Describes a pilot mediation program that offers an empowering alternative to problem resolution used by mental health consumers receiving treatment at an inpatient psychiatric center. The training program uses mental health clinicians and consumers (peer advocates) to act as assistants in mediating disputes between consumers and between consumers…

Approaches to managing conflict in the collaborative process are discussed, along with the need for collaboration in schools. Collaboration by teachers, administrators, parents, and others can help identify problems, consider relevant data, plan and implement interventions, and evaluate results. However, the knowledge, experience, and values of…

This book is a developmental and sequential program of activities designed for grades K-8 to: (1) build a base of awareness, understanding, and skills required for conflict prevention and resolution; (2) give students practice using a variety of strategies for managing and resolving conflict; (3) create opportunities for students to apply those…

This study examined the relationship between children's gender-typed conversational styles and joint problem-solving performance. Sixty preschool children between 4 and 5 1/2 years completed three problems with a same-sex or opposite-sex peer. Two structured tasks, copying a Tinkertoy model and stringing beads; and one unstructured task, building…

This document presents a particularly challenging unit that thrusts students into the new foreign policy frontier that has developed since the end of the Cold War. The unit contains background reading and foreign policy options. The first part of the background reading introduces students to the institutions and conceptual framework of the…

Mediation training should produce highly successful mediators who are capable of carrying out smooth and effective mediation. This study assessed subjects' perceptions of the effectiveness of mediation by comparing trained team mediators to untrained team mediators. Subjects (N=30) evaluated videotaped mediation vignettes showing both the trained…

One of eight papers from Project Seed, this paper discusses an 8-week program on conflict resolution used among fourth- through sixth-graders at one school. The program described could easily be implemented in other schools. Through the program, students are trained in a step-by-step mediation process; those students who become Classroom Mediators…

This unit of materials focuses on understanding conflict, individually and in the social extreme of war. The unit's purpose is to examine the underlying primary factors that create conflict in relationships and explore alternatives for resolution. The 20 lessons include: (1) "The Beginner's Eye"; (2) "Discovering the Wise…

While conflict resolution programs in the elementary schools have been in existence for the last decade, few studies have provided quantitative data concerning the effectiveness of such programs. A study was conducted which used interviews and surveys to focus on the development, implementation, and results of a Conflict Manager program at one…

Noting the lack of a dispute mechanism for determining whether an advertising practice is truly deceptive without generating the costs and negative publicity produced by traditional Federal Trade Commission (FTC) procedures, this paper proposes a model based upon early termination of the issues through jointly commissioned behavioral research. The…

A variety of methods are presented for developing skills for critical thinking, which is described as reflecting on assumptions underlying actions and considering new ways of looking at and living in the world. Critical thinking is viewed as not just an academic exercise, but a productive process enabling people to be more effective and innovative…

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between the amount of conflict in a group decision-making process and the achievement of a quality decision. A task problem given to 33 college students completing a group symposium assignment in a basic public speaking and discussion course called for subjects to choose three possible topics for a…

These action oriented activity cards dealing with conflict situations are for use with secondary students. The cards are intended to supplement any course dealing with conflict, including U.S. history, sociology, English, literature, economics, area studies, or political science. The cards are organized by color into certain broad categories which…

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) simulation exercise is a management training tool useful in the private and public employment sector, as well as other collective bargaining situations. The simulation recreates the real-life world of contract negotiations, and is intended to build management teamwork. (MW)

Techniques for managing conflict between colleges were used as a context for evaluating interinstitutional goal setting. The specific study objective was to identify techniques used to stimulate and control creative dissension that is an essential part of significant cooperative endeavors. A questionnaire was pilot tested with 40 members of a…