B2 THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE SUNDAY • FEBRUARY 4, 2018

MEDIATE THIS ! THE SURF SHOP, THE WET FLOOR, AND THE MEDICAL BILLS BY STEVEN P. DINKIN unexpected bonus. everyone — including him — You and your husband will benefit if he accepts This week’s column of are sharing equally in the some responsibility. expert tips on resolving loss of money and vacation It’s a good bet he feels everyday conflicts focuses on time. He is willing to absorb remorseful about the wet a dispute about injuries the loss because he wants to floor. He may be dreading a suffered in an accident. protect something of greater confrontation and the loss of value to him, a close friend- a close friendship. But he Dear Mediator: ship. hasn’t had an opportunity to My husband and his But that relationship convey his perspective, at buddies meet for coffee every holds little value for you, least not to you. day at the surf shop owned especially now that his Mediators always counsel by his best friend. Last friend’s inattention to safety clients to give opposing month, while walking factors led to your husband’s parties the benefit of the through the store, my hus- injuries. doubt. You should assume band slipped on a wet floor, In such situations, a this shop owner wants to fell, and hurt himself badly resolution can be crafted make amends and restore enough for an ER visit and a with a transactional negotia- good will. week of missed work. This tion tool called “option iden- If you open up the lines of has cost us plenty in co-pays, tification.” If you look outside communication and hear deductibles and vacation your framework of limited him out, he might surprise time. I think his friend choices, you might identify GETTY IMAGES you with an apology and a should cover our losses, but something else that will This week’s query involves an accident that occurred at a surf shop, and a dis- peace offering (free surf gear, my husband says he “doesn’t compensate you personally. agreement between the affected husband and his wife over who should be liable anyone?). want to cause trouble.” What This type of reciprocal for the associated medical bills and financial losses. recourse do I have? deal-structuring (commonly Steven P. Dinkin is a professional Sidelined Wife in Pacific known as “horse trading”) a gift certificate. Then garage and more private you’ll ease the tensions that mediator who has served as Beach helps parties use ingenuity browse your imagination for time for exercising or read- hinder resolution. And the president of the San-Diego based and flexibility to break ways to redeem it for some- ing. party that makes the first National Conflict Resolution Center Dear Sidelined: through impasses. thing you want that was When you discuss this overture in a negotiation can since 2003. Your situation encom- When John F.Kennedy previously off the table but with your husband, open the gain bargaining leverage. passes two conflicts — a persuaded his wife to attend could now be within reach. conversation by expressing When your marital con- Do you have a conflict that real-time argument over a White House ceremony she Maybe there’s a trip empathy, which is a media- flict is settled, you will clear a needs a resolution? Share your marital assets and a poten- dreaded, his aides asked how you’ve longed to take or an tion staple. path for addressing the story with The Mediator via tial dispute about liability for he overcame her reluctance. item you’d like to purchase. If He has endured a painful liability conflict. email at damages. The marital con- “It cost me two symphonies,” money is tight, your wish list fall and a stalemate involving Even if your husband’s [email protected]. flict is more tangled, but as said the president. could include no-cost op- his wife and his friend. If you friend does not provide All submissions will be kept you’ll see, it could yield an Envision this standoff as tions like a cleaned-out acknowledge his quandary, financial compensation, anonymous.

NOTEBOOKS From Union-Tribune reporting staff

SCIENCE: BRADLEY J. FIKES THE READERS’ REPRESENTATIVE: ADRIAN VORE Blood test might detect Alzheimer’s A grab bag of items from readers Alzheimer’s disease might be detectable spinal taps are invasive and can be uncom- I’ve been collecting small items readers split. One reader vehemently opposed the at its earliest stages by a blood test, accord- fortable. A blood test would be less invasive. have flagged or ones I’ve noticed over the label when the offense has nothing to do ing to a study by Japanese researchers. The test examines blood plasma for beta past few weeks, so I thought I would present with person’s service. “It creates or perpet- If the study in Japanese and Australian amyloid fragments and a related protein them here as a sort of potpourri. uates an image of lawlessness or foolishness volunteers is confirmed, it would reduce the that is cleaved to make beta amyloid. In a by members of a military organization, cost and difficulty of detecting a toxic pro- study of 121 people in Japan and 252 in Aus- Headline goof when in fact it’s the action of an individual tein called beta amyloid in the brain. tralia, blood tests closely followed PET The Readers’ Rep received multiple alone,” the reader wrote. However, it might take years to get the scans and spinal taps in assessing how emails regarding a typo-style error that Another Marine vet disliked the term test ready for the public. More people need much beta amyloid was in the brain. made it past copy editors on Monday’s A3. “ex-Marine.” “Once a Marine, always a Mar- to be studied to determine if the findings are Both groups included cognitively nor- The one-column headline read: “U.S. takes ine,” she said. She had no problem bringing accurate enough, the researchers say. mal individuals, those with mild cognitive dominate role in oil production.” up the person’s past service, regardless. The study was published in the journal impairment and those with Alzheimer’s The readers were all asking basically Another reader said the label must be Nature. It can be found at j.mp/alzblood. disease. Participants were aged 60 to 90. how an error like that made it into print. relevant. Beta amyloid is a major factor in Alzhei- There is now no therapy proven to halt or No explanation. It should have been And another said to include it because it mer’s disease, where it has been found to slow down Alzheimer’s. Some drugs tempo- caught. offers some background information on the make neurons unhealthy and contribute to rarily alleviate symptoms, but don’t alter person. their eventual death. By detecting early the underlying course of the disease. Re- What kind of car? signs of its buildup, researchers hope to be- cent studies with potential Alzheimer’s An Associated Press article out of Bagh- A missing ‘who’ gin treatment early, before actual symp- drugs hint that those treated earliest in the dad last month raised a few queries. The David Morrison of Del Cerro expressed toms develop. disease may get some benefit. And new story reported on car enthusiasts in Iraq re- his frustration at an AP story that ran a cou- Beta amyloid can be detected by a PET drugs are entering clinical trials. storing older American cars and trucks. ple of weeks ago. “How do you print an arti- brain scan, or by analyzing cerebrospinal The article included two “Townson cars cle entitled ‘Baltimore Mayor Fires Police fluid obtained through a spinal tap. Howev- [email protected] from the mid-1960s” and a “1959 Townson.” Commissioner,’ without mentioning the er, PET scans cost thousands of dollars, and (619) 293-1020 It also noted a “1904 Jeep Levon.” name of the person who was fired?” Reader David Miller Jr. of Point Loma He’s right. That name should have been flagged two problems: “(The article) men- appeared in the story and up high. The HIGHER EDUCATION: JOHN WILKENS tioned a 1959 Townson. I had never heard of story originally included the person’s name, such a car, and sure enough when I checked but it was down far in the article. It appears online there was nothing listed. the name was mistakenly deleted when the Consumers ‘forget’ about those ethics “A 1904 Jeep was mentioned, but Jeeps story was being cut to fit the hole in print. did not exist until the early years of World The commissioner was Kevin Davis. A desk catches your eye, but it’s made The researchers believe consumers are War II.” with wood from an endangered rain forest. using memory as a coping mechanism to re- Indeed, I also came up empty in trying to More explanation, please What do you do? solve the conflict between one part of the locate a “Townson.” I also could not find on- Like many readers, I look for details in If you’re like many people, you’ll “forget” self that wants to do the ethical thing and line a Jeep “Levon.” However, I did find a ref- stories. They provide much more informa- the rain forest part and buy the table, ac- another part that wants to avoid unpleas- erence to a Jeep owned by a guy named tion and clarity than generalizations. For cording to a new paper co-authored by a ant information that interferes with the fun Levon. example, I’ve always been frustrated in San Diego State University scholar. of shopping. I emailed questions about the car names sports stories when the writer refers to an The research by marketing lecturer To demonstrate the coping mechanism, to AP in Los Angeles with a request that it athlete’s knee or shoulder injury as “blown Kristine Ehrich and colleagues at Ohio they asked participants to judge a con- be forwarded to an editor in the bureau that out.” Is the injury torn ligaments, rotator State University and the University of sumer who had learned that a pair of jeans would have handled the story. But I did not cuff? Texas tracked the “willfully ignorant mem- was made with child labor but bought them receive a response. On the other hand, a story last month ory” that people deploy to navigate ethical anyway. Was it better if the buyer ignored provided a detailed name for two pitchers’ issues in the marketplace. the ethical implications, or if the buyer for- Responses to “ex-Marine” injuries but no explanation. The story said In a series of studies, they asked partici- got about them? Last week week I wrote about using the pitchers Tyson Ross and Chris Young are pants to memorize information about dif- The participants said it was better to have label “ex-Marine” (or similar label) in refer- returning to the Padres, and both have had ferent brands of desk (one made with wood forgotten, suggesting to the researchers that ence to a person in a story. A reader had surgery for “thoracic outlet syndrome.” I from an endangered rain forest, the other “motivated forgetting is a socially acceptable complained that an article about a drunken had to look it up, but the story should have with wood from a sustainable farm) and dif- way” to resolve the shopping conflict. driver who killed two people in a collision re- provided some brief description. ferent brands of jeans (one made with child The paper, “That’s Not How I Remem- ferred to the driver as an “ex-Marine.” The Here is an explanation from the Mayo labor overseas, the other made by adults). ber It,” was published in the Journal of Con- reader said it was unfair. He argued that Clinic website: “Thoracic outlet syndrome When asked a short time later which sumer Research. The authors said their stories would probably not refer to someone is a group of disorders that occur when brand was which, they were more likely to study has implications for consumers and re- as an “ex-store clerk,” for example. blood vessels or nerves in the space be- forget when a brand was made unethically tailers, and suggested companies stress the I agreed that the label should not be tween your collarbone and your first rib than when one was made ethically. They did ethical strengths of their products at the used when being a former Marine has no rel- (thoracic outlet) are compressed. This can not show the same level of forgetfulness for point of purchase — in the packaging or sign- evance to the offense. I asked if readers who cause pain in your shoulders and neck and other attributes of the products — the cost age — to overcome consumers’ forgetfulness. served in the Marines would like to offer numbness in your fingers.” of the desk, for example, or the wash and some feedback. The repetitive stress of throwing a base- style of the jeans. [email protected] I received a few responses, which were ball can cause the ailment.

FROM THE ARCHIVES | LOOKING BACK OVER 150 YEARS AMERICA’S CUP COMES HOME! The San Diego Union-Tribune will mark its 150th anniversary in 2018 by presenting a Gilmour, with nothing to lose, dogged significant front page from the archives each day throughout the year. Conner throughout 10 minutes of tense pre-start maneuvering. Approaching the line with just seconds to go, Gilmour had Wednesday, February 4, 1987 right of way under the rules. His goal was to In February 1987 Dennis Conner won the America's Cup for the San Diego Yacht Club, push Stars & Stripes over the line early, completing a 4-0 sweep of the Australians in 12-meter yacht races off Fremantle, Australia. which would have meant Conner would Here are the first few paragraphs of the story: have to turn around and cross the line a second time, losing at least 30 seconds. Not only did Conner escape, but he carved out a CONNER’S WIN BRINGS TROPHY TO SAN DIEGO five-second lead as the gun went off. By Jan Thiessen, Tribune Executive News Editor Just two minutes up the first leg, Conner had opened a lead of almost two boat FREMANTLE, Australia — Comeback. lengths. Kookaburra III hung on up the first The cup that Dennis Conner lost in 1983 has been recaptured, and soon will be on its way leg and down the second, staying within to San Diego. striking distance. But as the wind freshened The America’s Cup again belongs to America. from 14 knots to about 19, Stars & Stripes “We can't wait to get back home,” said Conner today after his yacht, Stars & Stripes, romped away. Rounding the third mark, the crossed the finish line 1 minute, 59 seconds ahead of Kookaburra III to complete a 4-0 series lead was 42 seconds. sweep. “We're looking forward to that very much. “There's not much you can do” aboard a The sixth leg was into the wind, the kind boat trailing after the third leg, Kookaburra of leg in which Stars & Stripes has been at its “The cup has a new, happy life,” he said. “I world, “Don't be surprised if you see most of III mastman Greg Cavill said before the strongest. It won all eight windward legs in think it’s a great moment for America, a us back together again to defend.” race. “Hope for a miracle.” the second and third races and the first two great moment for the Stars & Stripes team, Conner said American technology will be It didn't happen on the fourth leg, as today. and a great moment for Dennis Conner. tested again in 1990. “It's going to be a con- Stars & Stripes increased its lead by seven Because it trailed by so much, Kookaburra “We tried very hard to do a good job, to tinuing challenge for America to come up seconds. The 49-second margin was the III could do little tactically to catch the faster come down here and represent America with a strong defense,” he said. smallest of the series at the midway point, American boat or lure Conner into a mistake. well. It’s a very high moment for us. Kookaburra III starting-line helmsman but was still substantial. And the deficit grew still larger, reaching 1:11 “Right now, we’re just savoring it, we’re Peter Gilmour had Conner nailed to the wall On the fifth leg, Kookaburra III managed after the sixth leg and 1:16 after the seventh. thrilled to be here, we’re thrilled it all worked just before the gun, but Conner slipped a small gain, just one second, and Stars & Heading into the final leg, Conner's support- out for us,” Conner said. And he warned the away. Stripes kept a comfortable 48-second lead. ers put the champagne on ice.

ONLINE: View this and other anniversary front pages online at sandiegouniontribune.com/150-years.