Mediation as an alternative to criminal prosecution

In several American communities, paraprofessional mediation has become a substitute for criminal prosecution when defendant and victim have been engaged in a prior relationship. This article describes such a mediation project and its training program. It present a detailed account of two actual mediation sessions. An analysis of these sessions highlights some of the problems in mediating interpersonal disputes, particularly questions about underlying cause and the effects of different perceptions about the role of conflict in human interaction. The article also suggests a series of hypotheses to be investigated in further research on mediation.The research on which this paper is based was partially supported by grant No. 77-NI-99-0019 from the National Institute for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. The views expressed are those of the authors only. We appreciate the cooperation received from George Nicolau and Ann Weisbrod of the Institute for Mediation and Conflict Resolution and from the staff of the Fosterton mediation project.     

Utility of the Revised Level of Service Inventory (LSI-R) in Predicting Recidivism After Long-Term Incarceration

Assessing an inmate’s risk for recidivism may become more challenging as the length of incarceration increases. Although the population of Long-Term Inmates (LTIs) is burgeoning, no risk assessment tools have been specifically validated for this group. Based on a sample of 1,144 inmates released in a state without parole, we examine the utility of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) in assessing risk of general and violent felony recidivism for LTIs (n = 555). Results indicate that (a) the LSI-R moderately predicts general, but not necessarily violent, recidivism, and (b) this predictive utility is not moderated by LTI status, and is based in part on ostensibly dynamic risk factors. Implications for informing parole decision-making and risk management for LTIs are discussed.

Downtown malls and the city agenda

He is the author or editor of eight books and more than 50 articles on housing and city development. He has served as Chairman of the Faculty at M.I.T. and as director of the M.I.T.-Harvard Joint Center for Urban Studies. His most recent book, written with Lynne Sagalyn, is Downtown, Inc.: How America Rebuilds Cities,from which this article is extracted.     

Measuring the Long-Term Impact of a Community Conflict Resolution Process: A Case Study Using Content Analysis of Public Documents

Negotiation Journal - What are the enduring effects of community-based conflict resolution processes? According to the research reported here, lessons participants learn in conflict resolution...     

Industrial Policy and the States

The emergence of industrial policy proposals on the nationalscene raises the prospect of a greater role for the states inAmerican economic policy. Four types of industrial policy proposalsare described, each representing a distinctive strategic orientation.After describing the implied role of states in each type, weargue that state involvement is politically necessary if anyproposal is to succeed in the national policymaking arena. Weassess the four strategic proposals in light of that contentionand conclude that two of the approaches—infrastructureinvestment and subnational jurisdiction proposals—havean advantage over the better known trade policy and sectoraltargeting strategies.     

Socialist Intergovernmental Policy During the Mitterrand Era

Many observers of French politics see intergovernmental decentralizationas President Mitterrand's most impressive domestic policy accomplishment.This article assesses the current state of affairs in the Frenchintergovernmental system by focusing on how Socialist reformshave altered relations among levels since the early 1980s. Itexamines the Mitterrand government's most recent effort to addressremaining nettlesome issues in a system that is, ten years afterthe first legislation, still very much influx. Using evolutionin intergovernmental finances as an indicator of changing center/peripheryrelations, this study reveals both fundamental transformationsand significant continuity in the French system.