This study explores how traditional conflict resolution mechanisms were used to transform the conflict between the Dinka and Nuer communities in Wunlit, south Sudan in 1999. Various people perceived, experienced and played different roles in the process. Through story telling and the sacrifice of a white bull, the two communities entered a covenant which still holds four years later. The merger of previously antagonistic liberation movements with strong Dinka and Nuer constituencies, respectively, two years after Wunlit is seen by some as a dividend of Wunlit. People-centred peacemaking processes can be credited for contributing to enduring peace. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

For centuries, women's opinion on matters of peace building were largely ignored. The importance of women's participation in peacebuilding cannot be better expressed than in the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 1325 of 2000. This resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the council, calls for the broad participation of women in peace buildlng and post conflict reconstruction. The primary data aspect of this study was conducted with a diverse group of women based in Durban . Ten women where interviewed with the aim of gathering data about their experiences of peace buildlng and their vision of peace. They viewed their approaches as often distinct from men and believed that the significance of their peace buildlng work is not adequately recognized. What these ten women have in common is courage, tenacity and a long term vision of a world in peace. They view the attainment of peace and a return to normality as everyone's ' responsibility and everyone's concern. Women, men, politicians and religious and civic organizations should be seen as working toqether in buildlng peace. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This dissertation examines the resilience mechanisms of the newly emerging livelihood activities of peasants, farmers, and traders in rural areas in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. Women’s coping, preserving, and accumulating resilience demonstrate their capabilities for transforming and mobilizing assets to develop livelihood activities and expand them through social networks with the markets and state. The livelihood analysis is complemented by the examination of indigenous saving networks such as gap, and savings networks that are local and emerged during Soviet times such as chernaya kassa. These savings networks serve as a livelihood resilience mechanism for social and economic empowerment in the Tashkent region. These networks represent a collective movement and action against economic dependency of women on men and state micro-loan bank system to which women at the grassroots level do not resort to. These social and economic networks that do not require external donor interventions and function outside the mainstream economic assessment have been able to empower women for social justice, redistribution of resources, knowledge, voice, and conflict resolution in ways that are vital for peace and community development. Using in-depth interviews and narrative methodology, this study examines women’s indigenous conflict resolution practices used in rural communities. It examines such ceremonies as mavlud, ihson, Bibi Seshanba (Lady Tuesday), and Mushkul Kushod (Solver of Difficulties); healing practices; and grassroots peacebuilding methods. This research emphasizes how the conflict resolution practices of women are woven into their everyday life, and function autonomously from the hierarchical elite-driven Women’s Committees and state court systems established in Soviet times. Within the ethnographies of conflict at micro and macro levels, many local healers and otins (religious teachers) understand the structural roots of inequalities, which decrease women’s access to resources and consequently their fair distribution and women’s choices. These religious leaders use their discursive knowledge, based on Islam, Sufism, shamanism, and animism to challenge and transform women’s subordination, abuse, limited property rights, and other practices that impinge on women’s needs and rights. These female religious leaders, through different ceremonial practices, create space for raising the critical consciousness of women and transform the social order for maintaining organic peace in the communities.

Tyrimo objektas: agresyvumas ir konfliktų sprendimo strategijos skirtingo meistriškumo krepšininkių komandose. Tyrimo tikslas: nustatyti skirtingo meistriškumo krepšininkių agresyvumo ir konfliktų sprendimo strategijų sąsajas. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti skirtingo meistriškumo krepšininkių agresyvumo pasireiškimo formas ir ypatumus. 2. Nustatyti konfliktų dažnumą skirtingo meistriškumo tiriamųjų komandose ir vyraujančias konfliktų sprendimo strategijas. 3. Nustatyti ryšį tarp didelio meistriškumo tiriamųjų agresyvumo ir konfliktinių situacijų sprendimo strategijų. 4. Nustatyti ryšį tarp mažo meistriškumo tiriamųjų agresyvumo ir konfliktinių situacijų sprendimo strategijų. Hipotezė Skirtingo meistriškumo krepšininkių komandose agresyvumo pasireiškimo formos ir konfliktinių situacijų sprendimo strategijos yra nevienodos. Išvados: 1. Dažniausiai krepšininkės naudoja verbalinės agresijos formą, o mažiausiai – negatyvizmą. Priešiškumo ir agresyvumo indeksai abiejose krepšininkių grupėse yra vidutiniai, tik agresyvumas didelio meistriškumo grupėje yra šiek tiek didesnis nei vidutinis. Tiriant skirtingo meistriškumo krepšininkių agresyvumo ypatumus, tarp grupių skirtumų nebuvo rasta (p > 0,05). 2. Konfliktai dažnesni aukščiausios lygos grupėje (p < 0,05). Aukščiausioje lygoje tokios konfliktų priežastys, kaip nesiskaitymas su sportininko asmenybe, neturiningas bendravimas, netaktiškumas, šiurkštumas, autoritariškumas bei šališkas požiūris į sportininką yra dažnesnės nei A... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The research objected to reveal aggression and conflict resolution strategies adapted in female basketball teams of different mastery. The aim of the study was to determine links between aggression and conflict resolution strategies adjusted by female basketball players of different mastery. The following tasks were raised: 1. To determine peculiarities and manifestation forms of aggression expressed by female basketball players of different mastery. 2. To reveal the frequency of conflicts which arise in the subjects’ teams, and to discover the dominating conflict resolution strategies. 3. To detect links between high-skilled subjects’ aggression and conflict resolution strategies. 4. To determine relation between aggression and conflict resolution strategies applied by subjects of low-skills. Hypothesis The manifestation forms of aggression and conflict resolution strategies vary between teams of different mastery. Results: 1. The study revealed that female basketball players most often use verbal aggression and least – negativism. The indexes of hostility and aggression in both female basketballers’ groups are moderate. However, aggression in the high-skilled group is a little higher than moderate. During the investigation of aggression peculiarities possessed by female basketball players of different mastery, no differences were found between the two groups (p > 0.05). 2. It was determined that conflicts are more common in the major league team (p < 0.05). There... [to full text]

Utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods, this in-depth ethnographic study of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (BSFNRRA) examines social conflict and resistance stemming from competing values, definitions, and concerns over the management of cultural and natural resources within the region. The timing of this project is fortuitous for the National Park Service (NPS) has completed the creation of a ten year General Management Plan. Thus, we are provided with an opportunity to study and analyze the policy and methodology that park officials are required to follow in creating a management plan and eliciting public participation. The first goal of this study is to ascertain how the establishment of the BSFNRRA has altered local communities: (1) means of access to the area and (2) uses of resources within the area. Several questions will be asked and probed for answers. What happens to the meanings of the land and places on the land (such as a family cemetery) when the land is transformed from private to public ownership and is managed by a government agency for the benefit of preservation or recreation? How have residents been affected by and adapted to this transformation? The second goal is to probe the complex relationships and identify sources of conflict, resistance, and cooperation between community residents, NPS employees, and special interest groups. Essential questions arise and must be addressed. How are conflict, resistance, and cooperation demonstrated? The third goal is to delineate what measures can be taken to lessen conflict or resistance and promote cooperation? Since resistance often manifests itself in not participating in public meetings pertaining to the BSFNRRA, what measures can be taken to promote public participation? In conclusion, this study will draw clear and concise recommendations towards diminishing conflict between local residents and the NPS, along with recommendations on increasing public participation in the creation of policy pertaining to the management of public land. In addition to the applied aspect of this project, this study contributes to the body of theory by building on the mentalist paradigm of symbolic interactionism and the materialist paradigms of conflict and resistance theory.

This study used qualitative methods to examine if there was a connection between conflict resolution styles used with siblings in adolescence and conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic committed relationships. The Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire (Reese-Weber, & Bartle-Haring, 2003) and Gottman‟s (1994a, 1994b) couple-conflict types as adapted by Holman and Jarvis (2003) were administered to 144 participants through an online questionnaire. Analysis of the CRBQ using a multiple regression indicated participant‟s self-rating of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles used with siblings when an adolescent predicted current self-ratings of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic relationships.

This dissertation examines the resilience mechanisms of the newly emerging livelihood activities of peasants, farmers, and traders in rural areas in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. Women’s coping, preserving, and accumulating resilience demonstrate their capabilities for transforming and mobilizing assets to develop livelihood activities and expand them through social networks with the markets and state. The livelihood analysis is complemented by the examination of indigenous saving networks such as gap, and savings networks that are local and emerged during Soviet times such as chernaya kassa. These savings networks serve as a livelihood resilience mechanism for social and economic empowerment in the Tashkent region. These networks represent a collective movement and action against economic dependency of women on men and state micro-loan bank system to which women at the grassroots level do not resort to. These social and economic networks that do not require external donor interventions and function outside the mainstream economic assessment have been able to empower women for social justice, redistribution of resources, knowledge, voice, and conflict resolution in ways that are vital for peace and community development. Using in-depth interviews and narrative methodology, this study examines women’s indigenous conflict resolution practices used in rural communities. It examines such ceremonies as mavlud, ihson, Bibi Seshanba (Lady Tuesday), and Mushkul Kushod (Solver of Difficulties); healing practices; and grassroots peacebuilding methods. This research emphasizes how the conflict resolution practices of women are woven into their everyday life, and function autonomously from the hierarchical elite-driven Women’s Committees and state court systems established in Soviet times. Within the ethnographies of conflict at micro and macro levels, many local healers and otins (religious teachers) understand the structural roots of inequalities, which decrease women’s access to resources and consequently their fair distribution and women’s choices. These religious leaders use their discursive knowledge, based on Islam, Sufism, shamanism, and animism to challenge and transform women’s subordination, abuse, limited property rights, and other practices that impinge on women’s needs and rights. These female religious leaders, through different ceremonial practices, create space for raising the critical consciousness of women and transform the social order for maintaining organic peace in the communities.

While the challenge of improving young North Americans’ civic engagement seems to lie in the hands of schools, studying alternative ways of teaching citizenship education could benefit the current educational system. In this context, free schools (i.e., schools run democratically by students and teachers), guided by a philosophy that aims at engaging students civically through the democratic activities that they support, offer a relatively unexplored ground for research. The present inquiry is a case study using tools of ethnography and drawing upon some principles of complexity thinking. It aims at understanding students’ citizenship education experiences during democratic activities in a Canadian free school. It describes many experiences that can arise from these activities. They occurred within a school that operated democratically based on a consensus-model. More precisely, they took place during two kinds of democratic activities: class meetings, which regulated the social life of the school, and judicial committees, whose function was to solve conflicts at the school. During these activities, students mostly experienced a combination of feelings of appreciation, concernment and empowerment. While experiencing these feelings, they predominantly engaged in decision-making and conflict resolution processes. During these processes, students modified their conflict resolutions skills, various conceptions, and their participation in democratic activities and in the school. Based on these findings, the study concludes that students can develop certain skills and attitude associated to citizenship education during these activities and become active from a citizenship perspective. Hence, these democratic activities represent alternative strategies that can assist educators in teaching about citizenship.

Nowhere in the world is the demand for peace more prominent and challenging than in Africa. From state collapse and anarchy in Somalia to protracted wars and rampant corruption in the Congo; from bloody civil wars and extreme poverty in Sierra Leone to humanitarian crisis and authoritarianism in Sudan, the continent is the focus of growing political and media attention. This book presents the first comprehensive overview of conflict and peace across the continent. Bringing together a range of leading academics from Africa and beyond, "Peace and Conflict in Africa" is an ideal introduction to key themes of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, security and development. The book's stress on the importance of indigenous Africa approaches to creating peace makes it an innovative and exciting intervention in the field.

Many of the failures and deficiencies of software projects can be attributed to the lack of effort exerted in addressing requirements in the early planning stages of software development. In multiple stakeholder development environments, requirements will inevitably come into conflict, therefore, it is important to address these conflicts early in software development. The research presented in this thesis surveyed several existing models that resolve requirements conflicts. The goal of the research was to investigate the suitability of these models in identifying, visualizing and solving requirements conflicts. To achieve this goal it was decided to apply these models in a context different than they were originally applied. The context of this research was a process where two stakeholder groups negotiated the requirements of the particular software system. The application of the models was done as a case study. Three models were studied, namely the Utility Curves Model, the Win-Win Model and the \textit{\textbf{i*}} Framework. It was found that each model contributes uniquely to conflict resolution. We have documented strength and limitations for each model and have concluded that these three models should be used together in tandem. A hybrid model was constructed that was composed of the three models. The hybrid model leverages the strengths and addresses the limitations of the three individual models.