Identity and Conflict: Collaboratively Addressing Police-Community Conflict in Cincinnati, Ohio

Published in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolutio

Conflict Engagement: A Contingency Model in Theory and Practice

The systematic study and applied practice of conflict resolution is now a few decades old and is evolving into its own field and perhaps towards its own discipline (Avruch, 2013). I believe an essential way forward towards a more robust field and discipline is to build a parsimonious contingency approach. That is, an approach for applying our best theoretical and analytical tools to diagnosing the nature and status of a given conflict and then systematically and adaptively matching up the best methods for constructively engaging the conflict as it evolves. Fisher and Keashly (1991) pioneered contingency theory in international conflict resolution, while Sander and Goldberg suggested “fitting the forum to the fuss” in domestic ADR a few years later (1994). Since then the notion has caught on and is now somewhat in “vogue” (Fisher, 2012). However, surprisingly little development has occurred in this arena given the promise it holds. The contingency model described in this article builds on this early theorizing and suggests different conflict intervention methods according to conflict type and stage of development. Conflicts are divided into three different types: resource-based, objectives-based and identity-based. Each type is conducive to a different mode of engagement

Individuals, Groups and Intergroups: Theorizing About the Role of Identity in Conflict and its Creative Engagement

Published in cooperation with the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolutio

Creative Marginality: Exploring the Links between Conflict Resolution and Social Work

The concept of creative marginality refers to the process through which researchers in academic fields move away from the mainstream and toward the margins of their fields and look toward the margins of other fields that may overlap with and fill in gaps in their fields. This interaction, occurring outside of disciplinary boundaries, promotes intellectual cross-fertilization, and it is often the site of innovation. This article examines the links and interactions between the academic disciplines and practices of social work and conflict resolution. The article describes the different theoretical frames and practical approaches of both social work and conflict resolution, and discusses the ways in which these are parallel in both fields. Theorists and practitioners in social work and conflict resolution are engaged in debate around three key concepts related to self-determination, empowerment, and professional ethics. The newer and emerging frames of both fields are situated at parallel positions on the continuum of approaches to these key concepts, in their respective professions. These frames favor elicitive rather than prescriptive approaches and increased client or party self-determination, a focus on transformation and empowerment rather than on problem-solving alone, and a stance of engagement and advocacy towards intervention, rather than neutrality and impartiality. The authors argue that increased interchange between the two fields has the potential to contribute to the development of innovative approaches to transforming social conflicts and promoting positive social change

Effects of contaminants of emerging concern on Megaselia scalaris (Lowe, Diptera: Phoridae) and its microbial community.

Drought, rising temperatures, and expanding human populations are increasing water demands. Many countries are extending potable water supplies by irrigating crops with wastewater. Unfortunately, wastewater contains biologically active, long-lived pharmaceuticals, even after treatment. Run-off from farms and wastewater treatment plant overflows contribute high concentrations of pharmaceuticals to the environment. This study assessed the effects of common pharmaceuticals on a cosmopolitan saprophagous insect, Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae). Larvae were reared on artificial diets spiked with contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) at environmentally relevant concentrations. Female flies showed no oviposition preference for treated or untreated diets. Larvae exposed to caffeine in diets showed increased mortality, and larvae fed antibiotics and hormones showed signs of slowed development, especially in females. The normal sex ratio observed in M. scalaris from control diets was affected by exposure to caffeine and pharmaceutical mixture treatments. There was an overall effect of treatment on the flies' microbial communities; notably, caffeine fed insects displayed higher microbial variability. Eight bacterial families accounted for approximately 95% of the total microbes in diet and insects. Our results suggest that CECs at environmentally relevant concentrations can affect the biology and microbial communities of an insect of ecological and medical importance

Multi-person sex among a sample of adolescent female urban health clinic patients

Adolescent sexual activity involving three or more people is an emerging public health concern. The goal of this exploratory, cross-sectional study was to describe the prevalence, correlates, and context of multiple-person sex among a sample of adolescent females seeking health care from an urban clinic. Because sex involving multiple people may either be consensual (i.e., “three-ways” or “group sex”) or forced (i.e., “gang rape”), we use the term “multi-person sex” (MPS) to encompass these experiences. Subjects were 328 females, ages 14–20 years old, who utilized a Boston-area community- or school-based health clinic between April and December of 2006, and completed an anonymous survey using computer-assisted self-interview software. Overall, 7.3% reported ever having had a MPS experience. Of these, 52% reported ever being pressured to engage in MPS and 43% reported ever being threatened or forced. Condom nonuse by at least one male participant in the most recent MPS was reported by 45%. Controlling for potential demographic confounders, MPS was associated with cigarette smoking (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR], 3.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56–9.44), sexual initiation prior to age 15 (APR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.04–5.98), ever being diagnosed with an STI (APR, 2.55; 95% CI, 1.08–6.03), dating violence victimization (APR, 4.43; 95% CI, 1.68–11.69), childhood sexual abuse victimization (APR, 4.30; 95% CI, 1.83–10.07) and past-month pornography exposure (APR, 4.79; 95% CI, 1.91–11.98). Additional study of the perpetration and prevention of adolescent MPS is urgently needed

The Agricultural Health Study: Factors Affecting Completion and Return of Self-Administered Questionnaires in a Large Prospective Cohort Study of Pesticide Applicators

Response rates were examined in a prospective epidemiologic study of individuals, mostly farmers, from Iowa and North Carolina seeking a pesticide applicator license during the period from 1994 through 1996. In the first year of enrollment 16,535 farmers (representing 77% of eligible farmer applicators) enrolled in the study by completing a 17-page questionnaire administered at a pesticide training session; 47% of the enrolled farmers completed and returned a much longer take-home questionnaire. The characteristics of farmers who completed only the enrollment questionnaire were quite similar to those of farmers who also completed and returned the take-home questionnaire. The most notable difference was the increased age of responders. Thus, the study population might have slightly higher cumulative farm exposures and slightly lower current farm exposures than the base population of all farmer applicators. The lack of evidence for substantial selection bias is reassuring for the Agricultural Health Study, and provides a measure of reassurance for other studies depending on the voluntary completion of self-administered questionnaires