Law, in its simplest form, is used to protect one party from another. For instance, laws protect customers from being exploited by companies. Laws protect companies from other companies. Laws even protect citizens and corporations from the government. However, law is neither perfect nor all encompassing. This course will introduce the student to the laws and ethical standards that managers must abide by in the course of conducting business. Laws and ethics almost always shape a company's decision-making process; a bank cannot charge any interest rate it wants to charge that rate must be appropriate. By the end of this course, the student will have a clear understanding of the legal and ethical environment in which businesses operate. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Identify sources of law in the United States; Describe the function and role of courts in the US legal system; Differentiate litigation from methods of alternative dispute resolution; List the elements of the major torts; List the essential elements of a valid contract; Describe how a contract can fail; Summarize the remedies available for breach of contract; Distinguish between real and personal property; Identify the various interests in real property and how they pass; Identify the requirements to hold various rights under intellectual property laws; Analyze the impact of the digital era on intellectual property rights; Distinguish between at-will employment and contractual employment; Identify laws that generally regulate the employer-employee relationship; Identify criminal acts related to the business world; Define white collar crime; Describe the various forms of business organization; Identify the major laws regulating business in the United States; Identify major ethical concerns in business today. (Business Administration 205)

Cancún Corner involves a negotiation between two friends and business partners over the launch of a Mexican restaurant.This is a negotiation exercise, however, it can also be used as a mediation simulation with some amendments. This simulation was designed for third level students studying negotiation and/or alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Whilst it can be used at an introductory level, it is suggested that it is most appropriate for students who have already been introduced to fundamental negotiation concepts. Guidance in relation to modifying this exercise as a mediation simulation is included. Please note that a mediation simulation will require a group of three students (or four students if a co-mediation model is adopted). This simulation may be used to introduce identity-based, conflict of values disputes. Identity may affect the substance of a negotiation nad has the potential to make even simple negotiations difficult to traverse. Teaching Notes include General Instructions, Confidential Instructions for Jane Parker, and Confidential Instructions for Sarah Byrne. 

Kilmanagh Meadows involves a two-party negotiation between neighbours over a dispute relating to noise pollution, boundary walls, and maintenance costs. This simulation can also be adapted for use as a mediation simulation. This simulation is designed for teaching and learning at third level, and works best where students have some experience and knowledge of negotiation and/or alternative dispute resolution (mediation).Kilmanagh Meadows allows students to move away from positional bargaining towards creating opportunities for mutual gain and value creation. Maintaining the relationship is a key concern for both parties, and students may choose to prioritise this in the negotiation. This simulation has a large ZOPA, allowing for a wide range of outcomes.Teaching Notes include General Instructions, Confidential Instructions for Liam MacManus and Confidential Instructions for James Canty. 

Negotiation and Conflict Management presents negotiation theory – strategies and styles – within an employment context. 15.667 meets only eleven times, with a different topic each week, which is why students should commit to attending all classes. In addition to the theory and exercises presented in class, students practice negotiating with role-playing simulations that cover a range of topics. Students also learn how to negotiate in difficult situations, which include abrasiveness, racism, sexism, whistle-blowing, and emergencies. The course covers conflict management as a first party and as a third party: third-party skills include helping others deal directly with their conflicts, mediation, investigation, arbitration, and helping the system change as a result of a dispute.
Learning and grading in 15.667 is based on: readings, simulations and class discussions, four self-assessments, your analysis of the negotiations of others, writing each week in your journal, and writing three Little Papers.

Conflict is inevitable and if unresolved, has negative impacts that reach far beyond the principal parties. Managing conflict in a non-violent manner can increase the ability of everyone involved to work more effectively with clients, staff, and other personnel. This module teaches conflict management through a combination of skill-building and philosophical discussion to enable participants to become invested in the idea that non-violent conflict management is better, more effective, and more efficacious in the long run than either conflict avoidance or an aggressive approach that produces "winners" and "losers." The material can be presented in training sessions of varying lengths from one class to an entire semester. The author recommends separating the three modules over time to allow time for integration of skills. (95 pages)Rice, S. (2000).

Serial Storytelling examines the ways the passing and unfolding of time structures narratives in a range of media. From Rembrandt's lifetime of self-portraits to The Wire, Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers to contemporary journalism and reportage, we will focus on the relationships between popular culture and art, the problems of evaluation and audience, and the ways these works function within their social context.

Millions of people are on-line today and the number is rapidly growing - yet this virtual crowd is often invisible. In this course we will examine ways of visualizing people, their activities and their interactions. Students will study the cognitive and cultural basis for social visualization through readings drawn from sociology, psychology and interface design and they will explore new ways of depicting virtual crowds and mapping electronic spaces through a series of design exercises.

St. Colmcille’s Hospital involves a dispute between a hospital employee and a representative of the board of management. This simulation is designed for use as an experiential learning exercise in teaching mediation to third level students (intermediate / advanced level). St. Colmcille’s Hospital is a useful exercise to explore more advanced concepts in negotiation and mediation, such as the effects of emotions and values on the outcome of the negotiation, and unequal power dynamics. This simulation may also be used to demonstrate the role of a mediator in dispute resolution, particularly regarding challenges to preserving mediator neutrality which may arise.Teaching notes include General Instructions, Confidential Instructions for Colm O'Donnell, Confidnetial Instructions for Anna O'Meara and Confidential Instructions for the Mediator. 

Tutorials on logistic regression and mediation analysis for an advanced undergraduate/graduate psychological statistics course. Tutorials are written in learnr. Each includes videos, quizzes, demonstrations of R code, and exercises that allow users to run R code.