Grades

Students will be graded on:

1) In-Class Participation: Class members are expected to attend all six face to face meetings of the class and to participate fully in discussions, presentations, and case simulations. (Maximum = 50 points)

2) Online Participation: Class members are expected to actively contribute to the online discussion forum. (Maximum = 10 points)

3) Development of "cultural interview" questions: Class members, in teams, will be asked to develop a series of questions that could be used to evaluate or assess a potential intercultural conflict intervention. (Maximum = 20 points)

4) Interview Debrief: Class members will be expected to conduct an interview with someone from a different cultural group on a topic or issue on which the interviewee feels passionately or strongly. After completing the interview each student will be asked to respond to a series of questions related to the interview, and to present a debrief to the class. (Maximum = 20 points)

The following scale, based on the department standard, will be used to calculate final grades:

94-100 = A

90-93 = A-

87-89 = B+

84-86 = B

80-83 = B-

77-79 = C+

74-76 = C

70-73 = C-

NOTE:
The information below is required content for all SMU syllabi – the language is taken
from standard university guidelines.

 

Disability Accommodations: Students needing academic accommodations for a disability must first contact Ms. Rebecca Marin, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities (214-768-4557) to verify the disability and establish eligibility for accommodations. They should then schedule an appointment with the professor to make appropriate arrangements. ( See University Policy No. 2.4.)

Religious Observance: Religiously observant students wishing to be absent on the holidays that require missing class should notify their professors in writing at the beginning of the semester, and should discuss with them, in advance, acceptable ways of making up any work missed because of absence. ( See University Policy No. 1.9.)

Honor Code: Students are reminded of the SMU Honor Code as referenced in the Student Handbook. Intellectual integrity and academic honesty are both the foundation and the goals for this program. Please reference and review the university policies on the responsibilities, policies, and penalties regarding academic honesty at this URL:  http://www.smu.edu/studentlife/PCL_05_HC.asp

Class Decorum: Turn off (or set on vibrate) all cell phones or pagers. Do not read newspapers, books for other classes, or other outside reading material during class. Walking into class late is disruptive as is leaving early. If you have to leave early, make arrangements before class begins, and then, when you leave, do so quietly. Professional respect and courtesy for your fellow students is imperative at all times.

About the Instructors:


 
Daniel Rainey is currently the Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution Services for the National Mediation Board, an independent U.S. Government agency responsible for labor-management dispute resolution in the airline and railroad industries.  In addition to his duties with the NMB, he maintains a dispute resolution practice that often crosses interesting cultural borders. He has traveled in more than 25 countries across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, and he has engaged in activities related to dispute resolution in or with countries including:  the U.S., Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Malta, Italy, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, and Egypt.  He is currently involved in projects involving the North of Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria, and Kosovo, and most recently he successfully mediated negotiations for a labor contract between a major U.S. corporation and its employees in the U.K.  In addition, his experience in workplace and community disputes in the U.S. includes work with a wide variety of cultural groups seeking to forge cooperative working relationships.


His memberships and associations include:
       The Association for Conflict Resolution (Co-Chair, ODR Section)
     The American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution
    The International Ombudsman Association
       The Association of Labor Relations Agencies
       The National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution
     The InternetBar.Org (Member, Board of Directors)

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Julia Morelli is President of Holistic Solutions, Inc. and has well over a decade of experience as a facilitator, manager, mediator, and consultant; and she has traveled extensively. Her practice includes training related to diversity and cultural issues, dispute resolution and communication. She also conducts organizational assessments and interventions; and provides strategic planning, mediation and facilitation services.  Her graduate work centered on Organizational Conflict and Diversity Management.

Her clients include the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health - Office of Research Services, Wireless Communications Association International, Virginia Mediation Network, Georgia State Board of Education, Northern Virginia Mediation Service, Management Concepts, J. Cooper & Associates, and Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (an Indonesian aircraft manufacturer). She has participated in several international conferences regarding the use of technology for dispute resolution; and has presented at numerous conferences on a variety of topics. She serves as the Director of Operations for the George Mason University (GMU) Instructional Foundation which provides television and webcasting services under the trade name, The Capitol Connection.

She serves as a Workplace Coach for the Department of Human Resources/Employee Relations; provides the GMU community with group facilitation and mediation services; and offers staff training in cultural issues, conflict resolution, communication, stress management and creating a positive work environment. As a member of the Information Technology Unit Leadership Team, she was instrumental in the development and implementation of managerial competencies at GMU. Her collateral duties include individual and group mediations for state agencies through the VA Dept. of Employment Dispute Resolution.

She is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) and a former Board Member of the VA Chapter of ACR and of Peaceable Dragon, a consortium of teachers and students of the internal arts. As a guest lecturer, she has presented at the American Universities in Washington, DC and Rome; Georgetown and GMU on a variety of subjects including culture and dispute resolution. She also enjoys teaching yoga and qigong.

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Dr. Alma Abdul Hadi Jadallah is President and Managing Director of Kommon Denominator, Inc. She advised and worked on strategic projects related to conflict prevention and mitigation, training and education, and capacity building on the national and international levels. She has participated in a number of global conferences on Conflict Resolution, International Women’s Leadership Development, and has been a speaker and participant at various forums including: U.S. Institute of Peace, Harvard University, Howard University, American University Women and Politics Institute, Meridian International Center, Association for Conflict Resolution, and Jordan’s Securities Exchange Commission.

As President and Managing Director of Kommon Denominator, Inc. she has developed innovative solutions and provided services to a number of Fortune 500 companies, government and not for profit organizations. She has designed and delivered highly successful small and large-scale interventions in corporate, community and international settings. She is a skilled facilitator and is a Virginia Court Certified mediator. Dr. Abdul Hadi Jadallah is the recipient of the 2008 Woman Business Enterprise of the Year, D. C. region award conferred by the Woman Presidents Education Organization (WPEO) and is also the recipient of the Top 100 Minority Business Award (2007), awarded by the University of Maryland, The Governor’s Office for Minority Affairs and the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Abdul-Hadi Jadallah earned her Ph.D. from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Her research focused on the impact of 9/11 on the practice of conflict resolvers. She teaches graduate level courses on cross cultural mediation, conflict resolution practice and protracted conflicts and is currently part-time faculty at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, affiliate faculty at the Women’s Center at George Mason University and Visiting Scholar at the Center for Global Peace at American University.

Dr. Abdul-Hadi Jadallah serves her community through active board participation. She is a board member (Past Chair) of Partners for Peace, Washington, DC, the Advisory Board of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, the Board of Directors of Northern Virginia Mediation Services (Past President), a member of the original advisory board for Peace x Peace, and member of Board of Directors, Institute for Victims of Trauma, McLean, VA. She is also a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and Virginia Mediation Network.