Rethinking Conflict: Perspectives from the Insight Approach

In this article, the authors present the “insight approach” to conflict as an analytical and methodological framework that addresses the dynamic interactions between conflicting parties. According to the insight approach, conflict is relational, dynamic, and adaptive, generated from the responsive interpretive frameworks that parties use to construct meaning. Conflict arises as a result of parties' experience of what insight theorists call “threat‐to‐cares,” which generates defend–attack patterns of interaction between them. The authors suggest that rethinking the nature of conflict so that it is seen as an interaction embedded in meaning making enables conflict interveners to help parties gain insight into, and articulate, the values that are being generated, advanced, threatened, and realigned within the complex interactions that define us as social beings. In doing so, parties develop abilities to generate new patterns and solutions that can limit and even eliminate the experiences of threat that generate conflict between them.     

The Interpersonal Style and Complementarity Between Crisis Negotiators and Forensic Inpatients

Previous negotiation research has explored the interaction and communication between crisis negotiators and perpetrators. A crisis negotiator attempts to resolve a critical incident through negotiation with an individual, or group of persons in crisis. The purpose of this study was to establish the interpersonal style of crisis negotiators and complementarity of the interpersonal interaction between them and forensic inpatients. Crisis negotiators, clinical workers and students (n = 90) used the Check List of Interpersonal Transactions-Revised (CLOIT-R) to identify interpersonal style, along with eight vignettes detailing interpersonal styles. Crisis negotiators were most likely to have a friendly interpersonal style compared to the other non-trained groups. Complementarity theory was not exclusively supported as submissive individuals did not show optimistic judgments in working with dominant forensic inpatients and vice versa. Exploratory analysis revealed that dominant crisis negotiators were optimistic in working with forensic inpatients with a dominant interpersonal style. This study provides insight into the area of interpersonal complementarity of crisis negotiators and forensic inpatients. Whilst further research is required, a potential new finding was established, with significant ‘similarity’ found when dominant crisis negotiators are asked to work with dominant forensic inpatients.     

Helping organizations help others: organization development as a facilitator of social change

This article explores organization development (OD) interventions and their likelihood of increasing social change outcomes in public agencies. The central argument of this work is that public and nonprofit organizations can deliver better social outcomes by systematically engaging in OD interventions. An in-depth survey was conducted in 3 agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the end of the gubernatorial administration of Tom Ridge (1995-2002). During his administration, Governor Ridge led the agencies of Pennsylvania government through a large-scale change effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The change effort was a remarkable event for the Commonwealth because no other governor in the history of the state had attempted to conceptualize and deliver a comprehensive large-scale change management initiative. The successes and setbacks served as a fertile context to shed light on the following research question: Do OD interventions increase the likelihood that public organizations will deliver better social outcomes? This question is important in that public organizations may need to engage in organization development activities to improve their internal operations, which in turn may help them provide exemplary social outcomes to those whom they serve. In short, organization development interventions might allow public organizations to help themselves to help others.     

Development and Predictive Ability of a Behavior-Based Typology of Men Who Batter

This study explores the existence and predictive ability of a behavior-based typology of men who were adjudicated for a domestic violence crime in an urban criminal justice system. Data from 671 men who completed a 2-hour biopsychosocial assessment were analyzed using cluster analysis. Findings indicate a typology of low level criminality (25.6%), dysphoric volatile behavior (42.2%), and dysphoric general violence (32.2%) similar to previous typologies, but with some unique characteristics. The behavior-based typology predicted both program completion and subsequent rearrest. This study provides preliminary support for the development of typological assessment in criminal justice and BIP settings for early identification of men who may need additional interventions.     

The Effect of Retention Interval on the Confidence–Accuracy Relationship for Eyewitness Identification

Recent research using a calibration approach indicates that eyewitness confidence assessments obtained immediately after a positive identification decision provide a useful guide as to the likely accuracy of the identification. This study extended research on the boundary conditions of the confidence–accuracy (CA) relationship by varying the retention interval between encoding and identification test. Participants (N = 1,063) viewed one of five different targets in a community setting and attempted an identification from an 8-person target-present or -absent lineup either immediately or several weeks later. Compared to the immediate condition, the delay condition produced greater overconfidence and lower diagnosticity. However, for choosers at both retention intervals there was a meaningful CA relationship and diagnosticity was much stronger at high than low confidence levels.     

Giant berry aneurysms in a forensic setting: a series of 14 cases

This is a series reviewing 14 cases of giant saccular aneurysms diagnosed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York City collected over an 11-year period. Data collected on all 14 cases included neuropathological findings, comorbidities, and toxicological findings. Of these 14 cases, 8 were in women, and the ages ranged from 3 to 79 years, with a mean and a median of 50 years. Women were overrepresented in the sixth through eighth decades. Of the 14 cases described, 11 presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage; 3, no hemorrhage; 2, subdural hemorrhage; 8, intraventricular hemorrhage; 2, intracerebral hemorrhage; and 8, more than 1 hemorrhage type. Location of the aneurysms varied with 6 in the left side of the brain, 6 present in the right side of the brain, and 2 at the midline. We described the clinical, pathological, and toxicological findings associated with these giant aneurysms.