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Abstract:
Conflict resolution is about decision making. Because decision outcomes for conflicting parties depend, at least to some extent, on the decisions of other parties to the conflict, as well as a multitude of external circumstances and third party decision making, these decisions are always made under conditions of uncertainty or risk. Conflict management is about guiding this decision making in such a manner as to mitigate this risk to the greatest extent possible.

Expected utility and subjective expected utility have contributed to the development of a normative theory of decision making under uncertainty that is economically maximizing, with possible allowances for differently shaped utility curves. On the other hand, substantial empirical efforts have contributed descriptive theories of decision making under uncertainty that attempt to address departures from the purely rational model - departures that importantly often prove to be quite robust and predictable across a wide range of decision making contexts.

This Essay proposes an agenda for conflict management research that seeks to leverage both the rational expectation models and the behavioral theories describing predictable deviations from these models to arrive at prescriptions for conflict management practice that can build a bridge between theory and practice, offering practical techniques and concrete guidelines for improvement. Specific ways that these insights can contribute to the development of conflict management practice are considered.

Negotiator Rationality, Biases and Heuristics, Third Party Intervention

Abstract:
Cooperation has been vital to the evolution of all living things, including single-celled organisms (Velicer, 2005, 2003; Velicer and Stredwick, 2002; Crespi, 2001; Velicer et al., 2000; Boorman and Levitt, 1980), fish (Brosnan et al., 2003; Dugatkin, 1991, 1992, 1997; Milinski, 1987), birds (Brown and Brown, 1996; Faaborg et al., 1995), canines (Creel and Creel, 2002; Courchamp and Macdonald, 2001; Fentress and Ryon, 1986), felines (Caro, 1994; Packer and Pusey, 1982), non-human primates (Brosnan and de Waal, 2003; de Waal, 1996, 1982; Harcourt and de Waal, 1992; Chapais, 1992), and humans (Ostrom et al., 1999; Fehr and Fischbacher, 2003; Johnson et al., 2003).

Even so, the evolution of cooperative, prosocial behavior under circumstances in which individual interests are at odds with common interests, (circumstances characterized as social dilemmas (Gotts et al., 2003; Dawes and Messick, 2000)), remains a largely unsolved, multidisciplinary puzzle (Hammerstein, 2003). Approaches to these types of problems have, for the most part, been applications of evolutionary game theory (Gintis, 2000; Hofbauer and Sigmund, 1998; Maynard-Smith, 1982; Maynard-Smith and Price, 1973; Trivers, 1971; Hamilton, 1967; von Neumann and Morgenstern, 1944) and due to their importance as generalized models of many important socio-economic situations (Tomassini, 2006), iconic games such as the Prisoner’s Dilemma have been widely employed as metaphors (Doebeli and Hauert, 2005; Axelrod and Hamilton, 1981; Axelrod, 1984; Nowak and Sigmund, 1992, 2004; Nowak and May, 1992; Maynard-Smith, 1982; Sugden, 1986).

Abstract:
In this study, we join those that employ complex systems tools and network analysis methodologies to leave the artificiality of the two dimensional toroidal architecture behind in favor of network architectures offering a full range of degree and heterogeneity of degree, facilitating a more generalized study of the evolution of prosocial behavior. In what follows, we begin by formally specifying the models under study and providing a detailed description of the simulations. We then explain our results, focusing principally on the conclusion that heterogeneity of degree negatively influences the evolution of cooperation and that this effect is independent from other factors such as average degree.

Abstract:
This article sets out an easily duplicable, cost-effective way to empirically measure the impact of teaching innovations. It does so in the context of examining the impact of five required essay writing exercises which focused on teaching first-year law students to break a legal rule into its component parts and perform complex factual analysis within the applicable doctrinal framework. The article discusses the not-so-surprising empirical finding that practice essay exercises accompanied by generalized feedback improve first-year law student essay exam performance with regard to the skills that were the focus of the practice exercises. It also discusses a somewhat more surprising finding: students who received the most statistically significant benefit from the practice exercises were students with above-the-median LSAT scores and above-the-median UGPAs. The article explores potential reasons that the practice exercises did not have the same benefit for all students, including students' potentially different metacognitive skills and the impact of the in-class exam speededness factor. It proposes suggestions for improving the effectiveness of future in-class writing exercises and it suggests ideas for future studies. In sum, this article lays the groundwork for those interested in empirical exploration of the effectiveness of any given teaching methodology.

practice essays, empirical study, metacognition, law school exam performance, speededness

Abstract:
There is a small, but growing cadre of legal scholars who think that it would be worthwhile to consider the implications of networks, complex systems, and nonlinear dynamics to the future of the law. The breadth of current substantive applications is impressive, including jurisprudence, law and economics, torts, criminal law, environmental law, regulatory law, bankruptcy, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, administrative law, capital markets, telecommunications, legislative and judicial decision making, discrimination and equal opportunity, constitutional law, business law, land use law, intellectual property, and political theory - and this is surely not a complete list. In this Symposium edition of the Georgia State University Law Review, we are fortunate to have contributions from many of the pioneers in the application of complex systems and dynamical systems theory to the law.

Abstract:
A plaintiff who seeks redress for disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act must first show that he or she is "disabled" within the meaning of the statute. There is no question that all plaintiffs have experienced difficulty in making this showing as a result of several Supreme Court decisions narrowing the definition of "disability."Many scholars have argued that courts do not appreciate the social construction of disability and focus too much attention on medical diagnoses and functional limitations rather than the impact of societal attitudes and prejudices. Some scholars have gone further, however, to theorize that individuals alleging mental impairments face even greater challenges than physically-impaired litigants in this regard, in large part because of the persistent stigma attached to group members by many Americans, including judges. This Article represents one of the first attempts to ascertain empirically whether mentally-impaired litigants experiencing psychiatric disorders are disadvantaged vis-à-vis those with physical impairments in establishing membership in the protected class under the ADA.

Americans with Disabilities Act, disability, discrimination, mental illness, stigma

Abstract:
We are living in a moment of unprecedented complexity, when things are changing faster than our ability to comprehend them. This is a time of transition betwixt and between a period that seemed more stable and secure and a time when, many people hope, equilibrium will be restored. Awash in a sea of information that seems to have no meaning and bombarded by images and sounds transmitted by new media, many people have lost a sense of direction and purpose and long for security and stability. Stability, security, and equilibrium, however, can be deceptive, for they are but momentary eddies in an endlessly complex and turbulent flux. In the world that is emerging, the condition of complexity is as irreducible as it is inescapable. While the moment of complexity inevitably generates confusion and uncertainty, today's social, economic, political, and cultural transformations are also creating possibilities for apprehending ourselves in new ways. To understand our time, we must comprehend complexity, and to comprehend complexity, we must understand what makes this moment different from every other.

negotiation, complexity

Abstract:
The negotiation of even the most straightforward real-world contracts tends to be quite complex. A contract with only 25 distinct issues with two alternatives each presents the parties with more than 33 million possible contracts, far too many to be evaluated exhaustively within feasible time constraints. Furthermore, contract issues that exhibit high levels of interdependence result in highly nonlinear utility functions with the possibility of many local optima. This paper employs hybrid computational models, integrating both simulated annealing and tabu list optimization, to aid in the design of social heuristics and institutional mechanisms that may serve to improve the effectiveness of human negotiators.