Mediation has been growing very fast in the UK in recent years. From it's small beginnings it has become well-known as a more positive method of resolving conflict than the adversarial methods we have been accustomed to using. Mediation is now used to resolve neighbour disputes, help victims of crime and offenders communicate, prevent bullying in schools, sort out matters when couples divorce or separate, and resolve workplace and industrial disputes.
History and overview of mediation in the UK, Marian Liebmann; family mediation - working to support separated families, Marian Stevenson, Oxford Community Mediation; conflict management and peer mediation in primary schools, Elizabeth Lawrence, Consultant/Trainer, Glasgow; mediation in a south London secondary school, Mark Bitel, alternatives to violence project, London and Delia Rolls, Sacred Heart School, London; community mediation in an urban setting, Graham Waddington, Cardiff Mediation Service; the rural mediation service, Sue Bowers, Mediation Dorset; community mediation in the US - current developments, Deb Zondervan, Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan; victim/offender mediation in practice, Guy Masters, Lancaster University, and Alan Warner Roberts, Centre for Restorative Justice and Mediation, London; the ACAS approach to employment dispute resolution, Francis Noonan, ACAS Head Office, London; workplace mediation, Carl Reynolds, private practice, London; commercial alternative dispute resolution (ADR), Paul Newman, Edwards Geldard, Cardiff; medical mediation, Marion Wells, MEDIATION UK; the multicultural elder mediation project (EMP), Yvonne Craig, former social worker and counsellor; consensus building and environmental decision-making, Roger Sidaway, University of Edinburgh and Hally Ingram, Environmental Resolve; mediation in large-scale violence, Adam Curle.
Edited by Marion Liebmann, Mediation in Context is a comprehensive overview of mediation in all its forms. Opening with a clear introduction and history of mediation, the initial chapters manage to successfully summarise the last 20 years of practice, whilst also highlighting current debates regarding quality, accreditation and equal opportunities practice. Having laid the necessary foundations we are then presented with a series of 15 chapters each dealing with a specific type of mediation, from peer mediation in schools through to workplace mediation and all in between. Indeed unless your local branch of ufologists made face-to-face contact with Zorg and his comrades you can safely assume that your form of mediation is here. As each chapter is written by a lead practitioner in the field, the text presents a fascinating and highly informative snapshot of current mediation practice. This picture is supported by case studies, particularly useful in the chapters examining victim-offender and mediation in a South London secondary school. One of the successes of the book is the manner in which it manages to reflect the diversity of practice yet consistently grounds all approaches in a thorough and necessary understanding of conflict resolution. An understanding that has perhaps to date been occasionally left behind when extolling the virtues of mediation. One can only hope that Liebmann et al's ability to present practical, service-based reviews in Mediation in Context not only offers the foundations but sets the standards for future reference. A welcome and necessary addition to the comparitvely under researched field, Mediation in Context is as accessible to first timers as it is to old dispute resolution packhorses. Look, it even has full references, further reading details and subject and author indexes. What more do you want; professional recognition and guaranteed funding?
