In a world where academic work and professional practice are becoming ever more specialized, Negotiation Journal has remained cheerfully and steadfastly cross‐disciplinary. Our readers welcome the opportunity to look to other fields for stimulating ideas and innovative practices.
We also look across national boundaries: consider the geographic breadth represented by the authors in this issue, who work in Finland, France, Israel, and Japan, as well as the United States, of course. Consider, too, that the domains they illuminate range from business transactions to land‐use conflicts to police negotiations with a would‐be bomber. We also have two pieces on the artful use of computer technology in teaching negotiation.
For all the substantive differences, however, readers will not have to look hard to recognize several recurring themes, among them the importance and challenge of effective communication. That topic is explicit in the subtitle of Terry Royce's case study, “The Negotiator and the Bomber: Analyzing the Critical Role of Active Listening in Crisis Negotiations.” It is front‐and‐center in Ifat Moaz's research report, “Evaluating the Communication between Groups in Dispute: Equality in Contact Interventions between Jews and Arabs in Israel.”
Cross‐cultural comparisons are likewise invited by Hephzibah Levine's case analysis, “Mediating the War of Olives and Pines,” and Taina Vuorela's “Laughing Matters,” a study involving British, Finnish, and Irish business negotiators. In this day and age, context also can be virtual, both in and out of the classroom. The two notes by Joshua Weiss and Laurence de Carlo should be of interest to teachers and to practitioners who increasingly negotiate and teach in electronic environments.
We also welcome back an important feature of the Journal, our book reviews and notes. An avalanche of articles bumped this kind of material out of recent issues. We know our readers like to be alerted to practical and provocative new books, so we pledge to give them more attention in the months ahead. David Matz's thoughtful review of Beyond Neutrality gets us off to an excellent start.
I close with a note of thanks to Shannon Quinn who served us so capably as managing editor for 2004. She saw us through an important transitional year in which we forged an exciting partnership with Blackwell Publishing and helped the Journal grow in length by more than twenty‐five percent — the equivalent of an entire issue. We knew from the outset that Shannon was in line for a posting from the U.S. State Department, and we were fortunate that she could be with us for as long as she was.
We are fortunate to have found a talented and energetic successor in Nancy Waters. Nancy has extensive experience in publishing, notably in linking academic research to real‐world problems. She put the finishing touches on the previous issue and has smoothly shepherded this one, the first of the 2005 editions, into your hands. We know that our contributors will enjoy and benefit from working with her.
