Collaborative Table for Narration Negotiation and Reconciliation in a Conflict

This study aims to explore the role of technology for enforcing collaboration in shifting attitudes of participants in conflict via a narration task. The general claim is that participants may achieve a greater understanding of and appreciation for the other’s viewpoint under conditions that support partaking in a joint task and creating a shared narration. The application-oriented specific goal is to provide technology that can help shift attitudes of youth in conflict towards more positive views of each other via interactions and joint actions that take place during a collaborative narration task. The work is based on two cultural elements: conflict resolution theory and the design of a collaborative tabletop interface aimed specifically for the task. The two main research questions are: (1) “Does a face-to-face collaboration-enforcing interface for negotiating narration facilitate a change of attitudes and contribute to reconciliation?”, and (2) “Can this interface be an alternative to a typical face-to-face moderated discussion?”