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Terminal Ediacaran–late early Cambrian deposition, faunas and passive margin evolution of the north Indian margin are recorded in the Nigali Dhar syncline succession. Restudy of the upper Tal Group (upper lower Cambrian Koti Dhaman Formation, KDF) ichnofauna from the Khud-Drabil section reduces it to 18 confidently named forms. The lower KDF (Lower Quartzite Member) Cruziana-Rusophycus assemblage is in subtidal (not intertidal) sandsheet facies. The overlying black Shale Member (SM) records trans-East Gondwanan deepening, not intertidal facies, in the Palaeolenus Zone. The SM, with low diversity Planolites-Palaeophycus assemblage, is overlain by subtidal (not intertidal) sandsheet facies of the middle KDF (Arkosic Sandstone Member, ASM) with shallow burrowers and furrowers (Gordia marina assemblage, new; Cruziana ichnofacies). KDF faunas with Cruziana and Rusophycus are similar to coeval, shallow marine associations elsewhere in Gondwana and NW Laurentia. Interpretation of a second KDF section 20 km from Khud-Drabil has confused an understanding of Lesser Himalaya geologic evolution as it claims Ordovician Cruziana species in the ASM and an angular SM–ASM unconformity caused by the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary Kurgiakh orogeny. However, upper lower Cambrian microfaunas occur in and above the ASM, while the angular SM–ASM unconformity is consistent with submarine sliding. KDF-type ichnofaunas do not show a tropical location of Avalonia, which has the distinctive lithofacies and biotas of a high-latitude continent unrelated to Gondwana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines moral dilemmas faced by family caregivers of older adults who employ live-in migrant care workers. Being both a family caregiver as well as an employer of a live-in migrant care worker often puts family members at a crossroad, where moral decisions must be made. Lacking a formal role, family members do not have a professional code of ethics or other clear rules that can guide their actions, and their choices are rooted in cultural, community, familial, and personal values. This paper discusses moral dilemmas that result from family caregivers' dual commitment, to the wellbeing of their older sick relative who is the recipient of care, and to the wellbeing of the live-in care worker whom they employ. The paper uses relational ethics as a theoretical framework to discuss three cases that involve complex moral decision making in real life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The potentiality of converting capitals in new national fields following migration has been the focus of a number of studies. Another, much smaller, literature examines experiences of return migration. In this paper, we follow 15 Israeli families (where both mothers and children have been interviewed) who have been globally mobile for professional reasons. We examine cultural capital accumulation strategies for the children and how these facilitate the occupation of advantageous social positions while abroad. Having returned to Israel, partly due to the COVID pandemic, the national cultural capital the families have so actively cultivated in their children is evaluated as not authentic enough. Meanwhile, the cosmopolitan cultural capital that has been so valorised abroad, is not recognised as something the children can draw on to position themselves either. The paper contributes to the study of return migration, with a unique focus on globally mobile families returning ‘home’. We also examine how national cultural capital is conceived and differentially assessed as families move from a more transnational space to that of their home country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, Gohar Homayounpour responds in the format of a letter to Eyal Rozmarin's paper: Belonging and its Discontents, in which he lyrically and psychoanalytically addresses the current war in Gaza, in a deeply personal spirit as an Israeli-American psychoanalyst living under its tragic and disturbing shadow. Homayounpour attempts to question our need for belonging, towards an ethics of un-belonging. The various problematics/seductions of belonging are confronted metapsychologically, but she moves beyond that into a personal/political narrative on the horrific and ongoing tragedy in Israel and Palestine. Where dreams have failed into nightmares, where Radical hope or the ethics of the social as she puts it, becomes more radically indispensable than ever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I thank the discussors for their critique of the above paper. In geology there are rarely any absolute models but working hypotheses, which will be modified with new data. The paper under discussion, Charrach (Carbonates Evaporites 33:727–766, 2018a), presents a very new large data set, which is multi-disciplinary and integrated the most recent research. The critique by Möller et al. (Carbonates Evaporites 10.1007/s13146-019-00486-3, 2019) and their paper of 2018 (Int J Earth Sci 107:2409–2431, 2018), presents a computer simulation, which must be validated with field evidence and recent research in the area, and not based on assumptions, which have turned into facts over time. The discussors may be unfamiliar with the geological research that has been published over the last 20 years in the areas under consideration. Furthermore, the research on marine–non-marine evaporite formations is hardly considered in their discussion, yet much has been published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines digital discourses of and on the Palestinian movement, Hamas on Twitter. The data corpus contains tweets and retweets by Shehab News Agency (Hamas’s agency), and all tweets associated with the hashtag #hamas and produced by any tweeter. The data resources were extracted in January 2022. The paper uses Kress and Van Leeuwen’s (1996 & 2006) social semiotic approach and critical discourse tools to examine online, textual and visual features of tweets. The findings show that the word occupation االحتالل is the most frequent word in the tweets of Shehab News Agency, and it is associated with hashtags such as Hamas, Jerusalem, among other words. The result of world cloud shows that the hashtag #Hamas is associated with frequent words and hashtags, e.g., #gaza, #palestine, #israel, #terrorism, #terror, #hamasterrorists, ##thegazayoudontsee, #theykidnappedgaza. This discursive strategy leaves a negative representation on Hamas and legitimizes any actions conducted by Israel or any actors against Hamas. The analysis shows while Hamas’s discourses such as resistance of the Israeli occupation, Hamas is linked with terrorism as seen in tweets associated with the hashtag #hamas. In conclusion, as expected in party-loyal media, the digital discourse on twitter on and of Hamas is understood as a struggle between Hamas and Israel a fight between Hamas and Israel rather than a war against Palestinians who pay high prices. This is because Twitter blocks Hamas’s accounts and mostly remove Palestinians’ materials and contents that criticize Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suffix "washing" refers to the practice of portraying controversial actions in a positive light by leveraging progressive principles, often used by economic corporations, organizations, political parties, or governments. This paper introduces and develops the term "studentwashing" to define the deliberate effort to present Israeli territorial development as an attractive, youthful, and unique experience. This portrayal aims to engage larger segments of society in the national geopolitical project while normalizing its settler-colonial aspects as a means to ensure its continuation. While the constant development of new territorial settlements is dependent either on the right-wing religious sector or on the "quality-of-life" settlers, studentwashing is reserved for areas that are not ideological enough for the first nor sufficiently attractive to the latter. Analyzing "student villages" in the Negev, this paper depicts a new territorial strategy meant to enhance the state's spatial control over the predominantly Arab periphery inside official Israeli borders. Accordingly, this paper offers a new perspective on Israel's territorial strategies and enhances the general study of geopolitical and geo-economic spatial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Elat/Timna area in Southern Israel provides an unparalleled opportunity for geological field studies due to its unique geology, spanning from the Neoproterozoic to the Holocene. The well-exposed rocks document the variability and evolution of three major processes: the creation of the Arabian-Nubian Shield during the Neoproterozoic, the accumulation of the Cambrian to Eocene sedimentary sequence, and the Miocene to Recent evolution of the Dead Sea Transform, an active plate boundary. The area's geological diversity and extensive documentation of its geology have made it a particularly important study site for geoscience students. Recently the Geological Survey of Israel published new 1:50,000 scale geological maps of the area, updated by additional fieldwork and presented in a series of reports. This paper presents a brief geological overview and a description of six key locations, complete with maps and photos that are a showcase document to the area's geological uniqueness as an excellently-exposed window into 800 million years of Neoproterozoic to Holocene evolution at the NE African plate. [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]

In health insurance markets with regulated competition, regulators face the challenge of preventing risk selection. This paper provides a framework for analyzing the scope (i.e., potential actions by insurers and consumers) and incentives for risk selection in such markets. Our approach consists of three steps. First, we describe four types of risk selection: (a) selection by consumers in and out of the market, (b) selection by consumers between high- and low-value plans, (c) selection by insurers via plan design, and (d) selection by insurers via other channels such as marketing, customer service, and supplementary insurance. In a second step, we develop a conceptual framework of how regulation and features of health insurance markets affect the scope and incentives for risk selection along these four dimensions. In a third step, we use this framework to compare nine health insurance markets with regulated competition in Australia, Europe, Israel, and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonprofit organizations operating in civil society have become the main channel for social service provision in most neoliberal welfare economies. Social service nonprofits (SSNs) deliver essential services mainly to vulnerable and marginalized populations. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, SSNs have been at the frontline of dealing with its socioeconomic consequences. This paper focuses on the activities and responses to the crisis of SSNs in Israel. Interviews with SSN directors (N = 17) show that they dealt with growing demands for services due to the social implications of the pandemic, along with operational difficulties, such as deterioration in clients' condition, disruption in service continuity, and reduced funding and staff. Next to these difficulties, the findings highlighted the social innovations adopted by SSNs to maintain service provision, such as implementing remote service technologies, forming collaborations, and recruiting volunteers. Implications for the social services and policies are presented and discussed. [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]

How do religious citizens' election projections influence voter turnout? While previous studies have demonstrated the significant impact of religious orientation on individuals' general future outlook, little is known about the influence of religion on voters' electoral expectations and how these expectations affect voter turnout. In this paper, we employ a nuanced conceptual framework of election projections and examine the impact of religion on both the affective and probabilistic aspects of citizens' expectations regarding election outcomes. Our analysis draws upon original panel survey data collected in two countries, focusing on the 2021 Israeli general elections and the 2022 French presidential elections. The findings reveal a mobilizing effect of religious citizens' election projections in both Israel and France. Specifically, religious voters tend to have more positive affective forecasts about their projected election outcomes, consequently resulting in increased voter turnout. While affective forecasting plays a significant role in religious citizens' turnout, probabilistic certitude does not have a similar effect. We discuss the contribution and implications of these findings for research on religion and political behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks why mediation efforts between Fatah and Hamas have failed. The analysis of in-depth interviews with Palestinian stakeholders, guided by relevant theoretical frameworks, indicates that: first, Israel and its allies act as systemic contextual barriers to ending the Palestinian split. Second, serious obstacles to reconciliation exist because the split has lasted for nearly 16 years. Third, mediator characteristics did not affect the outcomes. Fourth, increased polarization in the region following the Arab Spring has adversely affected reconciliation. This research points to the futility of mediation efforts in the current circumstances and the need to challenge existing systemic barriers to reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Aiming to explore how audience consume and produce media events in the digital, distributed and social era we live in, the paper analyzes the viewing patterns of video news items during a media event (the week of Donald Trump's presidential visit to Israel, the first to a country outside the US), compared to a parallel comparable "ordinary" period (two weeks later, in which no inordinacy events occurred). The comparison focused on simultaneous activities of audiences engaged with the event, with either related (i.e. second screening) or unrelated (i.e. media multitasking). Design/methodology/approach: The research is a diary study based on a dedicated mobile app in which respondents reported their news-related behavior during two periods: a media event period and comparable "ordinary" period. Findings: Participants reported watching significantly more news video items in the first day of the media event week compared to the first day of the "ordinary" week. More than half of the viewing reports of the media event were not on TV. In the media event week, there were significantly higher percentages of viewing reports on smartphones/computers and significantly higher percentages of second-screening reports. Originality/value: This is the first study that empirically explores the viewing patterns of video news items during a media event, compared to an "ordinary" period, focusing on media second screening of audiences engaged with the event. This comparison may reveal whether (1) media events still retain their centrality in a multi-screen era and (2) the role of the internet and online social media in the experience of media events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted, in part, as a response to the horrific antisemitism leading to the extermination of millions of Jews in World War II. Yet, today, organisations that utilise human rights instruments to criticise Israel's laws, policies and practices are themselves being cast as antisemitic. How has the contemporary human rights regime come to be charged with antisemitism? The ostensible answer is that the meaning of antisemitism has expanded to include anti-Zionism and harsh criticism of Israel. While scholars have debated the validity of this expansion, this paper interrogates three types of abstractions: those deployed by traditional antisemites, those emanating from human rights, and those mobilised by the new antisemitism doctrine. An analysis of these abstractions helps clarify the new hostility between antisemitism and human rights. Whereas Zionism aims to protect Jews by asserting a right to Jewish difference within the context of a nation-state, human rights aim to protect Jews by promoting an egalitarian distribution of rights among the population. The crux of the matter is that the solution human rights offer to antisemitism also threatens the Zionist project, since it challenges the racialized mode of governance that this political ideology has implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of an activated sludge process at a paper mill (AIPM) in Hedera, Israel, was often characterized by disturbances. As part of a research and development project, a study on new biological treatment was initiated. The study included the operation of three pilot units: a. anaerobic treatment by upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB); b. aerobic treatment by two pilot units including activated sludge and membrane bioreactor (MBR), which have been operated in parallel for comparison reasons. The pilot plant working on anaerobic treatment performed COD reduction from 2,365 to 755 mg/L, expressed as average values. Based on the pilot study, a full scale anaerobic treatment system has been erected. During a period of 100 days, after achieving steady state, the MBR system provided steady operation performance, while the activated sludge produced effluent characterized by oscillatory qualities. The following results, based on average values, indicate much lower suspended solids concentrations in the MBR effluent, 2.5 mg/L, as compared to 25 mg/L in the activated sludge. The ability to develop and maintain a concentration of over 11,000 mg/L of mixed liquor volatile suspended solids in the MBR enabled an intensive bioprocess at relatively high cell residence time. This study demonstrates that the anaerobic process, followed by aerobic MBR can provide effluent of high quality which can be considered for economic reuse in the paper mill industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the context and findings of a study focused on motivational factors affecting the choice of the medical imaging technician profession. This profession is important around the globe, and more and more required on the labour market. Still, the supply of imaging technicians is low in many countries, so the waiting time for the tests is unreasonably long. This delays the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses on time and, undoubtedly, harms the public’s basic right for healthcare services. This study assumes that there are motivational factors that affect people’s decision to choose, and therefore learn the medical imaging technician profession. Aiming to understand what are those factors that affect this process of choice, the study focused on the case of Israel. A questionnaire-based survey was administered to 70 medical imaging technicians working in the Israeli healthcare system with the view to examine what has motivated them to choose this profession. The paper presents the empirical results indicating that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are high and have an impact on the process of choice. The findings offer valuable insights that might help improving the supply of imaging technician profession, and the retention of employees in the healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper traces the origin of the Middle East conflict and discusses the gradual evolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict from a historical perspective. The paper discusses the peace negotiations undertaken for the region during different periods and the contribution of the international community in reaching a compromise formula. The paper discusses the emergence and the role of Hamas and how it gained political legitimacy. The paper concludes with the views of Israel and India perspective. [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 aims to study the Zionist narrative and the changes that have occurred over time ever since the emergence of the Zionist movement. The study starts with a theoretical section on comparative colonial settlement models, definitions of the novel, and its changes between the Zionist novel and others. In the second section, the study discusses the main components of the Zionist narrative, as classified by Bar-On, which are: gathering exiles in the Land of Israel, creating a regional space for Jews there, creating a contemporary reality for the Jewish community, achieving political sovereignty, and finaly the achievement of peace and international acceptance. The paper analyzes the intersections and differences in the novel between political Zionism, labor Zionism, revisionist Zionism (Iron Wall Zionism), and religious Zionism, and across time. The study ends with a summary of its findings, wondering about the possibility of the Zionist narrative continuation in light of the cracks it is exposed to, both internally and externally. The study is heavily based on Zionist references, and Jewish ones in particular, in order to deconstruct the narrative from within. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the state apparatus classifies who are the citizens to be symbolically included in the collective, and who are to be excluded by analysing interfaith marriages in the Israeli context, where ethno-national identity is society's main category organizer. I argue that the women's social-economic standing (working-class versus middle-class) and ethnic origin (Mizrahi Jews of Middle Eastern and North African ancestry versus Ashkenazi Jews of European ancestry) play an important role not only in their strategies but in the nationalist rhetoric against them. The paper also shows how interfaith marriages, although rather rare in Israel, determine that ethno-national boundaries are more permeable than they are first appear, although crossing and shifting them is never simple. Yet the importance of this phenomenon is not in its prevalence, but in its social and political impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 10,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel - approximately half of whom are women - cross the Green Line on a regular basis to study at universities in the West Bank. Challenging views that would dismiss these cross-border flows as illustrative of their relatively privileged legal, material and socio-economic status as citizens, this paper engages the concept of mobility capital as well as the work of feminist scholars on the capital investment strategies of women and minorities to reveal the more limited capacity of Palestinian citizens to cross the Green Line as well as the defensively-oriented mobilising strategies which they have adopted not only to move but to maintain their presence, access their rights, and secure their future livelihoods in Israel. Arguing that these cross-border student mobilities should be seen as both a counter-hegemonic and 'stacked' form of capital accumulation that is heavily reliant on the bridging work of informal networks, this paper seeks to advance recent calls to centre settler colonialism within the field of mobilities while drawing attention to the more complex interconnections that exist between mobility and capital in the everyday life struggles of indigenous communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the financialisation literature, scholars have turned their attention to the state, exploring the adoption of financial activities by state actors, paying less attention to the limits of state financialisation. This paper explores these limits using the case of social impact bonds (SIBs). Pioneered in the UK in 2010 and subsequently trialed in some 35 countries, SIBs use private capital to fund social programs, with governments providing a return based on the degree of success. Despite expectations of dramatic growth, the SIB model has never truly taken hold. Based on the rollout of SIBs in the UK, Israel, and Canada, the paper considers the challenges encountered by the SIB enterprise as a form of financialised statecraft and identifies three barriers: (1) resistance to political agendas of state financialisation; (2) clashes between finance and public sector cultures; (3) financial innovation seen as 'risk' and 'disruption' to entrenched socio-technical routines. These barriers reveal tensions both within the state itself and between finance and the public sector, and indicate the importance of thinking about the limits and failures of state financialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resolving protracted, asymmetric, and ethno-national conflicts is a notoriously problematic process, and only a handful of such attempts have ended in success. This paper is the first comparative study examining the relevance of "politically motivated violent offenders" (PMVOs) in propelling the shift from a long and bloody armed struggle to a negotiated agreement; indeed, they play an indispensable role in the ratification and the eventual implementation of any such agreement. We compare the role of PMVOs in three cases of protracted conflict resolution processes in the 1990s—Northern Ireland, South Africa, and the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords. We argue that PMVOs constitute a distinguished socio-political actor characterized by high symbolic capital as the embodiment of the national struggle. This renders them a major source of political legitimacy, a necessary condition for attaining peace with hitherto sworn enemies and securing its implementation and stabilization. The paper analyzes the provisions within the respective agreements pertaining to prisoners' release as an incentive, or lack thereof, especially for organizations outside the peace process to cease violence. Whereas the British and South African governments fully recognized the PMVO issue, Israel's failure to recognize its importance was a major factor leading to the breakdown of the Oslo process. [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]

Background: Many studies have shown an association between COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases (ADs). Studies on COVID-19 and ADs have also increased significantly, but there is no bibliometric analysis to summarize the association between COVID-19 and ADs. The purpose of this study was to perform a bibliometric and visual analysis of published studies related to COVID-19 and ADs. Methods: Based on the Web of Science Core Collection SCI-Expanded database, we utilize Excel 2019 and visualization analysis tools Co-Occurrence13.2 (COOC13.2), VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and HistCite for analysis. Results: A total of 1736 related kinds of papers were included, and the number of papers presented an overall increasing trend. The country/region with the most publications is the USA, the institution is the Harvard Medical School, the author is Yehuda Shoenfeld from Israel, and the journal is Frontiers in Immunology. Research hotspots include immune responses (such as cytokines storm), multisystem ADs (such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis), treatment modalities (such as hydroxychloroquine, rituximab), vaccination and autoimmune mechanisms (such as autoantibodies, molecular mimicry). The future research direction may be the mechanisms and treatment ideas of the association between ADs and COVID-19 (such as NF-κB, hyperinflammation, antiphospholipid antibodies, neutrophil extracellular traps, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor), other cross-diseases of COVID-19 and ADs (such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, acute respiratory distress syndrome). Conclusion: The growth rate of publications regarding ADs and COVID-19 has risen sharply. Our research results can help researchers grasp the current status of ADs and COVID-19 research and find new research directions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, we study the shifted hypergeometric function f(z)=z_{2}F_{1}(a,b;c;z) for real parameters with 0

A strain designated GUMF5 was isolated in Goa-India from sediments of Dead Sea-Israel and identified as haloarchaeon Halomicroarcula pellucida based on 16S rRNA gene analysis similarity value of 99.84%. Strain GUMF5 grew on mineral salts medium with 20% NaCl and 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose-sodium (CMC-Na) as a sole source of carbon and produced haloextremozyme cellulase. The enzyme was concentrated using Sephadex G20, precipitated with ethanol, dialyzed and retentate purified using Sephadex G200, the size exclusion chromatography. A yield of 78.53% cellulase with an activity of 131.13 U/mg and 1.24-fold purity was obtained. The purified cellulase had optimum activity at 20% NaCl, at 40 ºC, 0.5% CMC-Na, pH 7 and 150 rpm. SDS-PAGE combined with zymographic analysis revealed the molecular weight of cellulase as 240 kDa, 40 kDa and 17.4 kDa. The activity of the enzyme was stimulated by metallic cations in the order of Ca+2 > Mn+2 > Mg+2 > SO42− > NH4+ and was inhibited by Ag+ > Fe+2 > Cu+2. Methanol and ethanol enhanced the cellulase activity by 6% and 26%, respectively. The haloextremozyme cellulase degraded Whatman No. 1 filter paper indicated in scanning electron micrographs, exposure of open pores and fibers without any intra connectivity corresponding to paperase activity and implicating the possible use of enzyme to bio-convert cellulosic waste. Conclusively, Halomicroarcula pellucida GUMF5 (Accession number: MH244431), globally, is the only Halomicroarcula pellucida isolated from the sediments of Dead Sea producing haloextremozyme cellulase, and hence is an important biotechnological resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strain designated GUMF5 was isolated in Goa-India from sediments of Dead Sea-Israel and identified as haloarchaeon Halomicroarcula pellucida based on 16S rRNA gene analysis similarity value of 99.84%. Strain GUMF5 grew on mineral salts medium with 20% NaCl and 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose-sodium (CMC-Na) as a sole source of carbon and produced haloextremozyme cellulase. The enzyme was concentrated using Sephadex G20, precipitated with ethanol, dialyzed and retentate purified using Sephadex G200, the size exclusion chromatography. A yield of 78.53% cellulase with an activity of 131.13 U/mg and 1.24-fold purity was obtained. The purified cellulase had optimum activity at 20% NaCl, at 40 ºC, 0.5% CMC-Na, pH 7 and 150 rpm. SDS-PAGE combined with zymographic analysis revealed the molecular weight of cellulase as 240 kDa, 40 kDa and 17.4 kDa. The activity of the enzyme was stimulated by metallic cations in the order of Ca+2 > Mn+2 > Mg+2 > SO42− > NH4+ and was inhibited by Ag+ > Fe+2 > Cu+2. Methanol and ethanol enhanced the cellulase activity by 6% and 26%, respectively. The haloextremozyme cellulase degraded Whatman No. 1 filter paper indicated in scanning electron micrographs, exposure of open pores and fibers without any intra connectivity corresponding to paperase activity and implicating the possible use of enzyme to bio-convert cellulosic waste. Conclusively, Halomicroarcula pellucida GUMF5 (Accession number: MH244431), globally, is the only Halomicroarcula pellucida isolated from the sediments of Dead Sea producing haloextremozyme cellulase, and hence is an important biotechnological resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the increasing trend of using social media for verbal violence and brutal attacks, on anybody expressing a moderate opinion in Israeli Society. It looks at the polarity within the Israeli Society among the groups of people using social media and extreme rightists. It also discussed include role of lack of a moderating and containing leadership in controlling emotions on social media sites as Facebook and WhatsApp.

Background: Errors in medication administration by qualified nursing staff in hospitals are a significant risk factor for patient safety. In recent decades, electronic medical records (EMR) systems have been implemented in hospitals, and it has been claimed that they contribute to reducing such errors. However, systematic research on the subject in Israel is scarce. This study examines the position of the qualified nursing staff regarding the impact of electronic medical records systems on factors related to patient safety, including errors in medication administration, workload, and availability of medical information. Methods: This cross-sectional study examines three main variables: Medication errors, workload, and medical information availability, comparing two periods– before and after EMR implementation based on self-reports. A final sample of 591 Israeli nurses was recruited using online private social media groups to complete an online structured questionnaire. The questionnaires included items assessing workload (using the Expanding Nursing Stress Scale), medical information availability (the Carrington-Gephart Unintended Consequences of Electronic Health Record Questionnaire), and medical errors (the Medical Error Checklists). Items were assessed twice, once for the period before the introduction of electronic records and once after. In addition, participants answered open-ended questions that were qualitatively analyzed. Results: Nurses perceive the EMR as reducing the extent of errors in drug administration (mean difference = -0.92 ± 0.90SD, p < 0.001), as well as the workload (mean difference = -0.83 ± 1.03SD, p < 0.001) by ∼ 30% on average, each. Concurrently, the systems are perceived to require a longer documentation time at the expense of patients' treatment time, and they may impair the availability of medical information by about 10% on average. Conclusion: The results point to nurses' perceived importance of EMR systems in reducing medication errors and relieving the workload. Despite the overall positive attitudes toward EMR systems, nurses also report that they reduce information availability compared to the previous pen-and-paper approach. A need arises to improve the systems in terms of planning and adaptation to the field and provide appropriate technical and educational support to nurses using them. [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]

How do lesbian and bisexual, cisgender and transgender (LBT) women talk about sex? This paper looks at constructions of sexual discourse and the production of sexual subjectivity from the perspective of LBT women in the Israeli periphery, asking how they construct their lives as sexual subjects. Applying Sara Ahmed's 'orientations' concept, we argue that the periphery serves as an LGBTphobic context that impacts sexual discourses and constructs LBT sexual subjectivities. We conceptualize LBT women's sexual subjectivity as distinct and anchored in spatiality, and frame it as oriented sexual subjectivity. This particular subjectivity reveals an intertwined movement between silence and discourse, urban and rural, oriented to the space inhabited by LBT women. Oriented sexual subjectivity is constructed particularly through an alignment of LBT women's discourse on sex and sexual practices with the heteronormative spaces in which they live. Based on 61 interviews with LBT women in the Israeli periphery, we show how sex is discussed only in relation to violent experiences or while talking about urban experiences in Tel Aviv. This discursive framework reveals how in the periphery, like a palimpsest, sex is cartographically hidden in deep layers of meaning rather than discussed in the open, and how LBT sexual subjectivity is oriented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article ponders Israeli-Druze relations during Lebanon's 1983 War of the Mountain in light of derestricted sources pertaining to the Robert C. McFarlane mission in Lebanon. After the assassination of the Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel in September 1982 and the rise to the presidency of his brother Amine, Israel's relations with Lebanon's Christians soured. By contrast, Israel's connections with the Lebanese Druze intensified, and the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin threatened to establish a "Druze Canton/Israeli Protectorate" in the Shuf-Aley region. Ostensibly, Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze community, allied himself during the Lebanese Civil War with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Syria. Untapped diplomatic documents show, however, that Jumblatt also courted Israel and developed ties with the Menachem Begin administration. Uri Lubrani, an Israeli official who recruited members of Israel's Druze community to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the 1950s, played an important role in developing Israel's ties with Jumblatt. In this paper, I flesh out the dynamics of Israel's discrete relations with Lebanon's Druze community and their implications on the trajectory of the Lebanese conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a key passage in the Palestinian Talmud (the Yerushalmi), on mGit 4.8, that presents a salient discussion about the halakhic meaning of gentile ownership of lands in the land of Israel. Two theoretical moves are evident within the amoraic effort to define it. The first is an innovative turn, achieved through a creative reading of Leviticus 25, that interprets Jubilee law as a model by which gentile possession of the Land is portrayed as a lamentable yet temporary form of partial ownership, similar to enslaved Jews in gentile hands, until returning to Jewish control.The second is a conceptual deliberation on select legal categories of ownership, most notably the concept of ususfructus , which may be seen in light of their centrality in Roman property law, especially given the key role that such designations hold in Roman construction of hierarchies and space. I suggest viewing the rabbinic use of these categories as a subversive strategy, either as an adaptation to the Roman definition of Italic land or in opposition to Roman perceptions of provincial lands, that is, in dialogue with the very Roman notions of space and control over subordinate populations that the rabbis themselves were confronting in the land of Israel.This sugya thus provides a unique view of how these Palestinian rabbis perceived the Roman presence in their land and their mindset as a conquered community and, in a broader sense, a valuable source for better understanding provincial perspectives under the Roman Empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage (e.g., historic buildings, memorials and museums) has been used to construct and negotiate various identities and meanings in the present, specifically in the context of nation-states. In transforming the past into heritage, however, States may disregard other histories-ones which deviate from the historical narratives they promote. In this paper, I discuss the case of the Heritage Plan, Israel’s official cultural heritage policy. Specifically, by using the discursive approach, I expose and assess cases of silencing competing histories which would challenge the history promoted by the Heritage Plan. My findings suggest that, in addition to privileging Jewish heritage, the Heritage Plan is used as a mechanism for erasing competing, non-Jewish histories. This article presents three case-studies of silencing: the first investigates the Druze heritage center; the second inquires into Israeli heritage practices in the West Bank; the third examines the Castel national heritage site associated with the 1948 war. The analysis of these cases reveals how the Heritage Plan is guided by ethnic and religious factors, whereby heritage assets are not necessarily promoted according to their full historical value, but are instead used to sustain current power structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the logistic planning, the important focus of international student mobility programmes in social work is on the field supervision process and measuring its outcome. Without a social work council in India for setting uniform standards in field education, this paper proposes a framework for field supervision to support inbound mobility students in India. The study predominantly explores the qualitative experiences of field supervisors from India, Israel, and Australia on fieldwork supervision. The themes evolved from the study are focused on the supervision process, strategies followed, challenges faced, and outcome measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationships between the consumption of 'bad' or 'good' digital economic news and attitudes toward immigrant and ethnic minorities during the crisis that developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study considered attitudes toward two minority groups in Israel: immigrant citizens from English-speaking countries, and Israeli Palestinian citizens, an ethnic minority. The data were collected through an online survey of 866 respondents, who were members of the majority population group. The study found that, during the global crisis, exposure to bad digital news was associated with more positive attitudes toward both disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged minority groups. Moreover, in times of global crisis, people focused mostly on local rather than global digital news. In contrast to the idea of Intergroup Threat Theory, the study revealed that feelings of economic threat during the global crisis engendered higher cohesion between different population groups, and more positive attitudes toward minorities. In times of crisis, bad news for the economy brings good news for social solidarity—people tend to rally around the flag; this phenomenon even occurs between groups engaged in years-long, protracted conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we inspect the stable geometry of thin-shell wormholes in the background of static spherically-symmetric AdS black holes solution bounded by dark fluid and Chaplygin-like equation of state p = − ℬ / ρ , where p and ρ denote the pressure and energy density that are related through positive constant ℬ. For this purpose, we consider the two equivalent copies of black holes and connected them at the hypersurface through cut and paste approach. Then, we employ the linearized radial perturbation to discuss the stability of the developed wormhole geometry by assuming variable equations of state. We obtain the maximum stable configuration for massive black holes for both barotropic and Chaplygin variable equations of state while for higher values of n , stable regions decrease. It is found that for every selection of physical parameters of black hole geometry with low intensity of Chaplygin dark fluid, we get the stable configuration of thin-shell wormholes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars who study the Northern Kingdom of Israel repeatedly refer to it as a centralised state or kingdom and often take a neo-evolutionary approach in their assessments of its character. This paper argues for a different approach, one in which the agency of northern Israelite actors/taxpayers and their intricate kinship-based networks are highlighted. It applies collective action theory, which states that rational social actors cooperate with rulers, and the patrimonial household model, which states that social order is viewed as the extension of the ruler's (and god's) household, to an analysis of administration and cult in northern Israel during the Iron II. It argues that the Omrides benefited from taxpayer cooperation and a reliance on complex kin-based systems. The same can be said for the Nimshides who, it is suggested, were operating within an even less centralised system than their predecessors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student motivation has emerged as a major issue in mathematics education in recent years. Utilizing the capabilities of contemporary technology and the accessibility of a STEM environment is crucial for the creation and application of educational materials. Integration of the created resources will increase the interest of students to pursue in-depth studies of science and math. In this paper are presented the results of the conducted study on the effectiveness of using problem-based learning (PBL) modules to learn mathematics. The study was carried out in Israel with the participation of teachers and ninth graders. As part of our research, we created a novel program and conducted an experimental study, evaluated its impacts on the designated target groups, and analyzed how the program affected student subgroups. Pre- and post-program questionnaires measured ability feeling, relevance perception, and motivation. The results of the analysis of the students indicate a considerable rise in the motivating factors associated with self-esteem and the utility of mathematics training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most significant aspects of cultural variation that world archaeology has revealed is the many different forms of social complexity among ancient and more recent premodern societies. Although this exposes the shortcomings of older evolutionary approaches, Levantine and broader Near Eastern archaeology remains relatively inflexible and conservative in the perception of social complexity in the archaeological record. A necessary association between complexity and monumentality remains prevalent, whereby monumentality is understood as an important operative cog in the complexity machine. Conversely, complexity can only be read in the archaeological record where monumentality is present. This paper seeks to untie this necessary association by demonstrating that complexity without monumentality occurred in societies of the biblical period that were fully or partly nomadic and otherwise lacked a clear cultural conception of monumentality as central to the ideology of political authority and structure. This is done through the presentation of early Iron Age Edom and its implications for the understanding of the neighboring United Monarchy of ancient Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ethiopian Jews of the Beta Israel community are unique in the annals of Jewish history. The community maintained its Jewish identity and devotedly upheld observance of the mitzvot, even in the face of grave physical and spiritual difficulties and unrelenting attempts to persuade them to abandon their religion. Yet, their traditions diverge significantly from the accepted Rabbinic halakhic tradition that is the norm in Israel. This paper examines Yom Kippur observances and describes key differences between the Beta Israel tradition, which reflects the centrality of atonement, and the Rabbinic tradition, which reflects the centrality of repentance. These distinctions stand as manifestations of a set of profound differences within the very consciousness that animates the two traditions. Discussion, using the works of thinkers like Rabbis Joseph B. Soloveitchik, his disciple, Prof. Rabbi David Hartman, and Ethiopian sages, will focus on the more theocentric Beta Israel tradition, in which individuals are perceived, and perceive themselves, as a part of a collective, in contrast to the Rabbinic tradition, which places a greater emphasis on the agency of the individual and human reason. We will highlight the difference between the concepts of "repentance" and "atonement" that are at the root of the two communities' theologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the normalisation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on the part of their inhabitants. Focusing on the so-called 'non-ideological' settlements that evolved from ideological outposts into middle-class suburbs over the last three decades, this study engages spatial politics in Israel/Palestine in general, and the transformations of the settlement project in particular. Based on ethnographic research in the region, I argue that the acceptance and normalisation of the settlements among Israelis is closely related to their affective and aesthetic experiences. I focus on the co-production of space/territory, affect and aesthetics to show how physical transformations of the settlements since their establishment have turned many of these key nodes of the Israeli occupational apparatus into family-friendly communities, thus erasing the violence of the Israeli control over the Palestinians from settlers' lives. I further demonstrate that these notions are not disrupted even by one of the most prominent symbols and technologies of the occupation, the fence/wall. This study thus contributes to understanding of how the interplay of spatial, territorial, aesthetic and affective practices works to normalise colonial conquest and domination by making their manifestations seemingly natural and even appealing on the part of the privileged segments of the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a comparative study of Israel and Singapore to understand the national security policies of geographically smaller states. These states are militarily powerful, geographically small, and in close proximity with much larger potential adversaries. These states are also different in terms of their relationship with that much larger state as well as their independence narratives. Israel remains in a state of conflict with Iran through Syria and through terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel was created through war. On the other hand, Singapore has a complicated relationship with Malaysia based on suspicious cooperation. Malaysia also allowed Singapore independence given differences in the voting behavior of Singaporeans. Both states share a military strategy of preemption or prevention. Since these states are geographically small, striking first may offer Israel and Singapore a better chance at avoiding annihilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the seemingly puzzling situation in which legislators vote against a government of which they will become a part. Why are legislators from the coalition parties not fully disciplined in the investiture vote? Is it because of the type of government when the characteristics of the investiture vote is similar (a simple majority and an ex-post vote)? Using Israel and Italy as case studies, we demonstrate that when the type of government is an oversized coalition and the investiture consists of a simple majority and an ex-post vote (as a constant), legislators will be willing to vote against their party. We argue that they do so to express their disappointment with the positions they are offered and/or the policies that the coalition is adopting. Given the simple majority and oversized coalition, they are risking little and potentially reaping future rewards from their actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mean dimension may decrease after taking the natural extension. In this paper we show that mean dimension is preserved by natural extension for an endomorphism on a compact metrizable abelian group. As an application, we obtain that the mean dimension of an algebraic cellular automaton coincides with the mean dimension of its natural extension, which strengthens a result of Burguet and Shi [Israel J. Math. (to appear).] with a different proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]