I’m planning my schedule of spring conflict resolution seminars and retreats in New England and would love your input before I reserve facilities. Which combination of days would work best if you wanted to attend one of my two-day events? [Can't see the embedded poll? Click here].
Conflict Resolution
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Conflict Zen
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10-second reader poll: best days of the week for seminars?
8 Feb 2010 | 6:04 am -
Conflict coaching interview on BlogTalkRadio
3 Feb 2010 | 3:36 amTexas conflict coach Pattie Porter interviewed me for her Blog Talk Radio show last evening. We talked about conflict coaching, how it differs from other types of coaching, and when it offers a good return on investment of time, energy and money. I also shared a few tips for becoming more conflict competent at work and home. I invite you to listen to the 20-minute interview here: Conflict Coaching Interview with Dr. Tammy Lenski We referenced my whitepaper, The Case for Conflict Coaching, on the show. If you want your own copy, you can get it here: The Case for Conflict Coaching Thanks,… -
How unspoken expectations influence conflict behavior
28 Jan 2010 | 10:28 amTo what extent do you play up to other people’s expectations of you during conflict? In workplace conflict, if they believe you’re aggressive, do you act more aggressively? In a relationship conflict, if they expect you to be a conflict coward, do you behave more timidly? A classic psychology experiment suggests you do. University of Minnesota researchers had a hunch that people sense how others view them and start exhibiting the expected behaviors, They set up this experiment, described in PsyBlog’s How Other People’s Unspoken Expectations Control Us: To test this in… -
The case of the doodling mediation participant
21 Jan 2010 | 8:36 amSometimes it’s hard to tell whether or not your adversary is as interested in working things out as you are. A while back I mediated a workplace dispute between two women who had been friends for many years, worked in the same office, and had a falling out resulting in a strained, unpleasant atmosphere for co-workers and visitors to the office. Their boss had asked me to help sort out the state of relationship conflict between them. One of the women (I’ll call her Lorraine) was eager to get my help, the other (I’ll call her Nicole) as reticent as can be. So reticent, in… -
Conversational riffs: making meaning out of conflict
17 Jan 2010 | 1:09 am“The riff that any jamming musician plays will greatly influence the next passage of music that the others will then respond with,” says Neil Denny in his new book, Conversational Riffs. Conversational riffs are “short snippets of language, comments or responses that enable us to be creative when we are confronted by conflict.” Neil, a conflict and communications writer and presenter based in the U.K., sent me a copy over the holidays and it delighted me so much I wanted to tell you about it. The book’s content is spot-on for anyone who wants to improve the way…
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Yahoo! News: Conflict Resolution
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Caucasus under no immediate threat of armed conflict (PanARMENIAN.Net)
9 Feb 2010 | 6:36 amAlexander Golts: Armenian army officers are better trained. -
School board approves resolution in attempt to oust Rude (Austin Daily Herald)
9 Feb 2010 | 5:03 amThe school board moved Monday to pursue ousting member Curt Rude. -
Austin school board votes to remove one of its members (WXOW 19 La Crosse)
9 Feb 2010 | 4:50 amThe Austin school board passed a resolution, Monday, to begin a lengthy process to remove one of its members, Curt Rude, citing a conflict of interest. -
Lunch groups allow Randolph kids to share (Randolph Herald)
8 Feb 2010 | 6:20 pmRandolph Community Middle School students are taking part in a new program run through Norfolk County District Attorney William R. Keating’s office that allows them to not only learn anger management and conflict resolution skills, but also have fun. -
Judge Platzer to receive resolution award (Times Herald)
8 Feb 2010 | 12:14 pmSt. Clair County District Judge Cynthia Platzer will be honored with the Conflict Resolution Advocacy Award on March 23 by the Resolution Center, a non-profit organization offering mediation services by trained volunteers.
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MSN: Conflict Resolution
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School board approves resolution in attempt to oust Rude - Austin Daily Herald
9 Feb 2010 | 4:32 amRude’s was the sole vote cast against the resolution to remove him at the board meeting ... The board seeks to remove the ex-police captain based on the presumption that a conflict of interest because of a pending lawsuit affects his ability to ... -
EALA to Sit in Kampala - TMCnet
8 Feb 2010 | 6:07 amThe session will also receive progress reports from the seven House Committees namely; House Business; Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution; Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources; Communication, Trade and Investment; Legal, Rules and ... -
News & Notes - Omaha World-Herald
7 Feb 2010 | 5:03 am“Into Temptation,” a movie written and directed by Omaha native Patrick Coyle, will run Friday through Feb. 18 at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 N. 13th St. in Lincoln. Coyle, who now lives in Minneapolis, will appear at the opening ... -
An Arab Voice - New York Times
5 Feb 2010 | 10:28 amThe time had come, he urged, for “conflict resolution.” His main message was that the international community had now to be engaged in the search for a settlement. The Arab-Israeli conflict had to be taken back to the United Nations, to be dealt ... -
Assembly President calls on Israel, Palestinians to implement ... - UN News Centre
5 Feb 2010 | 9:45 am... Assembly President Ali Treki today urged Israel and the Palestinians to heed the body’s call to conduct credible investigations into charges that both sides were guilty of serious human rights violations during the conflict in the Gaza Strip ...
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Resolving Conflict in Teams
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I’ve Moved My Main Blog
23 Jan 2010 | 9:29 amFor anyone reading this blog for very long, you know that I have not posted here in a long time. Over the last month or so, I’ve been carefully looking at how I allocate my time and where I post content. From that evaluation, I realized that I wasn’t posting here very frequently because I wasn’t [...] -
Confusion Breeds Conflict
1 Dec 2009 | 8:25 pmRecently, a group that I frequently work with decided to do some community outreach work. In the process, they put together a project to help families struggling with food costs. As the project developed, one person started making implementation plans. Another person asked some questions that had not yet been answered. The questions didn’t get back [...] -
Enabling Process Improvement
24 Nov 2009 | 6:58 amFor the past several months, I have been working with my friend and colleague Kevin Eikenberry on a number of projects. As part of my responsibility in working with Kevin, I serve as a coach on the monthly group coaching call for Silver Members of Kevin’s Remarkable Leadership Learning System. While this post doesn’t specifically address [...] -
Just Say “I’m Sorry”
16 Nov 2009 | 8:11 amI’ve written about the power of apology in the past, and today I was reminded of the power of the words “I’m sorry” by a short article I read in the November 23 edition of BusinessWeek magazine. As part of a larger article titled 10 Ways to Cut Health-Care Costs Right Now, I found item number [...] -
Easy Isn’t Necessarily Best
11 Nov 2009 | 11:38 amYesterday, I stopped at a fast-food restaurant to grab a sandwich. When I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed six or seven cars in the drive through line and no one standing in line inside the building. So, I parked my car, walked inside, purchased my sandwich, and returned to my car in about [...]
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Brains On Purpose™
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I will be away for several days
4 Feb 2010 | 10:30 amI'm looking forward to writing more posts when I return. -
Learning and the Brain: Some conferences for all of us who are teachers and learners
2 Feb 2010 | 9:35 amConflict resolution is about learning. From Learn, baby, learn: Resources to help facilitate brain learning and mind changing: Resolving conflict typically requires our learning much, including the parties' positions, interests, and stories. Growing as a conflict professional requires that we be learning about ourselves, too, both in the room and away from sessions. We are not the only ones who... -
Neurososcience "evolved from an interdisciplinary specialty to a full fledged scholarly discipline"
28 Jan 2010 | 11:12 amUsing new methods of analysis, researchers have tracked 10 years of neuroscience. One member of the team was quoted in a release. "We wanted to map changes in science over the past decade. To do so, we started with more than 35 million citations between the articles in over 7000 scientific journals. This network of citations represents the flow of... -
Brain talk: How to talk with your clients about neuroscience
26 Jan 2010 | 4:22 pmLast November, I posted a poll in a post titled Do you tell your clients about neuroscience? A quick poll. I appreciate the time and thought taken by those who responded. The first question I asked was How much information do you typically share with your clients about neuroscience? 1=Not Much, 5=Everything I Know The responses: 1 - 5.6% 2... -
Our hidden brain: How much of an influence does it have on our decisions?
26 Jan 2010 | 3:07 pmFor those of you always happy to learn more about the decision-making process (isn't that true of all conflict professionals?), here's a new book for you: The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives. Right now you can click to listen to an NPR interview of the author Shankar Vedantam; it...
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Freak Revolution
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This is a very public post about my very private parts.
8 Feb 2010 | 6:30 amYes, folks, this is a post about my girly bits. Specifically about my cervix, but my vagina is discussed. Daddy and Little Brother (and anyone else uninterested in my girly bits), you probably want to stop reading right here. I’m going to be disturbingly frank. Consider yourselves warned. There’s a good lesson at the end, though. (Tempt, tempt.) Let’s begin. My vagina and I are good friends. Unlike most women, I’m rather familiar with how mine looks and feels, inside and out. This has come in handy from time to time, when something is awry – I can catch it before… -
Community Update #11: Telepathic narcissists, retreat!
5 Feb 2010 | 6:30 amHello again! Here’s a taste of what’s been going on lately with our community and around the internets. How to be telepathic This is an interesting article about how to avoid the usual error. The upshot is to imagine what the other person would think at some point far away in the future, rather than imagining what they would think right now. When it comes to guessing what others are thinking, our future-guessing is far more accurate (even for now!) than our now-guessing. Taylor Muse Our friend Taylor Muse shares his thoughts about religion, music, Daniel Quinn, and the control… -
I’m sorry, was that the Freak Alarm?
3 Feb 2010 | 6:30 amRecently, a woman flipped out at me for being a Witch. Told me I was going to hell and everything! I was kind of dumbfounded by it, truth be told, and wound up getting the giggles by the time I got safely back in my car. Sometimes, I forget that there are still people who don’t like that I’m a Witch (or a lesbian or tattooed, etc). I mean, there are people who don’t like that I’m vegetarian, and I forget that all the time. It’s one of the pros and one of the cons about living my freak life in a freak city in a freak bubble. I forget that the rest of the world… -
A violation of boundaries is never okay.
1 Feb 2010 | 6:30 amOver the weekend, we went to a good friend’s birthday party. It was a huge get-together, filled with many people from many walks of life. One of the many people was a guy I’ve met before through a totally unrelated group. This guy and I had a brief conversation, he made me uncomfortable, and I moved on to talk to people who didn’t make me uncomfortable. I later found out that he’s something of a sexual troll – he gets involved in groups and then tries to make it with as many of the women as possible without anyone finding out. He’s not very good at the no… -
We hurt ourselves when we hurt others.
29 Jan 2010 | 6:30 amSo, there’s this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (stay with me on this) wherein Data is working with a scientist (Dr. Marr) to communicate to this giant crystalline entity that killed her son when Data’s brother Lore aided the entity in wiping out an entire colony. Dr. Marr hates Data because she thinks he’s in with the entity, too, since his brother was before. She makes her hatred no secret, insulting and threatening him and being quite cruel – all of which does not affect Data in the slightest, he being an emotionless android and all. After a while, Dr.
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Mediation marketing and career guide: Making mediation your day job
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April mediation business seminar in New England
9 Feb 2010 | 2:26 amI’ve just opened registration for my new one-day mediation marketing seminar taking place on Friday, April 9 in Salem, NH (an hour north of Boston). Here’s what I’ve got planned for you: Uplevel Your Mediation Business: How to Offer Compelling Value to Your Market, Online and Off Are you a mediator who wonders… What the marketplace really wants from someone with your skills? How to stand out in the crowd authentically and without arrogance? How to get the ball rolling with word-of-mouth marketing? How to leverage social media and the web to attract prospective clients? -
The case for extended, integrated mediator preparation
4 Feb 2010 | 2:00 amA few years ago, I and my Woodbury College faculty colleagues Susanne Terry and Alice Estey published an article on mediator training and preparation in ACResolution. Last week’s Cafe Mediate podcast got me thinking about that article again – it’s content is still valid and the topic still timely. So, with my colleagues’ agreement, I’m posting an updated version of the article here. If you’re interested in this topic, you might also like my past article, The Integrated Practitioner: What It Takes to Be One. The value of extended, integrated mediator… -
What makes a great mediator?
29 Jan 2010 | 8:49 amWhat makes a great mediator? That’s the question we asked and the answer we discussed and debated in the most recent episode of the Cafe Mediate podcast. Joining me were fellow New Englander Diane Levin of The Mediation Channel, London-based Amanda Bucklow of The Mediation Times, and New Yorker Jeff Thompson of Enjoy Mediation (and whose Project Bluejay is worth checking out). Listen to the podcast at the Cafe Mediate site or get it on iTunes. Future Cafe Mediate topics include certification, getting the best training and preparation, mediation “schools” or… -
Getting mediation widely adopted in the marketplace: 5 characteristics of successful innovation
28 Jan 2010 | 2:45 amWhat will it take for ADR to reach a real tipping point in broad adoption by the public? While tempting to place the answer to this question squarely on the shoulders of national and regional professional associations, the more effective answer instead places the responsibility on the collective shoulders of all individual mediators. There are five critical characteristics that affect the rate at which a new idea gets adopted broadly in the marketplace. Know the five — and how to address them in your marketing efforts — and you have a powerful key not only for your own success, but also… -
Mediator’s toolbox: the conflict dynamics profile
26 Jan 2010 | 4:44 pmI periodically profile good tools for the mediator’s toolbox (many also work for conflict coaches and trainers as well) – tools that help us do our jobs better and help our clients get a new angle on an old problem. The Conflict Dynamics Profile® (CDP) is one of those tools. I’ve been certified in the use of the CDP since 2005 and decided it was high time to blog about the CDP. Nancy Pridgen, Communications Director for the Center for Conflict Dynamics at Eckerd College, graciously agreed to a brief interview. The Center, home of the CDP, helps leaders and organizations…
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Program in Conflict Studies and Dispute Resolution UNCG
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A mediation roadmap for Afghanistan
7 Feb 2010 | 6:41 pmAn interesting article about a plan for some progress in Afghanistan using a mediated approach, led by former Taliban and the current government. http://www.truthout.org/peace-talks-may-follow-ex-taliban-mediators%E2%80%99-plan56692 -
New edition of "The Peacemaker" and Training opportunity
5 Feb 2010 | 9:32 amA new edition of the NC Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section Newsletter "The Peacemaker" has just been released. Included are articles on family conflict resolution processes in a community mediation center (including divorce and elder issues), finding an international mediator for commercial cases, Ms. Mannerly Mediator discusses misbehavior of observers during mediation, integrating technology, and some issues around rule changes affecting mediation in North Carolina. http://disputeresolution.ncbar.org/media/5490175/drfeb10.pdfAlso, don't forget to save the date for the section's… -
Northern Ireland devolution process begins
5 Feb 2010 | 8:44 amA link to the direct story:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8499992.stmHere's a link to a .pdf of the Hillsborough Castle Agreement (in case you are interested in the details)http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/castle_final_agreement15__2_-3.pdfMore information on Northern Ireland can always be found here:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/default.stm -
Superbowl may be avoided through diplomacy
5 Feb 2010 | 8:39 amIn late breaking news, The Onion has announced that the Saints and the Colts are trying to resolve their conflict by means of negotiation. If these negotiations are successful, the actual playing of the Superbowl will be unnecessary. For the full story, please go to: www.theonion.com/content/news/saints_colts_hoping_to_resolvep.s. if you don't know "The Onion" this may not make much sense, but suffice to say it's all in fun -
Celebrity divorce mediation
23 Nov 2009 | 4:44 pmThis article about the Goselin's seems to demonstrate that even in the most public and potentially contentious of divorces that dispute resolution can work in concert, with mediation and arbitration combining to move this divorce forward.http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20321938,00.html
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conflict-resolution « WordPress.com Tag Feed
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HELPING HANDS IN HAITI
9 Feb 2010 | 4:55 amOne of the difficulties in helping quake victims in Haiti is badly damaged or lack of infrastructure, which makes it difficult to establish supply lines. In early communities that had no pipelines or pressure hoses, fires were put out with the help of bucket brigades – lines of people passing buckets of water from hand to hand to the fire at the end of the line. In many ways this is a useful image for able bodied people helping those less fortunate in Haiti. At the end of the bucket brigade line would be people needing water to drink – and food. Strong men taking the food and… -
Expand Your Mental Ability Experience Rush Hour
8 Feb 2010 | 6:56 amEven if you drive one of the fastest cars in the world like the Veyron you cannot get through Rush Hour any quicker. But today’s post is not about the Rush Hour you may experience going to and from work or school each day it is about an excellent problem solving game that can help you expand your mental ability. Find out more about this mind expanding game and see a picture of the Veyron by following this link. Enjoy a great day, David p.s. You can follow this link to find out details about my Free e-book ‘The Most Important Steps to Reduce Stress and Increase Success’ . Confirm you… -
Tips on Parent-Teacher Communication
8 Feb 2010 | 5:22 amEducational research reveals that positive family engagement is a significant factor for student success. Here at St. Mary’s School we are blessed to have families who desire to be active partners in their child’s education. In turn, we also are blessed to have teachers and staff that reach out to welcome families. Educators and families must work together to achieve student success and one essential component to this end is good communication. In a recent faculty meeting I discussed with the 3rd – 8th grade teachers the importance of open and productive communication with parents… -
You gotta practice man…
8 Feb 2010 | 2:18 amLuke 9:28-43 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter… -
Monday Morning Dread!
8 Feb 2010 | 2:00 amIt’s Monday morning and you may already be dreading going in to work, interacting with certain co-workers and completing certain tasks. One thing I often notice with people is that they prepare for a bad day, bad week, bad month before it’s even occurred! Sure, not every day will be great, not every interaction will get you the results you want. However starting your day and/or week with a negative disposition will cloud your judgement and effect your interactions with others. Think of it this way, if you think it’s going to be a bad day… it will be. If you think you…
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ANGER ON MY MIND
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Affordable Online Anger Management Classes in Charlotte, North Carolina
2 Feb 2010 | 6:22 amFor anger management classes in North Carolina visit www.masteringanger.com or call 704-804-0841. -
How to see change as my only option—what is at stake if I continue in my anger and conflict?
2 Feb 2010 | 6:16 amWhat happens if your idea goes over like a lead balloon? What happens if no one is interested in your idea? Do you continue to persist and for how long? While it is always good to be persistent, it is also good to understand when you have to throw in the towel. No one wins all of the time. It is impossible. When you see that you continue to run into a brick wall time and time again, it may be time for a change. It can be tough to give up on a dream. But many successful people have had many dreams that failed. Even successful corporations have hit upon some real clinkers. They did not give… -
The Most Affordable Online Anger Management Class $99
22 Jan 2010 | 12:30 pmALABAMA AL ALASKA AK AMERICAN SAMOA AS ARIZONA AZ ARKANSAS AR CALIFORNIA CA COLORADO CO CONNECTICUT CT DELAWARE DE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA FM FLORIDA FL GEORGIA GA GUAM GU HAWAII HI IDAHO ID ILLINOIS IL INDIANA IN IOWA IA KANSAS KS KENTUCKY KY LOUISIANA LA MAINE ME MARSHALL ISLANDS MH MARYLAND MD MASSACHUSETTS MA MICHIGAN MI MINNESOTA MN MISSISSIPPI MS MISSOURI MO MONTANA MT NEBRASKA NE NEVADA NV NEW HAMPSHIRE NH NEW JERSEY NJ NEW MEXICO NM NEW YORK NY NORTH CAROLINA NC NORTH DAKOTA ND NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS MP OHIO OH OKLAHOMA OK OREGON OR PALAU PW… -
Building Communication Skills
22 Jan 2010 | 12:25 pmThe next time you are in a conversation with someone; do not try to take the reigns. Be very mindful of this throughout the conversation and allow the other person to direct the way that the conversation goes. After the conversation is over and you find that the world is still spinning on its axis, you will realize that you do not need to have control over every conversation and situation. When you look for control in all communication, you are essentially telling the other person that you have no respect for their feelings or opinions and those things will be best if you just remain in… -
Warning Sign to Avoid Conflict
14 Jan 2010 | 5:31 pmIs there any time that you should avoid conflict? There are circumstances when you are better off to allow the conflict to diffuse itself, instead of trying to do this yourself. We all want to eliminate conflict in our lives or at least keep it to a minimum. No one likes conflict and most of us want to be better able to deal with the daily occurrences of conflict in our every day lives. But what happens when the conflict is so intense that is it not something that you can do anything about? There are some cases when you should wait until the storm blows over before you address the…
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Colin Rule's blog
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Obama meets the House Republicans
29 Jan 2010 | 6:56 pmThis video was UTTERLY MEZMERIZING to watch. Really an incredible event in modern American politics. Partial transcript: "Part of the reason I accepted your invitation to come here was because I wanted to speak with all of you, and not just to all of you. So I'm looking forward to taking your questions and having a real conversation in a few moments. And I hope that the conversation we begin here doesn't end here; that we can continue our dialogue in the days ahead. It's important to me that we do so. It's important to you, I think, that we do so. But most importantly, it's important to the… -
The common ground foundation
28 Jan 2010 | 5:23 pmOur President, last night: "I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you – I get it. But I also know that in a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger, or yield to the politics of the moment. My job – our job – is to solve the problem. Our job is to govern with a sense of responsibility... Now, there will be many different opinions and ideas about how to achieve reform, and that is why I’m bringing together businesses and workers, doctors and health care… -
The template for every news story you've ever seen
28 Jan 2010 | 5:09 pmThe Brits nail it better than the Daily Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtGSXMuWMR4 Amazing how a couple edits and on-the-street interviews can transform fuzzy thinking into something that seems insightful. -
wisdom of crowds vs. meanness of mobs
12 Jan 2010 | 2:29 pmJeffery A. Salter in The New York Times: "In the 1990s, Jaron Lanier was one of the digital pioneers hailing the wonderful possibilities that would be realized once the Internet allowed musicians, artists, scientists and engineers around the world to instantly share their work. Now, like a lot of us, he is having second thoughts... "Mr. Lanier, a musician and avant-garde computer scientist — he popularized the term “virtual reality” — wonders if the Web’s structure and ideology are fostering nasty group dynamics and mediocre collaborations. His new book, “You Are Not a Gadget,”… -
Tinselgate and online redress
7 Jan 2010 | 10:19 amAn inside chonicle of the kerfluffle (a.k.a "Tinselgate") over the White House xmas tree, with an ODR emphasis added: "During the first three weeks of December, the White House schedule of fetes and receptions proceeds without incident. The Wish Tree is groaning with wishes. Oprah and HGTV praise and immortalize our efforts. Everyone is happy. Even Pat Nixon’s old Faberge orbs, polished up and reused in one of many bipartisan gestures, are happy. DEC. 23: THE BLOGSPLOSION Some grody little snapshots find their way to Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government Web site HQ.... The iPhotos contain…
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Workplace Conflict Resolution
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Problem: Conflict in Workplace – Result: People Quit
Did you know that 65% of voluntary terminations are the result of unresolved workplace conflict? Not the sort of workplace conflict that turns nice people into bar brawlers or food fight participants in the company cafeteria or neighborhood diner. I’m talking about “double secret” conflict – the most damaging kind. Why do I call it “double secret” [...] -
Crucial Conflict- They What
Probably my favorite song from the album. Just the hook itself is sick. This whole album is sick. Here are the lyrics to the track. If you think some of the lyrics are wrong, feel free to comment. Chorus: Got me stuck up in the middle see Even though you niggas ain’t feelin me Still keep an eye [...] -
Conflict Zone – Dreamcast
war strategy for sega dreamcast Duration : 0:7:15 addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.familybusinessconflict.com%2Fconflict-strategies%2Fconflict-zone-dreamcast'; addthis_title = 'Conflict+Zone+%26%238211%3B+Dreamcast'; addthis_pub = ''; Technorati Tags: Conflict, Dreamcast, strategy, touchdownbundy84, Zone -
Giving and Receiving Feedback in the Workplace by Janet Stewart-Lussier, Team Development Expert
A short video podcast with practical tips and ideas for providing feedback in the workplace. Avoid creating more conflict with your co-worker by following Janet’s simple recipe for success! Duration : 0:5:1 addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.familybusinessconflict.com%2Fconflict-in-workplace%2Fgiving-and-receiving-feedback-in-the-workplace-by-janet-stewart-lussier-team-development-expert'; addthis_title = 'Giving+and+Receiving+Feedback+in+the+Workplace+by+Janet+Stewart-Lussier%2C+Team+Development+Expert'; addthis_pub = ''; Technorati Tags: Conflict, constructive feedback, corrective [...] -
International Conflict Resolution in the New Millenium
Martin Griffiths, founding Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, in conversation with Ambassador Alvaro De Soto, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (Oct 28, 2009. Columbia University World Leaders Forum. Co-sponsored by The Center for International Conflict Resolution Alvaro de Soto Conversation Series, School of International and Public Affairs) HD Centre is one of [...]
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ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace)
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Social & new media tactics: Generating and curating provincial news
8 Feb 2010 | 2:43 amAs part of my lecture series for mid-career journalists at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism, I held a class today on leveraging new and social media for news managers dealing with provincial news in Sri Lanka. Noting that the basis of this presentation was the generation of news from the provinces in a manner that also used new media (most provincial journalists still file their reports either through voice calls or by faxing hand written copies), I said that separate from this, those in Colombo in charge of news curation needed to be aware of the information already generated from the… -
Information and Technology for socio-political Change
2 Feb 2010 | 6:47 pmI had an interesting interaction this morning with Christina Goodness and a group of graduate students in New York University on Sri Lanka, touching upon the challenges it faces post-war and the ways in which information and technology can play a role in more systemic peacebuilding and reconciliation. The class wiki (as PDF here), largely based on Christina’s exemplary vision, is a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary and international syllabus that I wish universities in Sri Lanka also had. They don’t, and it is one reason why our tertiary education especially in the journalism, mired… -
Social Media in Haiti provides critical information on Haiti’s need
1 Feb 2010 | 6:12 pmOCHA’s ReliefWeb has (a very rough) transcript of my recent podcast with IRIN on the use of technology in Haiti’s January 2010 earthquake relief effort. Read it here. Read about the podcast and listen to the original version here. A pertinent excerpt from the interview: TUNBRIDGE: Did you see what is going on high-tech world here is unprecedented. Did you think it is going change forever the way we do respond to disasters? HATTOTUWA: The way we respond to disasters it will always be the same. It will require sweat. It will require physical effort and it will require political… -
Banning Sri Lankan porn online: A couple of months after…
31 Jan 2010 | 8:06 amResponding to an ill-advised and misguided petition filed by the IGP (yes, the same one who said mobile phones can be used by rape victims as evidence), the courts ordered the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) to ban twelve sex sites in July 2009. At the time, pro-government Sinhala media incredibly suggested that these sites were evidence of “an international conspiracy to tarnish the image of the country”, in addition to of course the hundreds of other conspiracies floating around. Fast forward a couple of months, and it appears that the blocking of these sites is… -
Clamping down on websites in Sri Lanka with Chinese help
30 Jan 2010 | 9:29 pmI have written extensively since 2005 on how the Rajapakse government has increasingly clamped down on websites. In From pornography to censorship? I flagged fears over the regime’s avowed desire to protect children from online pornography could lead to more blanket censorship of inconvenient content on the web. When the government went on to ban 12 pornographic sites (of the tens of millions still freely accessible), myself and others questioned the legality of the ban. Just before the Presidential election, a number of independent websites and aggregation portals were blocked from the…
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Nancy Love's Weblog
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Impartiality
28 Jan 2010 | 2:53 pmAs an Intervenor (coach or mediator or trainer) I am expected to be impartial. What does that mean? Impartiality only goes as far as our assumptions about each other. We intend to remain impartial and yet we find ourselves in situations that call for a stand on something. We call ourselves impartial and yet we BELIEVE that what we are doing is helpful. We say we are impartial and yet we may support the underdog in order to arrive at a FAIR agreement. Can we be impartial? ‘Be’ no. ‘Act’ yes. As interveners we can act with impartiality. We can… -
2010 – A Good Year
12 Jan 2010 | 1:31 pmA dirth of opportunity to write in blogspace has brought me here. I am writing again for the first time in this new year wondering to myself “where has the decade gone?’ A new decade … wow. This is the sixth decade I have seen start. Wierd. Time flies. Decades, like any fraction of time, seem long from the front and shorter from the back. Perspectives change. We grow and our world changes and looking back we wonder how we spent the time and how it could have slipped away from us like that. An hour, a day, a week … all present us with this shift of… -
Visiting Jordan
5 Dec 2009 | 9:32 amToday I floated in the Dead Sea again. This is the third visit for me. Because it is December there were very few people around. Only the hardy ones braved the cold (23C) to swim. The hotel also had a indoor great pool and spa area. It is about 40 minutes from Amman straight down hill all the way. We were 400 metres below sea level. The Sea is shrinking, too. the water levels were at least 10 metres lower than they were the last time we were here. There is lots of development on both sides. Hotels etc on the Jordanian side and more lights from the communities across the Sea … Jerusalem… -
A REorg in Progress
27 Nov 2009 | 10:11 amI just figured out how to use pages!!! Almost two years later. A liitle slow on the uptake. I have added a page called Dear Dr. Love where I can answer questions. I am also thinking about taking the categories and creating pages. Experienced bloggers will have to help me undersatnd the advantages and disadvantages of that. I do believe that a reorg will make this more accessible for everyone. Thanks for staying with me…. -
Making a List – checking it twice
19 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pmDo you make lists? I do. I make lists about everything and the most important lists are BIG and POSTED. Sometimes it helps me get things done and other times it just serves to feed my guilt about not getting around to things. Here is my list of things to write blogs about… Ethnography of each BEACH PULSE in Politics Conversations that work Conversations that change people’s mind – reference Howard Gardener Conversations for Leaders – words create worlds World Peace One Conversation at a Time. Views from Jordan, Ghana and Canada Conversation Institutes powered by…
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NCDD News & Perspectives
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New blog on reinventing change management
5 Feb 2010 | 7:42 amJust wanted to share a quick announcement about Slim Lambert’s new blog on Reinventing Change Managerment. Lambert has implemented numerous change management programs in global international companies focused on changes such as collaborative corporate cultures, delivering the people side of re-organisations and using talent management practices to empower people to develop their talents. His new blog is about sharing ways to build REFRESHING change management process. That is, Resistance free, Empowering, Fair, Result focused, Event based, Solution focused, High speed, Involving,… -
$1M grant awarded to engage citizens in Alberta around climate change
5 Feb 2010 | 5:41 amA group of top researchers and practitioners in deliberation we’ve been involved in recently got some great news we wanted to share with everyone… How can collective deliberation by citizens lead to wise and timely action on climate change, including by municipal and provincial governments? Alberta (Canada) will be a testing ground for this question over the next five years. An international team of scholars, NGOs, businesses, and governments will be addressing it, supported by $1 million in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and over $3… -
Reflecting on NCDD in 2009
1 Feb 2010 | 7:14 pmThe National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) moved in some new directions in 2009, in large part in response to President Obama’s focus on open government and citizen participation. Our work with the Open Government Initiative and on the Principles for Public Engagement both invigorated our membership and raised NCDD’s profile and status in many people’s eyes. NCDD continues to be one of the most trusted organizations in the field of public engagement, and seems to have more respect in the field now than ever before. We made significant progress in 2009 on several of… -
Announcing the February Open Government Directive Workshop
1 Feb 2010 | 4:55 pmThis month’s Open Government Directive Workshop will take place at the Charles Sumner Museum and Conference Center (17th and M Street NW, Washington, DC). The workshop will take place from 9am to 4:30pm on February 17th. RSVP is required by February 9th (instructions are below). NCDD is a partner of this workshop series, as is the General Services Administration (GSA), the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and GovLoop. NCDD member Alex Moll will facilitate February’s workshop. We have a great program planned. Building off the January 11th workshop at the US… -
Attendees at 2010 Stakeholder Engagement Online Conference can Support NCDD & Save!
1 Feb 2010 | 7:40 amNCDD is a Conference Affiliate for the Including the Excluded Online Conference that will take place March 2-4, 2010. This unique online conference will be focused on Social Inclusion, Social/Environmental Justice and Accessibility, and will feature interactive presentations, networking and more. A portion of your registration supports NCDD, so be sure to use the NCDD discount code (“NCDDspecial”) when you register, so you can save $40 and support NCDD at the same time! Registration for NCDD members is just $139. Here is the latest press release (January 27th) for the…
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Notes from the World of Anger Management
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The Importance of Aftercare for Disruptive Physicians
8 Feb 2010 | 9:47 pmGiven the newness of intervention programs for disruptive physician behavior, there are few outcome studies relative to the effectiveness after programs for this client group. In the absence of research on aftercare programs for disruptive physicians similar program should be considered. Continued research in the Sub Abuse field calls out the critical importance for strict adherence to aftercare programs or continuing care programs for those afflicted with alcohol addictions and/or substance abuse disorders combined with co-occurring disorders. Statistics in the addiction field indicate that… -
Anger Management Coaching for Stressed Out Parents/Moms
1 Feb 2010 | 11:17 amModern stresses of life have greatly complicated the job of parenting in this century. The revolution in communications, the Internet and all of the new electronic devices have forever changed the challenges of parenting everywhere. Increasingly, caring, loving parents are seeking anger management coaching for problems in managing/controlling their behavior in relation to the typical issues of cranky children. Generally, it is the stay at home mother with or without childcare help who is the person requesting assistance for problems in controlling her behavior with children who have learned… -
February Anger Management Training is Filling up Fast
1 Feb 2010 | 11:16 am2010 is the year for Anger Management. The January Anger Management Facilitator Training at Anderson & Anderson was the largest ever. 8 persons had to be turned away.According to google.com/trends, anger management is the hottest trend in human services. Anger management classes and Anger Management Organizational Training is an excellent income stream for Psycologists, Clinical Social Workers, MFTs, LPCs and Psychiatrists.For information or to enroll on-line, visit our website at www.andersonservices.com. or phone our office at 310-207-3591.George Anderson -
Anderson & Anderson Selected to Provide Individual Emotional Intelligence/Anger Management for Mid-level Management at Kaiser Permanente
26 Jan 2010 | 4:59 pmAnderson & Anderson is already the largest provider of Executive Coaching/Anger Management in the nation as well as the preferred provider of coaching for “disruptive physicians” at Kaiser Permanente.This new service agreement with Kaiser will dramatically expands the exposure of emotional intelligence/anger management to the workforce in California as well as the nation. In addition, it expands the reach of Anderson & Anderson in the area of preventing and addressing workplace aggressions, stress and tension.This announcement coupled with our overwhelmingly successful January… -
Anger Management Certification Training Breaks All Records
26 Jan 2010 | 9:05 amThis weeks’ Three Day Anger Management Facilitator Certification Training at Anderson & Anderson was the largest three day Anderson & Anderson training ever. If this is an indication of what’s to come, anger management will continue to be one of the hottest trends in human services for 2010. This training was actually over subscribed resulting in eight persons being turned away. Participants represented a wider range of disciplines including: psychoanalysis, marriage counseling, primary and secondary education, pastoral counseling, clinical social work and gang intervention. While…
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Blog
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Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and prospects for peace with the Taliban
7 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmMehlaqa Samdani Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are deemed integral to reconciliation talks with the Taliban leadership. However, there are limits to what the two countries are willing and able to achieve with respect to negotiations with the Afghan Taliban. read more -
Strategic Concerns, Historical Ties Make Pakistan Unwilling to Take On Haqqani Network
3 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmBy Katherine Hubbard In a move that deeply frustrated American military officers, Pakistani officials announced last month that they are not planning any new offensives against militants, possibly for up to a year. This is highly problematic for the U.S. because Pakistan’s willingness to eliminate militant hideouts in their territory, particularly in North Waziristan, is crucial to the success of the Obama administration’s strategy in the region. The Pakistani army’s spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas rejected U.S. pressure to step up attacks in the area, which… -
Upcoming PCR Event: Building Peace After War Book Release
3 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmOn February 19th the PCR Project will be hosting a book release for Mats Berdal’s latest book Building Peace After War. Building Peace After War is a critical assessment of international efforts, from Cambodia to Afghanistan, to consolidate peace in the aftermath of war. The book analyzes the nature of the modern peace-building environment and addresses the key tasks faced by outside forces in the early and critical ‘post-conflict’ phase of an intervention. Berdal also looks critically at the ways in which governments and international organizations,… -
Increasing Independence is the Focus of New Strategy in Afghanistan
2 Feb 2010 | 9:00 pmBy Katherine Hubbard The consensus at last week’s London Conference echoed the Obama administration’s new strategy for Afghanistan: the international community must begin to shift an increasing amount of responsibility to the Afghan government in preparation for a withdrawal of international troops. Sixty-five nations were represented at the conference and although they pledged to maintain their long-term commitment to Afghanistan, the conference affirmed the international community’s desire to see Afghanistan’s government play a larger role in the security,… -
Diaspora Communities Seek New Ways to Stay Connected to Their Homelands
31 Jan 2010 | 9:00 pmBy Katherine Hubbard In a recent Ushahidi Blog post entitled Building Bridges: Ushahidi as a Tool for the Haitian Community author Sabina Carleson writes about her four years of work on an oral history project chronicling the Haitian diaspora in the greater Boston area and discusses how Ushahidi technology could strengthen the connection between this community and their homeland. Carleson shares her powerful and moving stories about a community that has faced great hardships, but has consistently met challenges with strength and innovation. read more
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Peacemakers
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Will You Be E-Mailing This Column? It’s Awesome
8 Feb 2010 | 9:42 pmSociologists have developed elaborate theories of who spreads gossip and news — who tells whom, who matters most in social networks — but they’ve had less success measuring what kind of information travels fastest. Do people prefer to spread good news or bad news? Would we rather scandalize or enlighten? Which stories do social creatures want to share, and why? -
For Kremlin, an Election in Ukraine Cuts Two Ways
8 Feb 2010 | 9:33 pmKIEV, Ukraine — The apparent victory of Russia’s preferred candidate in the Ukrainian presidential race may be a relief to Vladimir V. Putin, who has long sought to discredit his neighbor’s raucous democracy and its drift to the West. But it comes with a catch: the election won by the candidate, Viktor F. Yanukovich, was highly competitive, unpredictable and relatively fair — just the kind of major contest that has not been held in Russia since Mr. Putin, the prime minister, consolidated power. On Monday, for example, European election monitors praised the election that was held… -
Maoists Discharge Last Child Soldiers in Nepal
8 Feb 2010 | 5:50 pmNepal has discharged all of the under-aged combatants from the army of the former Maoist rebels. That is being hailed as the closing of a critical chapter for the peace process in the poor, landlocked country between China and India. More than 200 former child soldiers boarded buses in the rugged highlands of mid-western Nepal for a ride back into civilian life. -
The State of the World’s Children: Special Edition
8 Feb 2010 | 4:01 pmOn 20 November 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. To commemorate this landmark, UNICEF is dedicating a special edition of its flagship report, The State of the World’s Children, to child rights… full report -
Abstract: Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa Historical, Legal and Anthropological Perspectives
8 Feb 2010 | 3:47 pmThis report … describes indigenous forest peoples in Africa from an anthropological point of view [and] highlights both historical principles of international law that have affected the situation of indigenous peoples and contemporary human rights standards…
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Settle It Now Negotiation Blog
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Featured Blogger Interview at Mediate.com
8 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pmMediate.com - where I published my first article on mediation - was kind enough to publish an interview with me about my mediation career and blogging experience today. Below an excerpt and at the link, more than you ever wanted to know about my legal and ADR career. [By mediating,]I regained everything I'd ever loved – people, story, drama, recovery – yet was allowed to retain the intellectual puzzle, strategic problem-solving job I'd enjoyed so much. It was like the farmer says at the county fair – he uses “every part of the pig except the… -
Negotiating Book Sales: Choosing the Best Cover
31 Jan 2010 | 6:55 pmUPDATE: Thanks to the many great comments I’ve gotten here, at LinkedIn, on the book's Facebook Fan Page, and on the book's website I’ve shifted my focus from trying to depict the Asshole on the cover to depicting the Asshole’s victim/s. Along those lines, I’m considering using an image somewhat like this cartoon by the great legal cartoonist, Charles Fincher of LawComix. I might even ask Charles if I can use this very cartoon. What do you think? With Charles’ hilarious caption above and as the cover of the book below. More after the jump. -
Motion to Compel Lunch: Granted
29 Jan 2010 | 1:13 pmThanks to Roger Wood at the Association Law and Other Musings Blog for passing along the Order for Lunch issued by the Maricopa County Superior Court (.pdf) excerpted below. Roger generously shared this truly glorious Order (and supporting opinion that you can read in the .pdf) over at Construction Law Musings today in response to my Guest Post there ("How to Get Sued"). Thanks Roger! This didn't just make my day; it made my year! Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel Acceptance of Lunch Invitation The Court has rarely seen a motion with more… -
Negotiating Fallacy: Diane Levin's Brilliant Fallacious Arguments Posts
26 Jan 2010 | 9:17 amIf you're following this blog but not Diane Levin's Blog The Mediation Channel, I have good news for you. Diane is an extremely focused, disciplined and lively writer. She's also one of the brightest and most canny negotiators, mediators and negotiation trainers I know. Diane describes her series, Fallacious Argument of the Month, as follows: With the goal of promoting clearheaded and reasoned debate and improving discourse, each month I skewer a different fallacy. Before giving you entree to this excellent series, let me first note that these arguments do not justify any… -
"Man" Up to Negotiate or Prevent Your Own Disputes at Sleeping Beauty's Castle
21 Jan 2010 | 11:35 amConflict is in the house. The evil fairy surrounded the castle with deadly thorns. The "good" fairy put everyone in the castle to sleep. Will you be the valiant Prince in your own dispute story? Or are you the prize? The beautiful one who would prefer to remain unconscious rather than address the great battle between good and evil represented here? Did you hire a lawyer to resolve your dispute for you? Will he make it to the castle in time? Or will he spend the bulk of his energy erecting more obstacles to prevent your adversary from…
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DIALOGIC Mediation Services
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“Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids”
4 Feb 2010 | 8:39 amHere’s a program note: Tonight at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), CBC-TV airs the documentary, Hyper Parents & Coddled Kids. As the title suggests, it’s about one of the current styles of parenting: the film looks at the cultural pressures on parents to raise exceptional children and the impacts on their children. Here’s a preview: And here’s what the [...] -
Mediate.com Recognized for Excellence as Problem Solver
26 Jan 2010 | 10:11 amThe American Bar Association (ABA) has announced that mediate.com is the recipient of its 2010 Lawyer as Problem Solver Award. In granting this prestigious award, the ABA stated: Mediate.com has been at the forefront of making the power of the Internet accessible to lawyers, mediators and dispute resolution practitioners. Mediate.com has been developing digital products and resources [...] -
Mediator Questions or What Mary Knows
23 Jan 2010 | 8:32 amLast February, I published a post entitled, Where is the mind situated?, that suggested that such a question already presupposes the type of answer that will be given, viz. that the mind is a thing, a substance, with a physical location in space. Instead of this materialist or physicalist conception of the mind, an alternative [...] -
Power, Love and Conflict
10 Jan 2010 | 7:29 amAdam Kahane’s new book, Power and Lover A Theory and Practice of Social Change sets out a new approach to resolving conflict, according to publishers, Berrett-Koehler. The two main ways that people try to solve their toughest group, community and societal problems are fundamentally flawed. They either push for what they want at all costs—in [...] -
Blawg Review #245
4 Jan 2010 | 2:03 pmThe new Blawg Review #245 was published last Saturday by the irrepressible, multi-talented and witty British lawyer-blogger Charon QC. You could do far worse with your time than heading over there for a look-see. (DIALOGIC Mediation Services receives a mention in Charon’s review.)
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SideTaker.com
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Saving Daughter From Idiotic Marriage Idea
5 Feb 2010 | 11:09 amSide 1 - My youngest daughter (18) fell for this real schlub of a guy at her job in Pizza Hut. She's going to college and this is her spending money. The guy... Side 2 - My dad never likes anyone I'm with so I don't expect him to like Craig. He doesn't think I'm mature enough to do anything and I'm still daddy's littl... -
Keep Your Hands Off The Wii
31 Jan 2010 | 3:14 pmSide 1 - Why is it that girlfriends think they should be allowed to touch everything their boyfriend owns? I have been playing this game for pretty much the l... Side 2 - Let's go through the points: - You'd rather play that game than have sex which I find weird. - You almost cried. - It's a game not real life. -... -
In Our Restaurant, Kid's Aren't On The Menu
26 Jan 2010 | 5:54 amSide 1 - So my boyfriend of 7 years finally admits he doesn't want kids. He says we waited too long and now we are too old and having kids will not allow us t... Side 2 - I want kids but I'm being resonable. She's not considering money which you need to have kids and we have none. By the time we could we would be much... -
When All The Wrong Things Are Said And Done
21 Jan 2010 | 4:13 amSide 1 - Jeff and I have been together for 3 years. Three months ago I got unexpectedly pregnant. Worried at first since we're not set up to have a baby yet,... Side 2 - I agree I want to be with her forever. I don't agree that should mean marriage. I see too many relationships breaking because of that. It just does... -
She Secretly Rips On Me To The Seniors
17 Jan 2010 | 7:37 amSide 1 - I started dating Jenna last summer cos we worked the same summer job. She is a senior in high school. I'm only a freshman. She's really sweet to me... Side 2 - I'm not as bad as he is saying. I say things sarcastically but I still love him. They are just jokes. I don't always laugh with my friends. They t...
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Playing Well
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Kevin Connolly — Playing Well at the X Games
31 Jan 2010 | 6:14 pmHave to let you all know that our friend Kevin Connolly just took 3rd place in mono ski at the X Games! To get a sense of what that means, click here for a short ESPN clip of the final run…This is not skiing for the faint of heart. I have to sing Kevin’s praises since [...] -
Steve Jobs — Three Tenets of Playing Well
17 Jan 2010 | 12:07 pmThe good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge. — Bertrand Russell When I recently found a YouTube version of Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement speech, I was not surprised to see the 1.5 million “hits” to date. This became one of my personal favorites when its transcript appeared in my inbox soon after [...] -
Different “Windows” or Why I Walked Out
4 Jan 2010 | 1:18 pmWhere you see flowers, a rabbit sees lunch. Where most of us would have noticed pesky burrs stuck to our clothing, in 1948 George de Mestral on a walk with his dog visualized Velcro. Our perspective shapes our experience. Brazilian Jarbas Agnelli reading the newspaper one day, regarded a color photograph of black birds sitting on electric [...] -
The Power of Stories
22 Dec 2009 | 11:00 amMy friend Sunny calls it, “the Friday morning weep-fest.” After last week I’d have to agree. Driving downtown, I too had tears rolling down my cheeks listening to National Public Radio’s latest selection from the Storycorps Project. Storycorps is an oral history project begun in 2003 where tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family [...] -
What a Bit of Encouragement Can Yield
12 Dec 2009 | 3:44 pmThis week I passed a coffee shop table where a friend sat with a pretty red-haired woman. Being introduced for the first time, I blurted out how beautiful she looked in an emerald green sweater set. I think I caught my new acquaintance a bit off guard and upon heading out again I thought, “There [...]
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Mediation Channel
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Change blindness: testing our powers of observation
4 Feb 2010 | 5:22 amIt’s happened at some point to anyone who drives a motor vehicle. You inch slowly into the intersection, cautiously looking in all directions to make sure that the right of way is clear. Convinced that you can now safely make your turn, you pull forward. Suddenly, out of nowhere, its horn blaring, appears a car, swerving to avoid you. In a panic, your heart pounding loudly in your ears, you slam on your brakes, wondering how in the world you could have missed that car. The subject of numerous studies, including research done by the Visual Cognition Lab of the University of Illinois,… -
Rethinking social media: the worth of trust in online business networking
4 Feb 2010 | 4:43 amIn the February 2010 issue of Harper’s Magazine is an essay entitled “The Serfdom of Crowds”, excerpted from You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, the latest book by computer scientist, web guru, and author Jaron Lanier. You Are Not a Gadget serves as a bracing rebuttal to the loud hallelujah chorus of praise for all things internet-related. Of social networking Lanier writes, An individual who is receiving a flow of reports about the romantic status of a group of friends must learn to think in terms of the flow if it is to be perceived as worth reading at all. Am I accusing all… -
Beware of the app: a warning to ADR bloggers and their readers on Facebook
4 Feb 2010 | 1:27 amNumerous news articles and blog posts have commented on the dark side of Facebook – its disregard for users’ privacy, the opportunities it affords for cyberbullying, and its vulnerability to spam, phishing exploits and malware. I’d like to alert my readers, particularly those of you who blog, about a Facebook trap to avoid. I regularly check search engines for mention of me or my blog, something that all of us should do routinely, not as an exercise in egotism but as good business sense, as my colleague Tammy Lenski has written. During a search yesterday on Google I learned that… -
Right before your eyes: on cognitive fluency, graphical literacy, and illusion
31 Jan 2010 | 1:10 pmOptical illusions make ideal teaching tools in negotiation and conflict resolution training. They serve as humbling reminders of the unreliability of our senses and the conclusions we draw from the data we perceive. One of my favorite illusions is “Shepard’s Turning the Tables“, which you can view at the web site of Professor Michael Bach of Universitäts-Augenklinik, Freiburg, Germany. This illusion depicts two tables standing near each other. The tables appear to be of different sizes, one apparently longer and narrower than the other. When you click “Run”, one… -
Does law lag behind science? Psychologists question Supreme Court campaign finance decision
31 Jan 2010 | 11:37 amIn yesterday’s mail, among the bills, bank statements, and catalogs, I found a solicitation from a non-profit. The package it arrived in declared in bold red letters that my “signature is needed” (not to mention, no doubt, my cash) for a petition to halt some objectionable political action. Visible through the plastic wrapper was a pen, their gift to me. No doubt you’ve received similar solicitations from other organizations. In the past they’ve sent me (and occasionally my dog) shiny nickels; return address labels; and (my personal favorite) a world map. Those who create…
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Waging Nonviolence
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Popularizing misconceptions about Iran’s Green Movement
8 Feb 2010 | 3:11 pmBlurred Vision, a Canadian band comprised of two brothers originally from Iran, just released a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall, part II” with a slight lyrical twist that changes the song’s antagonist from controlling teachers to the repressive Iranian regime. The new chorus supports the many young people who protested Ahmadinejad’s reelection by demanding, “Hey Ayatollah, leave those kids alone.” The music video goes a little further with its message, showing a fictional young Iranian woman on the run from what appears to be the… -
Experiments with truth: 2/8/10
8 Feb 2010 | 3:11 amPolice in Venezuela used tear gas, plastic bullets and water cannons to scatter hundreds of students protesting against the government Thursday, while President Hugo Chavez’s supporters celebrated the 18th anniversary of his failed coup as an army officer. Hundreds of London Underground maintenance workers went on the first of a series of 24-hour strikes Friday morning in protest over new roster arrangements. They will continue to cause disruptions at the same time every Sunday from February 14th until the dispute is resolved. Dozens of Yemeni journalists, civil-society activists and… -
Bombspotters sneak into NATO nuclear base in Belgium
5 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pmVredesactie (Peace Action), a “movement that radically acvocates a society in which conflicts are settled without violence or the threat to use violence,” posted this video on YouTube on Monday of a group of Bombspotters sneaking into the Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium, where they say around 20 NATO nuclear warheads are stored. According to their website: April 3rd will be a European Day of Action to ban nuclear weapons. Mass actions will take place at every European NATO nuclear weapons base in Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Belgium. To… -
Activists drop banner against drones at Smithsonian
5 Feb 2010 | 11:42 amThe news from Pakistan seems to be getting worse by the day. On Wednesday, a massive bombing in the Lower Dir district killed 7, including 3 US soldiers disguised as Pakistanis, and wounded at least 130 others. The day before, the US launched the largest coordinated drone strike inside Pakistan to date. According to Pakistani authorities, 9 drones fired 18 missiles, killing at least 31 people. This strike was the latest in an unprecedented wave of recent attacks. Just last month, for example, there were a record 12 strikes in the country, a nearly threefold increase over last year. To protest… -
Experiments with truth: 2/5/10
5 Feb 2010 | 11:37 amMore than 250 Washington State University Vancouver students staged a “mass walkout” to protest budget cuts to academic programs, the elimination of crucial financial aid, and continued tuition hikes. Canadian anti-Olympic protesters are promising a series of protests starting this weekend, culminating in a march on the opening ceremonies Feb. 12. Anti-US demonstrations in several Iraqi cities coincided with Vice President Joe Biden’s visit this week. Chinese artists have been staging flash mobs to protest the bulldozing of their studios. Chinese activist Feng Zhenghu ended his…
