Toward seamless environments for dispute prevention and resolution

Given the evolution of the Information Technology society, it is now rather simple to acquire products or services in a foreign country. This practice may conduct to the event of conflicts whenever a consumer detects some fault or malfunction in services or products he/she had bought. A situation that may worsen if at the time of the uncovering of the defect, the shopper is already in a different geographical arena. There is thus the need to develop computational tools that may prevent these disputes from even happening. In this work it is proposed the development of seamless intelligent environments for dispute resolution that will surround the user, independently of his/her location. It is described the implementation of a prototype that may provide contextualized real-time information and legal support to consumers. The objective is to decrease the number of disputes due to a poor understanding in relation to the The Law and make justice more personalized and closer to people.The work described in this paper was developed under the TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portuga

Context-aware environments for online dispute resolution

Virtual environments, such as Online Dispute Resolution, don’t have the rich context of traditional environments do. We are developing a computational environment that can better support the decision-making process of experts by providing access to meaningful context information, allowing the intervenor to take better supported decisions. The resulting system is able to transparently acquire information about user’s state, including stress or conflict resolution style

Exploring the Relevance and Contribution of Mediation to Peace-Building

The paper considers the nature and characteristics of peace-building as an approach to conflict. It suggests that mediation should be seen as a particularly important aspect of peace-building efforts, and one that may be used at different phases of a conflict. The paper develops a framework for analyzing the circumstances under which mediation may contribute to peace-building. The framework lays emphasis on contextual and perceptual dimensions. The paper argues that mediation, properly utilized, can achieve not just a settlement of a conflict, but facilitate, in the longer run, a full transformation of relations. Any successful program of peace-building requires some form of mediation

Big data innovation and diffusion in projects teams: Towards a conflict prevention culture

Despite the enormous literature on how team conflicts can be managed and resolved, this study diverges, by examining factors that facilitate conflict prevention culture in project teams, especially when introducing Big Data Technology. Relying on findings from relevant literatures and focus group discussions, 28 attributes for embedding conflict prevention culture were identified and put together in questionnaire survey. Series of statistical tests including reliability analysis and exploratory factor-analysis. The results identified five critical success factors for entrenching the culture of conflict prevention in project teams introducing big data driving innovations. The five-factor solution include “building effective relationship”, “effective project communications”, “project team efficacy”, “pro-active conflict management approach” and “effectual project documentation”. Result of this study presents a Conceptual framework for effective management of human resource in relation to conflict prevention among project teams, as an effective strategy for facilitating seamless adoption and diffusion of big data innovation in organisations

Harassment, Workplace Culture, and the Power and Limits of Law

This article asks why it remains so difficult for employers to prevent and respond effectively to harassment, especially sexual harassment, and identifies promising points for legal intervention. It is sobering to consider social-science evidence of the myriad barriers to reporting sexual harassment – from the individual-level and interpersonal to those rooted in society at large. Most of these are out of reach for an employer but workplace culture stands out as a significant arena where employers have influence on whether harassment and other discriminatory behaviors are likely to thrive. Yet employers typically make choices in this area with attention to legal accountability rather than cultural contribution. My central claim is that these judgment calls – about policy, procedures, training, and operations – shape workplace culture and that it is a mistake to view them only through a compliance lens. With this insight, it becomes clear that each of these will be more effective in shaping culture when the employee user-experience is a focal point, and this article suggests many ways to achieve this result. By seeing harassment prevention and response as an opportunity for culture creation in addition to being a compliance obligation, it also becomes clear that harassing behavior may negatively affect the targeted employee and the broader workplace even when there is no risk of liability. This includes “lowgrade harassment,” a category I use to describe behaviors that are intentionally harassing but not severe or pervasive enough to meet doctrinal thresholds. Also relevant are microaggressions and interactions that reflect implicit bias, as these are unlikely to expose a firm to liability because they lack the discriminatory intent required by legal doctrine but nonetheless can create significant challenges for employees and organizations. This is not to suggest that employers should respond in an identical way to all of these occurrences. Rather, the point is that inattention to experiences that go beyond legal-accountability requirements is likely to spill over into the broader workplace culture and diminish the effectiveness of other harassment prevention and response efforts. The good news is that there are specific steps an employer can take to have harassment prevention and response become part of the workplace culture rather than being sidelined as compliance. Thoughtfully crafted legislative and policy interventions, along with litigation settlements, also can bridge this gap and create a more seamless set of cultural expectations for how employees interact with each other at work and what they can expect from their employer when challenges arise

Financing Asia’s Infrastructure: Modes of Development and Integration of Asian Financial Markets

Asia faces very large infrastructure funding demands, estimated at around US$750 billion per year for energy, transport, telecommunications, water, and sanitation during 2010-2020 (ADB/ADBI 2009). Asia has large savings, significant international reserves, and rapid accumulations of funds that could be utilized for meeting these infrastructure investment needs, but Asian markets have failed to use available resources to channel funding into highly needed infrastructure projects. This paper explores issues and challenges in financing infrastructure for seamless Asian infrastructure connectivity and for other high priority development financing needs, and seeks methods and instruments to help direct Asian and international resources to cost-effectively and efficiently support infrastructure and other development needs. The paper discusses three important topics: First, what are the lessons for Asia from the European Union's experience of developing and integrating financial markets and using development banking institutions to support infrastructure investment? Second, how can Asian public and private resources, such as pension funds, social security funds, sovereign wealth funds, and private portfolio funds contribute to infrastructure development across Asia? Third, can Islamic financial markets provide funds for Asian infrastructure development? Finally, the paper makes recommendations regarding financing options and how Asian financial markets and infrastructure companies could be further developed and integrated to mobilize Asian and other regions' savings for financing priority infrastructure projects in the region.asian financial markets; asian infrastructure; asian infrastructure financing

CPA Management Consultant, January/February 1998

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