In the late 1990s, linguist Deborah Tannen argued that America had become an "argument culture" characterized by an adversarial frame of mind when approaching the world and the people in it. Recent events appear to have added apocalyptic fears (not entirely unfounded) to our adversarial approach. How can we talk to each other in such a…

Much of psychological science and knowledge is significantly relevant to social justice, defined here as the goal to decrease human suffering and to promote human values of equality and justice. A commitment to social justice has evolved as a more important value in the last few decades for psychology, including for the American Psychological…

Intractable conflicts are demoralizing. Beyond destabilizing the families, communities, or international regions in which they occur, they tend to perpetuate the very conditions of misery and hate that contributed to them in the first place. Although the common factors and processes associated with intractable conflicts have been identified…

Americans increasingly are looking to community colleges to solve some of the most pressing problems facing this country--not necessarily a surprising revelation. Community colleges have long been in the business of making communities stronger and more vibrant, minimizing economic and social inequities, and instilling hope in those who need it…

This article describes the development and evaluation of STARstreams, a pilot effort to utilize videos and online discussions in a conflict resolution curriculum that acknowledges the inherent socio-personal aspects of conflict. The STARstreams curricula includes a set of video-based scenarios depicting conflict situations and potential…

This article conceptualizes Second World War children of German soldiers and native women in Norway as "border children", who became symbolic bearers of deep societal conflicts. The authors demonstrate that this position had painful consequences in the personal experiences of the children, experiences that were shared with war children…

Provides an initial statement of generic principles deemed effective for addressing protracted social conflicts between identity groups. These principles are compatible with certain values for societal organization and approaches to social change, raising questions of value differences between intervenors and the host culture(s). Three case…

Children with only months of life experience and brain development are just beginning to learn social problem solving. No wonder young children frequently make mistakes! Teachers tend to complain about tattling more than any other behavior. To many teachers, tattling is irksome, but there is more to this behavior than meets the eye. In this…

Young people are growing up at a time when issues of domestic and international conflict and a myriad of problems are increasingly intertwined. Rather than resorting to threats of retaliatory violent action, schools need to find ways to resolve conflicts peaceably. This article proposes that students be given specific opportunities to a)…

Violence begets violence and it is important to understand how cycles of violence are perpetuated if we are to find solutions to the global problems they present. A multi-disciplinary group of The International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement has developed a model of the cyclical events that perpetuate violence at all levels including…

Presents the preliminary results of projects by two organizations that encourage online discussions about the events of "September 11" as a teachable moment. The projects are "Search for Common Ground" and "Web Lab". States that participants felt more open and honest in the online environment. (CMK)

Case study exercises, based on newsworthy current events, have been written for a biochemical audience that include elements of both "content" and "conflict." The cases have been written in such a way as to teach students basic biochemical principles. At the same time, a dilemma is posed to the students, who must use what they have learned about…

Suggests that, due to escalating violence in contemporary society, community colleges should offer certificate or degree programs in conflict resolution. Describes a conflict resolution communication program, which teaches communication skills, mediation processes, and coping strategies to prospective mediators. (NB)

Discusses the identification of the dimensions of conflict in resource use. Presents some views on broad methodological issues in resource and environmental evaluation. (Author/RT)

A case study of the first 10 years of the University of Papua New Guinea is presented, with attention focused on the function, structure, and character of a new university in a newly independent nation. The analysis is based on the three issues of adaptation, conflict, and change, and the case study is designed to test how well past social…