Grievance mediation

Conclusion In sum, grievance mediation is a highly successful alternative to labor arbitration. It shares with expedited arbitration the capacity to reduce the time and cost of arbitration, and is more likely to produce mutually acceptable outcomes than is a conference procedure in which the neutral retains decisional authority. It is also more likely than either of those procedures to improve the parties' dispute resolution ability and ultimately their entire relationship.To be sure, not all grievances can be successfully resolved through mediation. Still, its advantages are so great, and its costs so low that an effort to resolve grievances at mediation should be a required step preceding arbitration in all collective bargaining contracts. Stephen B. Goldberg is Professor of Law at Northwestern University Law School, Chicago, Ill., 60611. He is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and president of Mediation Research and Education Project, Inc.This article draws in substantial part on material contained in the author's recent book (with William L. Ury and Jeanne M. Brett),Getting Disputes Resolved: Designing Systems to Cut the Costs of Conflict (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988).     

Mobile pastoralism a century apart: continuity and change in south-eastern Kazakhstan, 1910 and 2012

ABSTRACT

This article challenges the ahistorical figure of the ‘steppe nomad’ by presenting some of the main characteristics of Kazakh nomadic pastoralism, which vary widely in time and space. It compares two ethnographic studies conducted a century apart in the same place in south-eastern Kazakhstan: a statistical survey from 1910 and an account of a transhumance in which the author took part in June 2012. Sedentary pastoralism now prevails in Kazakhstan, but a system of seasonal pastures endures in some areas. In Ra?ymbek District (Almaty Province), vertical nomadism takes advantage of the altitudinal variations of vegetation and climate. This article demonstrates both the continuity of nomadic routes despite successive crises during the twentieth century, and considers the overall change from quasi-nomadism to quasi-sedentarism. This comparison a century apart also fosters dialogue between history and social anthropology through a dual synchronic approach, seeking to restore historicity to our understanding of pastoral nomadism.     

What Difference Does a Robe Make? Comparing Mediators with and without Prior Judicial Experience

This article reports the results of two studies. The first study, based on the responses of attorneys to questions about the reasons for the success of mediators with and without prior judicial experience, shows that the capacity of the mediator to gain the confidence of the disputants was most important for mediators with and without prior judicial experience. Although certain process skills were viewed as important to the success of both former judges and nonjudges, in general, process skills were significantly more important for nonjudges than for former judges. The capacity to provide useful case evaluations, on the other hand, was significantly more important for former judges than for nonjudges. The second study, based upon attorney responses to questions about unsatisfactory mediators, reinforced the conclusions of the first study regarding the importance of confidence-building attributes. For both judges and nonjudges, the mediator's inability to gain the confidence of the parties was a major reason for his or her lack of success.     

Cardiac Ventricular Laceration Due to Child Abuse: Abusive Ventricular Laceration

Traumatic cardiac ventricular ruptures in children are rare. Only a single case of left ventricular rupture due to child abuse has been reported. We report a child who sustained a fatal left ventricular apical rupture. It appeared to have resulted from hydrostatic forces resulting from abusive blunt thoracic injury. That he was being abused was previously missed when he was presented to the emergency department with facial pyoderma. It was not noted that he also had lip and oral mucosal injury, sites not affected by staph toxins. As a result, his underlying, abusive and secondarily infected, facial flow type scald burn was not appreciated. Within a week thereafter his fatal injury occurred, accompanied by extensive and obvious associated abusive injuries. Postmortem high‐detail whole body computed tomography scanning aided the autopsy. Although rare, ventricular rupture from abusive blunt thoracic injury can occur.     

Toward Better Outcomes for Families Through Innovative Dispute Resolution Programs in England

This article explores and shares the learning from two of Cafcass’ innovative dispute resolution pilot programs. The programs aim to improve outcomes for families against the backdrop of rising private law demand in England, while keeping the child at the center. The Positive co‐Parenting Programme pilot provides a structured intervention to reduce conflict and promote timely resolution for children and families in complex cases. The Support with Making Child Arrangements pilot explores whether the provision of a package of support to parents ahead of the first court hearing can help them come to safe agreements about their children without the need for court intervention.     

Political Violence: Switzerland,A Special Case?

When we speak of political violence during the second half of the twentieth century in Western Europe, we tend to think of events that took place in Germany, involving the Red Army Faction, and in Italy, with the Red Brigades. Such political violence does not apply in the case of Switzerland, which is perceived as a haven of peace, security, democracy, and economic affluence. However, cursory analysis of the contemporary press undermines this stereotypical vision: indeed, between 1968 and 1995 there were a number of violent acts of protest. Switzerland may not have experienced the phenomenon of organized armed struggle in the same way as Germany and Italy—in fact, the intensity of the violence was far from being the same—but political acts against the government did occur, acts involving either damage to property or, more rarely, injury to people. A rough typology identifies three different political tendencies: separatists and anti-separatists pertaining to Canton Jura, the far-Left, and the far-Right. The aim of this article is to pinpoint and analyze the different features of the violent repertoire that unfolded in Switzerland between 1968 and 1995.