Tag Archives: Public Policy

The Importance of Privacy

What do you have to hide?  That’s an issue raised by two comments about my post, Communication, Privacy, and Community in the New Normal. One commenter asked, “What if the government or a private group knowing your real-time biometrics could save lives?  Why do we hold the privacy of such data in such high regard?” … Continue reading The Importance of Privacy

Theory of Change Symposium – Part 5 and Coming Attractions

This jumbo-size post is the last part in the Theory of Change Symposium. But don’t despair.  I am compiling all the pieces – and some new material – into an e-book that will be distributed soon, as described at the end of this post. This part of the symposium includes several pieces describing important techniques … Continue reading Theory of Change Symposium – Part 5 and Coming Attractions

Call for Papers for Special Issue of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research

From DFOI Donna Shestowsky: Here’s a call for papers for a special issue of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research Listen and Talk about Controversial Issues: Principles and Strategies for Difficult Conversations in 2020 and Beyond Submission Deadline: March 10, 2020 This call is for a fast turnaround special issue, driven in part by the upcoming … Continue reading Call for Papers for Special Issue of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research

President Trump’s Negotiation Skills (or Lack Thereof) – Part 6

Perceptive readers recall my series of posts about President Trump’s negotiation skills.  (Here’s a link to Part 5, which includes links to the whole collection.) This part provides an overview of Mr. Trump’s negotiation failures whereas the prior parts focused on particular negotiations.  It summarizes a Washington Post column by liberal columnist Paul Waldman.  I … Continue reading President Trump’s Negotiation Skills (or Lack Thereof) – Part 6

Possible Federal Class Negotiation in Opioid Case

The ABA Journal reported that US District Judge Dan Polster is considering certifying a class action in the massive opioid case specifically for negotiation.   The class would consist of 33,000 cities, towns, and counties. The proposal could help protect against an unfair settlement that is reached by lawyers before approval by the class, proponents say.  … Continue reading Possible Federal Class Negotiation in Opioid Case

Update on Constructive Conflict Initiative

Heidi and Guy Burgess have done phenomenal work for a long time to develop resources about dealing with destructive intractable conflicts. They have expanded their project, which is called the Constructive Conflict Initiative.  They just posted an update, which describes an impressive range of activities including public education, the Beyond Intractability materials, networking, publicity, and … Continue reading Update on Constructive Conflict Initiative

Jackie Font-Guzmán Op-Ed on Democracy and Self-Government in Puerto Rico

TFOI Jacqueline Font-Guzmán wrote this op-ed column on democracy and self-government in Puerto Rico. She noted the publication of chat messages involving Governor Ricardo Rosselló which led to his resignation.  The messages “contained expletive attacks on the LGBTQ community, women, obese individuals, the 4,645 people who died as a result of Hurricane María, political opponents, … Continue reading Jackie Font-Guzmán Op-Ed on Democracy and Self-Government in Puerto Rico

Political De-Biasing

I was going to post the piece below riffing on Arthur C. Brooks’s column about de-polarizing political biases. And then came the Democratic presidential debates this week, which provided a glaring example of how political biases often are generated and spread.  This post uses these debates as an illustration of the process and then discusses … Continue reading Political De-Biasing

Un-Gaslighting

Have you seen the classic movie, Gaslight?  It’s the story of a husband who slowly manipulates his wife into believing that she is insane because she imagines things, which are real, such as a gaslight flickering. This is the film noir version of the Marx Brothers quip, “Who you gonna believe, me or your lying … Continue reading Un-Gaslighting

Benefits of Reframing “Reparations”

Many Democratic candidates for president have addressed questions about whether the US should make “reparations” for slavery (and other social injustices).  Unfortunately, that term is confusing and scary for some people (including some of the candidates) who conceive of it simply as making cash payments to certain individuals. In fact, the proponents are suggesting something … Continue reading Benefits of Reframing “Reparations”