Daily Archives: June 5, 2007

World Directory of ADR Blogs celebrates its first anniversary

Posted on June 5, 2007 | 2 Comments

World Directory of ADR BlogsToday marks the first anniversary of the World Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs, a directory that tracks and catalogues ADR blogs world-wide. It grew out of a project that I began during my first year of blogging in 2005, when I conducted my first census of ADR blogs and learned that there were only a few of us blogging about mediation, negotiation, or conflict resolution.

Today the World Directory lists 104 blogs from 17 different countries.

I continue to look for ways to add to my inventory. If you publish or know of a blog that should be added, please let me know. It’s a commercial-free site, and there is no cost to be listed.

I am especially interested in leads on ADR blogs outside the U.S. and Canada. If you know of any, I hope you’ll get in touch. The Directory has information on submitting your blog and submission guidelines.

Many thanks to the bloggers who got in touch with me from all over the world to tell me about their blogs and their work in the legal or ADR fields. And my gratitude to the friends who have supported this project, whose names are listed at the World Directory’s web site.

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Posted in World Directory of ADR Blogs

Two creative legal minds, two new conflict resolution blogs

Posted on June 5, 2007 | Leave a comment

Creative ideas from two legal bloggersTwo blogging attorneys, both inventive, smart, and insightful, have each announced the launch of new blogs:

Stephanie West Allen, best known for her work on Idealawg, a blog that reveals the artistry within the practice of law, has devised a new outlet for her creativity–Brains on Purpose, which will traverse the intersection between neuroscience and conflict resolution. She will be joined by research psychiatrist Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. Knowing the thought-provoking content of Idealawg, I will look forward to discovering the fresh ideas that Stephanie and Jeffrey will be bringing their readers.

Meanwhile, Victoria Pynchon, who publishes Settle It Now Negotiation Blog, announces both a new blog and a new focus to her work as an ADR professional. She has joined forces with patent and antitrust arbitrator and mediator Les Weinstein; IP litigator and mediator, Michael Young; and international commercial and IP arbitrator and mediator, Eric Van Ginkel, to launch the IP ADR Blog, an intellectual property blog that examines the cutting edge of technological, commercial, and legal issues, from the perspective of seasoned dispute resolution professionals. This is a blog that likewise I will be following closely.

My best wishes to my friends Stephanie and Vickie–congratulations to you both!

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Posted in Blogs and Bloggers, Brainstorming and Creativity, Mind and Cognition

The ups and downs of conflict: a game theory analysis of the toilet seat issue

Posted on June 5, 2007 | 3 Comments

The toilet conflict has its ups and downsAs a way to announce my return to blogging following a brief hiatus, I begin with a post that concerns one of the world’s most intractable conflicts (at least since the invention of indoor plumbing): the battle over the positioning of the toilet seat–up or down.

Now comes the study that all you gender-conscious game theorists have long been awaiting. From The Science Creative Quarterly is a paper addressing “The Social Norm of Leaving the Toilet Seat Down: A Game Theoretic Analysis“, which models the game as a non-cooperative one of conflict (which anyone in a multi-gender household can tell you is a fully accurate representation).

We can all hope that researchers may next examine another vexing problem: which way to hang the toilet paper–over or under.

(Thanks to Boing Boing.)

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Posted in ADR Scholarship, Conflict Resolution, Game Theory