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This article examines ecological practices at the Palestine Museum of Natural History in Bethlehem, West Bank. Through an analysis of the museum's botanical gardens, the article explores what it calls 'biodiverse futures' as a spatio‐temporal alternative to the ecological domination of settler colonialism in Israel/Palestine. While much scholarship has focused on the environmental imaginaries that have informed colonial conquest in Palestine, this paper draws attention to the ways in which these relationships extend into constructions of the future. Combining the literature on environmental violence with the literature on futurity and decolonisation, this article develops an approach that foregrounds the relevance of 'ecological temporalities' in examining alternatives to settler futures in Israel/Palestine. To date, only a limited number of contributions have examined environmentalism as a powerful discursive tool for constructing the future. The case of the museum gardens highlights three interrelated aspects of the production of ecological counter‐futures: futures as knowledge, futures as (bio)diversity, and futures as survival. Drawing on ethnographic material and interviews with museum staff and volunteers, this paper contributes to the study of the temporalities of environmental violence and ecological resistance in Israel/Palestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the growing connections between the Persian Gulf states and the heavily militarised Israeli innovation ecosystem. The Gulf actors now play an increasing role in support of Israel as a globally expanding 'Start‐up Nation', and are involved in transforming Palestinian land into a regional frontier of technology in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli‐Gulf cooperation and its impact on Palestinians, however, has not been thoroughly researched. Drawing from fieldwork among Palestinian and Israeli innovation elites, we map these growing connections between Gulf state actors and Israel and analyse how the occupied Palestinian territories are further enmeshed in complex networks of financial capitalist and settler colonial security interests. Theoretically, the paper advances the critique of the contemporary settler colonial frontier, venturing beyond its usual Eurocentric and binary geographies. We conclude that 'innovation' is both (a) the terrain of expanding structures of Israeli colonisation and (b) the site of productive ambivalences and novel forms of resistance in an evolving regional and global reality. This article explores the growing connections between the Persian Gulf states and the heavily militarised Israeli innovation ecosystem. The Gulf actors now play an increasing role in support of Israel as a globally expanding 'Start‐up Nation', and are involved in transforming Palestinian land into regional frontiers of technology in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Drawing from fieldwork among Palestinian and Israeli innovation elites, we map these growing connections between Gulf state actors and Israel and analyse how the occupied Palestinian territories are further enmeshed in complex networks of financial capitalist and settler colonial security interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research question at the core of this paper concerns how teachers in elite Israeli high schools explain their educational work in this context, given its central role in establishing and perpetuating privilege in the current polarised era. To answer this question, we conducted 28 interviews with teachers from three elite high schools in Israel. The findings reveal three ways teachers justified their educational work in elite schools: cultivating the 'serving elite', helping shape elite students' leftist political orientation and future voting behaviour (emphasising the idea that political leftism serves as a mitigating force against the excesses of plutocracy) and fulfilling elite children's right to a level of education commensurate with their ability. The discussion problematises these justifications by highlighting their features, which, in turn, contribute to a complex understanding of how privilege functions and how advantages and inequality are produced and perpetuated in exclusive and exclusionary elite spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The therapeutic process is fraught with various feelings. This research focused on a specific type of negative feeling, namely self‐doubt (SD). Aim: To explore and characterize the nature of SD among speech and language therapists (SLTs) (the frequency of SD, situations that trigger SD, emotions and thoughts related to SD, and coping strategies) in various stages of occupational experience. Methods & Procedures: A total of 267 SLTs answered an online survey. Respondents represented SLTs in all stages of vocational experience, with varying academic degrees, from a variety of employment settings. The survey addressed situations that trigger SD, thoughts, and emotions associated with SD and the background information of the respondents. Frequency distributions of the responses of the participants were determined, and independent‐samples Kruskal–Wallis tests were conducted to examine if there were differences between groups that differed in their occupational experience on the frequency of SD, attitudes towards SD and emotions related to SD. Outcomes & Results: Differences were found between SLTs in various stages of professional development in several aspects of SD. Novice SLTs reported significantly higher levels of SD compared with experienced SLTs. In the face of SD, novice SLTs consider career abandonment significantly more than do experienced SLTs. They perceive themselves as a failure when experiencing SD to a significantly greater extent than do more experienced SLTs. In addition, SD is associated with various negative emotions. Conclusions & Implications: Self‐doubt is a natural professional feeling. It may be harmful especially in the early stages of professional development. Our findings call for support and guidance in the face of SD. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Healthcare professionals report feeling SD. This feeling may have deleterious effects on well‐being and career satisfaction and is especially harmful in young therapists. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study characterizes the nature of SD among SLTs in various stages of occupational experience. Our findings indicate that SD is reported among SLTs at all career stages, especially in novice SLTs. Self‐doubt is associated with a range of negative thoughts and emotions, and it may be triggered by various situations. Nonetheless, it is a topic that our respondents rarely learn about. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Normalising and validating SD is important to SLTs' resilience and may facilitate coping. This may be achieved by learning about the subject of SD in graduate programmes. In addition, mentors should create a safe learning culture to allow sharing SD and challenging situations, especially in the first years of occupational experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the case of community daycares for undocumented children of asylum‐seeking families in Israel named the 'Babysitters'. It explores how lack of support and national solutions for childcare leads to temporal and unregulated childcare solutions that may risk children's lives and development. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory is utilized in this paper to explore the challenges and opportunities of early childhood education for young children in asylum‐seeking families. The analysis reveals how the lack of clear policies, absence of national responsibilities, and existing societal barriers to early childhood education compelled asylum‐seeking parents in Israel to use the 'Babysitters' community daycares for infants and toddlers. Putative solutions that require policy change could help address youngsters' early childhood education needs in asylum‐seeking families and align with human rights and international treaties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cluttering is a fluency disorder characterized by an abnormally fast or irregular speech delivery rate along with disfluencies that are frequent but are not judged to be stuttering. Data on cluttering prevalence in the general population are scarce, as well as its association with psychological well‐being indices, such as anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Aims: To estimate cluttering prevalence among undergraduates, as well as its relationship with psychological and well‐being indicators. Methods & Procedures: To address these issues, a large sample (n = 1582) of undergraduates completed a questionnaire that provided a lay definition of cluttering and were asked to identify themselves as clutterers (SI‐Clut), as well as to indicate the presence of several psychological and mental well‐being indices. Outcomes & Results: A total of 276 respondents (23%) self‐identified as clutterers (now or in the past), with 55.1% of those being male. Only 56 respondents (3.5% of the total sample; about 21% of SI‐Clut) reported having received speech therapy for cluttering. Relative to students self‐identifying as non‐clutterers, self‐identification of cluttering was associated with higher levels of psychosomatic symptoms, depressive symptoms and stress, indicating a tendency toward internalizing psychopathology, along with lower self‐esteem, and lower subjective happiness. Conclusions & Implications: The current findings point to the high prevalence of students self‐identifying as clutterers, along with a significant link between cluttering and mental distress. Therefore, it is important to increase public awareness of cluttering, its diagnosis and treatment. From the clinical perspective, the elevated levels of somatic complaints, anxiety and depression may represent internalizing psychopathology, associated with more covert rather than overt symptomatology. Such symptom manifestation calls for special attention from the speech–language pathologists providing cluttering therapy, using designated well‐being or mental health screening tools. Although data on standard cluttering treatment are limited, it should be customized to the client's unique difficulties. Speech–language pathologists' understanding of cluttering, which includes both speech characteristics as well as psychological and social aspects of well‐being, may assist them in implementing effective treatments. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Cluttering is a fluency disorder characterized by an abnormally fast or irregular speech rate, along with various disfluencies and articulatory imprecision. It may co‐occur with other disorders, such as learning disabilities, and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Data on cluttering prevalence and its association with psychological well‐being indices, such as anxiety and depression, are limited. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: A total of 276 undergraduates (23%) self‐identified as clutterers, of whom 55.1% were males. A total of 56 respondents (3.5% of the total sample, and about 21% of undergraduates self‐identified as clutterers) reported having received speech therapy for cluttering. Psychosomatic symptoms, depressive symptoms and stress levels were higher among these students, suggesting a tendency toward internalizing psychopathology, along with a lower sense of self‐esteem and subjective happiness. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: The high prevalence of students self‐identifying as clutterers, along with the low percentage of respondents who received speech therapy for cluttering, emphasize the need to raise public awareness of the problem, its diagnosis and treatment (Reichel et al., 2010). The association between cluttering and mental distress requires speech–language pathologists to be aware that cluttering may have covert symptomatology, similar to stuttering, which should be addressed in therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On October 7, 2023 (10/7), Hamas militants brutally attacked Israeli towns and villages surrounding the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of more than 1100 people, most of whom were civilians slaughtered in their own homes. The killings occurred under highly traumatic circumstances, including shooting, the burning of homes, hunting down people who attempted to escape, and severe sexual assault. Thus, many Israelis today experience a unique mix of both posttraumatic and severe grief reactions. Traumatic grief (TG) is often defined as a condition that results from the death of a significant other and includes symptoms similar to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that are specifically related to the deceased, such as intrusive thoughts and memories about the deceased and hypervigilance expressed by constantly looking for them or cues associated with them. However, whereas definitions, phenomenological descriptions, and clinical illustrations of PTSD are abundant and widely validated, TG has yet to receive formal diagnostic status. In this paper, we aim to reexamine TG in the context of post‐10/7 Israel. We argue that TG is a critical concept for clinicians working in Israel and other conflict‐exposed areas of the world today, as it accurately captures the painful mix of grief‐ and trauma‐related symptoms. We also suggest potential explanations for the lack of acknowledgment of TG as a formal diagnosis and discuss the possible role of historical events in the formation of new, relevant psychiatric diagnoses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the interplay between psychodynamic psychotherapy and other approaches to psychotherapy in mental health services in Israel, describing the history of psychotherapy approaches, education and training, current dilemmas and service examples. Israel has a system of universal healthcare, education and social care which includes mental health services for all citizens and permanent residents. Mental health services and interventions are provided by psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, educational psychologists, social workers, clinical criminologists and creative arts therapists. Despite being public, accessibility is undermined by long waiting times, inequitable geographic distributions and cultural‐linguistic barriers. The interplay between approaches is clearly visible in public mental health services. Many therapists are trained primarily in psychodynamic approaches and receive psychodynamic‐oriented supervision. However, public services often cannot provide suitable conditions for psychodynamic oriented psychotherapy, and the therapists are required to adjust their interventions to treatment plans, reimbursement and reporting. This paper describes in detail two programs that implement psychodynamic approaches in the medical and education systems respectively. The first is "Lkol Nefesh" ("for every soul") that provides long‐term intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy for individuals suffering from severe mental disorders. The second is the system of creative arts therapies delivered in schools that provide psychotherapy as part of special education services. The paper concludes with a discussion of the influence of the spirit of time on psychotherapy, and the opposite tendencies evident in the state of affairs of psychodynamic psychotherapy in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Integration of digital technologies in schools raises the need of students to master technological, cognitive, and social digital literacy (DL) competencies. Objectives: Based on Hofstede's dimensional paradigm for defining culture, we address the cultural context and examine perceived and actual DL of Arabic‐speaking minority students in Israel. Methods: First, 402 Arabic‐speaking minority students from elementary Arabic‐speaking schools and 232 students from middle schools reported their DL based on the DL framework. Among them, 347 elementary and 205 middle school students performed a battery of DL tasks. Findings and Conclusions: The findings revealed a very low level of DL performance by minority students in both elementary and middle schools. The highest performance score was in information literacy: M = 1.49 and M = 1.55 out of 5.00 for elementary and middle school students respectively. Despite ubiquitous use of social networks, the lowest score was obtained in social–emotional literacy—0.23 for both elementary and middle school students. In contrast to performance, both elementary and middle school minority students estimated their digital literacy competencies as high or very high. Among the elementary students, a weak correlation was found between their DL perceptions and performance of the photo‐visual, branching, and social–emotional literacies. Among the middle school students, the only significant correlation was found between perceptions and performance of reproduction literacy. The findings raise the need to improve DL competencies of minority students and develop their metacognitive abilities. This helps to assess their DL more accurately, in order to ensure their successful functioning in digital environments. Theoretical and educational implications of the findings are discussed. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Digital literacy (DL) is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information.Previous literature discussed the concept of DL as a culturally situated phenomenon. What this paper adds: This study examined minority students from elementary and middle schools, and crosschecked their perceived DL with actual performance of DL tasks.The findings revealed a very low level of DL performance by minority students relative to the general student population in the same country.A digital over‐confidence effect was found. In contrast to performance, minority students estimated their DL as high or very high.Despite ubiquitous social networking of students, the lowest score was obtained in social–emotional literacy. Implications for practice and/or policy: DL cannot be regarded as detached from the students' context and cultural background.In strong uncertainty avoidance culture, innovation and technology integration in education seems to be perceived as a continuous threat.Educational decision‐makers need to promote a school culture with low power distance, high individualist values, and openness to uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of submerged archaeological sites faces numerous logistical challenges in the recovery of stratigraphic sequences and, as a result, is often restricted to surface deposits limiting the application of geoarchaeology. This paper outlines a new integrated field and microanalytical methodological protocol to investigate deep stratigraphic sequences (up to 2 m) within the submerged Pre‐Pottery Neolithic (PPN) site of Atlit‐Yam (9267–7970 cal. B.P. [calibrated years before the present]). A new coring method for the extraction of deep underwater stratigraphy was developed to extract three cores: two between architectural remains within the site and one outside the site. The cores were analysed using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, phytolith and pollen analysis and archaeological micromorphology to detect anthropogenic signals and undertake paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Our results indicate anthropogenic evidence at 95 cm depth based on the presence of heat‐altered sediments, high phytolith concentrations and micromorphological observations of archaeological remains. Radiocarbon analysis indicates the oldest anthropogenic layers date to the Mid Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and Late PPNB (9859–9323 cal. B.P.), bearing implications for reassessing the emergence of the first coastal Neolithic villages in the Mediterranean. Our integrated field and multiproxy micro‐geoarchaeological protocol offers a new approach to detecting and studying submerged archaeological sites worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement against democratic backsliding in Israel was perhaps the most powerful social movement that Israel has seen, spanning over 3 months. It is credited with halting the right‐wing coalition's anti‐democratic constitutional and judicial reforms. The paper analyzes and highlights key factors in the origins, protest, and outcome stages of the movement. The movement is interesting in how experiences and personal challenges of negative emotions were addressed and overcome by protesting. The movement is also marked by a strategy that helped separate local protest initiatives to coalesce into national disruption events. The most effective forms of pressure are analyzed: resistance headquarters, direct pressures on politicians, pressures by army veteran volunteers, the public involvement of experts, favorable media coverage, and pressures from international players. The movement's impact on stopping the legislation and turning public opinion against the government coalition is finally observed, alongside suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Israeli plans to partially annex West Bank territory have mainly been perceived as frustrating the two‐state solution, and as putting Palestine/Israel on a path leading to the one‐state alternative. This paper analyses partial annexation plans without assuming that the future of Palestine/Israel would necessarily abide by either statist resolution. It argues that by ostensibly distancing Israel's hold of the West Bank from an identifiable configuration of a belligerent occupation, partial annexation is offered to Jewish Israelis as a path for detaching the futurity of the two nations, and as a trajectory for normalising the Israeli state, without having to make what much of this public would see as painful concessions. It further explores settlers' objections to such plans, claiming that even a partial incorporation of West Bank territory into formal Israel is expected to erode the exclusivity of Jewish domination which Israel has been upholding in its settler‐colonial frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cabinet ministers in parliamentary democracies have significant agenda‐setting power. However, not all ministers use it equally. This paper examines what affects the ministers' use of their agenda‐setting power. It explores this question based on the case of Israel, using three measures of agenda change and in‐depth interviews with former ministers. The paper finds that limited agenda capacity constrains the ministers' agenda‐setting power. However, the ministers themselves do not see this as a significant constraint and point at motivation instead. Ministers holding a portfolio that is salient to their party are not likely to change the agenda more. Ministers from small parties change the agenda less, and so do ministers in ministries where a significant proportion of services are provided by street level bureaucrats. Ministers in ministries that are seen as more salient change the agenda more. These findings are consequential for understanding policy responsiveness and proportionality in policy response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Dysarthria' is a group of motor speech disorders resulting from a disturbance in neuromuscular control. Most individuals with dysarthria cope with communicative restrictions due to speech impairments and reduced intelligibility. Thus, language‐sensitive measurements of intelligibility are important in dysarthria neurological assessment. The Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, 2nd edition (FDA‐2), is a validated tool for the identification of the nature and patterns of oro‐motor movements associated with different types of dysarthria. The current study conducted a careful culture‐ and linguistic‐sensitive adaption of the two intelligibility subtests of the FDA‐2 to Hebrew (words and sentences) and performed a preliminary validation with relevant clinical populations. First, sets of Hebrew words and sentences were constructed, based on the criteria defined in FDA‐2, as well as on several other factors that may affect performance: emotional valence, arousal and familiarity. Second, the new subtests were validated in healthy older adults (n = 20), and in two clinical groups (acquired dysarthria, n = 15; and developmental dysarthria, n = 19). Analysis indicated that the new subtests were found to be specific and sensitive, valid and reliable, as scores significantly differ between healthy older adults and adults with dysarthria, correlated with other subjective measures of intelligibility, and showed high test–retest reliability. The words and sentences intelligibility subtests can be used to evaluate speech disorders in various populations of Hebrew speakers, thus may be an important addition to the speech–language pathologist's toolbox, for clinical work as well as for research purposes. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: 'Dysarthria' is a group of disorders reflecting impairments in the strength, speed and precision of movements required for adequate control of the various speech subsystems. Reduced speech intelligibility is one of the main consequences of all dysarthria subtypes, irrespective of their underlying cause. Indeed, most individuals with dysarthria cope with communicative restrictions due to speech impairments. Thus, language‐sensitive measurements of intelligibility are important in dysarthria assessment. The FDA‐2's words and sentences subtests present standardized and validated tools for the identification of the nature and patterns of oro‐motor movements associated with different types of dysarthria. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: The lack of assessment tools in Hebrew poses challenges to clinical evaluation as well as research purposes. The current study conducted a careful culture‐ and linguistic‐sensitive adaption of the FDA‐2 intelligibility subtests to Hebrew and performed a preliminary validation with relevant clinical populations. First, sets of Hebrew words and sentences were constructed, based on the criteria defined in FDA‐2, as well as on several other factors that may affect performance: emotional valence, arousal and familiarity. Second, the new subtests were validated in healthy older adults (n = 20), and in two clinical groups (adults with acquired dysarthria, n = 15; and young adults with developmental dysarthria, n = 19). What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Analyses indicated that the new word and sentence subtests are specific, sensitive, valid and reliable. Namely, (1) they successfully differentiate between healthy individuals and individuals with dysarthria; (2) they correlate with other subjective measures of intelligibility; and (3) they show high test–retest reliability. The words and sentences intelligibility subtests can be used to evaluate speech disorders in various populations of Hebrew speakers. Thus, they may be an important addition to the speech–language pathologist's toolbox, for clinical and research purposes. The methods described here can be emulated for the adaptation of speech assessment tools to other languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the creation of women‐only organizational spaces as a diversity practice and assesses their potential to facilitate the workforce inclusion of religious women from gender‐conservative groups. Based on longitudinal fieldwork in two ultra‐Orthodox‐Jewish women‐only colleges in Israel and interviews with students and staff, we demonstrate how this practice constitutes three types of liminality—spatial, social, and epistemic—that enable ultra‐Orthodox women to move unimpeded between a familiar, religious environment and a secular one. In this protected and carefully curated environment, they feel safe and are able to develop new identities relevant to the secular labor market while maintaining or even enhancing their traditional, religious sense of self. The liminal space of the college reinforces their sense of belonging to a space of their own and serves as a bridge that helps them cope with the secular world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper describes the emergency, compassionate use of the COVID‐19 vaccination for high‐risk adolescents aged 12–15 years prior to approval by the American Food and Drugs Administration in May 2021. The target audience had underlying health conditions associated with severe disease and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS‐C) or severely immunosuppressed household members. Methods: An orderly approval system was established in Israel for adolescents aged 12–15 years, based on a professional position paper and compassionate treatment regulations. From 12 February 2021, eligible adolescents were referred to the Israeli Ministry of Health for permission to vaccinate, via four health maintenance organisations. Data were collected about adverse events after vaccinations and the incidence of any cases of COVID‐19. Results: By 15 March 2021, the vaccine had been approved for 607 adolescents: 333 had received one dose, and 92 had received two doses. The median age was 14.6 years, and the major indication was obesity. Only one child tested positive for the virus, 4 days after vaccination, and no adverse effects were recorded. Conclusion: The emergency use of COVID‐19 vaccination for 333 adolescents aged 12–15, 92 of them with 2 doses, based on a position paper and compassionate treatment regulations, did not result in any adverse effects. Since 27 July 2021, the same process was further applied in Israel among younger children, aged 5–11, preceding formal release of the clinical trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the unmarked forms of discipline and punishment employed against Palestinian researchers in Israeli academia, attempting to decolonize it through critical knowledge production. Based on interviews with 15 researchers from a cross‐section of academic institutions in Israel, the paper identifies subtle mechanisms of discipline and punishment, directed toward normalizing the epistemology of the colonized. The findings suggest that the gatekeepers of Israeli academia not only seek to maintain the existing racial hierarchy between Israeli and Palestinian researchers but also seek to "eliminate" the indigenous epistemology of the latter through mechanisms of hidden surveillance, used to control them as colonized subjects unable to challenge the Zionist ideology that is an essential aspect of Israeli academia. The current paper aims to unpack these invisible mechanisms of surveillance, which are part of a broader colonial apparatus aiming to maintain not only territorial sovereignty but also epistemologic sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Virtual reality (VR) is considered a promising approach to support learning. An instructional design is essential to optimize cognitive processes. Studies show that VR has unique instructional and pedagogical requirements. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of the modality principle, which was previously validated in 2D classic multimedia, for learning with VR. The modality principle states that multimedia information presented as spoken narration is superior to on‐screen text. Methods: A prospective experimental study with two compared conditions of instruction: VR‐based learning guided by on‐screen text (n = 34) versus spoken narration (n = 28). Students' cognitive learning experiences were captured by eye‐tracking and electrodermal activity (EDA). In addition, students' knowledge was evaluated using a pre–post knowledge test. Results and Conclusions: Overall, there was no significant difference in knowledge retention between the participants who learned with on‐screen text compared to spoken narration. However, results from the eye‐tracking analysis showed that students who learned with the on‐screen text devoted longer visual attention toward important learning activity areas of interest, suggesting a better ability to discern between relevant and irrelevant information. Conversely, students who learned with the spoken narration expressed significantly more EDA peak responses, proposing a higher cognitive load. Implications: This study outlines that while learning with VR was effective, the modality principle might not apply to learning with VR. Moreover, the analysis of the learning process suggests even an inverse effect, favouring the provision of instructional scaffolds as on‐screen text. Future research should evaluate this effect on long‐term knowledge retention. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: VR can increase learners' engagement and impact their cognitive processing.VR has different instructional requirements than classic multimedia learning material.The modality principle states that audio‐visual is superior to visual‐only information. What this paper adds?: This study evaluated the impact of the modality design principle to scaffolded learning with VR.In terms of achievements learning with textual and audio instruction was comparable.Eye‐tracking analysis showed that learning with on‐screen text was characterized by longer visual attention to the important learning objects.Learning with the auditory narration was associated with a higher cognitive load as measured by EDA and more performance errors.In both study conditions, students tended to focus more on the less important information in the learning activity. Implications of the study's findings for practitioners: VR‐based simulations are effective to support learning and knowledge gaining.The modality principle is not fully applicable to support learning in VR‐based learning environments.Instructional design should take into consideration that novices often notice the non‐salient information in VR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: YouTube is widely used for learning about scientific issues in and out of school. However, much of the scientific information on YouTube is inaccurate. Prior studies have mostly focused on how students evaluate textual online information sources and have not yet systematically examined how they evaluate authentic scientific YouTube videos. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine how students evaluate authentic scientific YouTube videos in comparison to scientific webpages. Methods: Eighth grade students ranked six YouTube videos on the topic of climate change, justified their rankings, and responded to metacognitive prompts designed to elicit their evaluation criteria and strategies. Students also responded to a parallel webpage evaluation measure. We analysed and compared students' evaluation strategies and criteria. We also examined which evaluation criteria predict students' judgments of YouTube video quality. Results and Conclusions: Students predominantly relied on evaluation of video content, focusing mainly on criteria of communicative quality and explanation quality. Students tended to neglect source expertise and information validity criteria. Students evaluated videos mostly similarly to how they evaluated webpages. However, affective experiences played a greater role in video evaluation; whereas task relevance and verbal quality played a smaller role. Students' evaluation criteria predicted their judgments of video quality. Implications: The findings suggest that students are unprepared for critically evaluating scientific YouTube videos and that digital information literacy instruction should address this gap. The study also identifies some unique challenges of video evaluation that educators should attend to. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Students often use YouTube for learning about scientific issues.However, much of the scientific information on YouTube is inaccurate.Prior studies have found that students can find it difficult to evaluate scientific websites.Little is known about how students evaluate scientific YouTube videos. What this paper adds: Students mostly focused whether the videos include good explanations and if they are well‐designed.Students tended to ignore the sources of the videos and the accuracy of the information.Students evaluated videos mostly similarly to how they evaluated webpages.However, emotional experiences played a greater role in video evaluation compared to webpage evaluation; whereas the content played a smaller role. Implications for practice and/or policy: The findings suggest that students are unprepared for critically evaluating scientific YouTube videos.Digital information literacy instruction should also focus on teaching video evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will present and discuss a multifaceted research project dealing with the production of cooking pots during the Iron Age II (ca. 1,000–586 BCE) Judah (modern Israel). In particular the new compositional analysis of 541 cooking vessels from 11 sites in Iron Age Judah will be presented. The study employs petrographic and chemical (NAA) analysis. The results of this ongoing research have already produced interesting information about production centers and movements of cooking pots in Iron Age II Judah. Apparently, the vast majority of the cooking pots sampled were made of a similar type of clay, related to terra rossa soil. This is true also for sites in the northern Negev and Judean Desert, where the type of soil was not available in the region of the sites. Furthermore, many of the cooking pots distributed around Judah were made in Jerusalem according to a well‐located chemical profile (JleB). Other groups may represent Judean Shephelah production centers as the Lachish area as well as production centers in southern Israel or ancient Edom. The implications of the importation patterns of cooking pots by peripheral Judean sites will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a consensus within the ethnic return migration literature that ethnic migrants experience difficulty integrating into the ethnic homeland due to (1) state policies that inhibit permanent settlement and upward mobility and (2) social marginalization from the native‐born community. Absent those experiences, one would expect that ethnic migrants would smoothly integrate and be a successful example of nation‐building for the homeland. This paper examines lone soldiers in Israel (immigrants who do not have immediate family in the country) as an example of an immigrant group that is provided with substantial government support for integration and is publicly heralded by Israeli media as model citizens. Based on 52 interviews with former lone soldiers, this paper argues that even in an "extreme case" of state‐ and society‐supported ethnic return, lone soldiers feel marginalized due to their disillusionment with Israeli state politics and linguistic, behavioural and cultural boundaries between themselves and Israelis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to develop a notion of violence based on the ability to wound slowly. It starts by exploring everyday events in a strangulated West Bank site struggling with Israel's colonisation and settlement policies, thus painting a nuanced picture on how slowness and slow proceedings wound through unspectacular events and mundane spatialisations. The spatially manifold picture of "slow wounding" is thus offered, one that not only helps in showing how ordinary spaces and unspectacular events can wound, but that also forces us to ask how wounding through slowness becomes possible in the first place. In the latter regard, it is shown how the power of slowness remains embedded in what consists of our fundamental exposure to a wound of living. Such exposure doesn't merely name the woundedness of life to power, but also the woundedness of power itself. On the one hand, slow wounding is enabled by the woundedness, while on the other hand it is fundamentally limited by it. While this ambiguity is shown to unfold in the inherent incapacity of power to ever fully force Palestinian lives under the established orders of governing, most notably it unearths the way in which particular ways of wounding are complexly entwined around life's incurable proneness to a wound – to a wound of being a living being. This paper aims to develop a novel notion of "slow wounding" on key two fronts: through its spatialisation and through what conditions it. By focusing on a strangulated West Bank site struggling with Israel's colonisation and settlement policies, it aims, first, to paint a nuanced picture of how slowness can wound through unspectacular events and mundane spatialisations. Second, it shows how these slow woundings are conditioned by the woundedness of living, particularly by the way it enables and sets a limit for their abilities to wound. This, the paper argues, helps in thinking slow wounding beyond the enforcing abilities of power, further locating it to a realm of fundamental woundedness of living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the swift pivot to online learning, teachers and students have been forced to adopt a new way of teaching and learning, which has required students to become more self‐directed in their learning. In addition, teachers are faced with the challenge of preparing students for the workforce and lifelong learning. One emerging approach for addressing both these challenges is that of heutagogy, or self‐determined learning. This paper discusses the rising demand for lifelong learning skills and the role that heutagogy can play in supporting students in developing self‐directed and lifelong learning skills. Specifically, the paper presents a case study of a higher education institution that has introduced heutagogy, using interviews with programme leaders/instructors to investigate how a college in Israel incorporated heutagogy into their master's education programmes. Case study results reveal that there are challenges in incorporating heutagogy (eg, difficulty for students in adopting the approach), but once adopted, students preferred learning in a self‐determined way. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic?Lifelong learning skills are critical to student employability, and there is a need for exploring new theories and approaches for developing these skills.The current pandemic has forced traditional learning into the online space, requiring more self‐directed learning skills in learners.Heutagogy has been identified as a net‐centric teaching and learning theory for online learning.What this paper addsPositions heutagogy for use in traditional and online classroom settings in order to develop learners' self‐directed and lifelong learning skills.Explores the pedagogy‐andragogy‐heutagogy continuum and its use as an instructional strategy.Presents a case study of a higher education institution that has implemented self‐determined learning.Implications for practice and/or policyThis study encourages further research into use of heutagogy for developing self‐directed and lifelong learning skills.This study provides guidance for those who want to introduce self‐determined learning into classroom settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rapid globalization along with the growing trend of openness and sharing approach enabled widespread of digital technologies all over the world. However, we can still find differences between countries in technology use and perceptions of usefulness for learning. Understanding students' use of educational technology and their perceptions of its usefulness is especially significant today, given the rapid penetration of online learning into higher education as a response to Covid‐19. Objectives: This research aimed to understand students' actual experiences with digital technologies during their academic studies and their perceptions of technology usefulness across institutional and international contexts (Israel and Australia). Methods: This quantitative study used data from a large‐scale bi‐national online survey of 3003 students in both countries. Comparative analyses were conducted. In addition, factor analysis was used to identify latent factors from 16 variables of students' perceptions of the usefulness of digital resources usefulness. Results and conclusion: The results revealed significant differences in technology usage and its perceived usefulness between students in the two countries. They confirmed the predominance of 'official' digital resources, such as learning management systems and online library resources. However, large percentages also reported the use of 'non‐official' digital resources, including academic search services; subject‐related videos and audio recordings on content‐sharing websites such as YouTube and Wikipedia; and communication and/or collaboration with other students through social networks. Thus, universities need to consider the potential use of incorporating these resources for improving teaching and learning. Moreover, understanding the differences will assist in implementing tailored techno‐pedagogical solutions to the students. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter: Technologies can enhance learning experiences, however the actual usage and sense of usefulness by higher education students is not well understood.Most technologies are under‐utilized for learning purposes, partly because the quality of students' learning experience is not yet guaranteed.Learning‐environment culture is important factor in the adoption of digital resources and practices in academic studies. What the paper adds to this: A large‐scale bi‐national survey of 3003 students at Monash University in Australia and Tel Aviv University in Israel adds to our empirical understanding of student use and perception of usefulness of digital technologies for their studies.'Official' digital resources, such as LMS and online library resources as well as 'non‐official' digital resources, including specialized academic search services, subject‐related videos and audio recordings on content‐sharing websites and communication were found to be in predominance.Significant international differences in technology usage and its perceived usefulness were found in 'official' and 'non‐official' digital resources. Implication of the study findings: Students use a range of 'non‐official' technologies to support their studies, which suggests universities need to consider the potential use of incorporating these resources and practices.The advantage of the digital technologies for academic learning is not utilized yet. We still have work to do in order to cross the chasm.The high usage and perceived usefulness of the external video materials (OER, such as MOOCs) raise questions regarding how to integrate them in academic learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses Israel's technologically advanced Iron Dome short‐range missile defence system as a deep empirical case study to examine how affective atmospheres mediate the relationship between state power and the agency of technological objects deployed to govern (in)security. Drawing theoretically from productive tensions between more‐than‐human theories of object‐oriented ontology, actor‐network theory and affect theory, it evaluates Iron Dome as a scintillating 'bright object' with variable capacities and limitations that exceed the sum of its components. Iron Dome both overreaches and contradicts the intentions and governance logics of state elites within a spatio‐temporally distributed array of architectures, infrastructures and practices. Within this milieu, its affective power is ambivalent and capricious, and can both enhance and undermine the atmospheric production of security in ways that exceed both instrumental functionality and human intentions. These findings indicate how a geography of security that attends to the affective dimension of object politics can account for the complex and non‐causal ways in which technologies can either reinforce or inhibit security as an anthropocentric endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Developmental dysarthria is a motor speech impairment commonly characterized by varying levels of reduced speech intelligibility. The relationship between intelligibility deficits and acoustic vowel space among these individuals has long been noted in the literature, with evidence of vowel centralization (e.g., in English and Mandarin). However, the degree to which this centralization occurs and the intelligibility–acoustic relationship is maintained in different vowel systems has yet to be studied thoroughly. In comparison with American English, the Hebrew vowel system is significantly smaller, with a potentially smaller vowel space area, a factor that may impact upon the comparisons of the acoustic vowel space and its correlation with speech intelligibility. Data on vowel space and speech intelligibility are particularly limited for Hebrew speakers with motor speech disorders. Aims: To determine the nature and degree of vowel space centralization in Hebrew‐speaking adolescents and young adults with dysarthria, in comparison with typically developing (TD) peers, and to correlate these findings with speech intelligibility scores. Methods & Procedures: Adolescents and young adults with developmental dysarthria (secondary to cerebral palsy (CP) and other motor deficits, n = 17) and their TD peers (n = 17) were recorded producing Hebrew corner vowels within single words. For intelligibility assessments, naïve listeners transcribed those words produced by speakers with CP, and intelligibility scores were calculated. Outcomes & Results: Acoustic analysis of vowel formants (F1, F2) revealed a centralization of vowel space among speakers with CP for all acoustic metrics of vowel formants, and mainly for the formant centralization ratio (FCR), in comparison with TD peers. Intelligibility scores were correlated strongly with the FCR metric for speakers with CP. Conclusions & Implications: The main results, vowel space centralization for speakers with CP in comparison with TD peers, echo previous cross‐linguistic results. The correlation of acoustic results with speech intelligibility carries clinical implications. Taken together, the results contribute to better characterization of the speech production deficit in Hebrew speakers with motor speech disorders. Furthermore, they may guide clinical decision‐making and intervention planning to improve speech intelligibility. What this paper addsWhat is already known on the subjectSpeech production and intelligibility deficits among individuals with developmental dysarthria (e.g., secondary to CP) are well documented. These deficits have also been correlated with centralization of the acoustic vowel space, although primarily in English speakers. Little is known about the acoustic characteristics of vowels in Hebrew speakers with motor speech disorders, and whether correlations with speech intelligibility are maintained.What this paper adds to existing knowledgeThis study is the first to describe the acoustic characteristics of vowel space in Hebrew‐speaking adolescents and young adults with developmental dysarthria. The results demonstrate a centralization of the acoustic vowel space in comparison with TD peers for all measures, as found in other languages. Correlation between acoustic measures and speech intelligibility scores were also documented. We discuss these results within the context of cross‐linguistic comparisons.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?The results confirm the use of objective acoustic measures in the assessment of individuals with motor speech disorders, providing such data for Hebrew‐speaking adolescents and young adults. These measures can be used to determine the nature and severity of the speech deficit across languages, may guide intervention planning, as well as measure the effectiveness of intelligibility‐based treatment programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the siege of the Gaza Strip, a self‐governing Palestinian territory, since 2007. Research on sieges tends to concentrate on the coping strategies of besieged communities, humanitarian issues associated with the impacts, humanitarian access, and the prioritisation of needs, with little or no attention paid to reconstruction. However, Gaza is unusual as a siege environment within which reconstruction has become a high priority in the aftermath of its three destructive wars with Israel. Following an overview of research on sieges in contemporary warfare and a brief contextualisation of Gaza, this paper examines why reconstruction outcomes have varied over time through the application of a theoretical framework that stipulates the importance of four key factors: time; needs; scarcity; and political context. Based on an analysis of these variables, Gaza was found to be a most‐likely case for reconstruction under siege. Nonetheless, the large‐scale reconstruction necessary to transform Gaza has not been actualised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the relationship between the legacy of Western imperialism and the complicity of the "international community" in the settler colonial project taking place in Palestine/Israel. It analyzes some key aspects of Western discourse that inhibit an appreciation of non‐Zionist perspectives, and which obstruct action to challenge the systemic human rights abuses to which Palestinians are subject. It argues that psychoanalysis, as a discipline and a profession, participates in a wider societal failure, adapting itself to priorities that conflict with its ostensible ethical foundations. Recent years have seen a strengthening of the worldwide movement in support of Palestinian rights in general, and the growth of activism within the mental health community in particular. The exchanges between activists and mainstream professional organizations are here interrogated to identify key points of contention. The paper considers the impact of the settler colonial enterprise on Israeli society as a whole, and on the politics of Israeli psychoanalysis, to support the argument that neutrality is not an option for the international mental health community. It concludes that principled engagement initiatives are necessary to meet mental health workers' professional responsibilities to do no harm, and to contribute to the future health of the relationship between Palestinian and Jewish Israeli societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the National Liberation League (NLL), a Palestinian Arab communist movement which operated in Palestine between the years 1943–1948. The paper examines its short‐lived history in light of the relevant three contexts in which it operated: the local Palestinian national context; the regional context of communist activity in the Middle East and the external‐internationalist context of the Soviet Union. The paper further discusses the activities of the NLL during the period of the 1948 War in Palestine, as well as in the first period of military rule, imposed on the Palestinian citizens of Israel. An analysis of the NLL during the late Mandatory period and the early years of the State of Israel allows a close examination of the ways by which concepts of identity, nationalism, class and ethnicity were conceptualised, debated and contested during times of a national conflict and anti‐imperial struggle and brings to the fore tensions between ideology and practice, nationalism and internationalism. The NLL offers an important opportunity to look into the complex matrix of communist movements that combine anti‐imperial struggles with struggles for national liberation in the context of a national conflict and to examine their dilemmas and what may seem as internal contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the claim that a causal link exists between the inflexibility of land‐use planning and low elasticity of housing supply. A theoretical model of factors impacting district‐level planning is presented alongside a model of the impact of planning delay on housing supply. The models are estimated for the Tel Aviv district using detailed data covering a 12‐year period. Results show significant impacts on planning delay due to plan, municipality and district planning commission characteristics. House prices exert a positive effect on planning speed and municipal funding acts as a supply constraint. While planning delay does not impact housing supply, delay uncertainty has a negative impact and acts as a constraint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatment of paediatric trauma requires specialized infrastructure, medical equipment, medical staff and ancillary support personnel that have been specifically trained for such tasks. Aims and Objectives: To examine the perceptions and attitudes of physicians and nurses in general and paediatric emergency departments (PEDs) on training, confidence, and management of paediatric trauma in order to facilitate the establishment of an optimal model for admitting and treating paediatric trauma patients. Design: Drawing on published literature and a previously conducted qualitative study that explored the provision of medical care to paediatric trauma patients, we conducted an attitude survey. Methods: A 26‐item paper‐based questionnaire was distributed by nurse managers to all staff working within general EDs and PEDs of 22 medical centres across Israel. Results: Of 843 physicians and nurses who completed the survey, 61.1% considered PEDs the most appropriate facility for treating both minor and severe paediatric trauma, 88.5% believed that minor paediatric trauma should be treated in designated paediatric trauma centres, and 53.6% deemed that paediatric emergency medicine specialists are the most suitable primary decision makers in paediatric trauma. PED teams expressed greater professional confidence for treating paediatric trauma and multiple casualty incident patients. Greater professional confidence was positively correlated with paediatric trauma training, greater exposure to paediatric trauma cases, and working in larger medical centres. Conclusions: The results of the current study suggest that PEDs are perceived to be more appropriate for dealing with paediatric trauma. Also, treatment of severe trauma may be more appropriate in centres that admit large numbers of paediatric trauma cases. Relevance to clinical practice: Emergency medicine teams should undergo training for dealing with paediatric trauma. Such training would develop their skills, increase their confidence, and enhance their emotional abilities to cope with paediatric trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the ethno‐political socialization of young children in the context of intractable conflict, drawing on the case of Israeli society. The analysis is based on the integrative developmental‐contextual theory (IDCT), which proposes that in the context of intractable conflict, from a very early age onward, in‐group members acquire a socio‐psychological repertoire that consists of narratives, beliefs, attitudes, and emotions related to the conflict and to the rival group. IDCT highlights three central components that dictate the nature of this socio‐psychological repertoire: children's normative developmental trajectory, the context in which the development takes place, and the ethno‐political socialization that is performed by societal agents. We discuss the interaction between these components in socializing children's socio‐psychological repertoire, and ways to change the course of socialization in the context of intractable conflict towards peace‐oriented socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID‐19) at the beginning of 2020 forced most higher education institutions to shift immediately from traditional learning to distance learning and emergency remote teaching (ERT). Objectives: This research aimed to capture the authentic sounds of this unusual learning experience from the field while it was still fresh and to explore congruence with existing models of online learning success factors. We also aimed to examine the differences between freshman students and more advanced students (second year onwards) with regard to the emerging data and its respective model. Methods: During the second semester of 2020, 170 Tel Aviv university students majoring in various fields responded to an online questionnaire consisting of open‐ended questions. Results and conclusions: The researchers classified the themes retrieved from 1559 statements into a framework of critical success factors for distance learning. The framework included five dimensions: course, student, instructor, learning environment and institution. Well‐known benefits of distance learning emerged, among them flexibility and personalized learning pace. Nevertheless, the findings revealed that the rapid transition to distance learning posed challenges and difficulties, mainly concerning the readiness of students and instructors for this form of teaching and learning. The number of statements in instructor dimension indicated the importance of providing support and training to instructors and staff. Significant differences were found in students' perceptions according to the year standing. More advanced students made more 'internal' references, attributing more statements to student and learning environment dimensions. In contrast, freshman made more 'external' references, attributing more statements to instructor and course dimensions than students in their second year and onwards. Major takeaways: The results may help in planning and preparing for times of crisis. From a broader perspective, the findings may help in designing ways to incorporate distance learning. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?There are several critical success factor models for implementing distance learning.Academic experience influences students' perceptions of distance learning.Year of studies is known to exert an influence on students' attitudes and degree of satisfaction from distance learning.At the onset of COVID‐19, higher education shifted immediately to ERT. What this paper adds?Authentic view of students' ERT experience in the first weeks of the COVID‐19 outbreak.Adaptive framework for Distance Learning Success Dimensions (DLSD).Advantages and disadvantages for students forced into ERT.Freshmen and advanced students have different perceptions of instructor and course DLSD.Advanced students focus on student dimension, while freshmen focus on Instructor dimension. Implications for practice and/or policyUsing developed DLSD framework for planning, designing and evaluating in crises and routine times.Providing empirical evidence for perceptual differences between freshmen and experienced students.Students' differing perceptions of helpful and unhelpful factors point to diverse needs.Flexible learning times and assignment due dates are crucial for students in ERT.Technical training for instructors may contribute to remote teaching effectiveness.Scaffolds for freshmen may enhance their ERT experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While bioethicist Arthur Caplan claims that "The Nazi analogy is equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb in ethical battles about science and medicine", we claim that such total exclusion of this analogy is equally problematic. Our analysis builds on Roberto Esposito's conceptualization of immunitas and communitas as key elements of biopolitics. Within public health theories and practices there is an inherent tension between exclusion (immunitas) and inclusion (communitas) forces. Taking the immunitas logic to the extreme, as National Socialist medicine did in the name of securing the German race, is a constant danger that needs to be taken seriously into consideration when discussing public health policies. The tension between the silencing of the Holocaust in bioethical debates on one side, and the persistent use of National Socialist medicine metaphors, on the other hand, is the focus of this paper. By delving into the meanings and the implications of this two‐edged discourse, we argue that comparing post‐war bioethics with pre‐war medical practices from a biopolitical perspective has the potential to depict a more nuanced account of continuities and discontinuities in bioethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistence has been identified as a crucial quality of learning. However, it is hard to attain in online game‐based environments as the drive to progress in the game may influence the ability to achieve the learning goals. This study aimed to examine the associations between micro‐persistence, that is, the tendency to complete an individual task successfully, and task difficulty while acquiring computational thinking (CT). We further explored whether contextual or personal attributes better explain micro‐persistence. We analysed data of 111 school students who used the CodeMonkey platform. We took a learning analytics approach for analysing the platform's log files. We found that micro‐persistence is associated with task difficulty and that students who demonstrated an aptitude to learn new material are motivated to achieve the best solution. We also found that contextual variables better‐explained micro‐persistence than personal attributes. Encouraging micro‐persistence can improve CT acquisition and the learning processes involved. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Persistence is a substantial quality for learning.In online multi‐challenge environments, it is difficult to maintain persistence because of the urge to advance in the game itself.Persistence has been mostly studied with regarding the learning process as a whole. What this paper adds: Examination of micro‐persistence, that is, persistence at the task level.Students who demonstrate micro‐persistence and aptitude to learn new material are motivated to achieve the highest score.Contextual variables better explain micro‐persistence than personal attributes. Implications of study findings for practitioners: Micro‐persistence may lead to better and deeper learning.Instructional designers who want to maintain micro‐persistence should monitor the difficulty of individual learning tasks.Educators should motivate learners to complete learning tasks and not rely solely on intrinsic motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration with universities may assist secondary schools faced with challenges of promoting state‐of‐the‐art chemistry and biosciences education. This paper outlines university‐based programs in Israel (Belmonte) and Italy (CusMiBio) that enhance learning experiences by allowing classes of pupils to interact with academics and perform hands‐on experiments in advanced scientific laboratories. These programs facilitate a symbiotic relationship between secondary schools and the university. This paper outlines a conceptual model for university‐based science interventions. We describe the programs at Belmonte and CusMiBio, and explain how each program implements group activities for hybrid science laboratories that aim to enhance learning. Teacher training is also described, along with activities essential for establishing a round‐trip experience‐ whereby learning activities continue to have an impact after completion of these special trips to the university laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative field research in any type of terrain calls for a practice‐oriented reflection on the researcher's emotional labour management in relation to the context of the field before, during, and beyond data collection. Intractable conflict environments (ICE) are characterised by long‐running social crises still unresolved. This particularity makes such contexts risk‐prone in terms of unpredictable dangers and unexpected outcomes, hence, the requirement for thorough ethical evaluation of field research designs. Field researchers, often working on their own, are expected to safely make ethically sound decisions while gathering high‐quality data within complex social realities of which they are often socio‐culturally not savvy. This inevitably exacerbates the emotional burden on the researchers and makes fieldwork challenging. Although feminist geographers notably have significantly contributed to highlighting the social dynamics of fieldwork by initiating and deepening discussions of the emotional and ethical challenge, discussions have rarely gone beyond underlining the need for recognition of the field researchers' emotional labour. Despite academic consensus for reflexive analysis and field diary‐keeping, little has been discussed on how to systematically manage this effort during the research process. In this paper, building on the first author's PhD fieldwork experience in Israel and the West Bank area, we propose a paced field research organisation method – PFROM – which systematically accommodates time and space for the researcher's engagement with and detachment from the field research's intensity. Applying the concept of pacing – intentionally distributing focused attention in such a way that will reduce fatigue prior to the completion of a task – this framework systematically integrates reflexivity within research designs. The PFROM provides researchers with a tool applicable beyond intractable conflict contexts which has the potential to enhance their emotional labour management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines media criticism of the Israeli Supreme Court from 2002 to 2011 in two newspapers. We analyze the nature and patterns of press criticism in different contexts by 1) distinguishing between diffuse and specific criticism and 2) by analyzing criticism separately from political framing and the tone of the article. We find that the increase in diffuse criticism and political framing over time was often balanced with counter‐criticism, resulting in a neutral or even positive tone toward the Court. This complex picture enables a more sophisticated understanding of the nature and implications of criticism of supreme courts in the press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care. Using family systems theories and the concept of co‐parenting, it analyses the fragile and complex relationship caseworkers and foster parents have with biological parents. The paper presents four components that might play a role in encouraging parental involvement to benefit their children's adjustment. The components are demonstrated through case studies and include assessing the family profile; addressing the family's needs within the child's intervention plan; training biological and foster parents; and building co‐parenting between biological and foster parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of online collaborative learning experiences on students' digital collaboration skills and on the sustainability of e‐collaboration in schools' culture—comparing individualistic versus collectivistic cultures. In addition, we explored how the leadership experience of schools' ICT coordinators was predicted by their sense of professionalism and cognitive, emotional and social aspects of perceived learning (PL), while leading the collaborative projects. The participants were ICT coordinators from 513 Israeli schools; 214 of whom were Hebrew‐speakers, and 299 Arabic‐speakers. The participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire, which included multiple‐choice and open‐ended questions. The results showed significant differences between a variety of the coordinator‐related variables as a function of learning culture (more individualistic vs.more collectivistic). Coordinators' leadership experience was a powerful predictor of students' digital collaboration skills, but did not predict the sustainability of e‐collaboration. Coordinators' emotional PL predicted the sustainability of collaboration in both schools with more individualistic and with more collectivistic learning cultures. The implications of the findings for educational theory and practise are discussed. Lay Description: Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicOnline collaboration has the potential to develop digital literacy skills of students, and affects a variety of academic, psychological and social outcomes.Community interactions are related to cultural collectivism and reflect the important impact of environment on the individual.What this paper addsWe examine students' e‐collaboration skills and sustainability of e‐collaboration in schools.The ICT coordinators' characteristics differ between individualistic vs. collectivistic schools.Students' digital collaboration skills were not affected by these differences between the schools.ICT coordinators' leadership predicted student e‐collaboration skills, but not e‐collaboration sustainability.Implications for practice and/or policyProfessional development and longitudinal support are essential for teachers in e‐collaboration initiatives, but should be gradually diminished for sustainability.Support needs to be provided with reference to the cultural differences and to the particular difficulties documented in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little scholarly work has focused on the lived experience of people claiming disability benefits. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with 30 Jewish‐Israeli men and women with physical impairments, this paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature. Analysis of the interviews yielded three main themes: the material and psycho‐social aspects of the Israeli disability benefits system, respectively, and the coping strategies applied by the participants in their efforts to navigate the system and address their needs. The distinction between the first two themes is discussed as resonating with recent calls for an integrated disability justice conceptualization, one that entails both redistributive and recognitive aspects. The third theme is highlighted as countering the image of 'passivity' that is all too often associated with being on disability benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The construction of terrace walls for dry farming in the highlands of the Levant was traditionally associated with demographic growth that caused pressure on available land for cultivation. In this paper we suggest an alternative model and claim that terraces were adopted as a subsistence strategy at periods when land ownership was centralized in the hands of either powerful landowners or managed through complex family‐based cooperation like the Musha system of the Late Antiquity period. This claim is based both on the study of land use and settlement patterns within the Upper Nahal Soreq, north‐west of Jerusalem, where close to 350 excavated or surveyed sites of all kinds were catalogued and mapped, and on the results of an OSL dating project that directly dated the construction of terrace walls for dry farming in the highlands of Jerusalem in general and at the Upper Nahal Soreq catchment in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Future Learning Space (FLS) is a dynamic and a technology‐rich learning environment that enables teaching and learning using innovative pedagogical methods. However, introducing innovation and technology into any educational setting, whether in K‐12 schools or higher education institutions, is known to be challenging. This paper introduces design patterns (DPs) for teaching in FLS. The patterns emerged from creative teaching in a college of education, which was preceded by mentoring for some of the lecturers. The patterns involve hybridity, including both formal and informal social structures and a combination of physical and digital tools mediating individuals' interactions with peers. Based on a process of mining patterns, we extracted four DPs for teaching in academic FLS. The patterns, which encapsulate threads of hybridity, are: convergent groups; teaching in an interactive orchestrated learning space; presentation fair; and Think‐Join‐Share. These patterns can be used as learning design scaffolds in a social constructivist approach in which pedagogy, technology and space interact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the number of organs available for transplantation does not meet the needs of potential recipients, some have proposed that a potentially effective way to increase registration is to offer a self‐benefit incentive that grants a 'preferred status' or some degree of prioritization to those who register as potential donors, in case they might need organs. This proposal has elicited an ethical debate on the appropriateness of such a benefit in the context of a life‐saving medical procedure. In this paper we review arguments and ethical concerns raised by scholars, and studies of views of members of the public regarding the prioritization incentive system. We also report on our study of the views of those involved in organ transplant and of other medical professionals in Israel, as over half a decade ago Israel implemented a prioritization incentive system. Bioethicists propose that key stakeholders' views can provide additional arguments and perspectives on controversial issues. Proponents justify the prioritization incentive drawing mainly on arguments related to its potential effectiveness, reciprocity and fairness. Opponents point to the fact that registering is not binding and not an actual donation, and raise concerns regarding equity, autonomy and gaming the system. Ethical concerns raised by the practitioners in the study were examined in light of scholars' arguments and actual registration and donation data. Practitioners involved in transplantation raised ethical concerns corresponding to those raised by scholars as well as additional concerns. They also challenged proponents' assumptions regarding the utility of the incentive system from their own experience and argued that proponents obscure the meaning of reciprocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Israeli population, encompassing 9 million citizens, is comprised of diverse communities. The Ministry of Health genetic screening program for reproductive purposes was introduced in 2013. This program is mainly aimed at severe incurable diseases with high rates of infant and childhood morbidity and/or mortality, with a carrier frequency of at least 1:60 and/or a disease frequency of 1 in 15 000 live births. In this paper, we present the results of the national genetic carrier-screening program implementation.Material and Methods: Data acquisition for this study was performed by retrospectively searching Ministry of Health database, which includes the reports of 18 genetic laboratories performing genetic screening tests.Results: During 2015-2017, a total of 919 820 carrier-screening genetic tests were executed. The overall number rose by 14.9% over these years. For about two-thirds of the presented disorders, carrier frequency was within the expected range. A decrease of 57% was noted in the observed number of patients with spinal muscular atrophy born during 2014-2017, compared with the expected rate. Familial dysautonomia, Canavan and Tay-Sachs diseases yielded a very low prevalence.Conclusions: Our results highlight the impact of a national genetic carrier-screening program. Couples at risk of an affected fetus mostly choose to perform preconception or prenatal diagnosis and to act accordingly. Our country has several characteristics enabling us to achieve this success, including considerable rates of endogamy and consanguineous marriages, increased frequency of founder mutations, and high fertility rates. In addition, wide accessibility of the tests and good compliance of the population must be noted. Still, raising the awareness and continuing education of population and caregivers about the importance and efficiency of carrier screening remains an important issue. Finally, expanding the existing tests into a uniform, wide genetic panel seems to be the next goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity is a heavily researched topic because of its fluid nature. One's identity is constantly changing; thus, it is hard to study. This paper presents the results of research conducted among Hungarian immigrants in Israel. The self‐identification of Hungarian Jews living in Israel is incoherent and complex. The interviewees wanted to present themselves as having different degrees of Hungarian identity (sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker) than they actually seem to have. As the results of this research suggest, self‐identification should be studied using qualitative methods in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of aquifers extending from land beneath the sea floor up to a distance of several kilometres has been observed and examined all over the world. The coastal aquifer of Israel is a heavily used groundwater reservoir which has to be constantly monitored to ensure the drinking water supply. Former land‐based electromagnetic measurements show that it is, in several places, blocked to seawater intrusion and is consequently a candidate for submarine extension. Multicomponent long‐offset transient electromagnetic measurements were carried out offshore on the coast of Israel. We deployed a 400‐m‐long grounded dipole as transmitter and several electric and magnetic receivers on the sea floor up to a distance of 4.8 km from the coast. Altogether, we deployed 8 transmitter positions and received data sets at 14 receiver stations onshore and offshore, with offsets of mostly 400 and 800 m. In this paper, we present the survey and 1D Occam and Marquardt inversions of the offshore horizontal electric components in the broadside and inline configuration. In addition, the vertical magnetic component in the broadside position is also considered. Only single inversions, both single offset and single component, were used to detect the aquifer under sea sediments. We prove the submarine existence of the Israeli coastal aquifer up to a distance to the coast of approximately 3.2 to 3.6 km using all measured long‐offset transient electromagnetic components. In addition, we present modelling studies with synthetic data derived from a subsurface model adjusted to our survey area with very shallow water from 10 to 50 m. As part of the planning before the survey, a parameter study of the expected subsurface, the examination of the airwave phenomenon and the justification for our 1D inversion strategy are shown. More detailed eigen parameter analyses are added to explain the measured data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Using the case of Israel, we examine the confluence of current philosophies of health care along with the historical trends of health promotion/disease prevention services to consider strategies for increasing inclusiveness and for updating and improving their service delivery. Background: Health services in Israel are at a crossroads. Plans to integrate the historic, nurse‐operated, nationwide programme, providing health promotion/disease prevention services to pregnant women and young children for all residents (Tipat Halav) into the National Health Service System's existing Sickness Funds are under discussion. Sources of evidence: Using a discourse approach, this paper examines the current and historical context of health promotion/disease prevention services. Our history shows an increasingly treatment‐based perspective and dwindling support for inclusive services. In the current health system, Tipat Halav nurses solely provide inclusive health promotion/disease prevention services to pregnant women and young children. Informed by the World Health Organization, a reorientation to health promotion/disease prevention is essential in an ageing society where chronic rather than infectious diseases are the reigning health problems. Conclusion: Israel needs to reorganize the health system using a public health approach that both incorporates existing structures and establishes new ones, such as creating a network to elicit community input, and instituting nurse‐operated clinics designed to provide health promotion/disease prevention services for all ages and all residents. Implications for health and nursing policy: The newly created health system framework demands activism among all health professionals to legislate for an inclusive, holistic orientation. Master's level clinical programmes in community health nursing are vital to ensure the provision of optimal health promotion/disease prevention services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To identify variables that can predict proficiency in powered mobility use for children in young adults.Method: Participants included 80 children and young adults (42 males, 38 females; mean age 10y 2mo, [SD 5y 1mo]; range: 2-22y) with cerebral palsy, neuromuscular disease, and spinal cord injury who participated in the ALYN Hospital Powered Mobility Lending Program from 2009 to 2016. Data were collected and compared before and after participation in the program and powered mobility levels were determined by the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH) Powered Mobility Proficiency Test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis followed by a bootstrapping procedure that was based on 1000 samples were used to determine if the variables were predictive of success on the Israeli MOH Powered Mobility Proficiency Test.Results: Significant variables for predicting success were identified: manual wheelchair propulsion, go-stop voluntarily upon request, and using a joystick. The model was able to correctly identify 80% of the children.Interpretation: Children and young adults with the ability to go-stop upon request, propel a manual wheelchair short distances, and use a joystick to activate the powered wheelchair had a higher chance of becoming proficient. In countries where wheelchair proficiency is a requirement for powered wheelchair procurement, these findings may support policy changes, as they did in Israel.What This Paper Adds: Using powered wheelchairs offers children earlier and more natural practice to determine driving proficiency. Manual wheelchair propulsion, go-stop voluntarily upon request, and using a joystick were predictors of powered mobility proficiency. More than 80% of children use a joystick with their hand to activate a powered wheelchair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why and how does national identity reopen for contestation? Existing theories argue that institutional design, social ties or elite manipulation alter the saliency and nature of national identity. These theories view the ethno‐nation as homogenous and shaped vis‐à‐vis other groups. However, I argue that we should examine the re‐emergence of nationalism as an intra‐national struggle between groups with different saliency and understandings of national identity: new issues can raise the importance of national identity for some members of the group but not others. Moreover, members develop diverging understandings of fundamentals of national identity such as citizenship, borders and the role of religion. To support the theory, the paper utilises original not yet studied archival materials to show that struggle over Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories led to contestation of the saliency and meaning of Jewish Israeli national identity. Specifically, I analyse letters individuals sent to leading government officials in the early days of the settlements and show that settlement supporters tied the issue to Zionist ethos, injecting new content into Zionist identity. Meanwhile, national identity did not rise in importance or alter in meaning for settlement opposition. The method reveals individual understandings of national identity and points at broader societal divisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]