Race, Gender, and Class: How Much Of A Role Do They Play In Mediation?
Elizabeth Moreno 06/29/2009
Recent studies have come to life as to the role race, gender and class of the mediator plays in mediation. Does race play any discernible role in mediation compared to gender or socioeconomic class?

Barack Obama’s Speech on Race
Barack Obama 03/19/2008
We find Barack Obama's speech on race to be a top flight example of the kind of mature consideration our most divisive issues deserve and need. We here present the text of Senator Barack Obama’s speech on race in Philadelphia.

Johnsons Win Diversity And Equity Award
ACR ZZZZZ 09/03/2009
The Rev. Nelson Johnson and Joyce Johnson have won the Marvin E. Johnson Diversity and Equity Award from the Association for Conflict Resolution for their commitment to restorative justice, truth and reconciliation efforts in Mississippi.

Recognizing And Validating Diversity In Mediation
Malcolm Sher 08/04/2008
When they become involved in disputes, whether litigated or not, people from differing cultural or ethnic backgrounds often bring to the table differences that may have caused or contributed to the dispute, and that may well govern its outcome. This article will examine some of those differences and emphasize the need for all participants in the mediation process to learn about and validate them in order to bring about a mutually beneficial settlement.

Where are women who mediate, part 2: how can you hold a panel discussion on diversity and forget to include women?
Diane J. Levin 07/21/2008
Last week fellow mediator, blogger and rabble-rouser Victoria Pynchon published a post with a confrontational title: “Dispute Resolution by Old White Men: Gender Prejudice Sinks Arbitration Award“. Lobbed like a Molotov cocktail, Vickie’s post blew gender bias apart, as she recited a litany of examples of discrimination spanning decades against women inside and outside the legal profession. It’s not just the persistence of gender bias that makes women like Vickie and...

A video game tests racial bias - and the willingness to pull the trigger
Diane J. Levin 04/07/2008
Joshua Correll, a member of the University of Chicago Department of Psychology faculty, in conjunction with his work with the Stereotyping & Prejudice Research Laboratory, has created The Police Officer’s Dilemma, a video game that tests the effect of racial bias on decisions to shoot. When you launch the game, you are presented with a series of images of young men against various backgrounds. Some of the men hold guns, while others hold innocent items like cellphones or soda cans. ...

Hip-hop video blog explains how to tell someone they're racist
Diane J. Levin 08/11/2008
Jay Smooth, founder of New York’s longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI’s Underground Railroad, hosts ill doctrine, a hip-hop video blog featuring hard-hitting, thoughtful social commentary. Smooth recently posted “How to Tell People They Sound Racist“, a video with advice on having one of the most difficult conversations there is, and underscores the difference between the “what they did” conversation and the “what they are”...

Cross-Cultural Negotiation Insights From The Kellogg School of Management
Victoria Pynchon 02/27/2008
When you mediate disputes in a major urban center like Los Angeles, you do a lot of cross-cultural negotiation as a matter of course.  I've relied in the past upon the Kellogg School of Management's Leigh Thompson and am happy to report that one of her fellow professors, Jeanne Brett has devoted an entire book to the intricacies of negotiating across cultural lines.  Excerpt below from the Wall Street Journal's LiveMint article on Professor Brett's book The...

Ethnic And National Reconciliation
Larry Susskind 03/09/2009
I can remember a moment when it seemed impossible that certain groups or nations could ever reconcile: East and West Germany, North and South Vietnam, North Ireland and England, black and white South Africa, Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda. Today, it seems equally implausible that North and South Korea, Tibet and China, Israel and Palestine, or Suni and Shia in Iraq will ever reconcile. Yet, we should remember that the ruined relationships that seemed impossible to repair not so long ago were dramatically transformed. The question is, "How did that happen?"

Under Pressure: When The Minority Yields To The Majority
Diane J. Levin 06/17/2008
In a famous experiment from the 1950s, social psychologist Solomon Asch demonstrated the influence a group exerts on our opinions and judgments. In this experiment, subjects would agree with the answer of the group despite the evidence of their own eyes that the majority’s answer was the wrong one. It showed how readily people will deny what they see and submit to the majority view, and how hard it is for one person to stand strong against the convictions of the many. This holds...

Intercultural Negotiation is as easy as 1-2-3, or is it?
Steve Mehta 10/12/2009
It’s as easy as 1-2-3 you say. Well that may not be so easy if you are dealing with intercultural communications. I recently read some research on that highlighted the importance of intercultural communications. Negotiations are often fraught with problems anyway. Adding the additional element of intercultural differences can make it extremely difficult to deal with.

The NYPD & The Three C’s: Communication, Community & Cricket
Jeff Thompson 08/23/2009
Often when I speak about conflict and dispute resolution I mention three words that I consider to be my mantra in regards to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Communication, Understanding and Peace are what I strive to create in all my interactions, be it as a mediator, conflict coach, consultant, or as a police officer in the New York City Police Department.

Beer Summits And Presidential Mediations
Colin Rule 08/10/2009
I've wanted to post something on Obama's Beer Summit for some time, but I thought it best to let the dust settle before weighing in. The racial hot buttons made it harder to focus on the conflict management approach behind the engagement. I think now the time has come to process what happened.

The Beer Summit
Jan Frankel Schau 08/03/2009
Here's to President Obama and his brave and wise staff who understood the power of mediation this week as he invited the Harvard Professor to confront and discuss his arrest with the Cambridge Police Chief at the White House.

How President Obama Gets To Yes
John Sturrock 08/03/2009
President Barack Obama's willingness to acknowledge that he had chosen his words badly in his response to the incident involving Harvard professor Henry Gates and a Massachusetts police sergeant – and his suggestion that all three of them meet up at the White House for a "beer summit" – marks him out yet again as a man who is able to act in a way which is different to that which we often expect of politicians.