<i>e</i>valuate-Med: Prototype Web-based Mediator Assessment System for Role-Plays

Abstract

Over the decade, mediation has rapidly become a popular method to deal with disputes. It is now widely used by companies and organizations all over the world. As a result, a great number of mediation training programs have been set up to promote and educate the use and skills of mediation. Generally speaking, a typical training program would consist of the following four basic components: (1) lecture, (2) group discussion, (3) mediation simulations, and (4) role-plays. Out of the four, the use of role-plays to simulate real-life mediations are well-received by both trainers and trainees. Not only does it form an integral part of any effective mediation training program, but it also helps achieve the objectives of training programs through assessment of the role-play performance. Through assessment of role-play performance, it is possible to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses, so as to improve the quality of ongoing trainings. As a response to the request of a more systematic approach to improve the assessment of role-plays, this paper describes a Web-based mediator assessment system (