The Best People For The Worst Places (11/17/08)
Richard Barron From the end of World War II through the end of the 20th Century approximately 3.3 million people were killed in intrastate conflicts and over 16.2 million were killed in intrastate civil wars! Most people read those numbers, shake their heads, and move on to the next item. A very few people stop and decide that they must devote their lives to modify this proclivity of our species to kill each other on an incomprehensible scale for generally indefensible reasons.
Defining 'success'; in dispute resolution training (9/23/08)
Geoff Sharp Just out from John Wade at Bond University in sunny Queensland - a must read for anyone who dabbles in mediation training: Defining “success” in negotiation and other dispute resolution training."Once upon a time in the far off kingdom of Learningland, three negotiation courses were held during the same week in the capital city Rarelyfail.Course A was held in the Hilton Hotel, with delicious food and three speakers. Two of the speakers were famous practitioner negotiators who...
(8/13/08)
Keith Seat
The New York state judiciary issued its first statewide mediator training requirements to be on court rosters, requiring 24 hours of basic mediation skills training and another 16 hours relating to the types of cases to be referred. The rules also set standards for neutral evaluators, requiring five years of substantial experience as a judge or practicing lawyer in the kinds of cases being referred. Continuing legal education was set at six hours every two years for both mediators and neutral evaluators. The rules clarify that a person qualifying as both a mediator and neutral evaluator may act in both capacities in the same case.
Law.com (July 24, 2008)
Negotiation: The Disconnect (7/21/08)
Nancy Hudgins I’m seeing a disconnect between what’s being taught to current law students about mediation and what the best negotiation professors are advocating versus what’s actually taking place in front of me in many mediations.Current teaching. Last Spring, the ABA’s Dispute Resolution Committee held a mediation competition for law students. (Quinnipiac University School of Law’s team won, which I wrote about here.) The ABA’s scoring system gave the highest marks...
Listening (5/13/08)
Alan Sharland The purpose of listening in conflict resolution is not for the listener to get ‘the facts,’ but to support the speaker in understanding their own thoughts and feelings about the destructive conflict they are involved in.
Optical illusions as a training tool for mastering negotiation and conflict resolution skills (12/11/07)
Diane J. Levin As a trainer of negotiation and conflict resolution skills, I love using optical illusions to demonstrate the fallibility of our perception. They alert us that our senses can be unreliable and susceptible to influence. And they remind us that it is always possible to see things differently. The ability to be alert to errors in thinking and judgment that any of us are prone to is of course essential to anyone who is negotiating or resolving a dispute.Here are two optical illusions I was...
Mediation and National Security Personnel System (NSPS) Pay for Performance: Can The Pitfalls Be Avoided? (12/10/07)
Rick Voyles, Carol Rice The implementation of Paybanding – “Pay for Performance” is happening now. Congress has enacted the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) into law with total implementation by all government agencies and military components 2009. Based on the guidelines and expectations set out by the National Security Personnel System, managers and employees now have greater demands for accountability placed on them than at any other time in history. Will mediators be ready for the sharp increase in complaint cases that will be referred to them?
CR Competencies, Learning Assessment, & Pedagogy Cites (10/01/07)
John Windmueller At a recent symposium I presented on the topic of defining, teaching, and assessing conflict resolution competencies. The symposium’s organizers videotaped the panel, and I’ll post the footage when it becomes available, but in the meantime, here’s the bibliography handout I compiled for the talk:
CR Competency, Learning Assessment, & Pedagogy Cites
Anderson, L., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of...
Take A Skill-Pill (9/23/07)
Geoff Sharp So this looks cool...Skill-Pill is a short burst of bite sized skills delivered by video to your cell phone, blackberry, video iPod or smart phone just before the big event to get you in the zone.Going into a big negotiation or mediation? Take a 2 minute skill-pill in the taxi on the way.Demo here
Mediation and its Role in Adult Education (11/06/06)
David Silvera This article explores mediation as a tool, which can help any individual in his relationships with his fellow men, and also a philosophy of life, which can become a relevant and significant subject within Adult Education programs, and widen the horizons of those who participate in the life long process of learning.
The Experience of Training in Macau (China) (11/28/05)
Kin I (Deane) Lam Recently I delivered several training courses to an adult training center in Macau S.A.R., China. The program was designed to explore the connectivity of the gaming industry and the society of Macau by understanding the theory and practice of conflict management: recognizing how conflicts originate and evolve in the working environment, and learning skills to resolve interpersonal conflicts creatively.
What To Look For In A Basic Mediation Training (3/07/05)
Diane J. Levin My purpose in writing this article is to raise public awareness of the importance of doing your homework when it comes to making decisions regarding choosing a mediation training. Taking a mediation training constitutes an investment in your professional development, representing an important commitment of both time and money. The last thing you want is to waste either one of those precious commodities.
The Kid’s Guide To Working Out Conflicts (Book Review) (1/10/05)
Jon Linden In Naomi Drew’s newest book she presents one of the very best exhortations and explanations ever written on Peer Mediation. Peer Mediation usually refers to the process of mediation between and with Children/Adolescents in school situations. Most books on the subject try to help schools develop “in school” programs to support a Peer Mediation Implementation. It has been definitively shown, that such a program provides an outlet, a forum to discuss and resolve conflicts that arise and such a forum significantly reduces school violence. The forum allows the release of frustration and retaliation in violent manners, especially by the abused.
Who Needs A Mediator? With Training You Can Resolve A Conflict On Your Own (4/26/04)
Jack Hamilton & Elisabeth Seaman This article focuses on an individual who participated in our workshop in May 2003, and who applied the six-step process to a conflict between her and a person who was renting space at a barn the individual was managing. One of the skills the individual had acquired in our workshop was the ability to teach or coach another person with whom she might be in conflict to follow the six-step method in reality-checking each other’s assumptions.
Mentoring and Evaluating New Mediators (2/01/04)
Evan Ash In spite of our best intentions, we all have to start somewhere! For an experienced professional who would like to become a mediator, classroom training may seem like the only beginning needed to become effective. However, wiser more seasoned heads have prevailed in the dispute resolution field. It is widely recognized that some degree of supervised practical or clinical training is needed.
Conflict Management Training for Health Care Professionals (11/24/03)
Debra Gerardi Regardless of the role of the professional; physician, nurse, administrator, manager, social worker or technician, as a group, health care professionals face more conflict and greater complexity than any other profession. Despite the challenges of balancing competing interests, philosophies, training backgrounds, the endless quest for adequate resources, and the emotional quality of the work that they do, very few health care professionals have had the opportunity to learn the skills and processes necessary for negotiating their environments.
A Step-By-Step Approach To Designing An Online ADR Course (10/06/03)
Jacqueline Reese There are many valid reasons for applauding online programs, but one traditional element missing in online instruction is the face-to-face interactions with the instructor and other learners. This is a cause for concern for ADR educators since the field of conflict management and dispute resolution traditionally use simulations and group interactions as core elements for instructional critique and training.
Preparing for Peace (Book Review) (6/02/03)
Bonita Para John Paul Lederach’s Preparing for Peace, presents a case for considering how we approach conflict resolution training across cultures. His approach in this book is to draw the reader into considering the objectives and mechanics used to achieving the goals we set forth for training and to also to be open minded in our consideration of conflict; peoples’ cultural resources; and conflict transformation. This is not a “how-to” book on training, but one that encourages leaving the imagination open to endless methodologies of training approaches.
Mediation and the Art of Motorcycle Riding (11/12/02)
Evan Ash I recently completed a motorcycle rider course at a local community college. My experience gave me some added benefits. It allowed me to have a powerful opportunity to live what my mediation students encounter in their training. This article shares those lessons with other mediation coaches, mentors, teachers, and supervisors. My hope is that through this learning, we can "raise the bar" on the quality and proficiency of the members of our profession placed in our tutelage.
Conflict Management Systems: A Methodology for Addressing the Cost of Conflict in the Workplace (9/02/02)
Rian Thomas It is evident that there are tremendous advantages to preemptively dealing with conflict in the workplace before it escalates to unknown proportions. A well-designed Conflict Management System can make a tremendous positive difference to the bottom-line. Perhaps the most importantly, an effective CMS can meaningfully impact the lives of those in your organization. After all, as the adage goes: "Happier employees are more productive employees."
Ten Challenges Facing College Mediation Programs (10/29/01)
Nathan Makdad College Mediation programs face a variety of difficulties in delivering their services to students. Interviews with college programs focused on the areas of intakes going to mediation, training, publicity, and referral sources. Ten major challenges were identified and are discussed.
Click here for MORE ARTICLES
Calendar Organizations
