This thesis examines the link between international exchange programs, cross-cultural communication, and conflict resolution. Through a case study of the Canada World Youth Core Program, my research sought to answer the question: How do the participants of the Canada World Youth Core Program perceive their adaptability, cross-cultural communication, and conflict resolution skills to have been developed or improved as a result of their participation in the program? I asked eleven former Canadian participants of the program to share their stories of conflict and challenges throughout the exchange, which resulted in rich and detailed qualitative data. My findings suggest that increased opportunities to engage in cross-cultural communication through international exchange programs, such as Canada World Youth, can increase an individual’s adaptability, cross-cultural communication, and conflict resolution skills. I therefore conclude that such programs are an important component to the Canadian educational system, and should be supported, promoted, and made widely available to Canadian youth.

Conflict resolution theory and practice have been increasingly criticised for ignoring the centrality of culture in their attempts to find theories and models that are applicable universally, not only across cultures but also across levels of society. Mediation is one form of conflict resolution, which has come to occupy a central position in the resolution of disputes both at international and local levels. At the level of family disputes, family mediation has failed to engage users from different ethnic groups in England and Wales. This thesis explores the hypothesis that culture and, in particular, culturally defined concepts of gender are the important factors determining the success or failure of mediation in divorce disputes.

Previous research suggests that self-reports of the frequency of events can vary dramatically. Minor changes in question format can result in major changes in the obtained results. The purpose of this study is to examine how changes in reference period, memory cue, and measurement scale affect participants' self-reports of conflict frequency. Additionally, the role of cognitive effort was examined to gain insight into the recall strategy used for different measures of conflict. Participants include 175 college undergraduates between the ages of 18-24, enrolled in psychology courses at Florida Atlantic University. Results indicate that reference period and memory cue form a significant interaction to create changes in reports of conflict frequency. Both reference period and memory cue act differently within the different conflict measurement scales. In the 0-10 or more scale, memory cue was statistically significant with higher rates of conflict reported in the cued condition than the uncued. In the open (fill in the blank) scale, there was a significant interaction between reference period and memory cue with the highest amount of conflict being reported in the one day/cued condition. The Likert scale behaved differently than the other two absolute frequency scales. Within the Likert scale there was a significant interaction between reference period and memory cue, however, the highest amount of conflict reported was in the two weeks/uncued condition. Finally, cognitive effort varied as a product of reference period, within both the 0-10 or more scale and the open scale with the two weeks condition eliciting higher reports of effort than the one day condition. These cognitive effort findings suggest that participants used enumeration as a recall strategy for the absolute frequency scales and estimation for the Likert scale. / by Justin Puder. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A concepção ampliada de acesso à justiça e o impacto dos mecanismos de processamento de conflitos na construção do Estado Democrático de Direito compõem a temática de fundo deste trabalho. A partir de 2010, o impulso aos meios não adversariais de gestão de conflitos (potencialmente mais satisfatórios, a depender das características da disputa, pessoas envolvidas e histórico do relacionamento) tomou corpo de verdadeira política pública no Brasil, e está formalmente representado no microssistema legal formado pela Resolução nº 125 de 2010 do Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ), pelo Código de Processo Civil (CPC); e pela Lei nº 13.140/15, normatização que, no entanto, não abrange os conflitos e o Judiciário trabalhistas. Em um país marcado por gritante desigualdade econômica, social e educacional, e pelo reiterado descumprimento da legislação trabalhista, a introdução de mecanismos consensuais de solução de conflitos (privados ou não), apesar de todas as vantagens apontadas pela doutrina especializada (inclusive de índole psicossocial e não apenas para a redução de processos), toma contornos densos nesta seara. Teme-se que a introdução desses mecanismos, menos \"rígidos\" sob o aspecto da efetivação do direito material discutido (paradigma positivo), represente mais uma porta para a precarização dos direitos individuais trabalhistas, os quais, em razão do caráter redistributivo, instrumentalizam a concretização de um interesse público: a promoção de justiça social. Mesmo diante dessa advertência e sem perde-la de vista, fixamos como hipótese de pesquisa a insuficiência do sistema de justiça trabalhista quanto a mecanismos aptos à promoção da autocomposição (sobretudo nos conflitos metajurídicos), e que não descuidassem, concomitantemente, do papel redistributivo do Direito do Trabalho e das peculiaridades da respectiva relação. A partir disso, investigamos possibilidades para o aperfeiçoando do que denominamos sistema híbrido de gestão de conflitos e, consequentemente, da cultura de gestão cooperativa de conflitos. Para tanto, esta pesquisa se valeu de duas etapas: uma teórica e outra prática. Na pesquisa teórica, apresentamos as teorias e normas sobre os meios não adversarias de solução de conflitos, as características e funções dos direitos trabalhistas no Estado Democrático de Direito, o atual sistema de justiça trabalhista, bem como as principais polêmicas envolvidas na matéria. Na pesquisa prática, testamos um procedimento não adversarial com traços particulares em comparação aos regulados no Brasil, e buscamos integrar a perspectiva das próprias partes à sua avaliação, via investigação de motivação e de opinião. Colhidos os dados por meio de questionários, e interpretados à luz da pesquisa teórica, formulamos inferências e passamos à fase propositiva do estudo. Nesta, propomos parâmetros para a sistematização de um mecanismo autocompositivo diferenciado para a Justiça do Trabalho, o qual denominamos reunião de orientação facilitadora. Tal mecanismo, inspirado simultaneamente na mediação, conciliação e intervenção neutra de terceiros (portanto não absolutamente original, consentimos) é sugerido para o tratamento preferencial de conflitos de índole metajurídica acentuada (comum em contratos marcados por maior proximidade entre empregador e empregado, como vínculo doméstico e o estabelecido com pequenas empresas), em relação aos quais detectamos a maior necessidade de aperfeiçoamento do sistema de justiça trabalhista. / The expanded concept of access to justice and the impact of the mechanisms of conflicts processing in the construction of the Democratic State of Law constitute the underlying theme of this project work. From 2010, the drive to non-adversarial means of conflict management (potentially more satisfactory, depending on the nature of the dispute, on the people involved and on the relationship history) took shape of real public policy in Brazil, which is formally represented in the legal system composed by the Resolution nº 125 of 2010 of the National Justice Council (NJC), by the Civil Procedure Code (CPC); and by the Act nº 13.140/15, standardization which, however, does not cover the conflicts or the Labor Courts. In a country known by an outstanding economic, social and educational inequality, and by the repeated non-compliance with the labor legislation, the introduction of consensual mechanisms of conflict resolution (may they be private or not), despite all the advantages pointed out by specialized doctrine (including of psychosocial nature and not only to the reduction of processes), may assume a dense perspective in this context. It is feared that the introduction of such mechanisms, which are less \"strict\" under the light of implementation of the substantive law discussed (positive paradigm), may represent another door to the uncertainty of the individual labor rights, which, due to the redistributive nature, leading onto the accomplishment of an element of public concern: the promotion of social justice. Even taking this warning into account and without losing sight of it, we set as a research hypothesis the failure of the labor justice system with regard to the mechanisms which are capable to promote self-conciliation (especially in meta-juridical conflicts), and without neglect, at the same time, to the redistributive role of the labor law and the peculiarities of their relation. From this point onwards, we investigate possibilities for improving what we call hybrid system of conflict management and, consequently, the cooperative conflict management culture. To this end, this study relied on two steps: a theoretical one and a practical one. On the theoretical stage of the research, we present the theories and rules about the non-adversarial means of solving conflicts, the features and functions of labor rights in the Democratic State of Law, the current Labor Justice System, as well as the main controversies involved in this matter. Regarding the practical stage of the research, we tested a non-adversarial procedure with specific traits in comparison to the ones regulated in Brazil, and we seek to integrate the perspective of the parties themselves to its evaluation, through the investigation of motivation and opinion. Once the data were collected through questionnaires, and interpreted in the light of the theoretical research, we formulate inferences and proceeded hypothesis-setting proposition stage of the study. At this juncture, we suggest parameters for the systematization of a conciliating mechanism to the Labor Courts, which we define as facilitating orientation guidance meeting. This mechanism, simultaneously inspired in mediation, conciliation and neutral thirdparty intervention (so not quite original, we consent) is suggested for the preferential treatment of conflicts of meta-juridical marked nature (common in contracts characterized by greater proximity between employer and employee, such as domestic bond and the one established at small businesses), for which we have detected the greatest need for improvement of the Labor Justice System.