Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / This dissertation examines the conflict created when an individual's beliefs are in contradiction to the beliefs of others. Specifically, this study examines (1) the distribution of modes of conflict resolution when no response is made salient (a free choice situation) and when one of three responses (independence, conformity, or compromise) is made salient, (2) the emotional consequences of the modes of resolution; i.e., subsequent tension, and (3) the attitudinal consequences of adopting one of the three modes of resolution [TRUNCATED]

This dissertation analyses the role of industrial mediation within the framework of the relationship between the underlying causes of industrial conflict and the resolution of this conflict. The inextricable relationship between economics and politics means that the underlying causes of industrial conflict need to be located within both the socio-political arena and in the contradictions within the labour process. The Independent Mediation Service of South Africa (IMSSA) has played a crucial role in facilitating the institutionalisation of extra statutory or independent industrial mediation in response to the changing nature of industrial relations in the country. IMSSA is rooted in the pluralist approach to industrial relations. Pluralism is rejected in this dissertation for its implicit acceptance of the existing socio-political status quo and for its belief in the legitimacy of the social system as a fair and democratic one. Thus, a critical question in this research is what is the role of mediation if pluralism is rejected as a starting point for analysis? A distinction is drawn between manifest and latent conflict in this dissertation. The primary hypothesis, which is confirmed, is that mediation addresses the manifest, rather than the latent conflict. This challenges the claim of the problem-solving approach of mediation that the process uncovers the underlying conflict. Instead, this research reveals that mediation is dispute-specific and has the potential for solving the immediate conflict, rather than removing the fundamental sources of this conflict. Further, the role of mediation is limited by the very nature of the collective bargaining process which restricts the expression of the latent conflict. It is argued that, although mediation may be accused of palliating the conflict in the sense that it settles the dispute without addressing the structural causes of the conflict, mediation plays a significant role in the collective bargaining process. This is revealed in the role that mediation plays in improving bargaining skills, empowering the weaker party, legitimising the negotiating parties, educating the parties, overcoming mistrust and promoting understanding between adversaries. Thus, mediation has the potential for significantly affecting the working relationship and altering the dynamics of this relationship in terms of enhancing the essential relationship-building dimension of this relationship and facilitating an approach to bargaining in good faith. The effects of mediation therefore extend beyond the immediate conflict settlement. Mediation is not a response to procedural inadequacies and the utilisation of this process does not reflect inadequate negotiation skills. Instead, the increasing number of industrial mediations may be seen to be a reflection of more sophisticated industrial relations which reveal an acknowledgement of the need to compromise as a prerequisite for successful collective bargaining. Research was conducted and hypotheses tested through primary research which involved interviews with leading management representatives and trade unionists in the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage regions and mediators in these two areas as well as in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Interviews were conducted oh an open-ended, but structured basis. The two primary regions were chosen for their representation of different trends in the utilisation of industrial mediation. FOcus in the Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage region centred on why mediation has been utilised relatively less frequently in this region than elsewhere in the country. It was found that, although specific forces have shaped the unique nature of collective bargaining in this region, the attitude towards mediation arose not from more militant or confrontational policies, but from a number of misperceptions and faulty assumptions concerning the process and role of mediation.

No / Since the end of the Cold War, conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding have risen to the top of the international agenda. The second edition of this hugely popular text charts the development of the field from its pioneers to its contemporary exponents and offers an assessment of its achievements and the challenges it faces in today's changed security environment. Existing material has been thoroughly updated and new chapters added on peacebuilding from below, reconciliation, responses to terror, gender issues, the ethics of intervention, dialogue, discourse and disagreement, culture and conflict resolution, and future directions for the field. the authors argue that a new form of cosmopolitan conflict resolution is emerging, which offers a hopeful means for human societies to transcend and celebrate their differences. - Polity Press

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When looking at societies that are in transition from violence to peace, one of the major issues that is present is the need to reconcile with past adversaries. Political philosophy points to the need for the creation of a social contract that all groups can reach through reasonable agreements. This represents a political reconciliation between groups. This thesis classifies this idea as the need for cognitive reconciliation. The field of Social Psychology points to how negative emotions, or affect, can inhibit the use of reason. The field of Conflict Resolution asserts that there must also be a reconciliation on an emotional level as well. This thesis classifies this as the need for affective reconciliation. This project looks at a way to integrate the cognitive and affective forms of reconciliation into a single model.

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The object of this study is to present a comparative analysis of the system of problem-solving workshops and associated conflict resolution techniques exemplified in the work of John W Burton and Leonard Doob and their associates. The approach has been to structure the research as a methodological critique of the Burton and Doob models, with special consideration given to their respective domain assumptions, internal logic, methodology, process and prescriptive dimensions. Informed by the assumption of the universality of conflict, the study begins by examining the particular strengths and weaknesses associated with Burton and Doob's work. The approach is descriptive-analytical and sets out to isolate, identify and describe the salient features of the problem-solving approach followed by the two authors. Specific case studies used by them have been subjected to critical analysis. The basic notion of problem-solving and its relevance to conflict analysis and resolution is also explored in some detail. In arriving at a conclusion, the study suggests that problem-solving workshops have specific strengths, notably in the area of conflict analysis as well as in influencing individual perceptions and competing value positions. Certain shortcomings in the theoretical and practical utility of this approach, however, could be overcome, in the author's opinion, by giving attention to the area of third party intervention, notably in assessing the variables affecting the process, such as the time sequence, the structure of the discussion format, and the application of specific techniques. In the final analysis, it is agreed that these problem-solving workshops can serve as a useful analytical tool in contemplating the dynamic of conflict relationships and behaviour. Their theoretical and practical utility, but remain inherently limited unless they are integrated with a broader body of literature on bargaining and third party intervention. The study concludes with the observation that despite an extensive and growing body of literature on conflict, the practice of third party intervention - especially within the workshop setting - has only recently been studied in depth. It is in this respect that this study hopes to be of some practical value especially in the case of a deeply divided society such as South Africa.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Communication Science in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2004. / This dissertation uses a combination, of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to present an objective analysis of conflict between aggrieved educators and their employer, the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education, set against current theories of how narrative analysis, informed by semantic roles analysis, can be used according to the principles of organisational communication to discern underlying causes of conflict, and current approaches to conflict transformation The major findings of this study are that conflict is endemic at all hierarchic levels of the KZN Department of Education, that intermediate forms of dispute resolution are not working effectively, with the consequence that a high number of disputes are referred for arbitration, and finally that arbitrators are performing their duties effectively in terms of the dispute resolution procedures of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).