Back to Basics Series: Ghostbusters & Me

Editor's Note: The Master Mediator is taking a break from his in‐depth series on neuroscience and the psychological factors and cognitive biases that may affect dispute resolution. As Bob Creo's earliest columns, describing and discussing mediation room techniques and practice issues, appeared only on the CPR website, he has agreed to reprise and update them for Alternatives, beginning with last month's issue, in a new “Back to Basics” series. Last month's column covered the concept of satisfactory compromise, while this one addresses “ghostbusting” in mediation. Future columns will cover such essentials as terms of reference and constructing settlements.     

BACK TO BASICS SERIES: Compromise & Me! Being in Sweden: Lagom – Meeting in The Middle

Editor's Note: The Master Mediator is taking a break from his fascinating, in‐depth series on neuroscience and the psychological factors and cognitive biases that may affect dispute resolution. As Bob Creo's earliest columns, describing and discussing mediation room techniques and practice issues, appeared a number of years ago, and only on the CPR website, Alternatives is delighted that he has agreed to reprise and update them, beginning in this issue, in a new “Back to Basics” series. This column deals with the concept of compromise; future columns in the series will cover “ghostbusting” in mediation, terms of reference, and constructing settlements.     

Quick Takes: Magic Moments

Editor's note: Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a Pittsburgh arbitrator and mediator, has been revisiting his catalog of CPR Institute website columns, originated a decade ago, in a Back to Basics series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns are in print for the first time, building on new concepts and knowledge. He has revisited a wide spectrum of mediation room behaviors and practices. This month's column combines two of those early efforts.     

Procedures for building quality into court mediation programs

In a follow‐up to last month's article on the failure of good‐faith rules to encourage best mediation practices, John Lande, of Columbia, Mo., presents a court mediation design system. He suggests ways that court programs can identify participants' interests and convert them into programs that help the practice—without the potential dangers of good‐faith requirements. He presents five policy alternatives that potentially could be established by courts to deal with mediation issues.     

Back To Basics: The Playing Field

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” In his recent Master Mediators columns, Creo has focused on neuroscience, psychological factors and cognitive biases that affect dispute resolution. These updated Back to Basics columns, in print for the first time, began in November, revisiting mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. Still to come is an examination of the issues involved in getting to closure.     

Back to Basics: Moscow Rules!

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” In his more‐recent Master Mediator columns, Creo has focused on neuroscience, psychological factors and cognitive biases that affect dispute resolution. These updated Back to Basics columns, in print for the first time, began in November, revisiting mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, the focus is on.     

Theory and Practice and the Neutral's Persona

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns, in print for the first time, began late last year. He has revisited and re‐examined mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, he returns to the second column he wrote at www.cpradr.org a decade ago, and brings it forward.     

Out in the Mediation Field,and on the Mediation Carpet

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns, in print for the first time, began late last year. He has revisited and re‐examined mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, he returns to the first column he wrote at www.cpradr.org a decade ago, and brings it forward.     

Back to Basics: An ADR Intervention that Converts a Legal Problem to a Human Solution

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” In his recent Master Mediators columns, Creo has focused on neuroscience, psychological factors and cognitive biases that affect dispute resolution. These updated Back to Basics columns, in print for the first time, began in November, revisiting mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, the focus is on getting to closure.     

Back To Basics: Rags and Me!

Editor's note: Veteran Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” In his recent Master Mediators columns, Creo has focused on neuroscience, psychological factors and cognitive biases that affect dispute resolution. These updated Back to Basics columns, in print for the first time, began in November, revisiting mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, the focus is on getting to closure.     

Replacing the mediator orientation grids,again: Proposing a ‘new new grid system’

The mediation profession's standard for assessment is revised, updated and—maybe—finalized. Leonard L. Riskin, of Columbia, Mo., who debuted his “Mediator Orientation Grid” in these pages a decade ago, revisits his process tool, which has now grown into a “New New Grid System.”.     

Back To Basics: I Mediate,Therefore I Am?

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” In his recent Master Mediators columns, Creo has focused on neuroscience, psychological factors and cognitive biases that affect dispute resolution. These updated Back to Basics columns, in print for the first time, began in November, revisiting mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, the focus is on how the humanity and values of the mediator align with the process and the participants.     

Assessing the Spectrum of Primate Behaviors To Produce a Path for Business Conflict Resolution

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns, in print for the first time, began late last year. He has revisited and re‐examined mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. Last month, he focused on the science behind the behaviors common to primates, and how humans can learn about addressing conflict from their ape, chimp, and monkey cousins. In this column, he turns to placing these behaviors against mediation process points, and translates them into a 10‐point checklist for ADR success. He also provides a comprehensive resource list.     

Back to Basics: Primates and Me

Editor's note: Longtime Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a veteran Pittsburgh neutral, is revisiting his classic CPR Institute website columns of a decade ago in a Back to Basics Series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns, in print for the first time, began in November. He has revisited and re‐examined mediation‐room techniques and practice issues. This month, the focus is on behavior common to primates, and how humans can learn from their ape, chimp, and monkey cousins.     

Client Science: Bad News and the Fully Informed ADR Client

Professor Aaron comments that this piece, excerpted from: “Bad News and the Fully Informed Client,” the first chapter of her book, Client Science, addresses the lawyer's challenge when counseling clients where “bad” news—negative, pessimistic or unwelcome developments or analysis—must be conveyed, whether or not within an ADR process. “As a mediator of civil cases, I suspect that mediation involves a higher than average percentage of cases involving ill‐counseled clients or ‘difficult clients’ who may fairly be characterized as ‘counseling‐resistant’ despite the best efforts of skilled lawyers. When the lawyer explains ‘bad news’ about case developments or likely outcomes, he risks the client's suspicion or accusation of less than zealous advocacy. While a mediator can assist with client communication when legal circumstances are grim, counsel are obligated to ensure their clients are well informed of realistic expectations when exercising autonomy and self determination.”     

When Good News Is Bad News: Explicating the Moderated Mediation Dynamic Behind the Reversed Mobilization Effect

This study investigates the mobilizing potential of positive news framing on opponents of a referendum proposal. On the basis of an experiment (N = 470), using bootstrapping as a method to assess conditional indirect effects, mediation analysis showed that positive news framing—endorsing a referendum proposal regarding European Union (EU) integration—was perceived as negative by opponents and mobilized those with higher levels of skepticism toward the EU to turn out and vote because of increased risk perception. This “reversed mobilization” effect was contingent upon existing levels of self‐efficacy, yielding evidence for a “double conditional indirect effect” of positive news framing on turnout intention via risk perception which was strongest among those showing greater levels of EU skepticism as well as stronger self‐efficacy beliefs.     

It's more than just ‘med arb’: The case for ‘transitional arbitration’

Converting to mediation from arbitration gives most people the willies, even when it's not a new experience. Gerald F. Phillips, of Los Angeles, describes how he embraces his mediator's role in “transitional arbitration,” and how combined processes can work.     

The Mediator as Arbitrager: Asymmetry in Action

Editor's note: Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a Pittsburgh arbitrator and mediator, has been revisiting his catalog of CPR Institute website columns, originated a decade ago, in a Back to Basics Alternatives series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns, in print for the first time, began a year ago. He has revisited a wide spectrum of mediation room behaviors and practices. This month, he returns to the third column he wrote at www.cpradr.org , and brings it forward.     

The Mediation Field,in Theory and Practice

Editor's note: Alternatives columnist Bob Creo, a Pittsburgh arbitrator and mediator, has been revisiting his CPR Institute website columns, originated a decade ago, in a Back to Basics Alternatives series that he has subtitled “Human Problems, Human Solutions.” These updated and expanded columns are in print for the first time, building on the original concepts with new knowledge. He has revisited a wide spectrum of mediation room behaviors and practices. This month, he returns to the sixth column he wrote at www.cpradr.org , and updates it.     

Hospitability: The Communicative Architecture of Humanitarian Securitization at Europe's Borders

This paper explores the communicative architecture of reception at the peak of Europe's 2015–2016 “migration crisis.” Drawing on fieldwork at one of Europe's outer borders—the Greek island of Chios—the paper examines the border as a site where refugee and migrant reception takes place and where the parameters of Europe's ethico-political response to the “crisis” are set. The paper demonstrates that the continent's double requirement of security and care produces a new and highly ambivalent moral order, hospitability. Constituted through techno-symbolic networks of mediation, hospitability reaffirms dominant theorizations of the border as an order of power and exclusion but goes beyond these in highlighting micro-connections of solidarity that simultaneously coexist with and attempt to challenge this order.