bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dose escalation beyond 30 grays in 10 fractions for patients with multiple brain metastases
Authors: Rades Dirk , Haatanen Tiina , Schild Steven E. , Dunst Juergen
Published: July 2007

BACKGROUND.

Whole‐brain radiotherapy (WBRT) to 30 grays (Gy) in 10 fractions is the standard treatment in patients with multiple brain metastases in the majority of treatment centers worldwide. The current study investigated the potential benefit of dose escalation beyond 30 Gy.

METHODS.

Data regarding 416 patients who were treated with WBRT for multiple brain metastases were evaluated retrospectively. Survival and freedom from recurrent brain metastasis (local control) of 257 patients who were treated with 10 fractions of 3 Gy each for 2 weeks were compared with those of 159 patients treated with 45 Gy in 15 fractions for 3 weeks or 40 Gy in 20 fractions for 4 weeks. Eight additional potential prognostic factors were investigated including age, gender, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), tumor type, interval between tumor diagnosis and RT, number of metastases, extracranial metastases, and Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA) class.

RESULTS.

On multivariate analysis, improved survival was found to be associated with lower RPA class (P< .001), age <60 years (P= .026), KPS ≥70 (P< .001), and absence of extracranial metastases (P= .003). A trend was observed for number of metastases (2–3 vs ≥4;P= .07). Improved local control was associated with a KPS ≥70 (P< .001) and breast cancer (P< .001). A trend was observed for number of metastases (P= .059). The RT schedule did not appear to have any significant impact on survival (P= .86) or local control (P= .61). The subgroup analyses, performed for each of the 3 RPA classes, did not demonstrate a significantly better outcome with dose escalation.

CONCLUSIONS.

Dose escalation beyond 30 Gy in 10 fractions does not appear to improve survival or local control in patients with multiple brain metastases but does increase the treatment time and cost of therapy. Cancer 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Identification of rat brainstem neuronal structures activated during cancer‐induced anorexia
Authors: Ruud Johan , Blomqvist Anders
Published: July 2007

In cancer‐related anorexia, body weight loss is paradoxically associated with reduced appetite, which is contrary to the situation during starvation, implying that the normal coupling of food intake to energy expenditure is disarranged. Here we examined brainstem mechanisms that may underlie suppression of food intake in a rat model of cancer anorexia. Cultured Morris 7777 hepatoma cells were injected subcutaneously in Buffalo rats, resulting in slowly growing tumor and reduced food intake and body weight loss after about 10 days. The brainstem was examined for induced expression of the transcription factors Fos and FosB as signs of neuronal activation. The results showed that anorexia and retarded body weight growth were associated with Fos protein expression in the area postrema, the general visceral region of the nucleus of the solitary tract, and the external lateral parabrachial nucleus, structures that also display Fos after peripheral administration of satiating or anorexigenic stimuli. The magnitude of the Fos expression was specifically related to the size of induced tumor, and not associated with weight loss per se, because it was not present in pair‐fed or food‐deprived rats. It also appeared to be independent of proinflammatory cytokines, as determined by the absence of increased cytokine levels in plasma and induced cytokine and cyclooxygenase expression in the brain. The findings thus provide evidence that cancer‐associated anorexia and weight loss in this model is associated with activation of brainstem circuits involved in the suppression of food intake, and suggest that this occurs by inflammatory‐independent mechanisms. J. Comp. Neurol. 504:275–286, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Conflict resolution systems design, the united nations, and the new world order
Authors: Cloke Kenneth
Published: July 2007

Systems design principles applied to the United Nations' efforts at international conflict resolution suggest a number of innovative approaches for coordination and harmonization of attempts to move disputants from power to rights to interest‐based solutions. Fifteen suggestions for immediate improvement in U.N. processing of international disputes are presented, along with a recommendation for more sustained and detailed application of systems design principles in order to avoid war, such as the recent conflict in the Persian Gulf.
Responses of Asian American and European American mediators to a conflict communication scale
Authors: Goldstein Susan B.
Published: July 2007

Fifty‐nine European American and thirty‐one Asian American neighborhood justice center mediators completed the Conflict Communication Scale. Although previous research had demonstrated ethnic group differences in the conflict‐handling styles of nonmediator samples, no such differences were found in this sample of mediators. Asian American and European American mediators also scored similarly on several items assessing mediator identity salience. These results are discussed in terms of a mediation microculture.
Peer mediation: A qualitative study of youthful frames of power and influence
Authors: Hessler Richard M. , Hollis Steve , Crowe Cherie
Published: July 2007

Focused interviews were completed on fifty elementary school children involved in peer mediation at two midwestem public schools and one Quaker school. This qualitative study investigated the children's perceptions of conflict, violence, pathways to peer mediation, the efficacy of mediation, the role of mediators, and their core values. Two actual mediations were observed. Goffman's Frame Analysis was used to explain the process by which the children placed their unique stamp on what appeared to be an adult model of conflict resolution.
Mediation and medical practice disputes
Authors: Currie Cris M.
Published: July 2007

A truly effective program of handling medical practice disputes continues to elude the traditional justice system, despite numerous attempts at using mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). A comprehensive review of the legal, social, and psychological aspects of medical practice disputes, as well as the history of malpractice mediation, reveals many of the reasons for this failure. Mediation is highly appropriate for these cases, but a different approach, grounded in conflict resolution theory, would be much more effective.
Gender and interaction in divorce mediation
Authors: Dingwall Robert , Greatbatch David , Ruggerone Lucia
Published: July 2007

This article describes the findings from a study of 150 hours of audiotaped mediation work in England as they relate to the question of whether women are advantaged or disadvantaged by this mode of dispute resolution in divorce. It focuses on three questions: Are there gender‐related patterns of international dominance? Is the ability of men and women to deal with issues in divorce mediation affected by traditional sex‐linkages attached to those issues? Do mediators and parties categorize themselves in gendered terms? The study found that the international organization of mediation sessions inhibited gendered patterns of international dominance, men and women focused on expressive and instrumental issues in similar ways, and fathers were more likely to refer to abstract rather than experiential knowledge about children. The appearance of gender differences tended to reflect the fact that men and women tend differentially to find themselves in particular structural positions.
Mediation, gender, and justice in Botswana
Authors: Griffiths Anne
Published: July 2007

In discussing mediation, this article highlights the extent to which women's power to participate in consensus‐based decision making in the familial context is tied to their social and economic positions within their own distinctive personal networks. It provides a comparative perspective based on fieldwork carried out in Botswana in southern Africa.
Professional and traditional collaboration in the mediation of family conflicts: The case of ethiopian immigrants in Israel
Authors: Sharon Nachman , Shwartzman Oshrat
Published: July 2007

This article describes an innovative mediation model, used among Ethiopian immigrant couples in Israel, which utilizes centuries‐old practices. The process, which employs indigenous lay leaders, called shmaglotz, is intended to enhance conventional interventions by human services professionals. The model practiced by the shmaglotz differs in key dimensions from conventional mediation. Its desired outcome—reconciliation—justifies almost all means, including the use of lies, in working with client systems. The model has been operative for several years, and most participating couples have remained together. There are, however, questions regarding its negative impact on the immigrants' modernization and integration processes.
An interpretative analysis of the mediation rhetoric of fathers' rightists: Privatization versus personalization
Authors: Bertoia Carl Edward
Published: July 2007

The fathers' rights movement has been active in advocating family mediation as an alternative to the adversarial legal process for settling separation and divorce disputes. This article, based on a two‐year study consisting of participant observation, ethnographic interviews, and document analysis, attempts to determine if fathers' rightists are seeking to privatize justice in the pursuit of gaining a better deal from their divorce or if there are other reasons behind their actions. Thirty‐two members from four fathers' rights groups were interviewed about their opinions and experiences with lawyers, judges, and the legal system. Fathers' rightists cited gender bias as the central negative experience that was a source of their personal troubles as divorced fathers. Mediation is advocated by fathers' rightists as a superior method of negotiating their postdivorce role and situation because this process is understood as protecting their gendered interests. This research apprises family mediators of the personal, gendered, and political aspects of family mediation.
Mediation: A family therapy technique?
Authors: Favaloro Geoffrey J.
Published: July 2007

Family mediation dovetails with family therapy approaches, in particular the brief, solution‐based family therapies, such that these two intervention approaches may be considered quite similar. Is it OK for mediators to employ therapeutic methods and methodologies? Is this still mediation or something else? This article explores these issues, examining and comparing mediation and therapy approaches and the implications for workers, their organizations, and their clients.
Background characteristics and incentives of mediators in Georgia: Exploring differences in public, private, and government agency mediators
Authors: Goettler Dawn E. , Herrman Margaret S. , Gale Jerry
Published: July 2007

In this initial study from the Mediator Skills Project (MSP), background characteristics and incentives of mediators who practice in public, private, and government agency settings in Georgia are examined. First, mediators in the state are described to provide a profile of the range of practicing mediators in a state population. Second, mediators are compared across practice settings. Differences were found among mediators across the three settings on the following variables: sex, age, family income, education, occupation, and career‐and income‐related incentives.
Predictors of client participation in victim‐offender mediation
Authors: Wyrick Phelan A. , Costanzo Mark A.
Published: July 2007

Increasing client participation in victim‐offender mediation is a/undamental challenge facing practitioners. A large database from an established victim‐ offender reconciliation program (VORP) was used to examine the predictors of client participation in victim‐offender mediation. Hypotheses were tested using logistic regression analysis. Results show that client participation varies with the type of offense and the amount of time elapsed between the offense and the case referral. The results suggest that VORPs can maximize client participation by emphasizing rapid processing of cases involving property offenses and delayed processing of those involving personal offenses. Additional predictors of participation are discussed.
The use of performance art and Q methodology for increasing mediator recognition of trauma and domestic violence
Authors: Maxwell Jennifer P
Published: July 2007

This article presents a Q methodology study of mediation trainees' responses to a performance art piece depicting victims' experiences with domestic violence. The piece employs an image‐based format as a method of increasing mediation trainees' sensitivity to and recognition of domestic violence. Respondents varied significantly in their perceptions. Some individuals interpreted the piece as an immediate and literal portrayal of domestic violence, but others expressed the perspective that it was inappropriate to be viewing a personal and private problem. While the piece elicited strong response, troubling questions were raised regarding whether some mediators are disinclined to consider the possibility of domestic violence, thereby precluding any chance of a fair or just settlement.
Is a stage model of mediation necessary?
Authors: Antes James R. , Hudson Donna Turner , Jorgensen Erling O. , Moen Janet Kelly
Published: July 2007

Although stage models of mediation have dominated theory and practice in mediation, several aspects of mediation practice are not fully consistent with a stage model. This article makes explicit several stage model anomalies and offers an alternative conceptualization of the mediation process. This emergent‐focus model is compatible with Bush and Folger's (1994) view of mediation as a transformative process.
Conflict transformation training in another culture: A case study from Angola
Authors: Brubaker David , Verdonk Tara
Published: July 2007

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments, church groups, and individuals are increasingly conducting or funding conflict resolution training and related projects in war‐torn countries. These projects aim to promote peace, reconciliation, and dialogue, and to impart practical skills and methods for resolving conflict nonviolently. The authors argue that for these goals to be met, considerable time and care must be invested in assessing cultural differences, political realities, bureaucratic hurdles, and logistical challenges prior to plunging for ward with a training workshop or other activity. In addition, thoughtful and thorough follow‐up after a training is as important as attentive preparation before the training. Furthermore, modified elicitive models of training seem best designed to identify and incorporate cultural differences during training. This article draws on the experience of Search for Common Ground, a Washington, D.C.‐based NGO, in developing such a project in Angola.
The affirmation and good news caucuses of the United Methodist Church
Authors: Gattis William Tony
Published: July 2007

This article explores conflicts within United Methodism that may be evidence of a paradigmatic shift within the church, moving from a christocentric perspective (the belief that there is no pathway to God except through Christ) to a theocentric perspective (the belief that multiple pathways to God exist). The article uses the controversy over the acceptance of homosexuality within the church as viewed by two caucuses, Affirmation and Good News, as an example of dealing with such disparate views. The article suggests methods of opening up dialogues between disparate groups such as these that may apply to dealing with seemingly insoluble conflicts in other contexts.
The role of the neutral in intra‐orgamzational mediation: In support of active neutrality
Authors: Solstad Karen E.
Published: July 2007

This article explores the issue of mediator neutrality in the context of a business organization's dispute resolution system. The potential power of discourse in intra‐organization mediation to disempower individuals and maintain the status quo can be offset by a mediator's intimate knowledge of the organization and its dynamics. In the model presented in this article, an active neutrality as proposed by Cobb, Rifkin, and Susskind is suggested as appropriate. A mediator using the concept of active neutrality may foster discourse that assists in surfacing hidden values and assumptions and may empower individuals to have a voice in their organization.
To mediate or not to mediate: Financial outcomes in mediated versus adversarial divorces
Authors: Marcus Mary G. , Marcus Walter , Stilwell Nancy A. , Doherty Neville
Published: July 2007

A statewide sample of 199 mediated and 201 adversarial divorce cases in Connecticut was analyzed for differences in financial outcomes between the two formats. No differences were found between mediated and adversarial cases in family income or liability outcomes for women, in likelihood of periodic alimony being received, or in amount of alimony received. However, women in mediated cases obtained a significantly greater percentage of assets than women in adversarial cases, periodic alimony for a significantly longer duration, and significantly more child support. Adversarial cases had significantly more postjudgment modifications and took longer from complaint to judgment.
Evaluation of participant reactions to premediation group orientation
Authors: Mathis Richard D. , Tanner Zoe , Whinery Flo
Published: July 2007

A group orientation program was evaluated by having 138 participants who had finished mediation complete a self‐report form rating specific elements of the orientation. Eighty‐four percent thought the orientation helped. The feature rated most helpful by 42 percent of the respondents was a thirty‐minute video about the effects of divorce on children, followed by a supervisor's closing speech on grief and adjustment (27 percent), a judge's comments about mediation and parental responsibilities (21 percent), and printed material about children and visitation after divorce (10 percent). More than one‐third of the clients indicated that the orientation changed how they approached their case.
Community mediation: Reflections on a quarter century of practice
Authors: Bradley Scott , Smith Melinda
Published: July 2007

It is fitting that this issue of Mediation Quarterly, one of the last before it transforms into a joint publication of confederating organizations, is devoted to community mediation. During the past twenty‐five years, community mediation has provided much of the momentum for the growth and diversity of the alternative dispute resolution movement in the United States. At the same time, it has faced many challenges as the larger dispute resolution field grows and evolves. How community mediation responds to these challenges will shape its role and place for the next generation.

In this issue, we have asked some key leaders and practitioners in the field to reflect on the development of community mediation and the challenges as we move into another century of practice.
Reflections on past successes and future challenges: Three perspectives
Authors: O'Brien Liz , McManus Betty , Cutrona Cheryl , Boertzel Harry M.
Published: July 2007

The executive directors of three community mediation centers were asked to reflect on past successes and future challenges and to consider four questions: How has your center achieved diversification in funding, programs, and referrals, and what have been the benefits and challenges of diversification? What do you consider the greatest challenge in community mediation? How has your center gained credibility and visibility in your community, and what community partnerships helped in that regard? In what directions is your center moving, and what is your center's vision for the next ten years?
Community mediation centers: Renewing the civic mission for the twenty‐first century
Authors: Shonholtz Raymond
Published: July 2007

Community mediation centers enter the twenty‐first century with the opportunity to reaffirm their civic domain and expand their social justice mission. This article summarizes the early political foundation of the movement to establish community mediation centers, argues for continued social and political organizing for the delivery of prevention and early mediation services, and encourages expanding the civic mission to include, along with conflict resolution, social change processes.
Mediation and feminism: Common values and challenges
Authors: Lichtenstein Marsha
Published: July 2007

Mediation, and transformative mediation in particular, share several values, despite feminist criticisms of mediation. This article discusses three of the elements that mediation and feminism share. Both promote self‐determination, both encourage strengthening values such as empathy and caring in the public sphere, and both deal with the issue of power and have attempted to redefine power to include behaviors other than dominance. Because feminism has gone through the growing pains of shifting from a homogeneous and middle‐class movement to a colorful pluralistic social movement, it may serve as a model for the mediation movement as it expands and faces the demands of a demo‐graphically diverse constituency.
Child‐inclusive divorce mediation: Report on a qualitative research study
Authors: McIntosh Jennifer
Published: July 2007

Research into the unique needs and interests of children in the light of parental separation has provided the impetus for many family law mediation practices to include children's voices in divorce mediation. This chapter describes a model of child‐inclusive practice in family law mediation (McIntosh, 1998) and its pilot implementation in two diverse Australian contexts. Encouraging findings from the first group of families to work through the model are presented, indicating both anticipated and unanticipated gains for both children and parents.
Emotion, alienation, and narratives: Resolving intractable conflict
Authors: Retzinger Suzanne , Scheff Thomas
Published: July 2007

This article explores the role of emotion and alienation in protracted conflict and makes suggestions as to how they might be managed. First we note the scant attention given to these topics in the mediation and negotiation literature. Then we show how emotional and relational issues are related to theories of economic and political interests, on the one hand, and narratives and ideologies of conflict, on the other. We focus on the way alienated relationships impair communication and the way they generate intense emotions, especially shame and anger. In our view, secret (unacknowledged) alienation and shame are the primary causes of intractable conflict. Finally, we propose a role for mediators in the acknowledgment of emotion and alienation as a way of resolving intractable conflicts.
The three m's—mediation, postmodernism, and the new millennium
Authors: Bagshaw Dale
Published: July 2007

Postmodernism can be seen as a reaction to modernism. A modernist culture, built over the last few centuries around forms of rationality, self‐discipline, and scientific values, is succumbing to the effects of rapid and unprecedented technological and economic change. The weakness of modernist thinking was the search for unitary definitions and the reduction under one label of complex clusters of thought. This article investigates the strengths and weaknesses of postmodernist and poststructuralist ideas for mediation at the beginning of the new millennium and argues that some aspects of postmodernist thinking are important to mediation—in particular the recognition of the power of language, or discourse, to reflect and shape the world. Postmodernism rejects dualistic thinking, notions of “neutrality” and “objectivity,” and mega theories or overarching “truths,” and celebrates diversity and conflict. Postmodernism offers mediators a new way of thinking about thinking but has its drawbacks when considering issues of human rights.
A preliminary evaluation of problem solving for one
Authors: Tidwell Alan
Published: July 2007

This article provides a preliminary evaluation of problem solving for one (PS1), which is a process intended to help those who are in conflict but who cannot mediate with the opposing party. This preliminary evaluation presents data that have been collected from a number of practitioners of PSI working in the New South Wales department of education and training, and includes several case studies. The conclusions drawn from this research are that PS1 is a process worthy of further development. PS1 facilitators regard it was useful in reducing the negative consequences of conflict, and to be most effective it must have institutional support within the context within which it is used.
Don't waste my time on negotiation and mediation: This dispute needs a judge
Authors: Wade John
Published: July 2007

This article contains two parts. First, there is a framework aimed at encouraging lawyers and other conflict managers to be overtly analytical when deciding which interventions may or may not be helpful in a particular conflict. Second, to illustrate this analytical framework, there are two lists of factors or diagnostic indicators that suggest that certain conflicts probably need the decision of an umpire or judge and that certain other conflicts probably need written claims to be filed in a court or tribunal. This article does not attempt to create lists of factors that indicate the suitability of many other processes, such as early neutral evaluation, problem‐solving mediation, and arbitration.
Mediation in black and white: Mediation center‐police partnerships—a dignified police response
Authors: Cooper Christopher
Published: July 2007

This article addresses how mediation center‐police partnerships, in which police are mere referral agents for mediation centers, perpetuate superficial responses to police calls‐for‐service, social inequality, social subordination, and the already had police‐people of color relationship. I take an alternative position, which calls for mediation centers not to discourage police officers from doing what they have been doing all along (although selectively): mediating. In this regard, I show how partnerships that discourage police officers from transferring power in interpersonal disputes perpetuate the fundamental social problem of racially discriminatory policing. Specifically, the problem is that of mediation being performed less frequently in communities of color than in other communities. A mediation center‐police partnership that looks to many mediation professionals like a healthy, traditional institutional arrangement could justifiably be perceived by people of color as contributing to social injustice.
Transforming destructive conflict: Healing the oppression of patriarchy
Authors: Ronis Deri Joy
Published: July 2007

This article was written with the intention of providing a different framework to help shift the current mindset of apathy and despair that exists today into one of hope and action, which is much needed to transform the violence that affects us all. Oppression is a contributing factor in violence, which we see affecting all aspects of our society. Accepting that conflict is a part of life and viewing it as an opportunity rather than a crisis allows people to seek and find alternatives to the multigenerational historical legacy of the toleration of abuse in our society. This article weaves together both microcosmic and macrocosmic perspectives, which outline alternative avenues that may help us overcome and transform the violence under which we live.
Evaluating mediation practice from a transformative perspective
Authors: Antes James R. , Saul Judith A.
Published: July 2007

A process for the formative evaluation of mediation practice from a transformative orientation is presented in this article. Fundamental to the process is the understanding that mediator activities reflect and derive from basic premises the mediator holds about people and conflict. During a live role‐play mediation or while viewing a videotape of themselves mediating, mediators are asked to reflect on the intent of their interventions. A coach‐trainer helps the mediator assess the appropriateness of the interventions by inviting consideration of the context of the moment, the intended purpose of the intervention, and the probable empowerment and recognition effect on the parties.
Beyond the dominant narrative: Intimacy and conflict in lesbian relationships
Authors: Felicia Diane M. , Sutherland Michelle
Published: July 2007

There has been limited attention in the mediation literature to intimacy and conflict in lesbian relationships. A review of the literature revealed three trends: (1) little reference to historical and contemporary research and theory about lesbians and lesbian relationships; (2) a tendency to package comments and conclusions about lesbians and gay men as if these groups are the same; and (3) a bias toward heterosexual models of commitment, marriage, and conflict resolution within relationships. In this article, we review current research about the development and dissolution of lesbian relationships, with particular attention to gender, relational competencies, and sociopolitical influences that may have implications for how lesbian couples cope with conflict. When relevant, comparisons are made to research on heterosexual relationships. Recommendations for divorce mediators and family mediators are offered.
Ethics and field building: The chicken and the egg
Authors: Blechman Hrank
Published: July 2007

In this article, the author explores the connection between developments in the field of conflict resolution and the evolution of effective comprehensive ethics to guide and measure practitioners. He argues that development of field requires clarification of both broad social values and specific professional rules. Further, he suggests that the field must soon address questions of definition and quality if it wishes to remain vital and growing.
Considering effective divorce mediation: Three potential factors
Authors: Gale Jerry , Mowery Robyn L. , Hermann Margaret S. , Hollett Nancy L.
Published: July 2007

The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative stgdy was to examine mediator efect by employing a repeated measures research design in which we videotaped mediators working with actors and a scripted divorce case scenario. What factors distinpish higher‐rated mediators from lower‐rated ones? Our discourse analysys of four divorce mediations suggested three signijcant factors of injuence that finction interactively and afect both mediation outcome and process. Ethical implications regarding how mediators achieve success in these three domains are discussed. This article presents implications for researchers, trainers, and practitioners; it suggests important directions for fiture research with nonsimulated mediation.
Discovering the promise of curriculum integration: The national curriculum integration project
Authors: Compton Randy
Published: July 2007

One of the most signzficant challenges in institutionalizing conflict resolution education is jnding a way for teachers and schooh to teach this material without sacrificing time spent on other content. Many CRE expertsfiel the best means to achieve institutionalization is to integrate conflict education components in all ongoing curricula, including social studies, language arts, history, mathematics, and science. This article reports on the National Curriculum Integration Project and its development, implementation, and evaluation outcomes.
Reframing conflict: Implications for fairness in parent‐adolescent mediation
Authors: Lam Julie A. , Rifkin Janet , Townley Annette
Published: July 2007

Conflict between parents and adolescents gets redefined during the mediation process by the use of reframing—a primary tactical tool used by mediators. Reframing has the potential to subtly influence the kinds of agreements the parties reach. This paper investigates the implications of reframing conflict and examines whether the mediation process is equally fair to parents and adolescent parties.
Divorce mediation in New Hampshire: A voluntary concept
Authors: Bautz Barbara J. , Hill Rose M.
Published: July 2007

Mediation as a method to dissolve marriage relationships is gaining popularity in New Hampshire. Contrary to the popular practice that mediators be professionally educated in law or the mental health field, mediators in New Hampshire are trained community volunteers. Their selection is based on life experience, interpersonal skills, and ability to communicate. This study examined issues of child support, child custody, satisfaction with the final divorce agreement, nature of the postdivorce relationship, and perceptions of fairness of the divorce settlement. The researchers wanted to examine the differences between those couples using the traditional method for a divorce and those using mediation. Furthermore, we wanted to determine if results using volunteer mediators were similar to those in published studies in which the mediator was an attorney or other trained professional.
Alternative dispute resolution in Brazil
Authors: Volkema Roger J.
Published: July 2007

This paper describes a new mediation program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and compares that program with “typical” alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs in the United States. While similar in many ways, there are stark differences in the role and power of the mediator, formality and confidentiality, and speed and timeliness.
U.S. mediation in revolutionary conflicts, 1944–1986
Authors: Orme John D.
Published: July 2007

Political uprisings are different in several respects from most other conflicts in which mediation is undertaken. The United States has attempted to promote political solutions in at least eleven such cases since 1944 and has usually failed. This record can be attributed in part to the failure of U.S. officials to seize opportunities early in the crisis, but is also related to the inherent difficulties of power sharing, the tendency of revolutionary opposition movements to radicalize, and the overconfidence of the leaders in power. U.S. diplomatic intervention is justified as a way of overcoming these obstacles.
The quiet revolution in dispute settlement
Authors: Singer Linda R.
Published: July 2007

A move toward the use of alternative dispute resolution strategies has been quietly taking place in America. Disappointment with traditional ways of resolving disputes has led to a quiet revolution in how Americans are managing their conflicts. Alternative dispute strategies are now being used to resolve conflicts in business, between family members, between neighbors, in the international arena, and in government. Disputants who reach agreements by themselves without the help of the formal legal system are more likely to abide by them.
Land use mediation for planners
Authors: Tomain Joseph P.
Published: July 2007

Mediation provides an alternative to litigation for land use disputes. Each of the actors in a land use dispute—developers, municipalities, and interested and affected citizens—has interests of varying intensity. Mediation has an advantage over litigation for resolving land use disputes because it is more efficient.
Your telephone may be a party line: Mediation by telephone
Authors: SchWeber Claudine
Published: July 2007

Increasingly, the telephone is being used to conduct mediations and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) activities. Preliminary observations indicate that the use of telephone mediation increases access to mediation for parties and neutrals, decreases costs, requires skilled communicators, and demands well‐controlled hearings. Benefits and concerns about the telephone process are discussed, since it is clear that use of the telephone will be an important partner in expanding the ADR market.
Part 1. The policy debate. Judicial response to family violence: The importance of message
Authors: Menard Anne E. , Salius Anthony J.
Published: July 2007

Connecticut's Family Violence Prevention and Response Act has brought about dramatic changes in the way police, the courts, and service providers coordinate their efforts and respond to incidents of violence within families. The fundamental premises and collaborative process integral to the successful restructuring of Connecticut's family violence response are highly relevant to the current debate on the use of mediation with battered women and their abusive partners.
From coercion to empowerment: Spousal abuse and mediation
Authors: Corcoran Kathleen O'Connell , Melamed James C.
Published: July 2007

Early discussions of the issue of mediating separation and divorce when there has been spousal abuse were characterized by misconception and polarization. As this dialogue continued, relevant terms were better defined, needs and interests were expressed, and understanding, responsiveness, and solutions emerged. This article suggests that the ultimate answer to the question of whether mediation should take place when there has been spousal abuse lies in determining the present level of coercion or intimidation in the relationship.
The common core of mediation
Authors: Honeyman Christopher
Published: July 2007

There is widespread doubt over the advisability, and even the legitimacy, of mediators attempting to broaden their practice into areas in which they lack experience or specialized training. This article uses a previously published descriptive framework of mediation skill to offer the hypothesis that it is possible to provide a rule of thumb to assist parties in estimating their possible “fit” with such a mediator, based on the mediator's assessed strengths and the parties' probable needs as measured by seven parameters.
Mediating the breakup: Do children win?
Authors: Bautz Barbara J. , Hill Rose M.
Published: July 2007

Mediation is gaining popularity as a method for dissolving marriage relationships. This study examined the differences between agreements settled in mediation versus those settled in an adversarial manner when divorcing parents make decisions about child custody, visitation, and child support. Results of this study indicate that the mediation couples were more satisfied with the divorce process and experienced more harmonious relationships. In addition, parents who mediated their divorce made significantly more joint custody decisions and missed fewer child support payments.
Toward a new discourse for mediation: A critique of neutrality
Authors: Rifkin Janet , Millen Jonathan , Cobb Sara
Published: July 2007

This article explores narrative (storytelling) as an alternative discourse for the practice of mediation. Through the case analysis of a mediation session we show that neutrality, as it is often understood, leads to problems for mediators in constructing agreements. We suggest that by focusing on the storytelling process, mediators will have a new set of resources to enhance the actual interactions that take place in the mediation setting. Unlike most mediation research, this article is based on the empirical examination of actual practices.
Mediation and public policy: Variations on a consensus theme
Authors: Stamato Linda , Jaffe Sanford
Published: July 2007

Across the country states are confronting needs in the areas of housing, the environment, education, health care, crime and delinquency, social welfare, and transportation; ways to financially address them are being sought. To develop and implement policy regarding these needs, common ground must be found among important constituencies. This article suggests that mediation and collaborative problem solving, processes that attempt to develop solutions to problems based on common interests and needs, have significant potential in this regard; there is some experience to support this view. The article analyzes some of the more interesting and compelling variations on the mediation theme that hold particular promise for states and, in light of these variations, suggests policy opportunities at the community, court, executive, and legislative levels.
Preseparation abuse, marital conflict mediation, and postseparation abuse
Authors: Ellis Desmond , Stuckless Noreen
Published: July 2007

This article reports on a study designed to investigate the effects of preseparation hassles, preseparation abuse, and evaluations of the mediation process on postmediation abuse and hassles among a stratified, random, sequential sample of participants in marital conflict mediation. Hassles prior to mediation were found to be associated with postmediation hassles. Engaging in violence‐prevention activities prior to separation and being frightened of one's partner were associated with postseparation abuse. Evaluations of the mediation process were associated with postseparation abuse and only among those who participated in mandatory legal aid mediation. The authors discuss the implication of these findings for the construction of a screening instrument for mediation participants.
Adolescent development and family dynamics: Delineating a knowledge base for family mediation
Authors: Stern Marilyn , Van Slyck Michael R. , Newland Lori M.
Published: July 2007

To facilitate the mediation process and resolve family conflicts involving an adolescent optimally, practicing mediators must have a conceptual understanding and theoretical framework of adolescence. The purpose of this article is to review what we know about normative adolescent development, highlighting how adolescents generally cope with stressors and conflict and identifying effects of their development on family dynamics. Implications for practice are discussed by identifying key underlying developmental issues related to parent‐adolescent conflict. Examples of how the conceptual information presented can be integrated and used by parent‐adolescent mediators are provided.
Comparison of the american mediation process with A Korean‐American harmony restoration process
Authors: LeResche Diane
Published: July 2007

The mediation process used by community‐based mediation centers in the United States is compared with the informal process for handling conflicts used by Korean‐Americans interviewed in the Washington, D.C., area. Significant differences and some commonalities between the two are presented. A framework for comparing conflict resolution procedures is provided. It includes perceptions of conflicts and their derivations, process goals and objectives, how the process is initiated, roles and responsibilities of people in conflict and the third party, type and extent of third‐party preparation, structure of third‐party meetings with conflicting parties, how solutions are generated and selected, and how conflicts are concluded.
Sociological explanations for failure to seek sexual harassment remedies
Authors: Gwartney‐Gibbs Patricia A. , Lach Denise H.
Published: July 2007

Public and private debate over whether Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed former employee Anita Hill—and, if he did, why Hill would wait ten years to reveal his behavior publicly—has centered on psychological explanations of the state of mind of Thomas and Hill. This article provides an alternative sociological explanation, emphasizing the effects of gender and race in the social organization of work, and the links between workplace dispute resolution and employment inequality.
Negotiating agreements and resolving disputes across cultures
Authors: Klugman Julian
Published: July 2007

This article is an overview of areas in which race relations problems are susceptible to mediation; casework examples are cited. Disputes are becoming more complex as immigrant groups increase in size and become more willing to go public with their grievances. Ethnic neighborhoods are diversifying, because immigrants from Asia or Latin America include people from more nations than in the past. To resolve cross‐cultural disputes, the mediator must be flexible and nonjudgmental, and all of the concerned parties must “buy into” the process.
Systems or selves? Some ethical issues in family mediation
Authors: Roberts Marian
Published: July 2007

This article raises for debate the compatibility of systems thinking with the precepts of mediation.
Parent‐child mediation: An empirical assessment
Authors: Van Slyck Michael R. , Stern Marilyn , Newland Lori Moore
Published: July 2007

The relationship among preintervention family functioning, conflict characteristics, and mediation outcome and subsequent family functioning was assessed in seventy parent‐child disputes. The Family Environment Scale (FES) profiles indicated that families were distressed, with high levels of dysfunction. Parents and adolescents had divergent perceptions of the conflict. Parental perception, especially that of mothers, was of greater seriousness of the problem related to positive mediation outcome. Positive changes on several FES subscales and overall client satisfaction with the process suggest that parent‐child mediation is an effective intervention modality for helping distressed families in conflict. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Effects of peer mediation training on elementary school students
Authors: Johnson David W. , Johnson Roger T. , Dudley Bruce
Published: July 2007

A peer mediation training program was conducted in three classrooms in a midwestern, suburban, middle‐class elementary school. Prior to the training program, frequent conflicts involving teasing, playground activities, academic work, and so on, were reported. Students seemed conditioned to look to the teacher for a solution to their conflicts because they did not have the procedures and interpersonal skills necessary to manage conflicts constructively. The training program was successful in dramatically reducing the number of conflicts referred to the teacher, teaching mediation procedures and skills, and generalizing the procedures and skills to use in students' lives outside of the classroom and school.
Mediator neutrality and storytelling order
Authors: Fuller Rex M. , Kimsey William D. , McKinney Bruce C.
Published: July 2007

This study investigates disputant perception of mediator neutrality resulting from storytelling sequence. Volunteer disputants were mediated in role‐play mediation sessions by mediators from the Center for Mediation, James Madison University. Three conditions were identified. In the first, Disputant A told his or her story first. In the second, Disputant B told his or her story first. Third, each disputant concurrently viewed a previously videotaped story from the opposing disputant. This study supports the conclusion that storytelling order does significantly influence perception of mediator neutrality. Further, results suggest that variables relevant to perceived mediator competence, technical skill, and listening are not significantly affected by storytelling order.
Parent‐child mediation: Integrating theory, research, and practice
Authors: Van Slyck Michael R. , Newland Lori M. , Stern Marilyn
Published: July 2007

The lack of a systematic approach to the integration of theory and research limits the study, understanding, and practice of parent‐child mediation. This article critically reviews the research on parent‐child mediation to determine its merits and delineate the consistent and important findings it has produced. Both the consistent findings and some specific findings can be linked to relevant theory that may serve to elucidate our understanding of parent‐child mediation. The implications of the theory and research reviewed for the administration and practice of parent‐child mediation are discussed. This integrative approach provides the greatest potential for advancing the practice of parent‐child mediation.