10.2190/WQ6X-EFJW-HK0A-RQ9Y WQ6XEFJWHK0ARQ9Y 0 MEDIATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: TOWARD A PARADIGM OF NEGOTIATIONS AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=WQ6XEFJWHK0ARQ9Y 1 DAVID A. DILTS, AHMAD KARIM, AND ALI RASSULI Mediation is the most widely used dispute resolution technique in public sector impasses. To fully understand mediation it must be analyzed within the environment in which it occurs. Therefore, this article presents a unified model of mediation and identifies its role in collective bargaining and dispute resolution. The conclusions of this study are that mediation is an adjunct to collective bargaining and is effective only by modifying the parties' attitudes and bargaining behaviors, but only within environmental constraints.