We've looked at the brain-friendliness of visual communication in past posts. Today I am creating a very short post just to give you a couple of resources you may find helpful on that pictograph path™—if you decide to follow the visual way. First, a blog post on building your visual vocabulary: "Sketchnote building blocks + visual vocabulary" (Cheryl Lowry). This...
Conflict Resolution
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Most Topular Stories
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Visual vocabulary: Some tips for your pictograph path
Brains On Purpose™7 May 2013 | 10:15 am -
There’s always a way forward.
Pace and Kyeli16 May 2013 | 6:00 amIt’s the summer of 2012, and I’m falling apart. I’m about to quit my day job. We’re about to sell everything we own and live in an RV. We’re in the middle of renegotiating the custody arrangements for our son. Business is doing well, but not enough yet to pay all the bills. “Choose Peace” is my mantra. This is my iPhone background. But it’s just not working. Usually Remembrance helps me feel peaceful, so I do more Remembrance. It helps, but the peacefulness expires quickly, and there I go again, snapping at Kyeli, neglecting to take care of… -
Free Tim Lane and Paul Tripp Conference Sessions
conflict-resolution « WordPress.com Tag Feed11 May 2013 | 11:18 amThe Gospel Coalition: Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane have teamed up on a number of writing projects over the years, including How People Change and Relationships: A Mess Worth Making. Earlier this spring, Tripp and Lane were together in Albuquerque along with 700 attendees to address the theme “One-Anothering the Word” at Clarus ’13, The Gospel Coalition’s Southwest Regional Conference hosted by Desert Springs Church. These men have thought carefully and deeply from the Bible about how our broken relationships can be redeemed, and about how God actually uses our… -
Safety tips and security guidelines for Facebook
ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace)9 May 2013 | 11:53 pmGiven the vituperative pushback of the BBS online against those who participated in the vigil in Colombo a few weeks ago, immediate measures to secure content posted on to web based social media platforms are essential to protect one’s own privacy, and those of family, friends and colleagues. Engaging in liking content on Facebook, featuring articles on it, uploading photos and video, linking other social media accounts to it (like Instagram and Twitter) and commenting on others posts all expose personal information, as well as one’s network of friends and their personal information and… -
Symphony – Well Structured Magic
Nancy Love's Weblog14 May 2013 | 1:10 pmWhat does that word mean to you? Symphony orchestra comes to mind. The blending of sounds from different instruments to create melody and variation and sound that move people to heights of joy and sadness, music that tells a story, draws a picture, creating a perfect mixture of the right notes and volume. Symphony is like design with sound. A synonym for symphony is harmonious. I think Daniel Pink intended it to be more than harmonious sounds. From his book I get the impression he is talking about harmony and symphony as experienced in sight and sound … pleasing to the eye and the…
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Brains On Purpose™
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Visual vocabulary: Some tips for your pictograph path
7 May 2013 | 10:15 amWe've looked at the brain-friendliness of visual communication in past posts. Today I am creating a very short post just to give you a couple of resources you may find helpful on that pictograph path™—if you decide to follow the visual way. First, a blog post on building your visual vocabulary: "Sketchnote building blocks + visual vocabulary" (Cheryl Lowry). This... -
Filters and frames: Mediation is all about the viewfinder
17 Apr 2013 | 10:40 amOur brains are vigilant, hyperaware of any sensed change to see if it represents danger. Partly because they use a lot of our energy, our brains seek to deal with new information quickly and easily. So, rather like a photographer, the brain applies filters and frames. The filters shift, accentuate, and diminish what is seen. And the frames limit what... -
Conflict concert? Dispute ditty? Mediation minuet? Can the speech of angels lead to agreement?
3 Apr 2013 | 6:54 amMusic is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite. --Thomas Carlyle It's been a while since I last blogged about the role of music in conflict resolution. But I was reminded of its potential by a recent... -
What is the biggest, scariest mediation monster of all?
24 Mar 2013 | 8:38 pmBefore I venture an answer to the question in the title of this post, let me put forth a definition of monster, one of which I am particularly fond: Monster derives from the Latin word monstrum, which in turn derives from the root monere (to warn). To be a monster is to be an omen. --Stephen T. Asma, On Monsters:... -
Another clue that brain locationism is likely wrong or misleading: Why is the location concept sticky as glue?
23 Mar 2013 | 10:22 amLocationism is when people talk about the brain as if its activities or functions happen or are governed in just one location. For example, someone may say, "Here is the place in the brain for talking and the location for balking and the place for walking." I have blogged about this misperception before, e.g, here, here, and here. For some...
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Pace and Kyeli
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There’s always a way forward.
16 May 2013 | 6:00 amIt’s the summer of 2012, and I’m falling apart. I’m about to quit my day job. We’re about to sell everything we own and live in an RV. We’re in the middle of renegotiating the custody arrangements for our son. Business is doing well, but not enough yet to pay all the bills. “Choose Peace” is my mantra. This is my iPhone background. But it’s just not working. Usually Remembrance helps me feel peaceful, so I do more Remembrance. It helps, but the peacefulness expires quickly, and there I go again, snapping at Kyeli, neglecting to take care of… -
How to assemble an Ikea HEMNES bed wholeheartedly
9 May 2013 | 6:00 amI’ve had a long day. I worked from 8:30am to 6:30pm, and by the end of my work day I was already exhausted. Now it’s 10:00 at night and I’ve been assembling this damned Ikea bed for the past two hours. I grumble as I contort myself to screw in a Philips-head screw with a flathead screwdriver because we lost our grumble grumble Philips-head screwdriver. “Is there a way you could make this fun?” Kyeli asks me. “Grumble grumble,” I reply, annoyed. It’s not fun because I don’t want to be assembling this bed. I want to be done working for the… -
Kyeli is taking a sabbatical. Here’s why.
8 May 2013 | 1:15 pm(Video not playing? Click here to watch the video on YouTube {3:14}) We’ll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled blog post – by Pace. One more thing Kyeli forgot to mention in the video is that she’ll still be contributing the Slice of Life photos to our Wholehearted Every Day zine, and writing those little story-captions about what’s going on in our life. So another great way to get your weekly dose of Kyeli is to subscribe to our eZine. (: Take good care! -
Be you, not Link.
2 May 2013 | 6:00 amDo you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Do you sometimes wish you could just take a break and play video games instead? I bet Link feels that way too. Fighting monsters, saving the kingdom, rescuing the princess. If Link takes a break, he could fail. Zelda could die. All of Hyrule could fall. Sometimes, when I’m playing a game, I get caught up in the drama and the consequences. I identify with the character so much that I start to get stressed out in real life. My perspective shifts from “If I lose, I’ll learn, improve, and try again” to… -
Is Mot Reywas sucking the joy out of things you used to love?
25 Apr 2013 | 6:00 amTom Sawyer, fictional hooligan The fictional hooligan Tom Sawyer once tricked his friends into whitewashing a fence for him, by making it out to be a fun and appealing task. As practical jokes go, that’s an awfully kind-hearted one. Convincing people to enjoy something – how devilish! Tom observed: “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” But this is a double-edged sword – what happens when you become obliged to play? Introducing Tom’s evil twin, Mot Reywas Mot Reywas, stealer of joy Mot…
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conflict-resolution « WordPress.com Tag Feed
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Free Tim Lane and Paul Tripp Conference Sessions
11 May 2013 | 11:18 amThe Gospel Coalition: Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane have teamed up on a number of writing projects over the years, including How People Change and Relationships: A Mess Worth Making. Earlier this spring, Tripp and Lane were together in Albuquerque along with 700 attendees to address the theme “One-Anothering the Word” at Clarus ’13, The Gospel Coalition’s Southwest Regional Conference hosted by Desert Springs Church. These men have thought carefully and deeply from the Bible about how our broken relationships can be redeemed, and about how God actually uses our… -
I am RIGHT/ I am {right}/ lets talk
11 May 2013 | 7:35 amWe are either in something, just coming out of something or going into something. We are always going through it but we’re never going under. I am blessed to have spent time in the last day or two with someone who really understands me, she knows where I have come from and she believes in me. At the same time I have spent time with someone who really does not get me. She has a few issues with me and I try to be on the side of reconciliation with her all the time. Why do we have conflict? Because people are involved. People become stubborn. Someone asked me this week was I still intransigent… -
5-20 Successful Conflict Resolution for Managers: Doug Barclay
11 May 2013 | 6:15 am5-20 Successful Conflict Resolution for Managers: Doug Barclay. -
5-20 Successful Conflict Resolution for Managers: Doug Barclay
11 May 2013 | 6:13 amCommunication Successful Conflict Resolution for Managers Program Description: Many businesses lose market share and potential profits when two or more managers are in conflict about business goals, processes, and/or procedures. This class focuses on learning and applying techniques to successfully resolve these conflicts without alienating the managers. Seminar #C374 Course Schedule: (Click on Date to Register) May 20, 2013 9:00AM – 1:00PM June 17, 2013 9:00AM – 1:00PM July 15, 2013 9:00AM – 1:00PM August 19, 2013 9:00AM – 1:00PM $170… -
How to solve global problems differently?
11 May 2013 | 5:43 amGlobal solution networks help solve problems in a very different way. Each of us can be involved.
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ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace)
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Safety tips and security guidelines for Facebook
9 May 2013 | 11:53 pmGiven the vituperative pushback of the BBS online against those who participated in the vigil in Colombo a few weeks ago, immediate measures to secure content posted on to web based social media platforms are essential to protect one’s own privacy, and those of family, friends and colleagues. Engaging in liking content on Facebook, featuring articles on it, uploading photos and video, linking other social media accounts to it (like Instagram and Twitter) and commenting on others posts all expose personal information, as well as one’s network of friends and their personal information and… -
New media and citizen journalism: The case of Groundviews
9 May 2013 | 11:33 pmPresented the work I had done with Groundviews to a group of activists from South Asia recently, noting that using social media platforms on the web, combined with mobiles, it is increasingly possible to bear witness to and report on inconvenient truths, no matter what the timbre of government. I also flagged that in contexts where mainstream media, for whatever reason, where unable and unwilling to report on issues like war crimes, graft and corruption by those in power and gross human rights abuses, citizen journalism offered new avenues to highlight these issues. I also noted that many… -
Pitfalls of privacy online
16 Mar 2013 | 11:48 pmThe Ceylon Today newspaper quotes me in what is becoming a familiar story – identity theft and the unauthorised use of photos posted to various online social media fora for nefarious activities. Women and Media Collective‘s Sepali Kottegoda underscores the problem, yet the challenge remains on how to build and teach this (new) media literacy to parents, young adults and children. Editor of Groundviews, Sanjana Haththotuwa (sic) commented on the issue, bringing into focus the shortcomings of online privacy. “You can at best get Facebook to shut the page down, but in seconds,… -
Analysing Twitter Q&As
12 Feb 2013 | 11:42 amReblogged from appvocacy: We've written before about the way political leaders use Twitter, and about Groundviews, the award-winning citizen journalism blog in Sri Lanka. Last week, UK Foreign Minister Alistair Burt held a live Twitter Q&A on Sri Lanka, in which Groundviews was one of the most engaged participants. After the event, Groundviews released a summary of the Q&A, including an archive of all the tweets using the #askFCO hashtag, a visualisation of the dialogue, and a simple list of replies by the Minister. Read more… 447 more words Excellent piece on the need to… -
The Sri Lankan President’s Twitter archive
12 Feb 2013 | 3:49 amExcerpt from a much longer piece I wrote for Groundviews (The Sri Lankan President’s Twitter archive and Propaganda 2.0: New challenges for online dissent), dealing with an archive I created that captures every single tweet published by the Sri Lankan President’s official Twitter account, and why this is so important. It is evident therefore that the President’s new media presence isn’t seen as a vehicle of engagement with society and polity, but rather, an extension of his government’s policy to pass off propaganda and partisan perspectives as news and official updates.
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Nancy Love's Weblog
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Symphony – Well Structured Magic
14 May 2013 | 1:10 pmWhat does that word mean to you? Symphony orchestra comes to mind. The blending of sounds from different instruments to create melody and variation and sound that move people to heights of joy and sadness, music that tells a story, draws a picture, creating a perfect mixture of the right notes and volume. Symphony is like design with sound. A synonym for symphony is harmonious. I think Daniel Pink intended it to be more than harmonious sounds. From his book I get the impression he is talking about harmony and symphony as experienced in sight and sound … pleasing to the eye and the… -
Empathy
10 May 2013 | 7:00 amThe E in DESTINY is for Empathy. It is another characteristic that Daniel Plink is predicting we will need in this new world of ours. Empathy is a skill that can be developed and it is also something that we learn in our family of origin. It is often confused with sympathy, but feeling sorry for someone is not the same as feeling what they are feeling… working to understand the world from their perspective. Getting over into the other persons shoes takes an ability to let go of your own perspective as the only possible one. Some people get stuck there. They can’t seem to grasp… -
Design
6 May 2013 | 7:34 amDesign is the D in DESTINY which is my pneumonic for remembering Daniel Pink’s strategies for developing a “Whole New Mind.” Design is about learning how to pay attention. Pink invites us to look at our favourite kitchen utensil and design a better one. Just noticing how things have both form and function and how one compliments the other is a step toward understanding the importance of design. How many design have you experienced of the concept related to chair? There is no chairness in the word and lately in our world the things we sit on do not always come with four legs,… -
DESTINY – Daniel Pink
30 Apr 2013 | 1:36 pmI have been traveling from Calgary to Edmonton and back a lot. I try to listen to good music or a good book on the road. it makes the three-hour trip quicker somehow. This last trip I dug out a set of CDs from 2007. Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind” is a wonderful exploration of the left and right hemispheres. He talks about what we need to survive in this high touch and high concept age and he outlines seven sets of attitudes, skills and Knowledge that each of us will require to be successful in this new world we are living in. Being who I am and wanting to remember the… -
Right and Left PULSE
15 Apr 2013 | 2:31 pmAS I look for new ways to explain the advantages of the PULSE frame over other aids to conversation I am struck by the consistency of thought leaders around the significance of an approach like the PULSE approach that incorporates, in a deliberate way, the elements essential for good clear communication. Leaders do their work in Conversation. It is often assumed that they know how to have successful conversations by the time they get to a position that demands leadership skills. PULSE is a core competency for leaders and anyone else who does their work in conversation. As a PULSE…
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NCDD Community News
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Launching the Dialogue Storytelling Tool
21 May 2013 | 2:25 pmI’m excited to launch a new tool on the NCDD website to help you share your success stories more broadly The draft tool can be found at www.ncdd.org/storytelling-tool and I encourage everybody to take a look and give the tool a test drive by entering one of your dialogue and deliberation projects! For a long time now, NCDD has wanted to find a way to collect more stories from our members about their dialogue and deliberation projects. We’re working with both the Kettering Foundation and Participedia.net to broaden the reach of your stories — and give you more incentive… -
Audio, resources and next steps for our Confab on red-blue dialogue
20 May 2013 | 5:33 amWe had another great NCDD “Confab Call” last week and as always, if you couldn’t join us we welcome you to listen to the audio recording. Our latest Confab featured NCDD members Jacob Hess and Phil Neisser, co-authers of “You’re Not as Crazy as I Thought, But You’re Still Wrong,” leading a discussion on red-blue dialogue. We had over 100 participants, 75 of which dropped in on the call’s collaborative doc, which this time was hosted on Hackpad.com and focused on several thoughtful questions and next steps. One next step we’ll be following up on… -
Kettering to Develop Deliberative Forums in Israel
19 May 2013 | 7:44 pmWe hope you’ll join us in congratulating our friends at the Kettering Foundation on their new opportunity to develop deliberative decision-making forums for Israeli Jews and Arabs in Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most difficult problems of dialogue and bridge building in the world, and we are excited to see the Kettering Foundation’s deliberative model being applied, and are hopeful that it will bring about positive change for the people of Israel and Palestine. Read more about the new project below or on the Kettering Foundation’s website here. -
New NCDD Postcards — want some??
18 May 2013 | 4:38 amAndy and I put together some new postcards (featuring attendees of our conferences — you might recognize some of them!). The postcards are simple, with a short description of NCDD on the back, as well as some contact info. We got plenty to share, and we’re wondering if some of you would like a handful — or even a small stack — sent to you to distribute at conferences you’re attending or running, public meetings, or workshops you’re giving. Distributing these postcards helps raise awareness of this great network we’re all involved in, and it could… -
Thoughts from CSD’s Brandon Lee on yesterday’s call on red-blue dialogue
16 May 2013 | 3:02 pmBrandon Lee of the Campaign for Stronger Democracy posted this great write-up on CSD’s blog this morning and gave me the okay to cross-post it. Thanks for taking the time to provide these great reflections on yesterday’s NCDD confab call on red-blue dialogue, Brandon! Had a great time listening in to NCDD’s confab call this month on liberal-conservative dialogue. Unfortunately I had to jump off a little early, but there was still plenty of great conversation to be had. Here are some takeaways and other thoughts from the call: So much of cross-ideology participation has to do…
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Anderson and Anderson Anger Management, Disruptive Physicians, Executive Coaching
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The Bar On EQ-i 2.0 Emotional Intelligence Assessment Is Unprecedented
11 May 2013 | 10:37 amMay 9, 2013 The Bar On EQ-i 2.0 Emotional Intelligence Assessment Is Unprecedented Regardless of the source of the referral, “disruptive physicians”, mandated attorney referrals for civility training, self referrals, husbands, wives or significant others all respond positively to the results of the Pre Assessment administered prior to Anger Management / Emotional Intelligence Coaching. Let’s take a look at three case examples from the Brentwood office of Anderson & Anderson • An accomplished TV Personality was referred by her attorney for… -
An Open Letter To Judges and Court Officers
19 Mar 2013 | 1:14 pmDear Hon. Doe, I would like to bring to your attention an issue of serious concern to professional providers of Anger Management Coaching in California. As you are obviously aware, there are currently no laws in California nor any other state regulating the practice of Anger Management Classes. Consequently, judges and court officers have few guidelines to use when sentencing defendants to Anger Management intervention. One unintended consequences of the absence of state or local standards in this area is the tendency for judges to refer these defendants to domestic violence… -
San Antonio, Texas Training June 19, 20, 21, 2013
4 Mar 2013 | 4:32 pm -
What Can The American Basketball Association Learn From The American Medical Association?
13 Feb 2013 | 1:54 pmAfter many years of denial and resistance regarding the problem of angry physicians and their impact on patient care, the American Medical Association in conjunction with the Joint Commission on The Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations finally issued a mandate for coaching “disruptive physicians”. This strategy has worked well for all concerned. The time has come for the NBA Players Association, Coaches, Agents and the NBA to learn from the AMA how best to address the epidemic of anger and violence among players. Anger is not an illness and therefore referring a player for… -
Coaching for Emotional Intelligence
11 Feb 2013 | 2:22 pm
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Welcome to Peacemakers Trust | Resources and news
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The Holiday of Nonviolence: Shavuot
14 May 2013 | 3:46 pmThis amazing portrait of Naomi, Ruth and Orpah, painted by William Blake in 1795, captures perhaps the most dramatic women’s story in the entire Hebrew Bible. It is a story that is associated with the holiday of Shavuot because of the mention of the importance of the harvest for the story and for this ancient holiday. This is a book I urge everyone to read, and read about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Ruth This is a tale the tragedy of drought, loss, death and homelessness, in other words the most common tale of forced emigration. But the story is unique in its description of undying… -
Brazilian indigenous people turn to wind power as dam alternative
13 May 2013 | 9:42 amThe indigenous people of Brazil’s most northerly region have been conducting a wind power trial, in a bid to convince the government that it’s a realistic alternative to the country’s controversial hydroelectric dams. -
Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt convicted of genocide in Guatemala
11 May 2013 | 8:47 amFormer dictator Efrain Rios Montt’s conviction of genocide is a historic moment in a country still healing from a brutal, three-decade civil war and his trial offered Guatemala’s oppressed indigenous communities their first chance to be heard, human rights activists said. -
Northern Ireland: Robinson and McGuinness want “peace walls” down within 10 years
10 May 2013 | 11:28 amPeter Robinson and Martin McGuinness have set a target of 2023 to bring down all of Northern Ireland’s 60 so-called peace walls. At Stormont yesterday the First Minister and Deputy First Minister outlined a range of measures to tackle sectarianism and division including toppling the North’s interface structures within 10 years. Some peace walls of brick and steel stand up to 18ft high and may be miles long through housing areas. They were intended to protect people from violence during the troubles but remain in place 15 years after the Belfast Agreement. They were built in areas of… -
We Aren’t the World
8 May 2013 | 7:08 amIN THE SUMMER of 1995, a young graduate student in anthropology at UCLA named Joe Henrich traveled to Peru to carry out some fieldwork among the Machiguenga, an indigenous people who live north of Machu Picchu in the Amazon basin. The Machiguenga had traditionally been horticulturalists who lived in single-family, thatch-roofed houses in small hamlets composed of clusters of extended families. For sustenance, they relied on local game and produce from small-scale farming. They shared with their kin but rarely traded with outside groups. While the setting was fairly typical for an…
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Negotiation Law Blog
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What Are Your Super Powers And What Are You Waiting For?
19 May 2013 | 12:07 pmI just spent the weekend with a group of incredibly engaged, brilliant and successful women lawyers at the Vail Sebastian Hotel where I keynoted the annual Conference of the Colorado Womens Bar Association. Four questions stirred the greatest interest. What are your super powers to get things done? Do you have (or need) the authority to use them? What can you use them to accomplish to further your own career? If you're not using them, why not? Last night at the cocktail party after my presentation (slideshow below) dozens of women approached me to tell me what their "super powers" were. -
'Use My Name' Is All You Need to Know About Sponsorship
15 May 2013 | 8:12 pm“Use my name.” Those three words are all you need to know about sponsorship and networking. You put your skin into someone else’s game. You do not use these words lightly. Your reputation rests on the quality of your referrals. And yet, we women are such rabid community builders that we can have a devoted network of business women who are also our friends even if we’ve never met in the flesh. National Girlfriends’ Networking Day The New Agenda has thrown down the rope of its tree house and is waiting for you to pass under the branches and grab… -
Gotham Gal Goes All In For National Girlfriends' Networking Day
15 May 2013 | 8:06 pmFirst off I just love the name. National Girlfriends Networking Day is a nationwide celebration of making connections. Events take place around the country on June 4th [live streaming] three amazing women; Lesley Jane Seyour the editor of MORE magazine, Taj Williams-Franklin a WNBA coach, player and community activist and Soledad O'Brien Emmy award winning journalist. [They] will be taking questions through social media from nationwide participants. Read on here and sign up today! The live-streaming events are free! -
Breaking News! There's Nothing Wrong With Women
13 May 2013 | 12:04 pmJoin me, Lisa Gates and Katie Donovan, along with co-host Jana Hlistova and Gloria Feldt for Take The Lead's monthly Smart Women Take The Lead webcast. Register here now. The live webcast will be Tuesday May 14th at 7pm BST, 2pm EDT. You can send questions via twitter using the hashtag #swttl – we’d love to hear from you! And if you miss the live program, you can always click the same link and see it on YouTube. Women in the age of of AnneMarieSlaughterSherylSandbergMarissaMayer are drowning in a sea of unsolicited… -
WorkLife Seamlessly Arranged By Scandal's Show Runner
12 May 2013 | 10:55 amThis is what feminist heaven looks like. Do we have to be this successful to rearrange the world to fit one woman's life? Or could we simply realize that this is what WorkLife looks like on the day it stops being a man's world. Scandal's show-runner Sonda Rhimes' executive-Mommy day. As part of her Shondaland production company, Rhimes oversees some 550 actors, writers, crew members and producers, and her days are optimized to do so. In the morning, she gets her older daughter, Harper, who is 10, off to school and then contends with whatever is most urgent: writing, giving notes on a script…
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DIALOGIC Mediation Services
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Family mediator’s list of myths and misunderstandings
20 May 2013 | 7:11 amFlorida attorney and family mediator, Diane Danois, recently set out a number of myths and misunderstandings that may affect decision making when separating and divorcing: #1 Myth: Using a mediator precludes me from consulting with a lawyer. #2 Myth: The first step is filing and “serving” my spouse. #3 Myth: I have to resolve all of our […] -
How mediation can help in transborder parental child abduction
14 May 2013 | 6:32 amSabine Walsh is a certified International Family Mediator based in Ireland and reports on how mediation can support parents in cases of international parental child abduction, “where one parent brings the child or children to another country, often their country of origin, without the other parents’ consent“. Mediation however offers a number of specific advantages […] -
Self-represented litigants now permanent part of justice system
13 May 2013 | 6:00 amLast Tuesday, May 7th, the report of an 18-month research project that examined the experience of 259 self-represented litigants in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia was released. Author of the study, Julie Macfarlane, a law professor at the University of Windsor, notes: “People aren’t doing this because they woke up one morning and thought, ‘I think […] -
Moving from relative weakness to relative strength of self
15 Apr 2013 | 6:30 am -
Tax information for families in Ontario
18 Mar 2013 | 1:45 pmOne of our favourite sites for information about family law in Ontario is called Family Law in a Box. Just today, the site published a useful list of tax credits that may be available for families in Ontario: 1. Child Tax Credits - This federal credit can save you up to $329 for each child under the age […]
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Playing Well at Work and Home
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First “Conflict” Once Removed
1 May 2013 | 12:08 pmA favorite game at extended family reunions used to be point out a tribe member and then see who could properly to identify the relationship. My first cousin Charlie was an expert. He would remind me that my kids were his first cousins once removed as well as our aunt due to a great aunt adopting one of our mother’s sisters. I usually was quickly lost when we would play where Charlie could maintain clarity and rattle off the titles of everyone in the room. Relationship chart Charlie’s gift has kept on giving this week as I have been muddling over how to decipher and describe… -
Cues and clues
8 Mar 2013 | 6:52 pmIn February I spent a wonderful week in Istanbul, courtesy of the Middle Eastern Partnership Initiative. I attended a reunion with 120 bright, burgeoning student leaders from throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, 19 of whom had also spent 5 weeks with us at Montana State University the summer before. My colleague Janelle and I traveled 20 some hours to the city center to begin our Turkey visit. Bleary but excited, we started in a tiny boutique hotel near the famous Blue Mosque so we could walk to it and some of the surrounding cultural wonders of the world. This also assured that we… -
Who are you?
5 Feb 2013 | 1:28 pmLast week Lillian Brummet for interviewed me for her Conscious Discussions radio show. The topic of our conversation was Overcoming Conflict and Challenges, and I thus got the opportunity to talk about all my books including Thriving Through Tough Times: Eight Cross-Cultural Strategies to Navigate Life’s Ordeals. Lillian was a knowledgeable interviewer and has a trick of calling for more authenticity from her guests; she began with a seemingly simple question, “Deidre, who are you?” Paraphrasing Lillian, she asked, “When you meet the eyes of that lady in the mirror – who is… -
Remembering our Roots
22 Oct 2012 | 8:29 pmA mere thirty years ago, I spent a semester at El Tecnológico de Monterrey as an exchange student. I lived in the dorm with a wonderful roommate from Chihuahua, watched telenovelas (Mexican soap operas) and even was a college athlete. “El Tec” was probably one of the few locations in North America where the coach wouldn’t double over in giggles while clocking my splits. They needed another female willing to run the 3K event back then so I fit the bill! El Tecnológico en Torreón This past weekend, I reran this memory lane while getting to teach dialogue to Tec students in… -
Thriving Through Tough Times is Now Available
18 Jul 2012 | 10:02 amMy new book,Thriving Through Tough Times: Eight Cross-Cultural Strategies to Navigate Life’s Ordeals, is now available for purchase through amazon.com and other standard book sellers! For more information, click here for the press release. I hope the book is a helpful resource when life dishes out unwelcome surprises. Thank you for your support of this project.
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Waging Nonviolence
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Middlebury students stage Israeli checkpoint to push divestment
21 May 2013 | 10:13 amby Jay Saper On May 15, students at Middlebury College in Vermont staged a checkpoint outside their dining hall during the busiest meal of the year to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, which led to the establishment of the state of Israel. As the Middlebury divestment campaign from arms and fossil fuels gains national attention, a coalition that included Palestinian, Israeli and American Jewish students staged the act of political theater in solidarity with Nakba Day demonstrations around the globe as a call to add apartheid to the students’ divestment… -
Is laughing the mic check of 2013?
14 May 2013 | 8:41 pmby Laura GottesdienerPeople scattered monopoly money on their way out of the New York Public Library after laughing at monopolist Carlos Slim. (WNV/Casper) Last Thursday night’s event at the New York Public Library got a whole lot funnier when about 50 people staged a laugh-in against Mexican businessman Carlos Slim. Famous (but not infamous enough) for being the world’s richest man, Slim was at the library to speak about his interest and recent investment in the free online courses of the Kahn Academy, yet his voice was drowned out by waves of laughter for the first 30 minutes of the… -
The Hand That Feeds: Get your tickets today!
13 May 2013 | 8:50 pmby Laura GottesdienerHappy Mother’s Day to all our New York City friends. As you celebrate all the powerful women and mothers in your life, take a minute to become a supporter of Waging Nonviolence — and receive a free ticket to an early preview screening of Robin Blotnick and Rachel Lears’ documentary The Hand That Feeds. This 20-minute selection of scenes from their film about the Laundry Workers Center’s Hot and Crusty restaurant campaign dramatizes the possibilities that result when labor organizing combines with grassroots, direct-action movements. They’re hosting a special… -
It is all about kinship
9 May 2013 | 8:58 amby Cathy BreenPalm trees along Euphprates river in Najaf, Iraq. (WNV/Cathy Breen) My travel plans were not widely broadcast this time around. After an overnight flight from New York City, and a long layover in Istanbul, the plane set off for Iraq at about 3:30 in the morning. As the aircraft began the descent into Najaf, a sense of wonder rose in me as thousands of palm trees came into view. I felt like I was coming home. Despite the early hour, three Iraqi friends were at the airport to welcome me. They insisted on stopping to buy kabab to celebrate my return. Such hospitality is commonplace… -
The scandal of white complicity
3 May 2013 | 11:49 amby Nathan SchneiderIn the national Catholic magazine America I’ve just published a short review of an important new book with a long title: The Scandal of White Complicity in U.S. Hyper-Incarceration: A White Spirituality of ResistanceIt’s an effort by three Catholic thinkers to articulate the depth of white complicity in this country’s massive, highly racialized prison system and to outline an approach to resistance grounded in Catholic social thought. What would a movement against mass incarceration be able to accomplish with the support of the country’s largest…
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Crisis Management by us
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Bloomberg Privacy Breach – Crisis Management Required! by Jonathan & Erik Bernstein
20 May 2013 | 11:00 amRevelation of decades-long data access for reporters creates reputation crisis While Bloomberg‘s data terminals, which serve up volumes of intricately detailed financial information to Wall Street pros on a daily basis, have enjoyed a reputation as must-have tools, a privacy breach scandal has landed the company in a threatening crisis. Last week, it was revealed that Bloomberg reporters have had special access to data on how customers used their terminals for DECADES, and actively sought to use it in order to break stories first. Customers ranging from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to the… -
Baseless Accusations and Reputation Woes in the PGA by Jonathan & Erik Bernstein
16 May 2013 | 8:00 amUnfounded complaints reflect poorly on golf pro One major rule of PR — If you’re going to make public accusations, then you sure as heck better be able to back them up. Pro golfer Sergio Garcia learned this lesson the hard way when he complained to the media that Tiger Woods had caused him to miss a shot during this past weekend’s Player’s Championship tournament. Despite Garcia’s claims, replays showed he hadn’t even begun his swing at the time of the “interruption,” and he was quickly labeled a needless whiner and described as such repeatedly… -
Drive-by Download Hacks – a Crisis Management Risk by Jonathan & Erik Bernstein
15 May 2013 | 8:00 amWere you aware of this sneaky way your system can be infected? Rarely a week goes by now that we don’t hear of a new cyber attack as hackers’ approaches become more bold and sophisticated. Early this month, a U.S. Department of Labor page that shares information on toxic substances at facilities around the U.S. was infected by hackers in what is known as a “drive-by download” attack. Here are the details, from a PCWorld article by Jeremy Kirk: When someone was redirected to an infected page, a script surveyed the computer to figure out what versions of software such as… -
Sometimes Clever isn’t Clever by Jonathan & Erik Bernstein
9 May 2013 | 12:25 pmGoing risqué can quickly create a need for crisis management The world of advertising gives us quite a bit of fodder, probably because those in the biz are constantly trying to draw a reaction from the public. The danger there is that it’s quite easy to go too far, putting a company’s reputation at risk. For example, just after New Zealand’s Parliament approved same-sex marriage, beer brewer Tui put up a billboard reading: “Dad’s new husband seems nice.” “Yeah right.” Now, the “Yeah right” slogan is part of a decades-long campaign… -
Cell Providers Pushed to Improve Crisis Performance by Jonathan & Erik Bernstein
6 May 2013 | 3:26 pmCellular phones are pushed as a premiere crisis management tool, but will yours have service when you need it most? These days, a good portion of the population has no land line at all, and runs their calls (and much of their internet use) entirely through cellular. Problem is, when disasters strike, cell service isn’t nearly as reliable as most would expect. According to an NPR story by Tracy Samuelson, roughly one in four cellphone towers in the path of Hurricane Sandy went out of service, and in Long Beach, N.Y. every single one went down during the course of the storm. With the…
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Peace and Justice from YES! magazine
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How a Radical Group of American Nuns Shook Up the Vatican to Better the World
21 May 2013 | 10:10 amHow did American nuns move from the traditional confines of convent life to the social activism that has them under Vatican investigation for being too radical and feminist? Blame (or credit) Vatican II in the early 1960s, which instructed Catholics to take their religion out into the world and make it relevant. According to Mary Fishman’s new documentary, Band of Sisters, American nuns eagerly took up the call to serve where there is greatest need. That work led them to seeing the causes, not just the symptoms, of injustice. Going out into the world brought more than just a change from… -
Marriage Equality for Minnesota? You Betcha!
16 May 2013 | 1:35 pmSt. Paul, Minn, on May 13, 2013: Thousands of people gathered at the state capitol building during the Minnesota Senate debate on a same-sex marriage bill. The Minnesota Senate passed the bill by a vote of 37 to 30. Photo by Fibonacci Blue. Last week, on the day the Minnesota House of Representatives passed the same-sex marriage bill, the Capitol rotunda was full of emotion: a middle-aged lesbian couple carried "Freedom to Marry" signs; a man with a baby on his shoulders wore a "Freedom to Marry" t-shirt; two young men waved rainbow flags together. Minnesotans are not known for their… -
Nerds, Jocks & Conscientious Objectors: The Hidden World of Israel’s High School War Resisters
16 May 2013 | 12:35 pmNoam Gur holds the letter in which she refused conscription. Photo by Oren ziv/Activstills. When the 19-year-old Israeli war resister Noam Gur attends weekly demonstrations against the occupation of Palestine, the soldiers who suppress the protestors—with tear gas, stun grenades, and occasionally live fire—aren’t just strangers in uniform. Among them are her former high school classmates, who have been conscripted into the Israeli army. Gur was supposed to serve, too, but instead joined the shministim. This is a Hebrew term meaning high school students in their senior year, who face… -
Housing Crisis on the Rez: Why Haul a Run-Down Shack from the Plains to DC?
9 May 2013 | 2:05 pmA house relocated from South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation stands in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Photo by the author. Last month, a new building joined the Washington Monument and the Capitol building on the National Mall. The small, run-down shack had previously housed 13 people, and it was brought to Washington, D.C., from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to raise awareness about the critical need for housing on reservations around the country. "It's very difficult to get anybody to leave Washington to see it first-hand, and until you see it first-hand,… -
Boston Aftermath Shows a Nation Less—Not More—Afraid of Muslims
1 May 2013 | 3:20 pmA woman mourns at a vigil for a six members of the Sikh community who were fatally shot in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Photo by LJLphotography. The aftermath of the Boston bombings reminded me of 9/11—but not for the reasons you might think. South Asian, Arab, and Muslim communities mourned along with our fellow Americans after explosions rocked the finish line in Boston. But we also held our breath for a second attack—not one caused by bombs, but by assumptions and accusations. And, at the same time, we looked around and wondered what, if anything, America had learned in the decade since 9/11.
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Conflict Resolution Training
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Conflict Resolution: A Lesson From "The Descendants"
15 May 2013 | 2:44 pm<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* -
A Conflict Resolution Formula
8 Apr 2013 | 9:15 am<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* -
Resolve Conflict Now. Say "Enough."
26 Mar 2013 | 4:15 pm<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* -
Pay Attention To Complaints: They Lead To Relationship Breakthroughs
27 Feb 2013 | 12:28 pmRecently, I wrote about a surprising encounter I had with a man in a restaurant who I first assumed was "crazy" and then, after listening to him, discovered he wasn't crazy at all. In response, I heard from a psychiatrist who is on my distribution list. Before you think that he was writing to tell me that I was the crazy one (perhaps he secretly was), this psychiatrist is my uncle and my -
Do You Want To Know A Secret? Listen
21 Feb 2013 | 12:49 pmThanks to the Beatles for giving me the title. Indeed, listening is the "secret." Whenever I mediate a conflict or whenever I teach people how to handle conflict, I’m amazed at how easily conflicts could be resolved if people just listened to one another. Instead, we think other people are “crazy” to believe, think, and feel as they do. I assure you: To the people with whom we are in
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Judy Ringer's Ki Moments Blog
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Peace, Love, Ukulele: Discovering Jake Shimabukuro
13 May 2013 | 10:00 pmIn addition to my love for Aikido and Yoga, I’m a singer. Currently I’m collaborating on a new CD with guitarist Woody Allen, who is featured on my Simple Gifts CD. Woody plays many instruments, including the ukulele. A small instrument with only four strings and a narrow two octave range, the ukulele has most often been used as a joke instrument in the U.S. (ever heard of Tiny Tim?), except in Hawaii where it’s held in high regard and a symbol of the culture. Perhaps because of my recent re-introduction to the ukulele through Woody, I noticed a recent newspaper article… -
Notes From the Edge: 5 Lessons From the Yoga Mat
30 Apr 2013 | 12:00 amStretching to the edge of discomfort, I shift into Triangle pose, struggling to keep breathing, hips forward, head turned up, one arm reaching for my toes, the other for the ceiling, all while trying not to over-stretch and go over my edge into pain and possible injury. Triangle is challenging for me, as is the entire practice of yoga, and every moment presents opportunities to stay present and learn important lessons. Here are five life lessons I’ve learned (so far!) on the yoga mat…Read more... -
How Do You Honor?
15 Apr 2013 | 10:00 pmIf you’re a faithful reader of Ki Moments, you know that I consider respect an important aspect of managing conflict effectively. And that I’ve written over the years on the blog and in my book, Unlikely Teachers, about the bowing ritual in Aikido and its applications off the mat in terms of how we embody respect in daily life. One such application comes into play when we engage others in conversation, especially if the conversation is a conflict conversation. Do I just go up to that person and jump in or is there a better way?Read more... -
Conflict Is Not Fun: True or False?
1 Apr 2013 | 10:00 pmOn the Aikido mat, regardless of one’s rank, there is always a sensei (teacher) with more experience, wisdom, and perspective, to whom the student looks for continual improvement. I am lucky to have such mentors in my life. After last month’s Ki Moments post, I received a reminder from my first Aikido sensei, Tom Crum…Read more... -
How to Savor Life
18 Mar 2013 | 10:02 pmSavoring is usually applied to eating good food. But savoring food is just the start: you can savor anything, and you should. It’s wonderful. And it changes everything. Savoring can teach you to be mindful, to stop procrastinating, to finally exercise, to eat less and more healthfully, to live life in the present, and much more. Let’s look at how… in this guest post by Leo Babauta.Read more...
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Scotwork Negotiation Blog - Defining Negotiation in the Modern World
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There is Such a Thing as a Stupid Question
16 May 2013 | 5:44 amAsking good questions that are tough, direct and specific is one of the key things we can do to improve the quality of our negotiation behavior and resulting outcomes. A study in the US tried to identify the best kind of questions to ask in a classic buyer seller relationship... -
Concessions Must Be Earned
9 May 2013 | 5:45 amThe UK Government announced last week, a string of reforms designed to change the way that prisons operate. One of the key areas is the way that prisoners earn privileges. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "In the past, we've sent the wrong message. “From November, inmates must "actively earn privileges" and are being warned a simple absence of bad behaviour will "not be enough"... -
Collapsing Worlds
2 May 2013 | 5:45 amAs the death toll from the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment manufacturing building in Dhaka, Bangladesh approaches 400, the attention of the world’s press is focussing on the Western companies who buy merchandise from the manufacturers located in this and other similar buildings. Reports over many years have highlighted issues of sweated labour, pitiful wages, and the employment of young children. These are disgraceful abuses of human rights which buyers claim they were unaware of at the time, and appropriate noises about improving conditions for workers are made, only for the same… -
Add On
25 Apr 2013 | 4:55 amBMW used to do it. So did Mercedes. Porsche and Ferrari still do as far as I am aware, though it’s been a while since I checked. Then along came the so-called “budget” airlines and the tactic is back in vogue with a vengeance. It starts with a loud - gaudy even – welcome page on which there is loudly displayed a low figure. At the time of writing, the figure is £10. The word “cheap” appears and you are tempted along to the “flights” window. “£10” and “flights” together; it’s a heady mix that conjures up the golden age of travel together with cheap air fares, so you… -
Creativity Should Be Embraced Not Quashed
18 Apr 2013 | 4:00 amWhen the painter James McNeill Whistler was a cadet at West Point, he was assigned to draw a bridge in an engineering class. Whistler drew a spectacular bridge and included two boys fishing from it. His deliberate inclusion displeased the instructor, who ordered him to draw it again without the young fishermen on the bridge. Whistler did as he was instructed, but unwilling to completely stifle his vision; he drew the bridge again with the boys fishing from the riverbank.
