Much research has been conducted about the diffusion of nonviolent civil resistance and its various mechanisms, with a majority of the attention being paid to diffusion on a global level via external pressure and normative imitation. There is little research, however, about the mechanisms that occur on a much narrower field via individual-level communications, which lead to individuals learning from surrounding ideas and adapting them to fit their situation. Using the case study of the independence movement of the late 1980s in the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, I provide a nuanced analysis of these communications between the former republic and its neighbors, specifically Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all of which were going through their own independence movements at the same time. I address the importance of these individual-level communications to the movement's success and ultimately conclude that without them, the diffusion of nonviolent civil resistance into Ukraine would not have occurred and the movement would not have proven to be successful in bringing down the Soviet regime.

This thesis approaches the topic of communication strategies that can influence and improve peace negotiations and conflict resolutions. The aim of this thesis is to highlight ways in which the use of communication can possibly pave the way towards a world with less conflicts by researching two communication approaches called nonviolent communication and strategic communication. To achieve a greater understanding of the two communication models, they will be applied to the case study of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Consequently, this thesis will also include a comparative analysis which will highlight differences and similarities between the two approaches where, as a result, the core of communication will be discussed.Overall, this thesis will highlight the importance of communication. Communication is a topic that affects all areas of life, the area of religion included. This thesis argues that both nonviolent communication and strategic communication are essential approaches in realising what the core of communication entails. To conclude, this thesis states that both of the two chosen communication models are useful, and can possibly pave the way towards a world with less conflicts, but in different ways. This thesis demonstrates that communication can build bridges, make connections, and restore faith in humanity.

<p>This degree project focuses on the importance of being professional doing a job at the same time as being able to express one self in a professional way. The degree project also focuses on how the work as an environmental- and health inspector could be made easier by making the inspectors aware of their language and open to change. Finally the focus of this degree project lies on how positive contacts can be made with people despite them being informed of difficult or unwanted things.</p><p>In order to get an overview of the inspectors’ communication skills today the environmental- and health inspectors at the environment office in Laholm´s municipality were evaluated. The inspectors´ communications styles and languages were checked on the basis of the “nonviolent communication model” by Marshall Rosenberg.</p><p>The content and the result of this report were presented for the head of the environment office, the chairman of the committee and the participating inspectors in Laholm´s municipality. The presentation was done in order to elucidate the differences in the inspectors´ languages and to create a discussion on how to proceed with the work within communication.</p><p> </p><p>The future vision is a popular inspector that masters NVC and uses their communication skills as a quality assurance for their work.</p>

This degree project focuses on the importance of being professional doing a job at the same time as being able to express one self in a professional way. The degree project also focuses on how the work as an environmental- and health inspector could be made easier by making the inspectors aware of their language and open to change. Finally the focus of this degree project lies on how positive contacts can be made with people despite them being informed of difficult or unwanted things. In order to get an overview of the inspectors’ communication skills today the environmental- and health inspectors at the environment office in Laholm´s municipality were evaluated. The inspectors´ communications styles and languages were checked on the basis of the “nonviolent communication model” by Marshall Rosenberg. The content and the result of this report were presented for the head of the environment office, the chairman of the committee and the participating inspectors in Laholm´s municipality. The presentation was done in order to elucidate the differences in the inspectors´ languages and to create a discussion on how to proceed with the work within communication. The future vision is a popular inspector that masters NVC and uses their communication skills as a quality assurance for their work.

This paper investigates the decline in success of nonviolent conflicts. While nonviolent conflicts are known to have higher efficacy compared to violent conflicts, this disparity has decreased since the 1990s. Previous scholars have divided the causes behind the success of nonviolent conflict into three categories: (1) mobilization; (2) resilience; and (3) leverage. The hypothesis is that one or more of these factors have changed and is the cause behind the decline. The research uses a largeN quantitative method, comparing the two time periods of 1945 – 1999 with 2000 – 2013. The resulting descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and likelihood ratio tests show that mobilization has decreased alongside a decrease in how successfully nonviolent campaigns utilize leverage over their opponents. These findings invite further investigation into why this decrease has occurred.

In this study, six speeches delivered by Stokely Carmichael, during and immediately following his role as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, have been analyzed to determine if, and in what ways, Carmichael used the elements of agitational rhetoric.

High prevalence and the negative legal, health, and psychological consequences of adolescent dating aggression underscore the need to identify risk and protective processes associated with this type of aggression. Studying dating aggression in early adolescence is important, as this is the developmental time frame when most youth are establishing attitudes, beliefs, and norms for dating behaviors. The current study investigated longitudinal associations between perceived parental and peer support for violent and nonviolent responses to conflict and dating aggression perpetration among middle school students. Participants included 1,399 adolescents (52% female) in the sixth (n = 466), seventh (n = 467), and eighth (n = 466) grades. Results showed that peer support for nonviolent responses predicted lower frequencies of subsequent dating aggression among sixth graders, and perceived parental support for nonviolent responses resulted in decreased frequencies of dating aggression in the seventh and eighth grades. Peer support for violent responses predicted increased dating aggression in the seventh grade, and perceived parental support for violent responses led to higher frequencies of dating aggression in the eighth grade. Additionally, dating aggression predicted changes in adolescent perceptions of parental and peer support for violent and nonviolent responses. No sex differences were found in these models. Lastly, moderation analyses identified two significant interactions. These interactions illustrated that different combinations of parental and peer support for violent and nonviolent responses affected dating aggression perpetration, highlighting the importance of examining mixed messages and combinations of messages from parents and peers. Overall, the findings from the current study indicated that adolescent perceptions of parental and peer support for violent and nonviolent responses to conflict are important risk and protective processes, respectively, that are longitudinally associated with dating aggression. These findings can inform dating violence prevention programs, and stress the importance of adolescent, parental, and peer involvement in these programs.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Lisa J. Raser, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Speech Communication, presented on October 30th, 2013, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: EPISTOLARY PEDAGOGY: COMMUNICATING CARE IN THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Suzanne M. Daughton While many scholars have affirmed the importance of communicating care in pedagogical settings (Noddings; Bubeck; Held; Ruddick; Monchinski; hooks; Palmer) there is a need for more scholarly discussion about what the communication of care between teachers and students looks like as a daily, tangible practice. Geneva Gay writes that educators "are hard-pressed to characterize [caring] in actual practice, to put a functional face on it that goes beyond feelings of empathy and emotional attachment" (48). In this dissertation, I examine letter writing in the classroom as one practice of communicating care between teachers and students. As a teacher who seeks to communicate care to my students, I am interested in what pedagogical care looks like, in action. Since I have employed my own "epistolary pedagogy" of writing letters to my students at the beginning of each semester, I want to know how my letter might communicate the giving of care and how the letters written by my students might communicate the receiving of care. Therefore, the data for this project consists of my letter that I wrote to my students at Southern Illinois University as well as a sample of thirty letters that I received back from my students in response to my letter. For analysis, I utilize a version of generic rhetorical criticism combined with a nonviolent communication lens as a method for revealing and understanding the communicative patterns that exist across this collection of letters. The textual evidence across the letters from my students suggests the rhetorical patterns of: self-disclosure, hopes and contributions, assessment, and connection with my letter. These patterns help me to understand ways that my students may be receiving my letter as care. This project explores how an epistolary pedagogy functions as care-in-action because it opens a space for communication between teacher and student, leads to feelings of comfort in the classroom, and provides an opportunity for teacher and students to build a continuing relationship.

Magister Educationis - MEd / M.Ed. mini-tesis, Departement Filosofie van die Opvoeding, Universiteit van wes-Kaapland. Hierdie mini-tesis ondersoek die gebruik van geweld deur die Suid-Afrikaanse regering as regverdiging om'n ~ "demokratiese" staat instand te hou asook die gebruik van geweld deur magte wat "n "meer" demokratiese staat daar wil stel. In Hoofstuk 1 word daar geargumenteer dat die gebruik van geweld 'n morele kwessie is en word daar onder meer verwys na die verskillende soorte geweld wat aangetref word. Veral word daar gekyk of alle burgers " onder die verpligting is om die staat te gehoorsaam en of hierdie gehoorsaamheid onreflektiewe gehoorsaamheid is. In Hoofstuk 2 word gekyk of dwang ooit geregverdig is deur te kyk na die verband tussen Positiewe en Negatiewe Vryheid en dwang. In Hooofstuk 3 word daar kortliks gekyk na waarom die demokrasie die mees aanvaarbare vorm van regering vir die mens as rasionele wese is. Daarna (Hoofstuk 4) word ondersoek ingestel na eerstens die verband tussen moraliteit en demokrasie en tweedens na die verband tussen demokrasie en geweld deur te verwys na die klassieke en die kontempor~re teorie~ van demokrasie. In Hoofstuk 5 word daar veral gekyk na watter ruimte, indienenige, daar vir wettige teenstemming "dissent" in 'n demokrasie bestaan asook hoe daar binne 'n demokrasie teenstemming gebied kan word en watter beperkinge daar op vryheid van spraak en assosiasie as wettige teenkanting is. Daar word dan ook kortliks gekyk na hoe geweld indruis teen demokratiese prosedure en of daar ook ander faktore is wat die demokratiese proses beinvloed. In Hoofstuk 6 kyk ek na hoe die polemici voordeel probeer trek deur die konsep "geweld" op 'n bepaalde manier te hanteer deur daarop te wys dat "geweldloos" nie die teenoorgestelde van "gewelddadig" is nie. Verskeie vorme van geweldlose verset of pasifisme word kortliks ondersoek en word uitgewys dat ook daar 'n vorm van dwang teenwoordig is. Die verband tussen demokrasie en geweldlose verset word dan ondersoek. In Hoofstuk 7 word gekyk na geweld in die Suid-Afrikaanse skolestelsel deur te wys op hoe die studente en die staat onderskeidelik die konsepte geweld en demokrasie hanteer en toepas. Daar word kortliks uitgewys dat vrede nie sinoniem met egverdigheid is nie. Veral word gekyk na die polisie en weermag en morele regverdiging van geweld. In Hoofstuk 8 word gekyk na wat bedoel word met 'n demokratiese onderwysstelsel deur veral te kyk na 'n model van deelnemende demokrasie en hoe studente-praktyke moontlik aanleiding tot geweld kan gee. In Hoofstik 9 word 'n kort samevatting van die argument gegee.

This study is dedicated to exploring the different types of, and motives for constructive nonviolent action that in direct connection to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine are being implemented by young Israelis. The initiative is based on the belief that hope, recognition and support is highly important for the effectiveness of constructive nonviolent action, by an interest to explore the existing and functioning methods of constructive nonviolent action in an ongoing conflict area and by the will to show the specific conflict in Israel and Palestine from a perspective of positive initiatives taken by active youth. Through in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews, the perceptions, thoughts and motives that these individuals hold concerning their actions, the reasons to why they are active and the influence that they believe their work might have on the wider society has been explored. Discoursive analysis has been implemented in order to gain a deeper understanding of these narratives and the results found provided an interesting insight into the scene of constructive nonviolent action in Israel as well as a multifaceted diversity within the sample of participants. These results can be used to present an illustration of the complexity of the current political situation in Israel, as well as an example of the many different methods and types of constructive nonviolent action that these young active Israelis choose to engage in.