EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION.
ARTICLES.
Compliance in Small Claims Court: Exploring the Factors Associated with Defendants’ Level of Compliance with Mediated and Adjudicated Outcomes (Jennie J. Long)
As the field has long understood, attaining an agreement or requiring an outcome does not guarantee compliance from disputants. Why disputants choose to comply is not well understood. This study examined disputants’ rationales for complying with mediated or adjudicated outcomes.
Theory-Based Training in Constructive Conflict for Trauma Relief Personnel: The Case of Croatia and Bosnia (Helena Syna Desivilya,Reuven Gal)
War causes emotional, physical, and psychological trauma that helping professionals must deal with to restore victims and societies. Trauma relief personnel need training in conflict escalation and deescalation to provide service to their clients. These authors report on such a training program designed for trauma relief personnel in the Yugoslavian conflict.
The Impact of Participation in a Parent Education Program for Divorcing Parents on the Use of Court Resources: An Evaluation Study (Desmond Ellis,Dawn Y. Anderson)
This study supplies valuable information about the effects of a parent education program on use of court resources such as motions, case conferences, and the number of days divorce cases remain active. The evaluation study design addresses several weaknesses in previous evaluation research on PEPs.
COLLOQUY: RECENT RESEARCH IN ENVIRONMENTAL DISPUTES.
Consensus Building and “Smart Growth” (Martha Brand)
“Smart Growth” principles are increasingly used to address large-scale environmental land use conflicts. A core component of Smart Growth is the use of consensus building. This study examines nine Smart Growth projects in Minnesota in terms of their processes related to consensus building. The results of the analysis are used to stipulate principles for more effective consensus-building processes.
Stakeholder Frames in the Mapping of the Lower Kishon River Basin Conflict (Deborah F. Shmueli,Michal Ben-Gal)
Framing theory is a means of analyzing and intervening in environmental and public policy disputes. These authors apply frame analysis to understand the causes, progression, and possible intervention of an environmental dispute in Israel.
What’s News? Reflections of Intractable Environmental Conflicts in the News: Some Promises, Many Premises (Ariella Vraneski, Ravit Richter)
The role that mass media play in the unfolding of environmental disputes is rarely assessed. This study examined frames of disputants and frames operating in media coverage of disputes. The results suggest that how the larger society comes to know the dispute is significantly affected by the frames media use to report the conflict.
RESEARCH MATTERS.
Police Use of Mediation (Maria R.Volpe, Nickie Phillips)
What is the status of police use of mediation? This summary of portions of the 2001 Annual Report of the Community Dispute Resolutions Program and survey results from Community Dispute Resolution Centers and police departments presents valuable information.
