Economics professor David K. Levine defines game theory this way:

What economists call game theory psychologists call the theory of social situations, which is an accurate description of what game theory is about. Although game theory is relevant to parlor games such as poker or bridge, most research in game theory focuses on how groups of people interact.

Of particular interest to conflict resolution professionals and scholars is the use of game theory to shed light on the way people behave when they negotiate or resolve disputes. (One of my favorite examples of this is the recent game theory analysis of the toilet seat problem.)

If you’re a game theory enthusiast, you’ll enjoy reading Game Theory Tuesdays, a weekly column by economics consultant and self-proclaimed math nerd Presh Talwalkar at Mind Your Decisions, a blog about personal finance, decision-making, negotiation, and, yes, game theory.

This week’s column has ideas on how to get someone to cooperate. Presh is an engaging writer with a great capacity for honest self-reflection and a talent for bringing game theory to life with real-world anecdotes. You definitely don’t have to be a math nerd to enjoy Game Theory Tuesdays.

As I reported back in 2006, a group of mediators in Massachusetts, designating itself the MassUMA Working Group, has been meeting to discuss the adoption of the Uniform Mediation Act (”UMA”) by the Commonwealth.

The UMA speaks to the relationship of mediation to the courts, and addresses mediation confidentiality and evidentiary privilege, together with exceptions to privilege.

In an effort to encourage public input and participation in discussions concerning the UMA and its impact on mediators, lawyers, and others, the MassUMA Working Group has turned to digital technology and the internet, launching the MassUMA Blog at www.massumablog.com.

One of the Working Group’s subcommittees, which has been meeting to explore the definition of mediator and mediator training, has just posted its findings regarding the current Massachusetts mediation confidentiality statute and the UMA, and is asking for public comment on its recommendations regarding how the UMA, if adopted in Massachusetts, should define “mediator”.

How “mediator” is defined is a matter of great consequence. Under current Massachusetts law, M.G.L. ch. 233, § 23C, a mediator is defined as “a person not a party to a dispute who enters into a written agreement with the parties to assist them in resolving their disputes and has completed at least thirty hours of training in mediation and who either has four years of professional experience as a mediator or is accountable to a dispute resolution organization which has been in existence for at least three years or one who has been appointed to mediate by a judicial or governmental body”.

This means that in Massachusetts mediation communications are privileged only if the mediator meets the prescribed conditions. The UMA on the other hand defines a mediator simply as “an individual who conducts a mediation”, providing greater reassurance to parties valuing the candor and confidence mediation promises that mediation communications will remain out of evidentiary reach.

The MassUMA subcommittee, however, has other plans. If the UMA is adopted in Massachusetts, what the MassUMA subcommittee proposes is

preserving the essence of MGL Ch. 233, § 23(c) with respect to mediator definition, training, professional experience and accountability, with the addition of clarifying language.

For more information about the implications of the recommendations of the Mediator Training and Definition Subcommittee for mediation practice in the Commonwealth, and a discussion of why in my view those recommendations are misguided, please read “In weighing the Uniform Mediation Act, Massachusetts mediators may be poised to repeat mistakes of the past“, published both here and at Mediate.com.

To weigh in, visit the MassUMA Blog and add your views.

It’s been such a busy month that my third anniversary of blogging, January 10, 2008, passed unnoticed. I completely forgot until now.

That is partly due to the attention that my blog’s move to a new home required, as well as the demands of work. And among the tasks involved in that move was the slow sorting-through and creation of categories for over 650 posts, the product of 36 months of blogging.

Among my archives I discovered several posts that reminded me why I continue to blog — some thoughts I’d like to share with you as I look back on three years.

Blogging of course is an effective marketing tool, one reason why many businesses and entrepreneurs are drawn to it, as my friend and fellow New Englander, Tammy Lenski, reminds readers today in asking an important question, “Is blogging a good mediation marketing strategy?”

Blogs are also tools for gathering and disseminating knowledge and information. In a post from June 2005, “Five reasons why ADR professionals should be blogging“, I argued that blogging may make you smarter:

Successful blogging requires research. So bloggers surf the web, cruising for news. We’re Internet blood-hounds, tracking down the elusive scent of stories that will pique the curiosity of our readers. That constant prowling alerts us to stories, trends, breaking news in our field—and even in fields that have nothing whatsoever to do with our blog’s focus, which, I would argue, makes us well-rounded individuals.

But blogging by nature is designed to connect not just ideas but people — for me blogging’s greatest appeal. As I wrote in November 2006, “Get the connection: building your network through blogs“:

Although I have made many contacts the old-fashioned way—through personal introductions, conference attendance, and committee work–nothing has connected me to the world around me faster or more dramatically than blogging has succeeded in doing.

Blogs bring people together like no conference or convention can. It allows for conversation in a multitude of ways.

Here’s one: Publish a post and instantly the whole world hears your message. But this is no one-way conversation–because most blogs permit reader comments, the world can talk back.

Here’s another: Another blogger reads your post. Intrigued by the viewpoint or links you shared, he or she riffs on what you’ve written and links back to you, amplifying the conversation. Suddenly your voice is joined by someone else’s. Other bloggers chime in and the chorus of voices grows.

Here’s another: Someone discovers your blog. One of your posts has sparked their imagination or triggered questions. They email you to tell you. Or they email you a link to an article they think you’d find interesting. Or they email you just to say hello.

With a little encouragement, these conversations can ultimately give rise to meaningful connections–to collegiality, to inspiration, to collaboration. These connections, as I have happily discovered, can produce discoveries, insights, and, most rewardingly, friendships.

Contrary to popular belief, blogging is not a solitary activity. It is joyfully, boldly public.

You can shout into the canyon and hear your own voice echo back.

But wait and shout again, and you will hear other voices rise in greeting.

That, more than any other reason, is why blogging remains such an essential part of my professional life. It is the collegiality, the friendships that have sprung up across geographic distances. It is the pleasure of mutual discovery, of interests shared. It is the sparks struck and the ideas that ignite when viewpoints collide.

Here on the web, what matters most: Only connect.

Thanks to all of you for sharing some or all of those three years with me.  I’m glad you were here.

You must have noticed it.

That odd silence that fell over this corner of the blogosphere, where the mediators hang out.

Yes, some of us were still posting. But something was different. The rhythm was off somehow. You could sense it.

But now, following a month-long hiatus from blogging, he’s back, and with him all the energy and spark and light that filled this end of cyberspace.

And I’ll stop right there, because I know I’m probably embarrassing hell out of him.

Geoff Sharp has returned with this lovely tribute to Edmund Hillary and the achingly beautiful place Geoff calls home.

Road trip to New Zealand, anyone?

Fellow mediation blogger Victoria Pynchon and I are both really excited to learn that leading dispute resolution scholar Carrie Menkel-Meadow is a guest blogger this month at Concurring Opinions (covering “the Law, the Universe, and Everything”).

Readers of this blog will no doubt recall this post linking to a recent article by Professor Menkel-Meadow, which raised an important and timely question for the ADR field — “Why Hasn’t the World Gotten to Yes? An Appreciation and Some Reflections” (downloadable in PDF).

Visit Concurring Opinions to learn more about Professor Menkel-Meadow and her contributions to both ADR scholarship and the practice of mediaton.

A new mediation blog has moved into the neighborhood. mediatorinthemaking.com covers “adventures in learning the practice of mediation”.

Published by an anonymous blogger, identified only as “a newly trained mediator seeking experience wherever I can find it, learning quite a lot as I put my new skills into practice”, this days-old blog already shows promise with “The future’s so bright“, a post that announces the release of U.S. News & World Report’s listing of best careers for 2008 — and the fact that “mediator” makes the list for the first time.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should tell you that I have the pleasure of knowing the anonymous blogger behind mediatorinthemaking.com. Although like a good mediator, I will keep that information to myself, without giving anything away I can tell you that this individual is bright, talented, and promising to be one of the mediation field’s success stories.

It’s therefore my pleasure to send my best wishes and congratulations to the anonymous author of mediatorinthemaking.com. I hope you’ll do the same.

(Photo credit: Afonso Lima.)

Year’s end is a time for looking forward and also for looking back, as we take stock of where we’ve been, while we consider the journey ahead of us.

As part of that annual tradition, I’ve pulled together the posts from 2007 that have been the most frequently visited, the ones that drew the most comments and emails, or that are simply my favorites.

I hope you enjoy them.

From January:

“Is your negotiating style leaving value on the table?”

“Mediator certification and credentialing: getting accurate information on becoming a mediator”

“Bridging the divide between lawyers and mediators” - a three-part series

From February:

“Sunshine is the best disinfectant: Bob Sutton’s “The No Asshole Rule” gets an age-old workplace problem out into the open”

Blawg Review #94 - The Getting to Yes Edition

From March:

“What’s so funny ’bout peace, love and understanding? Thoughts on why we’re not getting to yes”

“Since when is changing your mind a bad thing?”

“Seeing ourselves as others see us: the art of feedback”

From April:

“Why I will not be observing One Day Blog Silence”

“Chicken peacekeepers mediate bunny turf war”

“Are mediators hindering a civil right to counsel? One scholar says yes”

From May:

“In This Case: blog allows people to tell their personal stories about the law”

“Does ADR deliver justice?”

From June:

“Premature negotiation: how to get rid of performance anxiety at the mediation table”

“The ups and downs of conflict: a game theory analysis of the toilet seat issue”

From July:

“Nothing but the truth: Radical Honesty movement proposes a world without deception”

From August:

“Won’t get fooled again: negotiating with liars”

“Mediator nominated for Congressional Order of Merit by National Republican Congressional Committee”

“Requiem for a friend”

From September:

“Art education may help prepare future lawyers (and mediators)”

“Free stuff online to help ADR professionals run their businesses”

From October:

Blawg Review #130 - the Double Hemisphere Edition co-hosted with fellow mediator Geoff Sharp

“(In)justice for all: the case against arbitration clauses in consumer contracts”

“Apologies can improve the health of hospital-patient relations”

From November:

“In weighing the Uniform Mediation Act, Massachusetts mediators may be poised to repeat mistakes of the past”

“How to turn a simple misunderstanding into all-out war: a mediator’s advice”

From December:

“In celebration of the ADR blogosphere: blogging transforms how we talk about dispute resolution”

“Out of the mouths of babes: a child’s guide to the law”

“Optical illusions as a training tool for mastering negotiation and conflict resolution skills”

A happy 2008 to all of you! And thanks as always for stopping by to visit.

Incidentally, in just a few days, in time for my third anniversary of blogging, big changes are coming to this blog. I’m pulling up stakes here at Blogger.com — Online Guide to Mediation will get both a new home (currently under construction) and a new name — plus an easier-to-remember domain name, too.

Plus I’ll be welcoming in the new year with a special series: on each of the first seven days of January, I’ll be posting “New Year (Dispute) Resolutions”.

Stay tuned!

Change is good.

And change is coming to the World Directory of ADR Blogs, my online project tracking and cataloging blogs worldwide on mediation, negotiation, ADR, conflict resolution, negotiation, and people-focused innovations in the law.

Beginning on the first of the year, the World Directory of ADR Blogs will itself become a blog, with its own RSS feed so that visitors can subscribe easily for news and updates. This will make it easier for me to maintain and update the site as well. The site may be inaccessible during the conversion, which will be complete by January 1.

In the meantime, please check out the World Directory’s latest acquisitions:

The Conflict Resolution Toolbox
Cool tools and fun sundries from professional mediator and conflict resolution coach Tammy Lenski.

A Mediator’s Calling
An informal exploration of the process of becoming a mediator, consisting of one individual’s reflections on a variety of topics pertaining to the art of mediation, with some practical advice. Published by Toronto mediator Ken Bole.

Singapore Law Blog
This blawg provides its readers with news, comments and insight on legal matters in Singapore, including arbitration and dispute resolution.

Chinese Negotiation - Negotiating in China
Chinese Negotiation is a tool to assist international investors and managers enter the China market. Published by Andrew Hupert, a consultant based in Shanghai who has been working with the Greater China market since 1991. He specializes in helping new China entrants with sales management, marketing and negotiation.

Communication and Conflict Blog
The Communication and Conflict Blog discusses insights from the practice of mediation, including principles for effective communication based on the underlying philosophies of mediation. Author Alan Sharland shares observations and updates on communication and conflict in daily life.

In less than a month I’ll be celebrating Online Guide to Mediation’s third anniversary. Looking back, I marvel at how radically things have changed since my early days of blogging.

With all things web-related, change occurs rapidly and time accelerates. Last year is ancient history and yesterday is old news. Those three years have witnessed some radical change.

When I launched OGM, it was mighty lonely out here for anyone blogging about mediation or ADR. Although there were a handful of early adopters like Colin Rule, Bill Warters, Perry Itkin, and Tammy Lenski, blogging about mediation remained a solitary business. In comparison with the brawling and boisterous legal blogosphere, ADR blogging was awfully quiet then. There were just too few of us to make much noise.

Fast forward three years and now look at us. According to the latest head count, there are almost 120 of us, located all over the world in 22 countries, as you can see at the World Directory of ADR Blogs. And we cover the ADR spectrum — arbitration blogs, mediation blogs, negotiation blogs, and more.

The digital world of ADR blogging pulses with light and sound. That buzz you hear is ADR bloggers using their sites to invite debate about issues important to our field — subjects that range from ethical duties to the role of spirituality in dispute resolution to money offers at the mediation table to the laws that affect our work.

We’re not only using blogs to get our message out, but we’ve also turned to podcasts and videoblogging, as Negotiating Tip of the Week and the Mediation vBlog Project prove.

Although our numbers remain too small to, say, merit a cover story in a major publication for a professional association as legal blogs have done, we have been fortunate to have earned the support of the world’s premier online resource on dispute resolution, Mediate.com, which created a special section on its site to highlight selected posts from its Featured Blogs.

To give you a sense of the diversity of ADR blogging, in terms of subject matter and geography, consider these exemplars of the craft (and these are only the English-language ones):

Idealawg and Brains on Purpose. Published by Colorado-based attorney and mediator Stephanie West Allen, Idealawg unleashes the creative potential and artistry in the craft of law, while Brains on Purpose reflects its author’s fascination with neuroscience as a tool for resolving and transforming conflict.

Mediator Blah…Blah… The creation of Wellington, New Zealand, mediator and barrister Geoffrey Sharp, this blog delivers wit, wisdom, and no-holds-barred truths straight from the mediation table, with plenty of comic relief when the going gets tough.

ICT4Peace. Published from Sri Lanka by innovative thinker Sanjana Hattotuwo, this bleeding-edge blog explores the use of information and communications technology for conflict transformation.

Florida Arbitration Law.com, a group endeavor, is a blog that focuses on law regarding the enforcement of arbitration and issues of vacating, confirming or correcting awards, primarily affecting Florida.

Indisputably.org, published by four prominent American ADR professors, provides a scholarly perspective on mediation, arbitration, dispute resolution, and negotiation.

Gini Nelson’s Engaging Conflicts, based in New Mexico, discusses science, ethics, and spirit in a high conflict practice. It regularly features conversations with dispute resolution practitioners and provides thoughtful discussion of the rewards and challenges that our work produces.

CKA Mediation and Arbitration Blog is published by Georgia mediator and lawyer Chris “Tell Us What You Really Think” Annunziata. Chris pulls no punches as he tackles the issues that mediators face or that bedevil the legal profession (and don’t get him started on ridiculous lawsuits). Don’t be surprised to see sacred cows dispatched along the way — with style and humor.

Settle It Now Negotiation Blog. Commercial mediator Victoria Pynchon dispenses her best advice on negotiation and dispute resolution, with insights into the psychology of negotiating, particularly cognitive errors and the risks they pose for dealmakers. Vickie’s talent for writing is evident in her well-crafted posts, written with honesty and good common sense.

The Ombuds Blog, published by university ombuds Tom Kosakowski in California, is a dependable source for news and information for and about organizational ombuds.

Tammy Lenski’s Mediator Tech. This Vermont-based blog offers “tips and tech for making mediation your day job”. Tammy is skilled at demystifying technology and taking the fear out of marketing for mediators intimidated by both. Tammy made ADR blog history when she launched her first-of-its kind blog-to-book project, “Making Mediation Your Day Job“.

And still more sites worth visiting include:

PGP Mediation Blog, published by California attorney and Mediator Phyllis Pollack, stands out for its consistently thoughtful posts on mediation practice.

Campus ADR Tech Tools, hands-down the best resource on the web for online tools, games, materials, and downloads for conflict resolution practitioners, students, and teachers.

Mediation Mensch, created by entrepreneur and ADR professional Dina Beach Lynch, is the world’s first mediation marketing blog.

National Arbitration Forum Blog, which recently celebrated its third anniversary, lives up to its name and provides news across the nation on arbitration and ADR.

* * * * * *

In the ADR blogosphere today, ideas develop, mutate, and spread, transmitted virally through the medium of the web. The conversation grows, amplified as one blogger after another joins in. Limited no longer by physical geography, we can reach across the world and connect to each other.

The spirit of the community of ADR bloggers is summed up best in a quote that captures the ethos of blogging. Although it was written to evoke the spirit of a very different community of bloggers, it applies to the many bloggers I admire who write so honestly, so compellingly, about ADR:

We help each other. Many of us are stars but we like to pass the ball and create opportunities for others. Points don’t matter. Assists do.

That’s what it’s all about. It’s that simple. Creating opportunities for others. Helping each other. It’s what we’re doing out here, as we try ideas on for size and do our thinking out loud together — in the best spirit of the collaborative nature of our work.

We’d love it if you joined us. In the frontier that is the web, there’s plenty of room for all.

Come join the conversation.

No sooner had the virtual ink dried on my post about a new ADR health care blog than I received a delightful message about a new dispute resolution podcast — this one with a distinctly international flavor.

International Dispute Negotiation, presented by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR), explores ways professionals from different countries and backgrounds approach dispute resolution. The podcast is intended to help listeners understand the risks of disputes and shed insight on optimal ways of accepting, mitigating, and managing those risks in the real world, whether through mediation, arbitration, or litigation that arises far from home.

International Dispute Negotiation is hosted by Michael McIlwrath, Senior Counsel, Litigation for GE Infrastructure - Oil & Gas. Michael is based at his company’s headquarters in Florence, Italy, and is a long-time member of the CPR Institute and its European Advisory Committee.

Michael tells me that the podcasts are mainly recorded when he’s on the road in different countries, the editing is done in Florence, and the feed is through CPR’s website in New York.

This podcast is the latest addition to the World Directory of ADR Blogs, which tracks and catalogues blogs covering dispute resolution and negotiation. If you publish or know of a blog that should be added to the World Directory, please let me know. It’s a commercial-free site, and there is no cost to be listed. The Directory has information on submitting your blog and some simple submission guidelines.

Congratulations, Michael, and best wishes on the launch of this superb audioblog.

Earlier this week Vickie Pynchon at Settle It Now Negotiation Blog heralded the arrival of a new ADR blog with a special focus: health care.

The Healthcare Neutral ADR Blog is the creation of attorney and neutral Richard J. Webb, who brings more than 25 years of experience in the health care field to the mediation table — and to his blog’s subscribers. Richard has this to say about both the business he founded and the unique focus of his brand-new blog:

Healthcare Neutral, LLC provides alternative dispute resolution (or “ADR”) services exclusively for the healthcare industry. Richard J. Webb established this firm to address a growing, unmet need in the healthcare field for efficient and effective alternatives to the traditional litigation process. In this blogsite, you will learn about ADR, and how ADR can be used within the healthcare industry. You also will be introduced to useful links and topical discussions to help you better utilize ADR in your healthcare business.

I’d like to welcome Richard to the growing community of dispute resolution bloggers. Congratulations on what promises to be a great addition to the ADR blogosphere.

A new blog has joined the impressive and continuously growing stable of blogs at the Law Professors Blogs Network: Indisputably, which will focus on negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and dispute resolution.

Written by four eminent ADR scholars, Andrea Schneider, Nancy Welsh, Michael Moffitt, and Sarah Rudolph Cole, Indisputably offers its readers what is at once challenge and invitation:

The four of us differ in our backgrounds and ADR focus, and we hope to showcase those differences with running commentary on the latest work in arbitration, mediation, negotiation, and other dispute resolution processes. At the same time, we are similar in our desire to engage in dialogue that is both scholarly and practical, to dig into the empirical work that is relevant to ADR, and to reflect on the reality of ADR in action, for better and for worse. We will be posting on a regular basis, and we hope that you will add to the richness of this blog by sharing your reactions and comments. Point us to great articles, interesting cases or programs, new reseach, or even something funny. We also expect this blog to serve as a home for the numerous other resources available in ADR. The links we provide will highlight law school programs, conferences, research sites, and teaching resources available through many other productive colleagues. And so, we look forward to the adventure of blogging and invite you to join us on this journey.

Please stop by this newest member of the ADR blogosphere and join me in welcoming them. Congratulations to Indisputably’s team of blogging scholars, and best of luck in the launch of what promises to be a stimulating addition to the growing conversation about dispute resolution here on the web.

The World Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs, which tracks and catalogues dispute resolution and negotiation blogs around the globe, has added three new sites to its inventory, which now lists 112 blogs from 22 countries:

eMediacion by AcuerdoJusto®. This blog is published by AcuerdoJusto, an interdisciplinary, international team of professionals based in Argentina, Spain, and Chile who share a common interest–to facilitate the resolution of disputes. It will focus on providing conflict resolution content, aimed at the Spanish-speaking public, with the goal of promoting social awareness of the benefits of conflict resolution.

Medierea. This Romanian weblog and online discussion forum provides news and information about the benefits of mediation as an effective alternative to resolving disputes. It is the first Romanian language blog to be added to the World Directory.

Indisputably. A member of the Law Professors Blog Network, Indisputably, a team blog published by four ADR scholars, focuses on negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and dispute resolution. It aims to engage in dialogue that looks at ADR from scholarly and practical perspectives.

If you publish or know of a blog that should be added to the World Directory, please let me know. It’s a commercial-free site, and there is no cost to be listed. The Directory has information on submitting your blog and some simple submission guidelines.

The World Directory of Alternative Dispute Resolution Blogs added a negotiation podcast this week to its growing catalogue.

PONcast is produced by the Harvard Program on Negotiation. Posts include “First You Have to Ask“, on the impact of gender on negotiation.

Do you publish a blog on negotiation or dispute resolution? Let me know, and I’ll add it to the World Directory of ADR Blogs. (Please review these painless submission guidelines first.)

A persistent myth about the internet is that it is dominated largely by male voices.

In truth the internet echoes as well with the voices of women–strong voices worth listening to. These voices are being collected now in the steadily growing W Magical List of Women Bloggers which celebrates women who blog.

I was delighted to see familiar names of women who not only blog but who also mediate. They include Stephanie West Allen, Tammy Lenski, Victoria Pynchon, Kristina Haymes, and Dina Beach Lynch. I feel very honored that Online Guide to Mediation made the list as well.

Some names I’d like to see added are Diana Skaggs, Gini Nelson and Monica Bay. And I was going to also suggest the inclusion of Carolyn Elefant, a role model for many of us, but I see that someone beat me to it and her name is already listed.

What women bloggers inspire you?