Executive Dean's Message     News and Events Archive Executive Staff Profiles   News Archive, 2006 Faculty News   News Archive, 2007 Faculty Office Locations and Hours       Faculty Awards 2008

VU’s new software solution for divorce settlements gains international attention

Prof. John Zeleznikow

Innovative new software designed to help soothe the stress of divorce settlements, developed by Victoria University’s Dr. Emilia Bellucci and Professor John Zeleznikow, has caught the attention of the world’s media, including The Times of London and CNN.

Professor Zeleznikow said: "Forty-three percent of Australian marriages end in divorce. Couples then often suffer from the emotional and financial trauma of trying to resolve disputes over how to divide their assets."

"Our new program will assist couples going through a divorce to rationally negotiate their disputes."

The Family Winner system distributes items to those who most desire a particular item in a dispute situation.

Professor Zeleznikow said: "The program requires a couple to prioritise their demands, assigning each a numeric value so that the sum is 100. Then the program distributes everything according to who wants it the most."

"Through a series of trade-offs and compensation strategies, disputants can often achieve 70-80 per cent of what they require, rather than the traditional 50-50 approach to resolving disputes."

"The system takes a rational approach to negotiation and forces disputants to focus upon their interests rather than using the negotiation to express their emotional angst at their partners."

"Whilst the software has been trialled in Family Law, it can be used in enterprise bargaining, fencing and building disputes - indeed it can be used to help resolve almost any dispute."

Professor Zeleznikow hopes that the 65 new Family Relationship Centres, which are being funded by the Federal Government, will use the software package.

The program is based on game theory techniques developed by Nobel Laureate John Nash, who was immortalized in the book and film ‘A Beautiful Mind’, and the research has been internationally recognised, having been recently published in the prestigious Harvard Negotiation Law Review.

View Professor Zeleznikow’s interview on CNN

Further information:
School of Information Systems, VU. Ph: (03) 9919 4007; Email: InformationSystems@vu.edu.au