March/April 2009

Postgraduate e-Newsletter

Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program


PLAY YOUR PART IN A PEACEFUL FUTURE...

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Inside This Issue

  • ACPACS Director Awarded UNESCO Chair
  • Farewell to Ms Sanda Padova
  • Workshops Coming Up
  • Seminars Coming Up
  • ACPACS DOJ Report
  • ACPACS Role Play Extravaganza
  • Spotlight on Professor Daniel Druckman
  • Recent Workshops
  • National Mediation Conference Scholarship 2010
  • Practicum Opportunity for students with ICANN
  • Rotary World Peace Fellowships
  • Featured Workshop: Environmental Conflict Resolution
    CRMD 7214
  • ACPACS is on Facebook
  • New Blog of the Global Negotiation Insight Institute
  • LEADR Event - Mediator self-care: mediating your inner dialogue with Ike Lasater
  • Conferences
  • New Asia Pacific Mediation E-Centre (APMEC)
  • Useful New Titles

ACPACS Director awarded UNESCO Chair for Teacher Education in Diversity and Development

Congratulations to ACPACS' Director, Pam Christie, who has recently been awarded the UNESCO Chair for Teacher Education in Diversity and Development.

The Chair recognises Pam’s international standing and commitment to issues of diversity and development and her long term activist and scholarly engagement in social justice & education in South Africa.  The Chair is awarded by UNESCO to support networking and scholarly activities across a network of International Universities including universities in Chile, Uruguay, Queensland and South Africa.

ACPACS staff would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Pam for this fantastic achievement.

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Farewell to Ms Sandra Padova

ACPACS would like to farewell Ms Sandra Padova, our former program administrator in the Melbourne office. We thank Sandra for all her hard work and wish her well for the future.

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Workshops Coming Up

Negotiation 1 (Brisbane)
6-8 April 2009

Negotiation 2 (Brisbane)
11-13 May

Transformative Mediation (Melbourne)
11-14 May

Mediating Family Conflict (Melbourne)
18-21 May

Negotiation 2 (Melbourne)
25-27 May

Conferencing (Melbourne)
15-17 July

Negotiation 1  (Brisbane)
28-30 July

Research and Writing in Conflict Resolution
 (Free study aid for students)  
24 July (Melbourne)
31 July (Brisbane)

Mediation      
27-31 July (Melbourne)

For a complete list of workshops please visit:

http://www.uq.edu.au/acpacs/postgraduate-course-timetable-2009

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Seminars Coming Up

CONFLICT STUDIES GROUP:
THE ART OF TRANSFORMATIVE PEACE (Melbourne)

Presented by Susan Carews

DATE: Friday, 17 April 2009
TIME:  12.30pm - 2.00pm (bring your lunch)
LOCATION: ACPACS' Melbourne office, Level 11/14 Queens Road Melbourne 3004 (across the road from Albert Park Lake)

Susan Carews' interest is in promoting peace through the arts. Susan Carew is the Manager of Funny Business OWN Empowerment and is dedicated to creating a peaceful world through using humour and skills to enhance well-being and conflict resolution.   Susan is following a personal vision to create world peace through creative educational channels that target both adults and children.  She is a Rotary Scholar of the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program in Bangkok and is also a World Peace Clown and will discuss with you how she bridges conflict with humour and education.

Her presentation will follow the following format:

1.    Background: Brief overview
2.    Peace as Knowledge: Overview of Peace and Conflict Studies      Program, Bangkok, Thailand

3.    Peace as Action:  REAL HOPE, Children’s Circle Parliament, Communities-In-Harmony Peace Prize

Please rsvp by email to Nikola Balvin: n.balvin@uq.edu.au

Directions:  If you are coming by tram, you can take any of the following Swanston Street/St Kilda Road trams: 3, 5, 6, 16, 64, or 67.  Get off at stop 23 (not far after the Toorak Road intersection if you are coming from the city). Walk down Arthur Street towards Albert Park, turn right into Queens Lane and you’ll see the sign for number 14 (i.e. enter the building from its rear).

If you are driving, there is a car park in the building next door, entry from Queens Lane.  Early bird parking costs $14 for the day.  The car park closes at 7.30pm sharp!  There are also meter parks on St Kilda Road and in Arthur Street.

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KNOWLEDGE GENERATION ON CONFLICT: INITIATIVES IN MINDANAO STUDIES (Brisbane)

With Antonio G Moran, PhD, Philippine Recipient of the 2009 Australian Endeavour Executive Awards Associate Professor, University of the Philippines Mindanao.

DATE: Wednesday, 22 April 2009
TIME:  12.00pm - 1:30pm
LOCATION: Don Carruthers Room, Level 5, Dorothy Hill PSE Library, Hawken Building (50)  (Enter the library and take the lift to level 5).

View flyer at the following link:
Knowledge_Generation_Conflict.pdf


For enquiries please contact Serge Loode on (07) 334 68742 or acpacs@uq.edu.au

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ACPACS DOJ report

A timely and comprehensive research report completed by ACPACS on mediation in the Supreme and County Courts of Victoria was launched by the Victorian Attorney General Rob Hulls on 1 April 2009.

The Victorian Department of Justice commission Professor Tania Sourdin and her research team which included Nikola Balvin, Naomi Cukier, Alex Azarov, Lauren Freeman and Sandra Padova, to examine the effectiveness of mediation in the Victorian higher courts.

Criteria of effectiveness included accessibility, satisfaction, fairness, efficiency and compliance with outcomes. Research data was collected from court files, via written surveys from disputants and mediators and in focus groups with disputants, mediators and legal representatives.

The project objectives were addressed with the consultation of a highly qualified Advisory Committee which included judges from the Supreme and County Courts, representatives from legal bodies and associations and staff from the Department of Justice.
 
The report found that generally mediation was meeting its objectives and resulting in stable perceptions of fairness and satisfaction, while also saving costs for litigants.  19 recommendations were made for further enhancing the effectiveness of mediation in the Supreme and County Courts of Victoria.

The recommendations touched on issues such as earlier referral of some court matters to mediation, access to mediation programs in regional Victoria, ongoing data collection and evaluation, and the implementation of a Quality Framework for court-connected mediation services.
 
A copy of the report can be downloaded from the ACPACS website at http://www.uq.edu.au/acpacs/mediation-in-the-supreme-and-county-courts-of-vict

Try this link for the article featured in the Melbourne Age on Thursday, 2 April 2009.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/mediation-proves-quicker-and-cheaper-than-courts-20090401-9jt2.html
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ACPACS' Role Play Extravaganza

Don’t forget that it is almost time to unleash your inner drama queen!
ACPACS invites postgraduate students to come along on Friday, 17 April to participate in ACPACS’ role-play extravaganza.

From 1pm, students and staff will be video taped as they perform a variety of short role-plays and demonstrations, including some involving fun costumes and crazy disguises!

These video clips will be used later as examples for use in workshops..

If you are interested in participating, please contact acpacs.melbourne@uq.edu.au or call 03 9863 2600

Please feel free to bring along any dress up items or props that might be useful on the day.

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Spotlight on Professor Daniel Druckman


Dan Druckman spends the first semester at ACPACS. He is also a professor in the Department of Political and International Affairs at George Mason University, where he teaches during the American Autumn semester. In addition, he has an appointment at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey where he teaches in the program on international conflict analysis and resolution. A Ph.D. from Northwestern University in social psychology with interdisciplinary work in sociology and international relations, Dan has pursued a considerable variety of topics during a prolific career: These include research on negotiations, group identity and nationalism, political stability and peacekeeping, nonverbal communication, human performance, research methodology, and simulation. His recent book, Doing Research: Methods of Inquiry for Conflict Analysis (Sage, 2005), received a best book award from the International Association for Conflict Management in 2006. That association also presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2003 at their annual meeting in Melbourne.

In addition to having taught teaching courses on “Aggression and Cooperation” and research methods in the School of Political Science and International Studies, Dan has been working on several projects at ACPACS.   One project on simulation pedagogy compares the relative learning benefits of role-play with design. The findings from experiments conducted at the UQ and in Israel are presented in a paper published in Simulation & Gaming (December 2008) with Noam Ebner. Another project on justice and the durability of peace agreements is being conducted n collaboration with Cecilia Albin of the University of Uppsala. Analyses of 15 cases show that when principles of justice (equality, proportionality, compensation, and need) are contained in agreements, violations of the terms are less likely to occur during a five-year post-agreement period.   A second phase of this sponsored project examines the impact of principles of procedural justice on durability. A third project on peacekeeping, initially sponsored by the Australian government, is being conducted with Paul Diehl. A first report presented a wide variety of performance indicators linked to mission goals along with the benefits and limitations of each of the indicators. This work will appear as a book to be published by Lynn Reinner in 2010.   A second report appears as an article in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of International Peacekeeping. It presents a variety of dimensions of the conflict environment that impinge on managing conflicts and transforming conflicts. The article should be of value to both peacekeepers and peace-builders. 

Dan’s work on identity and collective action continues. Building on the scenario analyses reported in an ACPACS seminar (June 12, 2006), he is addressing the question of the role played by identity (vs. efficacy and motivational) variables in decisions to mobilize for action. This work will be presented at the ISA/Brazil meeting in July 2009. Experiments on turning points in negotiation, conducted with Mara Olekalns at the University of Melbourne, investigate the relationship between critical events and negotiated agreements. Of interest is the question about whether these events can be known in advance or only understood in retrospect. An article on this project appears in the January 2009 issue of Negotiation Journal. This is one of several questions being addressed in the studies conducted at the UQ and at Melbourne. Dan has also contributes to advising ACPACS doctoral students on their dissertation projects.

He serves on the boards of eight Journals and is an Associate Editor of the Negotiation Journal, Group Decision and Negotiation (GD and N), and Simulation & Gaming. With Mara Olekalns he edited a special issue of GD and N on emotions in negotiation (January, 2008). With Bill Donohue, he edits a book series on international negotiation. A half dozen books have been published to date.  With Paul Diehl, he edited a five-volume set on classics and cutting-edge articles on conflict resolution (Sage, 2006). He continues his work on electronic mediation with colleagues in Germany and Austria and on dynamical models of conflict processes with colleagues in Poland and the US. And, he spends two weeks in May at the Australian National University in Canberra where he teaches a course on negotiation to students in the College of Diplomacy.

Dan worked with Nikola Balvin in the developing a new workshop in ACPACS' program called, "Advanced Skills in Managing Conflict (Emotions)" which was recently taught in Melbourne. He recently also taught "Negotiation 1" with Serge Loode in Brisbane from April 6-8, 2009.

For Dan, as for other ACPACS researchers, international experiences widen his perspective on conflict analysis and resolution. The ACPACS experience is a special opportunity to work with dedicated peace and conflict studies scholar-practitioners, to learn about Australian social science, and to foster collaborations that result in cutting-edge research. He looks forward to continuing to contribute to the vitality and sustainability of ACPACS.

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RECENT WORKSHOPS

MEDIATION IN BRISBANE  


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CONFLICT COACHING IN THE DEFENCE FORCE
WITH HELEN MARKS (MELBOURNE)


This recent Conflict Coaching Network presentation demonstrated how valuable conflict coaching is as part of a workplace conflict management program. Presenter, Helen Marks is the manager of The Directorate of Alternative Resolutions and Equity which is responsible for the provision of advice on equity related matters and the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution processes across Defence. During her presentation Helen outlined how conflict coaching is one of the many services provided by the Directorate. She also highlighted how the process provides a process of ‘first choice’ for most personnel and is also a useful framework for developing ‘interactive problem solving’ skills in our Fairness and Resolution Centre staff, ADR practitioners, managers and HR professionals.  This was an enjoyable evening and we look forward to the next Conflict Coaching event.

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ARTFUL APPROACHES TO MANAGING CONFLICT (BRISBANE)

Presented by Cathryn Lloyd, Principal, Maverick Minds and Dr Samantha Hardy, Director of Conflict Resolution and Practice, this innovative workshop provided an experiential and reflective space for participants to reflect on the artistry of their practice particularly when
working with conflict. Participants had the opportunity to engage in creative processes and have conversations about their professional
practice while engaging in a range of arts-based activities that included improvisation, drawing, story-telling and working with artefacts.

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National Mediation Conference Scholarship 2010

The purpose of the National Mediation Conference Scholarship is to encourage original research and study at a postgraduate level that will assist the community to understand dispute resolution processes and/or enhance the body of knowledge of dispute resolution practitioners through research. An amount of up to $10,000 will be awarded and up to $1,000 to assist with payment of the costs associated with travel and accommodation to enable the successful candidate to present a paper at the conference. To be eligible the candidate must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia and be currently enrolled in a higher degree by coursework or research and study at an Australian University. The candidates must be willing and able to present their paper at the Adelaide 2010 National Mediation Conference.

For more information please visit:
www.mediationconference.com.au

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UQ CAREERS FAIR, ST LUCIA CAMPUS 2009


ACPACS trainer Serge Loode recently attended the UQ Careers Fair where he spent the day talking to undergraduate students about careers in mediation and conflict resolution and the range of postgraduate programs in mediation and conflict resolution available at  UQ  There was so much interest from students that  Serge didn't even get the chance to take a lunch break!

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Practicum Opportunity for students with ICANN

ACPACS would like to announce the following Practicum Opportunity for postgraduate students.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Office of the Ombudsman is offering externship – practicum opportunities for learners from Australian universities.  Learners who are interested in these opportunities would normally be in the pursuit of a degree in conflict – dispute resolution.
 
ICANN holds three public meetings a year in various regions of the world on a rotational basis.   The June 2009 meeting will be held in Sydney, June 21 – 26 (http://syd.icann.org/).  

ICANN has worked with DR-CR learners at past meetings.  These placements are coordinated by the Office of the Ombudsman (www.icannombudsman.org) .  ICANN is an international – multi stakeholder – consensus organization, and the meetings provide learners with the opportunity to watch, and participate in international negotiations – discussions – and disputes about the Internet’s domain name system.

Learners will be registered as delegates for the conference, and will be able to attend all of the meetings, and social events.  ICANN has a number of projects that can easily be extended into a 100 hour project for learners, if that number of hours is required for academic purposes.   The conference will accumulate about 50 hours of extern time.

Interested learners are asked to contact Dr. Frank Fowlie, ICANN Ombudsman via email; frank.fowlie@icann.org

Course Credit for Participation

Students may be able to obtain course credit for participating in these practicum opportunities by enrolling in a Placement or Research Project course. Contact Samantha.Hardy@uq.edu.au  
for more information about this.

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Rotary World Peace Fellowship

Do you know someone who is interested in expanding their knowledge of peace-building, conflict resolution and mediation? If you do, why not recommend them for a Rotary World Peace Scholarship! Rotary is one of the world's largest humanitarian service organisations and has partnered with eight leading universities around the globe to host the Rotary Centres for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution.

Each year, Rotary selects up to 110 Fellows to study peace and conflict resolution at universities around the world. Some of the program highlights include:

A choice of either a three-month certificate course or master's degree program. The opportunity to study at one of the eight universities around the world. Training in the root causes of conflict, theories of international relations and effective models of cooperation, conflict resolution and negotiation. Full funding for tuition, housing expenses and airfare. Access to a growing network of committed alumni employed around the world in diplomacy, government, non-government organisations and private corporations.

The master's level degree program is aimed at mid-career professionals in government, non-governmental organisations and private corporations.

The certificate program is for professionals currently holding a mid-to upper-level position with a minimum of five-years of experience in the field of peace and conflict resolution. 

Applicants are encouraged to apply via their local Rotary Club.  All applications must be received by Rotary headquarters by 1 July 2009.
If you have any questions about these opportunities or wish to apply, please contact

Rotary website: http://www.rotary.org/rotarycenters
Email: rotarycenters@rotary.org

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Featured Workshop
Environmental Conflict Resolution CRMD 7214

In this course, you will study the concepts of the environment, dispute and resolution; the breadth of disputes encompassed by the term 'environmental dispute'; and, the unique characteristics that distinguish environmental disputes. You will learn to critically evaluate the existing adjudicative, administrative and consensual mechanisms for resolving environmental disputes; understand the compendium of dispute resolution methods covered by the expression 'alternative dispute resolution'. Focus will be on the basic principles impact upon the range of possible solutions to the resolution of environmental disputes, and the roles, functions and responsibilities of local government, with particular reference to the regulatory framework in which environmental dispute resolution mechanisms must operate.

The course will be conducted in a three-day intensive block of classes (9 am-5 pm) followed by a one-day class approximately six weeks later during which students will present their research-in-progress.

For more information please visit: http://www.uq.edu.au/study/course.html?course_code=CRMD7214

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Acpacs is on facebook

Some of you may already be aware that ACPACS has an online networking group on Facebook.  However for those of you who have not joined this group and might be interested, the group is called UQ Mediation and Conflict Resolution and can easily be found by searching the Facebook site.

Becoming a member of this group means you can get access to the latest course and seminar updates, extra links and resources, and you also have the opportunity to network with fellow students in both Brisbane and Melbourne.  Membership is of course voluntary, but feel free to take a look and join up if this interests you.

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New Blog of the Global Negotiation Insight Institute

Beyond Yes, the new blog of the Global Negotiation Insight Institute: gnii.blogspot.com

The Global Negotiation Insight Institute helps people build advanced professional skills, cultivate self-awareness, presence and balance. GNII integrates timeless wisdom, modern psychology, neuroscience and the creative arts into all areas of contemporary life. We offer educational programs and coaching and consulting services worldwide. This is the forum for exploring ideas and connecting with other members of the GNII community.

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LEADR Event
Mediator self-care – mediating your inner dialogue with Ike Lasater

Sydney, Wednesday 13 May

Working with people in conflict stimulates ADR practitioners’ reactions to the particular subject matter, the people involved and conflict in general.Caring for ourselves is vital to support our continued work in the area of conflict.

We often hear a critical voice in our head that judges us against an impossible standard of perfection. Learning from these dialogues can enable us to do better work as mediators, conflict coaches and other ADR practitioners.

In this workshop, you will learn the skill of self-empathy as based on the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). NVC is a simple and powerful communication model developed by Marshall B Rosenberg comprising four basic components: observation, feeling, needs and request. (For more information see: www.CNVC.org)

The skill of self-empathy can be applied to care for ourselves before, during and after mediations or coaching sessions. Ike Lasater brings his rich experience as a lawyer, mediator, facilitator and trainer to help us learn the challenging business of mediating our self.

For more information

Telephone: 02 9251 3366
Email: leadr@leadr.com.au
http://www.leadr.com.au/

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ASIA PACIFIC MEDIATION E-CENTRE (APMEC)

This site replaces the Ausdispute website and will provide information and resources for members of the Asia-Pacific Mediation Forum and for all other individuals and organisations who are interested in managing, transforming and resolving conflicts and disputes and to building peace in the Asia-Pacific region. The website is currently in a process of development and we welcome your feedback and contributions.

http://www.apmec.unisa.edu.au

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CONFERENCES COMING UP

Asian Mediation Conference
"Mediation Diversity – Asia & Beyond"
DATES: 4-5 June 2009
LOCATION: Singapore
http://www.mediation.com.sg/Asian_Mediation_Association.htm


ACR 9th Annual Conference
Convening "Whole of Community" Integrating Approaches and Practices to Address Conflicts in a Chaotic World
DATES: October 7 - 10, 2009
LOCATION: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
http://www.acrnet.org/


Second Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum:
'Conflict Prevention in the Multimedia Age'
DATES: 3–5 June 2009
LOCATION: Bonn, Germany,
http://www.dw-gmf.de/conference_2009/1447.ph


10th National Mediation Conference 2010
DATES: 7-9th September 2010
LOCATION: Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia
http://www.ausdispute.unisa.edu.au/apmf/nat-mediation-conf-2010-notice.pdf

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USEFUL NEW TITLES
RELATED TO STUDIES IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION

 Location  Call Number
  Title
 SSH HM1126 .B744 2008 The new politics of conflict resolution : responding to difference / Morgan Brigg.
 SSH  U21.2 .S595 2008 Killing civilians : method, madness, and morality in war / Hugo Slim.
 fy,ssh  DU124.P64 M24 2009 Black politics : inside the complexity of Aboriginal political culture / Sarah Maddison.
 ssh
 KE8615 .D583 2003 Dispute resolution : readings and case studies / Julie Macfarlane [et al.].
 ssh  HV8688 .S39 2009 The ethic of traditional communities and the spirit of healing justice : studies from Hollow Water, the Iona Community, and Plum Village / Jarem Sawatsky foreword by Rupert Ross.
 ssh
HM1126 .A35 2008 Eye of the storm leadership : 150 ideas,stories, quotes, and exercises on the art and politics of managing human conflicts / Peter S. Adler.
 ssh   HM1126 .A352 2008 Eye of the storm leadership [videorecording] : 150 ideas, stories, quotes, and exercises on the art and politics of managing human conflicts / presented by Mediate.com with Peter S. Adler.
 ssh
 HV6431 .B45 2008 Fighting terror : ethical dilemmas / Alex J. Bellamy.
 fy,ssh  DU123.4 .H57 2008 History, politics & knowledge : essays in Australian indigenous studies / edited by Andrew Gunstone.
ssh
HM1121 .H67 2008 Horizontal inequalities and conflict : understanding group violence in multiethnic societies / edited by Frances Stewart foreword by Kofi Annan.
 ssh   JZ6369 .B45 2009  Responsibility to protect : the global effort to end mass atrocities / Alex J. Bellamy.
 ssh
 JZ5006.7 .U54 2008  The United Nations Security Council and war : the evolution of thought and practice since 1945 / edited by Vaughan Lowe ... [et al.].
 ssh
 UG450 .S45 2009  Wired for war : the robotics revolution and conflict in the twenty-first century / P.W. Singer.

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