Title: CR Info : the Conflict Resolution Information Source

Source/Sponsoring Agency: Conflict Resolution Consortium, University of Colorado

URL: http://www.crinfo.org/

Date Checked: 9/4/2002      Status: Updated

Date Annotated: 9/6/2002

Topics: Dispute Resolution

Other keywords: Litigation; Peace

Contents: CR INfo is a service funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Its goal is to serve as a gateway "providing links to web, print, and organizational resources for adversaries, bystanders, students, educators, practitioners, researchers." Areas of conflict include commercial, family, education, intergroup, community and international; or the user may wish to study the philosophies and processes of conflict resolution and peacemaking. There is a lot of information in here, but it is by no means obvious how to locate it, due to the complex structure of the website. Rather than consulting the very lengthy site map, or even "About CR Info," which gives guidelines for the above stakeholders on the kinds of resources available, it may be best to select "Browse" on the home page, which is based on the organization pattern of Yahoo. From here one may select reviews and abstracts of books and articles, a section of "core knowledge" of the types of processes utilized in conflict resolution (e.g. arbitration, dialogue, litigation, mini-trial, restorative justice), and techniques such as active listening and cooling-off periods. For the most part the substantive content consists of links to reports, articles, and papers from a variety of sources, many of them low-key and pragmatic, covering everything from mediation processes or methods of conducting effective meetings, to features on relations between North and South Korea, and several on Tajikistan. There is a substantial amount of material for K-12 educators. For someone with a lot of time to review and scrutinize the website, it can be useful, but it may take some time to arrive at the desired material. The site is searchable, with advanced search features and search troubleshooting.

Author of Annotation: A. Carson