What's Happening in Conflict Resolution" is a weekly round up of the all the ADR news, jobs, events and more. Check it out each week and view past versions [HERE].

Empathy is the path to healing between cops and black citizens

It is hard to know exactly where to start in untangling the violent web of race, guns, police, crime, poverty and rage that ensnares American society. So I’ll start with a shooting in a black community that got little notice outside of Los Angeles this weekend.

Saturday night, a 26-year-old woman was driving down a street in Compton. Her 15-month-old son was in the back seat. She had started following a car that looked like the one owned by her boyfriend, but when the car stopped and several men climbed out of the vehicle, she realized she was mistaken and tried to make a U-turn.That’s when the men started shooting.

The young woman ended up in the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. Her little boy ended up on the TV news cradled in the arms of a policeman.

Read more from the LA Times [HERE]. 

George W. Bush: 'At our best, we practice empathy'

Presidents Urge Unity, Empathy 

Clinton calls for 'better listening,' empathy

Virtual Reality Is Being Used To Teach Empathy

Slip on the virtual reality headset, a sort of ski-goggles with power cord, and the first thing you see is an apartment. A crummy apartment with crummy furniture.

Then, through the earpiece, you hear a narrator explain that you've just been laid off, and need to sell the couch and TV or you can't make rent.

Suddenly, the world shifts, and you are living in your car. You spin your head, and the virtual world spins with you. In the backseat, all your possessions are in a pile. Suddenly, in the driver's window, there's a flashlight. It's a cop telling you you can't sleep here.

On it goes, this first-person look at how someone, really anyone, can become homeless.

"We want to see if having this intense emotionally arousing experience could change the way you think and the way you act toward the homeless," says Elise Ogle, project manager at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, which designed this VR environment.

Read more from newsworks.org [HERE]. 

Providing Assistance To A Grieving Person

Comments to avoid when comforting the bereaved

• "I know how you feel." One can never know how another may feel. You could, instead, ask your friend to tell you how he or she feels.
• "It's part of God's plan." This phrase can make people angry and they often respond with, "What plan? Nobody told me about any plan."
• "Look at what you have to be thankful for." They know they have things to be thankful for, but right now they are not important.
• "He's in a better place now." The bereaved may or may not believe this. Keep your beliefs to yourself unless asked.
• "This is behind you now; it's time to get on with your life." Sometimes the bereaved are resistant to getting on with because they feel this means "forgetting" his or her loved one. In addition, moving on is easier said than done. Grief has a mind of its own and works at its own pace.
• Statements that begin with "You should" or "You will." These statements are too directive. Instead you could begin your comments with: "Have you thought about..." or "You might..."

Read more from the Crisis Negotiator Blog [HERE]. 

Eating Similar Food Helps Build Trust, Friendship In Adults

Building a rapport with someone on a first date may be as simple as eating the same food as them, suggests a new study that found that similar food consumption facilitates a sense of closeness and trust between adults.

Researchers from the University of Chicago in the US launched a series of experiments.

"People tend to think that they use logic to make decisions, and they are largely unaware that food preferences can influence their thinking," said Ayelet Fishbach, a professor at the University of Chicago.

"On a very basic level, food can be used strategically to help people work together and build trust," Fishbach said.

Read more from the DailyPioneer.com [HERE]. 

Meditation: A Secret Superpower For Negotiation

Mediation Can Lower The Cost of Divorce