Issue 1. First half 2008

As society becomes increasingly complex, globalized and unstable, conflict resolution professionals must develop procedures and methodologies that adapt to this new situation. On line mediation (and other web-based conflict resolution procedures) is a process that uses new information technologies (especially the Internet) to help resolve disputes arising in both the real and the virtual world. The paper outlines the principles and applicability of this new professional practice within the field of conflict resolution.

The present article compares two minor offender mediation programs. The first one is the Madrid program, within the Juvenile Justice context; the other one within is the Restorative Justice program, in Oregon (USA), inside a community service context. A preliminary analysis first examines the restorative justice programs in general, in relation to the possibilities of intervention with minor offenders. Secondly, both programs are contextualized to compare the differences and the similarities in the intervention. Another important aspect to note are the evaluations conducted of these kind of programs, which point out their efficacy. Finally, in the last section of the text, thoughts about the future of these mediation programs are discussed.

Mediation based on a peer support model is one of the resources more widely used these days in violence prevention programmes. On the basis of a previous analysis of school violence, this article is a reflection upon mediation as a prevention tool from a global point of view, and it underlines the contributions of this strategy at a school level and family-school cooperation level. Also, the possibilities and constraints of this approach are analysed.

It is important the practice of apologizing for personal relationships in an environment of positive coexistence. As it happens in any social practice, we have learned to apologize, but that learning is not going farther than being just a parody of a real apology. In this article we reflect about the sincere apology, and how it gives us the possibility of a positive change when it is done in an assertive way. Apologizing, that communicative current which dances between two speakers, also assumes its acceptation or its rejection. This way that goes and comes between the person who presents it and the person who receives it, also contributes to an effective dialogue; so, therefore, it is useful for a conflict negotiation.