Exploring and critiquing various methods of mediation, this innovative book critically develops a new explorative practice in the field. Considering ways in which mediators may influence disputing parties, especially in the workplace where mediators are paid to intervene, Explorative Mediation at Work questions the common claim that mediation is a neutral intervention. The difference between offering minimally intrusive support and acting to secure a containment and even suppression of workplace conflict is heavily dependent upon a mediator’s practices. At worst, engineering resolution may tarnish mediation’s reputation for impartiality. At best, mediation can win the trust of parties in conflict, facilitate a democratic engagement and be of real benefit to organizations. This book aims to demonstrate the latter in proposing a practice that supports parties to seek out dialogue from which relationships may be rebuilt and practical problems resolved.
An original study of the language of mediation, which uses excerpts from real mediation sessions to illustrate how mediation works and how mediators can best help disputants make claims, present evidence and propose solutions. It will interest researchers and students of sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and the sociology of law.
Don't know your BATNA from your WATNA from your ZOPA? Think PATNA is a type of rice? Not sure what Cellar Blindness is? Or what FDRs/DI Ps/ LIPs are? Mediation: An A-Z Guide tells you, distilling practical information, informed comment and useful advice and tips. Over 500 entries provide curated information on practical mediation topics guiding you through the thicket of mediation jargon. Mediation: An A-Z Guide ensures you have no need to feel nervous about mediation because you: will understand what is being said will have the knowledge and confidence to use the buzz words Whether you are a mediator, a representative, a client, a lawyer or a nonlawyer you will find what you are looking for. Portable and practical and with an easy-to-read, punchy style and user-friendly format this is more than just a dictionary. Entries follow the same pattern: Topic Heading Definition Comment In practice bullet points nail the everyday application of the topic See also for internal cross references Follow up for further sources
Critical Social Work Studies in South Africa: Prospects and Challenges is a convergence of 18 critical Black African minds from various South African universities, who challenge the hegemonic status quo in society. In this collection of conceptual and empirical papers, each author tells a compelling story with common themes that are firmly rooted in advancing decolonial knowledge. This book covers pertinent issues in social work practice and education, ranging from rethinking parenting roles, utopian notions of family, mediation practice in relation to unmarried fathers to race and landlessness. The book contains practical suggestions in respect of decolonising the self as well as social work curricula in higher education. In addition Critical Social Work Studies in South Africa: Prospects and Challenges delves into trusting relationships as cornerstones to effective supervision, centring African spirituality in social work, economic emancipation of Black women, cultural trauma as well as drug abuse prevention. Based on the range of themes, this book would benefit social work practitioners, students, academics, social activists and anyone who is curious to understand how decoloniality may be operationalised in social work.
This open access book presents twelve unique studies on mediation from researchers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, respectively. Each study highlights important aspects of mediation, including the role of children in family mediation, the evolution and ambivalent application of restorative justice in the Nordic countries, the confusion of roles in court-connected mediation, and the challenges in dispute systems. Over the past 20-30 years, mediation has gained in popularity in many countries around the world and is often heralded as a suitable and cost-effective mode of conflict resolution. However, as the studies in this volumes show, mediation also has a number of potential drawbacks. Parties’ self-determination may be jeopardized, affected third parties are involved in an inadequate way, and the legal regulations may be flawed. The publication can inspire research, help professionals and policymakers in the field and be used as a textbook.
The work environment can be considered one of the main determining factors that can influence the mental health of workers, especially as it regards the structural and organizational conditions to which the worker is subjected. This work environment has positive effects when work provides satisfaction and well-being or negative effects provoked by situations of stress, inadequate working patterns and schedules, possible situations of abuse and/or harassment, etc., which may contribute to the appearance of alterations in the mental health of the worker.
The Handbook of Mediation gathers leading experts across fields related to peace, justice, human rights, and conflict resolution to explore ways that mediation can be applied to a range of spectrums, including new age settings, relationships, organizations, institutions, communities, environmental conflicts, and intercultural and international conflicts. The text is informed by cogent theory, state-of-the-art research, and best practices to provide the reader with a well-rounded understanding of mediation practice in contemporary times. Based on four signature themes—contexts; skills and competencies; applications; and recommendations—the handbook provides theoretical, applicable, and practical insight into a variety of key approaches to mediation. Authors consider modern conflict on a local and global scale, emphasizing the importance of identifying effective strategies, foundations, and methods to shape the nature of a mediation mindfully and effectively. With a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, the text complements the development of the reader’s competencies and understanding of mediation in order to contribute to the advancement of the mediation field. With a conversational tone that will welcome readers, this comprehensive book is essential reading for students and professionals wanting to learn a wide range of potential interventions for conflict.
Character can be defined as self-aware knowledge that helps the individual to set goals, values and ethical principles (Cloninger, 2004). This meta-cognitive dimension of human personality involves ‘Theory of Mind’, and is positively related to measures of well-being, mental health, and constructive behavior patterns. Research from at least three different fields, cultural (Shweder, Much, Mahapatra & Park, 1997), personality (Cloninger, 2004), and social psychology (Abele & Wojcizke, 2007) suggest that character can be organized along three broad principles: agency, which is related to the autonomy and the fulfillment and enhancement of the self; communion, which is related to engagement in the protection and relations to others such as families, companies or nations; and spirituality, which is related to the human ability to transcend the self and find and interconnection with all life and appreciation of the whole world around us (Haidt, 2006; Cloninger, 2013). Using the Temperament and Character Inventory (Cloninger, Svrakic & Przybeck, 1993) researchers have found that agentic (i.e., Self-directedness) and communal (i.e., Cooperativeness) values are associated to high levels of happiness, psychological well-being, and less violent behavior. Moreover, low Self-directedness and Cooperativeness is recurrent among individuals with all types of mental health problems, such as, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and etcetera. Spirituality, in coherence with agency and communion, guides the individual to seek self-realization in harmony with others and nature in the changing world (Cloninger, 2013). Seeing character as self-awareness of the self in three dimensions has also been associated to human responsibility and empowerment. This research topic will focus on all article types that put forward findings regarding: • Character as a protective factor against mental illness. • Character’s association to conduct disorders and violent behavior. • Character as a promoter of happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being. • The etiology of character. • Longitudinal studies on character. • Agency, communion, and spirituality as broad dimensions for the conceptualization of positive measures of mental health. • Innovative methods to measure or conceptualize character. • Non-linear effects of character on mental health. • Character as a measure/conceptualization of responsibility. • Character in school and work place settings. • Character in relation to empowerment.
The study of students’ motivational beliefs about writing and how such beliefs influence writing has increased since the publication of John Hays’ 1996 model of writing. This model emphasized that writers’ motivational beliefs influence how and what they write. Likewise, increased attention has been devoted in recent years to how teachers’ motivational beliefs about writing, especially their efficacy to teach writing, impact how writing is taught and how students’ progress as writers. As a result, there is a need to bring together, in a Research Topic, studies that examine the role and influence of writing beliefs. Historically, the psychological study of writing has focused on what students’ write or the processes they apply when writing. Equally important, but investigated less often, are studies examining how writing is taught and how teachers’ efforts contribute to students’ writing. What has been less prominent in the psychological study of writing are the underlying motivational beliefs that drive (or inhibit) students’ writing or serve as catalysts for teachers’ actions in the classroom when teaching writing. This Research Topic will bring together studies that examine both students’ and teachers’ motivational beliefs about teaching writing. This will include studies examining the operation of such beliefs, how they develop, cognitive and affective correlates, how writing motivational beliefs can be fostered, and how they are related to students’ writing achievement. By focusing on both students’ and teachers’ beliefs, the Research Topic will provide a more nuanced and broader picture of the role of motivation beliefs in writing and writing instruction. This Research Topic includes papers that address students’ motivational beliefs about writing, teachers’ motivational beliefs about writing or teaching writing. Students’ motivational beliefs about writing include: • beliefs about the value and utility of writing, • writing competence, • attitudes toward writing, • goal orientation, • motives for writing, • identity, • epistemological underpinnings writing, • and attributions for success/failure (as examples). Teacher motivational include these same judgements as well as beliefs about their preparation and their students’ competence and progress as writers (to provide additional examples). This Research Topic is interested in papers that examine how such beliefs operate, develop, are related to other cognitive and affective variables, how they are impacted by instruction, and how they are related to students’ writing performance. Submitted studies can include original research (both quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods), meta-analysis, and reviews of the literature.
