divided the island as it is today, and fitful attempts to negotiate a just settlement—-all set against a background of communal violence, terrorism, and intimidation.ÜÜ
Equally true, however, is a record of cooperation and peace between most Cypriots, and, since 1974, the growth of indigenous efforts across the lines of hostility to reconcile.
The history of the Cyprus conflict is rarely recounted in a balanced, informed way.Ü This Web site provides just such depth and balance.Ü It lays out the history using original documents, scholarly treatments, and other resources.”
Newsroom Leadership Essays - Conflict Resolution
Edward Miller’s Newroom Leadership site includes essays of interest to newpaper editors, including those who work on campus. He has developed a number of Essays on Conflict Resolution that are worth a look. Miller describes goals of the site:
“Most editors have had little management training. We got our jobs because we were good at something else—reporting, copy editing, photography. Then one day we became managers, and were asked to master an entirely different discipline. The “Reflections on Leadership” essays—short, to-the-point weekly emails—are valuable tools for newsroom leaders to build their own management skills, and to help others do the same.”
Thu, Aug 26, 2004
Managing Controversy in Agricultural Disputes - Powerpoint Slide Collection
Larry Sanders, from Oklahoma State University, put together a series of presentations on managing public disputes, with a focus on agricultural issues. The 16 powerpoint presentations used for this project have been posted online. Topics addressed are as follows:
Introduction
Conflict as Opportunity
Issue Evolution
Cameron County Texas
Case Breakouts
Framing Issues
Professional Roles
Expanding Opportunities
Anatomy of Public Conflict
Lunch Team Activity
Collaboration
Case Breakouts
Citizen Engagement
Professionalism
Wrap Up
Case Studies
Bombs and Bandwidth - The Emerging Relationship Between IT and Security
Bombs and Bandwidth, a book project of the Social Science Research Council, assembles scholars in a range of disciplines to explore the new nature of IT-related threats, the new power structures emerging around IT, and the ethical and political implications arising from this complex and important field.” The Introduction is available online as a pdf, as well as a story about the initiative.
Introduction by Robert Latham from the “Bombs and Bandwidth” in PDF format [168 KB].
Interview with Robert Latham featured in MSNBC Newsweek (October 28, 2003).
Here is the TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Cyberwar and National Security
Cyber Security As An Emergent Infrastructure - Dorothy Denning
The American Cyber-Angst and the Real World Ò Any Link? - Ralf Bendrath
Beyond the American Fortress: Understanding Homeland Security in theInformation Age - Rachel Yould
SURVEILLANCE AND SECURITY
Toward a Theory of Border Control - Martin Libicki
The Transformation of Global Surveillance - Susan Landau
Privacy and Secrecy After September 11 - Mark Rotenberg
Addendum: Observing Surveillance - Marc Rotenberg, Mihir Kshirsagar, Cedric Laurant, Kate Rears
DIGITAL WAR-MAKING
Hacking Networks of Terror - Ronald Deibert and Janice Gross Stein
Programming Theatres Of War: Gamemakers As Soldiers - Timothy Lenoir
Perpetual Revolution in Military Affairs, International Security, and Information - Chris Hables Gray
CIVIL VIOLENCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
Bullets to Bytes: Reflections on ICTs and ÏLocalÓ Conflict - Rafal Rohozinski
ICT and the World of Smuggling - Carolyn Nordstrom
Information Technologies and the Web Activism of the RevolutionaryAssociation of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) - Electronic Politics and NewGlobal Conflict - Michael Dartnell
The Internet’s Mediation Potential in Protracted Conflicts: The Case of Burundi - Rose Kandende-Kaiser
How to Deal with Domestic Violence: A Self-Help Book for Men Who Want to Change
The Australian Freedom From Fear campaign has been working to develop a longterm strategy for addressing domestic violence. One product of their work is this Self-Help Book for Men Who Want to Change, which speaks directly to men about their use of violence or controlling behaviors and ways to move away from it and toward nonviolence in relationships. The nine sections of the online “book” cover Assessment, Anger, Children, Where You Fit In, Control, The Cycle of Violence, Why?, Relationships, and Other Men.
Spanish Army Peacekeeping Missions - Flash-based Overview
This Flash-animated site attempts to provide a quick overview of the peacekeeping work being done by the Spanish Army. It displays regions of the world, with the ability to click on various disputes for more information. Links lead out from the site to associated peacekeeping documents.
Sun, Aug 22, 2004
Conflict Resolution Unit for Teaching English (and other units as well)
You can view these Teaching English Units curriulum materials online. As described by the host site at the University of Minnesota - Duluth, “this archive of student work is among the most creative Teaching English resources you’re likely to find on the Web. In these pages you can find fresh solutions for old problems, discover new directions to take your classes, or just have fun perusing some innovative unit lesson plans.”
Of particular interest to our readers is the Conflict Resolution Unit by Elizabeth McGovern and the Interpersonal Communication: Message Making and Meaning unit by Kari Rasmussen.
Thu, Aug 19, 2004
C.A.S.T. - The FFP Conflict Assessment System Tool
The Fund for Peace developed an analytical model for exploring the causes and consequences of internal state collapse, as depicted in this image. They have a computer program that is designed to apply the model. According to the developers, “In developing C.A.S.T., The Fund for Peace uses the most sophisticated information technologies available, integrating video and/or audio clips, digital photos, documents, and other data sources into its interactive, user-friendly interface. C.A.S.T. processes data from multiple sources, organizes it and creates graphic displays that identify major social, political/military and economic trends that track the increase or reduction of the risk of conflict. It also creates a standard database methodology for collecting and sorting information relevant to internal conflicts around the world.” The software is not available online, but more information is available at the Fund for Peace website pages on their Conflict Prevention and Recovery Program.
Tue, Aug 17, 2004
Working with Individual Faculty Members: The Challenge of Departmental Conflict
The American Council on Education has developed The Department Chair Online Resource Center with links to short but pragmatic articles and book excerpts designed to support the needs of departmental chairs. Of particular interest to our readers is the section on Working with Individual Faculty Members: The Challenge of Departmental Conflict, which is found at the bottom of the section on Building a High Quality Department. Currently available documents include:
“Dealing with Challenging Faculty”. (131KB; PDF) .
Academic Leader 18, no. 10 (October 2002): 1+.
Connell, Mary Ann, Ann H. Franke, and Barbara A. Lee. “Lessons to Be Learned and Practical Advice for Managing Conflict in the Academy” . From Nobody Said This Was Going to Be Easy: Legal and Managerial Challenges for Department Chairs and Other Academic Administrators. Originally prepared for Stetson University Law School conference on law and higher education, February 2001.
Higgerson, Mary Lou. “Managing Conflict” (357KB; PDF).
In Communications Skills for Department Chairs, 139-149. Bolton, MA: Anker, 1996.
Higgerson, Mary Lou and Susan S. Rehwaldt. “Statics, Tensions and Abrasions” (285KB; PDF).
In Complexities of Higher Education Administraiton: Case Studies & Issues, by Mary Lou Higgerson and Susan S. Rehwaldt, 19-33. Bolton, MA: Anker, 1993.
Holton, Susan A. “Academic Mortar to Mend the Cracks: The Holton Model for Conflict Management” (269KB; PDF). In Mending the Cracks in the Ivory Tower: Strategies for Conflict Management in Higher Education, 221-238. Bolton, MA: Anker, 1998.
Holton, Susan A. “You’ve Got Conflict: E-mail and Conflict Management” (72KB; PDF)
Written specifically for the ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center, 2005.
Holton, Susan A. “Understanding the Foundations of Conflict” (84KB; PDF)
Written specifically for the ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center, 2005.
McDaniel, Thomas R. “Dealing with Department Chair Detractors: Strategies that Succeed” (172KB; PDF). The Department Chair 12, no. 4 (spring 2002): 13-15.
Meadows, Mark. “Understanding the Complexities and Dynamics of Conflict” (42KB; PDF). Academic Leader 19, no. 2 (February 2003): 48.
Waggoner, Jacqueline. “When Colleagues Are Brats” (72KB; PDF)
Academic Leader 21(8) (August 2005).
Academic Leadership Case Studies from Insight Assessment
The Insight Assessment website is now providing a set of eighteen fictional cases designed to support the professional development of academic chairs, deans, and vice presidents.
You can find the Academic Leadership Case Studies online. The author of these cases, Dr. Peter Facione, is a former Chair of the American Conference of Academic Deans. He believes that conversations and reflections on case studies refine academic leadership and professional decision making by helping people see assumptions, consequences and options. As he states it, “The events and characters depicted in the short cases presented are all fictional. The situations, however, are not uncommon. There is more than one reasonable way to approach each case; yet, some ideas about what to do or why to do it are going to be more humane, more prudent, more just, more sensitive to core responsibilities, more practical, more effective in the short and long term, and, hence, frankly, better, than others. There are certainly some serious mistakes a person can make in each case, mistakes with unfortunate consequences for the individuals involved, for the common good, and for the institution.”
The eighteen fictional cases are grouped as indicated below. Each is a story with questions interspersed to provide opportunities for problem framing, critical and creative thinking, decision-making, and good judgment. Cases are in .pdf file format.
Chairs
“The Core Course Setback”
A faculty colleague fails to complete a curricular project of vital importance to the future of the department.
“The Defenders of the Right”
A student appeals the final grand assigned by an obstreperous professor.
“The Innocent Gift”
A faculty member gives an administrative assistant a gift as compensation for unauthorized overtime work.
“Moonlight and Sunshine”
Faculty moonlighting causes hard feelings in the department and creates potential conflicts of interest.
“Between The Rock and a Hard Place”
A Chair tries to sort out the rights and responsibilities of the departmental administrative assistant vis-á-vis the expectations of different departmental faculty.
Chairs and Deans
“Clearing Trees and Planting Seeds”
A Chair seeks the Dean’s advice on making a very difficult colleague take on a needed assignment.
“Rumors and Ruminations”
Senior faculty from different departments compare inconsistent interpretations of college budget policy.
“Welcome Back, Popper”Ü
Just before the term starts the Dean learns that a tenured professor, whose courses are fully enrolled, may need a disability leave relating to substance abuse..
“Eye of the Beholder”
The new Chair’s evaluation of an untenured faculty colleague is seriously inconsistent with the past Chair’s.
“You Can’t Copyright an Idea”
An angry and aggrieved assistant professor accuses a senior colleague of plagiarizing research.
Deans
“The Evaluation Appeal”
A faculty member appeals an unfavorable departmental evaluation on grounds of both merit and disability.
“The Power Diving Probationer”
A new assistant professor alienates almost all departmental colleagues in record time.
“Friends and Family”
A Chair’s enthusiasm for hiring a talented friend threatens to generate multiple problems.
“Never Again: The Promotion Denial”
A new President denies promotion to a less than stellar candidate whom the Dean and faculty had supported.
Academic Vice Presidents
“The One-time Budget Fix”
An in-basket awash in budget problems leads the vice president seriously to consider selling parts of the curriculum.
“Serving the Stockholder’s Interests”
An influential benefactor and an angry President demand that an offending assistant professor be summarily fired.
“The Free Market of Ideas”
Questions of intellectual property rights and curricular control emerge when a star professor’s course is sold.
“The Husband’s Wife’s Professor”
The husband’s attorney demands that college take steps to end an alleged affair between the wife and her professor.
Campus Activism Resources
The CampusActivism.org: Tools for Activists website has been growing steadily, providing a shared point of contact for many student activist groups and causes. Of particular interest is the long list of resources shared at the Campus Activism Resources portion of their site. The current number of items is 252. Students have been gettin’ busy!
Thu, Aug 12, 2004
Resource Pack on Conflict Sensitive Approaches to Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Peacebuil
A collaboration between FEWER, International Alert and the Saferworld programme on conflict-sensitive approaches has resulted in the publication of a toolkit known as the Resource Pack on Conflict Sensitive Approaches to Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Peacebuilding. 
Faculty and conflict studies scholars may be particularly interested in the Conflict Analysis chapter, as it provides detailed information on 15 different conflict analysis tools that are used in the field.
The pack is available both online as html files, and for download as pdf files. I found some of the image links in the html version to not be working at the time I wrote this…if you do too, perhaps the pdf version is the one to go for. See direct links to the PDF versions of the files found below.
- Introduction: Introduction to the Resource Pack
- Chapter 1: An introduction to conflict-sensitive approaches to development, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding
- Chapter 2: Conflict analysis
- Chapter 3: Applying conflict sensitivity at project and programme level
- Chapter 3 Module 1: Conflict-sensitive planning
- Chapter 3 Module 2: Conflict-sensitive implementation
- Chapter 3 Module 3: Conflict-sensitive monitoring and evaluation
- Chapter 4: Integrating conflict sensitivity into sectoral approaches
- Chapter 5: Institutional capacity building for conflict sensitivity
Wed, Aug 11, 2004
Conflict-Resolving Game - an Alternative to the Traditional Debate
The folks at the Conflict Resolution Network in Australia have laid out the process for engaging a small group in a debate-like process using conflict resolution principles rather than focusing primarily on criticism and competition. It is similar in style to the constructive controversy process articulated by others, but is flexible and thoughtfully presented and includes assessment forms for use at the completion of the experience.
Tue, Aug 10, 2004
Use Yahoo or Google to “Find it in your library”
The partnership between the OCLC library cooperative (managers of the worldcat library system) and search engine companies Yahoo and Google has led to a nice feature for finding local books. Basically you put your search terms into the search box followed by a space and then the key phrase site:worldcatlibraries.org and you get a listing of results, which when clicked on present you with the option to search local libraries via your zip code.
Try these preset searchs I cooked up below to see it in action:
Search Yahoo for Mediation Books in Your Library
Use Google to Find Conflict Resolution Books in Your Library