Setting the Table for Mediation Success: Supporting Disputants to Arrive Prepared

Consider the following two scenarios. Tom Jones sued his neighbor over a dispute they had regarding the boundaries of their abutting properties. Within a week of filing the suit, he received notice that a mediation had been scheduled for their case. Three weeks later he arrived at the appointed place and time of the mediation where he found his neighbor, his neighbor\u27s attorney, and a mediator. After brief introductions, they were invited to take their seats and were provided a short overview of mediation, a process that was new and unfamiliar to Tom Jones. Two hours later, he left in frustration. In another case, a probate judge ordered two sisters, Rose and Anne, to mediate their dispute over an inheritance. During mediation, their conversations often became heated and the mediator struggled to assist them in productively addressing their differences. After provocation by Anne, Rose started to cry and left the room, the mediation ended without an agreement. These two scenarios share a common denominator, they demonstrate a lack of preparation. Tom lacked familiarity with the mediation process, while Rose and Anne had not been forewarned of the potentially jarring interactions sometimes endemic to mediation. These situations are commonplace. This article addresses parties\u27 mediation preparedness, or more precisely unpreparedness

Integrating intercultural communicative competence into the curriculum of a department of foreign languages: an exploratory case study

Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt die Initiative, interkulturelle Kommunikationskompetenz als festen Bestandteil in das Curriculum eines Institutes für Fremdsprachen zu integrieren. Zudem werden die neun relevanten Schritte, die während dieses Prozesses unternommen wurden, erläutert. Den auftretenden Herausforderungen, Niederlagen und Erfolgen wurde besondere Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet. Darüber hinaus präzisieren die Autoren die Erkenntnisse, die sie aus dem Projekt gewonnen haben, so dass sich andere Einrichtungen, wie z. B. Fremdsprachenabteilungen oder andere interessierte Institutionen, die hier gesammelten Erfahrungen zunutze machen können. Die Autoren schließen ihren Beitrag mit einer Ausführung über die Schwierigkeit des Projektes ab, beleuchten den derzeitigen Status und geben einen Ausblick auf zukünftige Pläne der Initiative.This article presents an ongoing initiative to integrate intercultural communicative competence into the curriculum of a department of foreign languages. This work identifies and describes the nine emergent steps that were taken as part of the process, giving special attention to the challenges, failures, and successes encountered by the group. In addition, the authors articulate five lessons learned from the project so that other departments, from foreign languages or other disciplines, may learn from the experiences described. The authors conclude with a general statement about the relative difficulty of the project, highlighting the current status and future plans for the initiative

Integrating Intercultural Communicative Competence into the curriculum of a department of Foreign Languages: An Exploratory Case Study

Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt die Initiative, interkulturelle Kommunikationskompetenz als festen Bestandteil in das Curriculum eines Institutes für Fremdsprachen zu integrieren. Zudem werden die neun relevanten Schritte, die während dieses Prozesses unternommen wurden, erläutert. Den auftretenden Herausforderungen, Niederlagen und Erfolgen wurde besondere Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet. Darüber hinaus präzisieren die Autoren die Erkenntnisse, die sie aus dem Projekt gewonnen haben, so dass sich andere Einrichtungen, wie z. B. Fremdsprachenabteilungen oder andere interessierte Institutionen, die hier gesammelten Erfahrungen zunutze machen können. Die Autoren schließen ihren Beitrag mit einer Ausführung über die Schwierigkeit des Projektes ab, beleuchten den derzeitigen Status und geben einen Ausblick auf zukünftige Pläne der Initiative.This article presents an ongoing initiative to integrate intercultural communicative competence into the curriculum of a department of foreign languages. This work identifies and describes the nine emergent steps that were taken as part of the process, giving special attention to the challenges, failures, and successes encountered by the group. In addition, the authors articulate five lessons learned from the project so that other departments, from foreign languages or other disciplines, may learn from the experiences described. The authors conclude with a general statement about the relative difficulty of the project, highlighting the current status and future plans for the initiative

The Black Box of Diversity in Sport Teams: Converging Factors and Theoretical Explorations

Cultural diversity is on the rise in professional sports teams. However, surprisingly few studies have been conducted on the consequences of cultural diversity on sports teams. Thus, this paper addresses negative and positive effects of cultural diversity on pro sports teams while referring the term “group diversity” to differences in cultural/ ethnic backgrounds. We address negative aspects such as prejudice and discrimination, and explain team fragmentation using ingroup–outgroup bias, social identity theory, scapegoat theory, and integrated threat theory. Furthermore, we apply theories that may explain positive effects of culturally diverse teams, such as cognitive resource diversity theory, the contact hypothesis, and the social categorization framework. This paper attempts to fill a gap in diversity research on professional teams by revealing its negative and positive effects and exploring the applicability of various diversity theories in a sports context. Furthermore, it may even help to develop strategies and techniques on how to assist diverse sports teams to build team cohesion and further advance their performance

Setting the Table for Mediation Success: Supporting Disputants to Arrive Prepared

Consider the following two scenarios. Tom Jones sued his neighbor over a dispute they had regarding the boundaries of their abutting properties. Within a week of filing the suit, he received notice that a mediation had been scheduled for their case. Three weeks later he arrived at the appointed place and time of the mediation where he found his neighbor, his neighbor\u27s attorney, and a mediator. After brief introductions, they were invited to take their seats and were provided a short overview of mediation, a process that was new and unfamiliar to Tom Jones. Two hours later, he left in frustration. In another case, a probate judge ordered two sisters, Rose and Anne, to mediate their dispute over an inheritance. During mediation, their conversations often became heated and the mediator struggled to assist them in productively addressing their differences. After provocation by Anne, Rose started to cry and left the room, the mediation ended without an agreement. These two scenarios share a common denominator, they demonstrate a lack of preparation. Tom lacked familiarity with the mediation process, while Rose and Anne had not been forewarned of the potentially jarring interactions sometimes endemic to mediation. These situations are commonplace. This article addresses parties\u27 mediation preparedness, or more precisely unpreparedness

Single-Dose St. Thomas Versus Custodiol® Cardioplegia for Right Mini-thoracotomy Mitral Valve Surgery

Objective Custodiol (R) and St. Thomas cardioplegia are widely employed in mini-thoracotomy mitral valve (MV) operations. One-dose of the former provides 3 h of myocardial protection. Conversely, St. Thomas solution is usually reinfused every 30 min and safety of single delivery is unknown. We aimed to compare single-shot St. Thomas versus Custodiol (R) cardioplegia.Methods Primary endpoint of the prospective observational study was cardiac troponin T level at different post-operative time-points. Propensity-weighted treatment served to adjust for confounding factors.Results Thirty-nine patients receiving St. Thomas were compared with 25 patients receiving Custodiol (R) cardioplegia; cross-clamping always exceeded 45 min. No differences were found in postoperative markers of myocardial injury. Ventricular fibrillation at the resumption of electric activity was more frequent following Custodiol (R) cardioplegia (P = .01).Conclusion Effective myocardial protection exceeding 1 h of ischemic arrest can be achieved with a single-dose St. Thomas cardioplegia in selected patients undergoing right mini-thoracotomy MV surgery

Screening Using Polymorphs for the Crystallization of Protein− Ligand Complexes

An efficient crystallization screening method is important in drug design to yield high resolution crystallographic structures of protein−ligand complexes to understand inhibitor selectivity and potency for various members of an enzyme family. The strategy starts with a single condition for each protein−ligand complex, and more trials encompassing all polymorph crystallization conditions are included later, eventually defaulting to a more extensive screening for difficult cases. The polymorph screening approach relies on an intrinsic positive feedback mechanism. New polymorphs are constantly discovered since certain ligands favor variant lattices. The new best diffracting polymorph is selected for single-conditions testing, ensuring that as more forms are discovered, the resolution of the structures obtained improves. Continual optimization of the conditions for all crystal forms yields new solutions that become increasingly effective in protein−ligand crystallization trials. More polymorphs imply more lattices suitable to accommodate ligands of greater diversity. Wider seeding opportunities combined with optimized enzyme-specific crystallization conditions improves the outcome and accelerates the screening process so that a conventional full-range crystallization screening is only rarely needed. Having tested this approach with a large repertoire of 100 ligands and 4 enzymes, we expect the method to perform equally well on similar drug-discovery projects

Minimally invasive valve surgery: pushing boundaries over the eighty

Background: Mean age of patients with valves diseases is significantly increasing, and, in the near future, cardiac surgeons will have to deal with a considerable number of patients aged more than 80 years. The remarkable results gained by the minimally invasive approach have encouraged its application in more complex and fragile patients, such as older people. This study aimed to identify the rate of early mortality and major complications, and independent predictors for mid-term mortality in octogenarians undergoing minimally invasive valve surgery. Methods: Octogenarian patients undergoing right mini-thoracotomy mitral and/or tricuspid valve surgery between 2006 and 2020 were included. Primary endpoint was to identify independent predictors for mid-term mortality, and secondary endpoints were operative morality, stroke, independent predictors for early composite outcome, and quality of life at follow-up. Results: Analysis was performed on 130 patients. Stroke occurred in one patient (0.8%), while operative mortality was 6% (eight patients). One-year and five-year survival were 86% and 64%, respectively. Logistic regression identified age and creatinine level as independent predictors of mid-term mortality, survival analysis showed that age ≥ 84 years and creatinine level ≥ 1.22 mg/dL were the cut-off points for worst prognosis. Female gender and hypertension were found to be independent predictors of early composite outcome. Conclusions: Results of the present study show that age alone should not be considered a contraindication for minimally invasive valve surgery. Identifying patients who are most likely to have survival and functional benefits after surgery is decisive to achieve optimal health outcomes and prevent futile procedures

Endo-Aortic vs. Trans-Thoracic Clamping in Right Mini-Thoracotomy Mitral Valve Surgery: Outcome on Myocardial Protection

Background: Perfusion strategies and aortic clamping techniques for right mini-thoracotomy mitral valve (MV) surgery have evolved over time and remarkable short- and long-term results have been reported. However, some concerns have raised about the adequacy of myocardial protection during the minimally invasive approach, particularly with the endo-aortic clamp (EAC). Aim of this study was to compare the efficacy, in terms of myocardial preservation, of the EAC with the trans-thoracic aortic clamp (TTC) in patients undergoing right mini-thoracotomy MV surgery. Methods: A single center, prospective observational study was performed on patients undergoing right mini-thoracotomy MV surgery with retrograde arterial perfusion and EAC or TTC. A propensity matched analysis was performed to compare the two groups. Primary outcome was the comparison between cardiac troponin T levels measured at different time-points after surgery. Results: Eighty EAC patients were compared with 37 TTC patients. No cases of myocardial infarction or low cardiac-output syndrome were overall reported. No differences were recorded in terms of stroke, peri-operative mortality, and in the release of myocardial markers, lactates levels and need for inotropic support at different time-points after surgery. CK-MB peak levels were significantly lower in the EAC group. Conclusion: Despite concerns arising about the EAC, this prospective study shows equivalence in terms of myocardial preservation of the EAC compared with the TTC in patients undergoing right mini-thoracotomy MV surgery