Third Side Forum

April 11 - Reflections and Dialogue

In our Forum mailing we posted the following two Third Side News Stories.

School Violence Targeted- Recent incidents of student fighting in the Buffalo Public Schools point to a disturbing problem facing schools across the U.S., according to a nationally regarded expert in
school violence at the University of Buffalo. UB has been assisting the city and developing a wide and deep array of programs to address the issues.

Talking Cure for War - Global Majority hosts their second conference on nonviolent resolution. The focus will be begin to further develop the foundation of their work. In the future Board secretary Nick Tomb explains that the idea is to convene in a country with a longstanding conflict where a board member resides—perhaps Colombia, Nepal, Israel or Sri Lanka—and
there forge a network with other groups working toward negotiation, then issue a call for the warring parties to come to the table. At that point Global Majority will offer expertise in the actual mediation.

Please share any thoughts or comments.

Managing Hostility

'Yet enforcing order does not stop riots, hinder war or reduce world problems. It may even kindle the fire of group chaos. If we don't permit hostilities a legitimate outlet, they are bound to take illegitimate routes.' - Arnold Mindell, Sitting in the Fire

3S Questions – A Human-Elephant Conflict in Central Sumatra

Endangered Sumatran elephants have been chained to trees and even poisoned by local villagers in central Riau in Indonesia. The elephants have raided crops at nearby villages and these elephant rampages have damaged homes and killed villagers. Continuous conflicts between the elephants and villagers over territory in the jungle have often been cited as the cause this violence in central Sumatra. And according to Nazir Foead, head of WWF Indonesia's Species Programm the direct result of uncontrolled destruction of their forest habitat. To read more about this issue:

Elephants found chained in forest on Sumatra

Plan launched to reduce human-elephant conflict in Sumatra

Sumatra Project - Human-Elephant Conflict

What Third Side Question would you pose to help transform this issue?

All posted questions will be sent to the WWF Indonesia's Species Programme and the Sumatra Project to support their work to transform this issue. For more information on 3S Questions - visit the Third Side Tools.

To Scale or Not to Scale? Complex Systems Theory and The Third Side

From Patrick Meier, PhD candidate at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

The term “complexity” denotes the degree to which a system is difficult to analyze, understand or manage. Complexity is said to arise when systems contain a large number of mutually interacting parts at many different scales. The more complex the system, the more detailed, and therefore lengthy, our analysis tends to be. The term scale refers to the level of abstraction we choose to describe the interacting parts of a system, which in effect depends on how far we stand from the system we seek to describe. For instance, we can easily provide a simple description of a forest by standing at a reasonable distance or instead describe with more intricate detail the masterful distribution of individual leaves should happenstance have us closer. What does this have to do with The Third Side? Far more than meets the eye at this scale. In what follows we take a closer look at the forest and draw on some basic principles from complexity theory to show why The Third Side is the most appropriate scale to prevent and manage violent conflict.

The complexity of social systems arises from the interactions between and among many individuals, communities, and countries, and so on at many different scales. At a high level of abstraction or aggregation the interacting parts of a social system could be called states or nation-states, cloaking more local events and internal interactions. At a higher level of abstraction, we might begin using the word civilization, which to a certain extent shrouds the internal character or polity of individual states. In contrast, communities and individuals represent a lower level of abstraction. The trade-off between complexity and scale is illustrated by the three curves in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1

Complexity as a function of scale for three kinds of systems: independent, organized and structured. The way a system is organized affects how it is seen at different scales. In social systems for instance, people in crowds move more independently than a structured army, while modern international companies reflect some organization yet less hierarchy (adapted from Bar-Yam 2004, 55).

Describing and managing systems in the world involves a decision about the level of detail we wish to provide—and plan to act on. As noted above, the amount of information necessary to describe a system is a function of scale or the detail we can observe from a given vantage point. In Figure 1, the horizontal axis indicates “how far away” we are from the system being described. In other words, it indicates the level of precision or scale of the description. The closer the object is, the greater the detail and the more precise the description. The vertical axis indicates the complexity of the system described by an observer such as The Third Side. This represents the amount of information we need to describe a system moving in time and space at different scales.

What are the implications of this complexity-scale trade-off for conflict prevention and management? “Like any complex social phenomenon, violent conflict does not result from the linear summation of a neatly defined set of causes, but from interactions among multiple phenomena in a complex system with several levels of organization (…) As complexity and chaos theories show, in such a system behaviors will not respond in a linear way to changes in one variable, however significant that variable may be” (Rubin 2004, 22). Attempting to prevent or mitigate violent conflict at the wrong scale or level of complexity may produce new problems in unlikely locations or scales.

For more download the complete article - Click here

Feedback and reflections are welcome.

Spiral Dynamics Integral Founder visits Israel

Earlier this year the Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi) group in Israel invited the CEO and founder of its mother organization in the United States, Dr. Don Beck, to peer into the depths of the Israel/Palestine conflict. He presented in Tel-Aviv and in Bethlehem. He said that this
time around, his first visit to the area, he is mainly listening and learning. In the spring, he plans to return here mainly to speak and teach.

In a preliminary document he wrote prior to his visit, Beck argues that there is a destructive dynamic, expressed in a vicious circle of injury and counter-response, between the two hostile camps here. This dynamic exists on the backdrop of polarization between different sectors in each of the two societies. And if this were not enough, interested parties, both domestic and foreign, are exploiting the situation to their own advantage. The media fan this polarization, along with the feeling of opposition between "us" and "them," even further.

Beck argues that in these circumstances, any attempt at bridging the gap and negotiating, even if it is done by a side not directly involved in the conflict, cannot be sufficiently neutral. He prefers to look at the different value systems prevailing in the region, and seek bases for technological, economic and environmental growth and progress for each of the societies.

To view this report visit: http://www.freshconnections-integral.com/beck_brief2.htm

Providing support to our Providers

Adapted from The State: Hospitals, colleges get creative to cope with nursing shortage
By Linda H. Lamb

In Florence South Carolina at the McLeod Regional Medical Center, every hospital has nurse managers who supervise and mentor nurses and a “nurse liaison” who makes 860 nurses’ problems her business. “If you take care of your nurses, the nurses will take care of your patients,” Marie Segars, top nurse and vice president for patient services.

South Carolina has been facing a nursing shortage and has found creative ways to cope with the issue. “It has to be more than salary,” said Peggy Deane, senior vice president for patient care services at Anderson Area Medical Center. “It has to be the culture and the environment.”

At McLeod Regional Medical Center Renee Kennedy makes 860 nurses’ problems her business. A new nurse has trouble adjusting? An experienced nurse has a conflict with her supervisor? Kennedy is there, trying to mediate little problems before they become big ones.

Tony Derrick, a nursing director in the emergency department, said having a nurse liaison helps him. Sometimes nurses will talk to her about troubles they’re not comfortable broaching with a supervisor, he said.

Mar 28 - Reflections and Dialogue

In our Forum mailing we posted the following two Third Side News Stories.

58 Young Palestinian, Israeli Leaders Re-Affirm Partnership Against Extremism - Meeting for the first time 58 OneVoice Palestinian & Israeli Youth Leaders explored concrete ways in which they can empower citizens against extremism and towards conflict resolution. Among the decisions reached that evening was to institute a college speaking tour on Israeli and Palestinian campuses.

For slain soldier's father, shelter from funeral protesters - U.S. Army Sgt. Gordon Foster Misner II's family was shielded by the Patriot Guard from protestors. Sgt. Misner recently passed away Feb. 22 in Iraq. The protesters are part of Kansas church who have been protesting the US's stand on gay rights at the funerals of soldiers across the country. The Patriot Guard riders line up with hundreds of American flags and revving motorcycle engines so families of fallen soldiers neither hear nor see the group protesting during the funeral services of their loved ones.

Please share any thoughts or comments.

Going to the Balcony - Witnessing Triggers

For a day observe when you defend yourself and your views At the end of the day briefly consider these questions: What happened? How did you feel defending yourself? Why did you feel the need to defend yourself? What have you learned today that can help you communicate with others in a way that won’t trigger any negative defensive reactions? If they are triggered, what strategies do you have or can you come up with to manage your triggers?

3S Questions – Talk about Stadiums heats up airwaves

Kansas City is facing a debate over whether to approve $777 million worth of upgrades to the Truman Sports Complex. This debate has led to finger-pointing and name-calling. Two radio stations have taken the debate to the airwaves. Here are some articles on this issue.

Talk about Stadiums heats up airwaves

A roster of key players on the stadium election

What Third Side Question would you pose to help transform this issue?

All posted questions will be sent to 810 WHB-AM and 610 KCSP-AM to support their work to transform this issue. For more information on 3S Questions - visit the Third Side Tools.

Applying the 3S in health care enhancing patient safety

From Kurt O’Brien
Seattle WA

Those of us who works in health care today can readily attest to the current (and oftentimes intense) focus on improving patient safety. Reducing errors, improving documentation of mistakes, and creating a culture where people feel free to speak up are just some of the specific areas that administrators and physician leaders are looking to improve.

While we have the most advanced health care technology in the world, mistakes still occur and conflicts still erupt in our clinics and operating rooms. A recent study conducted by VitalSmarts discovered that over 90% of the time health care practitioners don’t speak up after witnessing mistakes, observing instances of incompetence, or when disrespectful behavior is present. This figure is astonishing when one considers what’s at stake. This has caused hospital leaders to advocate for improving communication skills (notably, dialogue skills) which will help give practitioners the tools they need to surface and talk respectfully about difficult or sensitive subjects.

While teaching these skills to healthcare workers is vitally important, I also don’t believe it’s enough. In order to truly impact this culture of silence, people need to see their own responsibility and accountability to the larger whole, and I believe the Third Side can serve this purpose. The Third Side is about changing mindsets. It’s about helping individuals realize that they are inherently part of a larger system, and that their actions will always influence the broader community.

When I have presented on the Third Side at my own institution, people are immediately taken with it. They begin to understand that they can take an active role – that they have a responsibility to take an active role – in creating a culture where silence no longer dominates.

In the Surgical Services department at the University of Washington Medical Center, we are interested in applying the Third Side to a major improvement project the department has undertaken. We are in the process of meeting and planning what form this will take, and I would like to invite readers of this forum to contribute ideas or experiences that we can tap into – we have so much we can learn from each other.