Much of the rhetoric used by world leaders is one of violence, based on destructive myths and images, which increases the probability of war. Such leaders attempt to persuade the public that militarism, threats, and sociopolitical superiority are effective strategies for peace, when in fact they maximize cultural and political differences. The…

Friendships of early adolescence are generally accepted as having special significance for psychological development. This study was conducted to examine the sources of conflict between friends during early adolescence; to assess the social-cognitive developmental level of early adolescents; and to explore the relationships among sources of…

In this speech, the author describes what has been learned through years of experience teaching an introductory course in environmental issues at the University of California at Berkeley. The course is described as a broad interdisciplinary survey of the various environmental problems facing the earth; it is an examination of local and global…

This book describes the development of institutions of higher education in Ethiopia and the roles they played in the transformation of traditional Ethiopian society. It shows that although other modernizing agencies such as a standing army, parliament, trade unions, and lower institutions of learning may play significant roles in social and…

A study examined the communication and conflict strategizing of high school youth to determine the differences between biological sex groups and grade level groups. Data were collected from 217 senior high school students (79 males and 138 females; 162 10th-graders and 55 11th- and 12th-graders), all of whom were enrolled in a required course in…

Conflict is a basic social process; there is no conceivable way of removing all conflict from an organization. Interpersonal conflict, often created by interdependency of people and tasks within an organization, lowers staff morale and employee productivity and drives people away. Difficult employees who foster conflicts fall into five distinct…

This study examined eight research questions designed to measure students' perceptions of conflict management in the classroom (grades three through eight). In addition to assessing students' satisfaction with the particular conflict management strategies, student self-concept was also measured to determine if the level of self-concept had any…

After an introductory discussion and review of literature on divorce among Jewish families, this document presents and analyzes two case studies which show the adverse effect of divorce and child-custody battles on the children of Jewish families who subsequently plan a B'nai Mitzvah (Bar or Bat Mitzvah) ceremony--a joyous ritual of initiation…

In traditional North American Indian societies, decisions are made by consensus rather than by authorities. Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), an organization concerned with the issue of tribal governance, considers poor communication and disagreements about issues of power, resources, and recognition to be among the causes for conflict…

The role of religious and secular rituals in the mediation of conflicting goals and the socialization of students into harmonious unity is analyzed in the context of a Catholic high school in the Midwest. Data were gathered by a participant-observer who attended classes and extracurricular activities, conducted formal interviews, and informally…

This study sought to validate two measures of social cognitive development: a measure of conflict resolution (Shantz and Shantz, 1982), and a social rule measure (Shantz, 1982). Participants were 214 kindergarten through fourth grade children from two suburban schools, one a public school and the other a Catholic parochial school in the Chicago…

This manual provides a comprehensive approach to problem solving; it is written in narrative style with numerous examples. The guide is organized in eight sections that cover the following topics: (1) problem-solving overview (with suggested readings and recommendations for schools); (2) a five-step model for solving problems; (3) strategies for…

A typology developed from case structure and argumentation theory was used in an analysis of case types that evolved in the discussion of 12 issues during a 10-hour bargaining session between negotiators for teachers and a school board. Case types in the typology were (1) need-plan, which argues for the need to change the status quo; (2)…

A study was conducted to amplify previous research efforts concerned with the identification of similarities and differences between Brazilian men's and women's managerial communication behaviors. Previous findings have indicated that, in contrast with American managers, Brazilian men and women managers were more likely to use power to resolve…

A middle school principal with 17 years of experience as a classroom teacher implemented a practicum designed to develop positive, long-lasting social skills among elementary school students in the intermediate grades. The primary goal of the intervention was to decrease the number of instances in which students used verbal or physical aggression…