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Objective: Schools and the education system are powerful tools for cultivating healthy lifestyles. This research focuses on characterising the factors contributing to the development of health-promoting schools in Israel, and understanding how schools can offer a framework for improving students' health. Fullan's triple change model with its focus on three phases in the change process in schools -- the initiation phase, the implementation phase and the institutionalisation phase -- served as a framework for analysis. Design and setting: This qualitative-constructivist study involved the analysis of data collected from 26 elementary school principals in Israel, 15 of whom belonged to the health promotion school network (HPSN) and 11 who did not. In addition, 10 health promotion leaders from within the schools were interviewed. Methods: Data collection took place by means of semi-structured interviews. in which the questions asked referred to the three phases identified in Fullan's process of change model. We analysed the data using thematic content analysis. Results: Each identified theme was associated with one of the phases proposed in Fullan's model of change. The "initiation" phase included collaboration with key stakeholders, principals' personal commitment, and dissemination of ideas through personal connections. The "implementation" phase included gaining access to appropriate tools and materials, action to deal with barriers to change, and the creation of a holistic health promotion environment. The "institutionalisation" phase included the development of administrative strategies such as adherence to routines, the inclusion of regular events in the school calendar, and the allocation of time frames for the activities undertaken. Conclusion: Fullan's model proved useful in analysing efforts to develop health-promoting schools. The model signalled the importance of using a structured approach throughout the institutionalisation phase in a manner attuned to the unique nature of the school. Alongside identifying key factors that support assimilation, it is crucial to assess their integration into the school culture. The school principal's role is critical throughout all the phases of the development process.

This study examines how teachers' perceptions of academic emphasis moderate the relationship between their middle leaders' transformational leadership and organizational resilience subdimensions (principal organizational resilience and faculty organizational resilience). Academic emphasis in schools prioritizes academic excellence in teaching and is crucial in evaluating school effectiveness. The study used a two-source survey design with self-report data from 609 participants in 103 secondary schools in Israel. The results indicate that academic emphasis moderates the relationship between transformational leadership's sub-dimensions ("idealized influence," "inspirational motivation," "individualized consideration" and "intellectual stimulation") and principal organizational resilience but not faculty organizational resilience. The findings suggest that middle leaders can create a positive academic emphasis to optimize their transformational leadership's effects on organizational resilience. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This case study examined the characteristics of classroom discourse during physics lessons in two single-sex high school classes--a boys' vs. a girls' class. All lessons were taught by the same teacher and covered the same topics. For each class, six lessons were recorded, transcribed, and coded and the characteristics of the discussion were counted, including the number of words spoken by the teacher and students, the number of open-ended and closed-ended questions posed, and the number of open and closed discourse segments and their initiator. A total of 549 closed-ended questions, 1,151 open-ended questions, 139 closed and 168 open discourse segments were analyzed. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the teacher on his views of the discussion characteristic in his lessons and the differences he has observed between boys and girls in terms of these characteristics. The average number of all classroom discourse parameters examined was similar in both classes and no significant differences were observed. In both classes, the students participated very actively in the discourse throughout most of the lesson, both among themselves and with the teacher. From the teacher's perspective, the differences in discussions between the classes, if any, are not related to the student's gender, but rather to the character of the students and the classroom environment. The main conclusion that emerges from this study is that the girls' discourse in a single-sex class does not differ significantly from the boys' discourse, as discussed in the article.

The study aimed to examine the effectiveness of two intervention programs in improving dietary habits in two groups of preschool and fifth-grade students. The programs were tailored to the target age group. The composition of each of the children's breakfasts that were brought from home was recorded both before and after the intervention program. Every food item received a score according to its nutritional quality, and each meal was summed accordingly. T-tests were performed in order to determine the significance of differences between the nutritional quality of the children's breakfast items before and after the intervention. It was found that the nutritional quality of all breakfast components and its overall health quality improved significantly in both age groups. The study's results indicate that the intervention program is effective for a range of young ages. It is recommended to conduct such programs starting in preschools, and subsequently in schools.

This study examines the attitudes of Israeli preschool teachers towards the teaching of science and technology (S&T) in preschools in general, and towards the Israeli Ministry of Education's S&T program in particular. It assesses the connection between the teachers' attitudes and their implementation of the program and examines the difficulties they expressed and improvements they suggested regarding the implementation of the S&T program in their classes. Ninety preschool teachers responded to a questionnaire assessing their attitudes regarding teaching S&T to preschool children. Eight of these teachers were interviewed regarding the content, methods, and application of the S&T program in their preschools. The results show that most of the teachers are engaged in teaching scientific content in the preschool, despite time constraints. All the teachers expressed positive attitudes towards teaching S&T in preschool, attributed great importance to it, and said it is appropriate for children of that age. However, they admitted that they do not fully apply the official S&T teaching program in their classes. Further, they teach mainly according to their personal knowledge, rather than the professional program. Many said they lack sufficient knowledge and are not fully familiar with the S&T program. They stated that professional development could improve utilization of time and resources, increase cooperation with other educators, and promote positive attitudes towards teaching S&T in preschool. The main implication of this research is that a nationwide, professional training program for preschool teachers must be introduced along with the new S&T curriculum. Such training should provide teachers with in-depth knowledge of the program's content, and methods for implementing it, and provide them with personal guidance to enable them to teach S&T with minimal difficulties or concerns.

Young children are familiar with astronomical phenomena from everyday life, such as the movement of the celestial bodies or the shift from day to night. The present study examines the extent to which kindergarten students understand abstract concepts related to celestial bodies and processes (such as gravity and time), and whether they change their perceptions of these concepts following an educational intervention. The study also examines what children report about this learning experience. The study, conducted in a kindergarten in Israel with 32 students, combined quantitative and qualitative research methods. The children's knowledge of astronomy was examined before and after the intervention. The teacher conducted observations, collected the children's creative projects, and interviewed them. She also asked them if they enjoyed the learning process and why. The findings show that few of the children had knowledge about concepts related to astronomy prior to the learning process, and some expressed misconceptions. Following the intervention, there was a significant increase in the children's knowledge and ability to explain astronomical concepts and many of their previously expressed misconceptions had been corrected. Most of the children said they were interested in learning, although some said they felt fear during the lessons. The results indicate that kindergarten students are able to study topics related to astronomy, although they are abstract and difficult to demonstrate. The conclusion of the study is that teachers should be encouraged to integrate studies of astronomy and space into the science curricula for kindergartens. This should be done using appropriate pedagogy that will increase the children's interest and involvement in learning and avoid causing them fears. [Note: The page range (305-328) is incorrect. The correct page range is p305-327.]

Student body diversity is a key goal of Israeli higher education policy. While this goal aims to reduce inequality, a group-based national plan with differential guidelines for Arabs, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Jews of Ethiopian descent uncovers systemic stratifying mechanisms. This article examines why a policy intent on promoting equality does so through different paths for different groups. It employs discourse analysis of policy narratives arising from 75 policy documents and 54 interviews with national and institutional policymakers. The findings reveal that simultaneous equalizing and stratifying mechanisms are explained by an intersection of socioeconomic and ethnonational guiding logics. This is conceptualized through a threefold diversity policy model: (1) "Universal," encouraging higher education participation as an inclusive civic and social right; (2) "Socioeconomic," providing enhanced support based on needs and on perceived economic benefit; and (3) "Ethnonational," with stratified recognition, allocation, and implementation mechanisms. This model clarifies how the policy is designed to reduce socioeconomic inequality while still allowing for ethnonational stratification. It contributes to the higher education policy literature by adding citizenship as an important construct of policy processes in diverse societies, to be considered in the pursuit of equity and equality.

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate whether the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership are differently influenced by middle-leaders' personality traits from the Big Five typology, namely, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, and neuroticism, and whether the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership influence teachers' professional and organizational commitment differentially. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from two sources: 114 middle-leaders and 282 teachers randomly chosen from elementary schools in Israel. Hierarchical regression analyses and structural equation modelling were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings: First, the findings indicated that the teachers perceived their middle-leaders as transformational leaders without distinguishing between the sub-dimensions. Second, transformational leadership was positively correlated to teachers' professional and organizational commitment. Finally, positive relationships were found between the middle-leaders personality traits of agreeableness and openness to experience and teachers' commitment. The study findings point to two paths to facilitate teachers' professional and organizational commitment, either through the middle-leaders transformational leadership or their personality. Originality/value: Although recent research has shown that leaders' personal traits are critical components in leading a team effectively and promoting employee behaviors, few studies in the educational context have focused on the differential impact of the Big Five typology on middle-leaders' tendency toward the sub-dimensions of transformational leadership (TL) and its implications for teachers' commitment. By integrating research from both educational and non-educational literature, the goal of the present study, then, is to address these important yet relatively unstudied issues.

Background: Discourse is the teacher's principal pedagogical tool in class. Studies stress the importance of research on discourse in science education and demonstrate its cruciality for understanding science. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of the classroom discourse in lessons on physics. Sample: Classroom discourse was studied in five classes at five high schools in Israel, 110 students in all. Altogether, seventeen lessons comprising 373 discourse episodes and 1,892 questions were analyzed. Design and Methods: The discursive characteristics examined were patterns of discourse episodes and their frequency in each lesson, the initiator of discourse (teacher or student), and the types, frequency, and initiators of questions asked. Results: The findings show that despite variance in teachers' and students' traits, all lessons were similar in various parameters of discourse. Most classroom discourse was dynamic and continual; many questions were asked and were of diverse types that induced large numbers of discourse episodes. The lessons differed mainly in the number of teacher-initiated higher-order thinking questions and the number of open discourse episodes -- elements indicative of dialogic teaching. However, even among teachers who asked more high-order questions and initiated open discourse with higher frequency, the discourse episodes were brief and rarely led to meaningful discussions and deep thinking. Conclusions: Investing more in dialogic discourse may be useful in building knowledge and effective learning of abstract ideas in a challenging subject such as physics.

Higher education systems worldwide strive for diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, policies meant to support these values often – intentionally or not – construct new forms of labeling, discrimination, and exclusion. This study examines this dynamic through the case of access and participation plans for Arabs in Israeli higher education. An analysis of citizenship discourses used throughout the policy narrative is applied to state policy documents and interviews with policymakers and implementors. The analysis reveals two narratives describing a single policy: a ‘shared interests’ narrative focused on economic development and growth, and a ‘balancing tradeoffs’ narrative balancing economy and security. These narratives help identify the policy as a ‘multiple diversity regime’ with social, economic, civic, and ethnonational dimensions. Diversity, equity, and inclusion values are promoted through social, economic, and civic convergence, while labeling, discrimination, and exclusion arise through economic and ethnonational convergence. This study contributes to higher education research by accounting for the complex and multi-dimensional dynamic of diversity policies, especially in deeply divided societies. It calls for higher education systems and institutions to take on a more comprehensive approach, going beyond the social and economic dimensions of diversity, to pursue substantial ethnic and national equity and inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic boycott of Israeli institutions has emerged as a highly contentious issue within scholarly discourse, eliciting diverse perspectives and impassioned debates. This article examines the complexities surrounding academic boycotts, focusing on the Israeli context, and explores the motivations, justifications, and implications put forth by advocates and critics. Drawing from a review of 23 articles published until May 2024, the article highlights the contrasting viewpoints on academic boycotts and their impact on academic freedom, dialogue, and international relations. It concludes by emphasising the importance of safeguarding academic integrity and objectivity amid debates that intersect with broader societal and political dynamics. Keeping politics out of academia is crucial to ensure that education remains a space for unbiased knowledge dissemination and critical thinking, free from external pressures and influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Learning disabilities (LD) are lifelong disabilities that affect all facets of a person's life. Aim: Identifying the relationship between academic students' attitudes toward learning disability, self-image, and selected factors. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 213 students from an academic center in Israel. Two different scales were used: (1) Students' Attitudes scale toward students with learning disability; (2) Students' Self-image scale. Results: (1) the student attitudes scale were found to be relatively high. (2) A significant positive relationship was found between students' attitudes and their self-image. (3) More positive attitudes were found among those students who have friend with learning disabilities. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate the necessity of reinforce students self-image and to encourage the students to socialize with students who have LD, in order to strengthen the positive and favorable attitudes of students at the academy, which will positively have impact on the success of the integration of students with learning disabilities into the community and society.

Background: Outdoor learning and computer-based learning are two different alternatives to in-class conventional teacher-centered learning. Purpose: This study compares the outdoor learning setting with computer-based learning in class. It examines the influence of the two different learning settings on academic achievements, the learning experience, and pro-environmental perceptions. Sample: A total of 90 elementary school students (third and fourth-grade classes) participated in the study. Design and methods: The academic knowledge of the study participants was tested through identical exams for both learning settings. In addition, in each group the students' perceptions were examined by means of a questionnaire about environmental values and the learning experience. Results: The study demonstrates that academic achievements in the two settings were similar, but the students expressed more enthusiasm about the outdoor learning experience than about in-class learning. In addition, the outdoor learning setting contributed more to promoting positive environmental perceptions even though students did not learn directly about environmental issues and sustainability. Conclusions: These findings suggest that learning in the natural environment is valuable--Alongside the fostering of computerized learning, it is also important to promote outdoor learning settings and integrate both settings by implementing mobile technologies in the outdoor teaching.

Introduction: In the context of global challenges facing educational institutions, this study explores the dynamics between transformational leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and organizational resilience in school systems. Specifically, it examines the mediating role of collective teacher efficacy in the relationship between middle leaders’ transformational leadership and organizational resilience. Methods: The study involved data collection from 103 middle-leaders and 506 randomly selected secondary school teachers across Israel. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data, focusing on the mediating role of collective teacher efficacy in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational resilience. Results: The analysis revealed that collective teacher efficacy fully mediates the relationship between middle-leaders’ transformational leadership and organizational resilience. Middle-leaders’ transformational leadership positively impacts collective teacher efficacy, which in turn enhances organizational resilience. The study’s findings suggest that educational institutions can significantly increase their organizational resilience by fostering transformational leadership and strengthening collective teacher efficacy. Discussion: The implications of these findings are both theoretical and practical. Theoretically, the study expands the understanding of the interplay between leadership styles and organizational resilience in educational settings. Practically, it provides insights for educational policymakers and practitioners aiming to enhance the resilience of schools by promoting transformational leadership and collective teacher efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an approach to planning academic courses for pre-service teachers and for researching development of teacher identity. The approach was implemented in a course, conducted in an Israeli Master Teach program, designed to foster pre-service teacher identity transformation. The research described here addresses two questions: (1) To what extent does the approach contribute to the understanding of teacher identity formation? (2) Using this approach, how can pre-service teacher educators support teacher identity transformation? Using a metaphorical tool, students designed their "ideal school" at the beginning and at the end of the course. Identity transformation was evaluated by comparing their designs. Demonstration of this approach methodology is presented through an analysis of the designs of one female student. Findings highlight the potential of this approach to reveal and cope with obstacles inhibiting transformative learning: narrow, imbalanced, inconsistent, and shallow perspective; rigid patterns of thinking; and lack of emotional awareness.

This article asks the question: What does the term status mean with regard to women without legal status in Israel? Ostensibly, status represents a sovereign state's formal classification system. In practice, however—according to the accounts of statusless women, civil society activists, and welfare and health officials, as analyzed in this article—status, or its lack thereof, is not a one-off, absolute condition, but an ephemeral and vulnerable position. This article examines two concurrent processes: the blurring of boundaries between status and statuslessness; and the process of differentiating groups of racialized, undesired, and unwelcomed women foreigners: Palestinian women residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories; asylum-seeking women from Africa; and women from the Former Soviet Union, who have either been trafficked by the sex industry, or separated from their Israeli-citizen spouse before completing their naturalization. Drawing on feminist and critical race renditions of bare life, we explore the ways in which statusless women are positioned in relation to violent power. Moving away from a polarized and emancipatory discussion of legality, we argue that in the absence of full access to legal status, the body may serve as a more fitting alternative in the analysis of abandonment and violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study investigated a 'personal education' program that operates in some middle schools in Israel. This article focuses on three teachers in three different Jewish Israeli middle schools, and their students, and the intrapersonal and interpersonal teaching and learning processes in their classrooms. The theories of Dewey, Piaget and Vygotsky provided the theoretical lens through which teaching and learning processes were viewed. The findings show that in order for peer group dialogueue to reinforce participants' personal development the teacher must reinforce group norms of mutual trust among the participants, enabling inclusive, authentic dialogueue and classroom discourse which builds mutual respect. In addition, the teacher reinforces these norms via overt and covert messages, and via the model that he or she displays to the participants.

As part of the Bachelor's degree of nursing education, nursing students are exposed to the increasingly complex world of Information Technology. Aim: To evaluate the feasibility of a situated learning approach for Information Technology course by assessing students' perceptions at the end of the course. Methods: Course participants completed a pre and post-course survey describing their knowledge and perceptions of the course. Results and discussion: Results demonstrated increased knowledge and satisfaction with this new learning strategy, which was also apparent in their good final course grades. Students had considerably more knowledge after the course (comparing to pre course survey), with a positive correlation between students' perception of the usefulness of the course and their knowledge after completion of the course. Therefore, enhancing learning using a simulated learning curriculum may allow students to be more aware of the challenges that nurses face in actual practice, and may provide a more contextualized understanding of the issues relating to Information Technology.

Child neglect is considered the most common form of child maltreatment with severe implications for children's development. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of scholarly literature examining child neglect, possibly stemming from a lack of consistent definition. The current qualitative study addresses this gap by aiming to understand the phenomena of child neglect from the direct perspective of youth from the general population, a perspective that has so far barely been considered. Data were collected by 10 focus groups conducted among multicultural youth aged 12 to 15 years in the north of Israel. The qualitative-thematic analysis generated three main themes, each including several subthemes: (a) experience of neglectful behavior (lack of parental care, lack of parental priority, dynamics of blaming the child, rejection, and relinquishment of the child); (b) instrumental characteristics of neglect (lack of material and financial investment in the child, expressions of neglect in providing food and nutrition, poor appearance and hygiene of the child and home); (c) lack of parental involvement (lack of parental guidance, lack of communication and availability, lack of presence in the child's life). The perspectives of the Israeli youth resembled existing conceptualizations of child neglect. The youth also added a new dimension to the conceptualizations in their focus on the emotional context involved in the range of neglectful behaviors they described. This new conceptualization of child neglect is discussed together with some suggestions for how it can inform better professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the challenging task of preparing baccalaureate social work students to master proficiency as first responders in stress and trauma situations. We begin with a brief description of the context, goals, admission procedure, structure, and process of a stress and trauma studies (STS) program. We then compare the development of resilience and general and specific self-efficacy among STS students and graduates, with parallel developments among non-STS students in the BSW program. The evaluation of the program by the participating students should further an understanding of the significance of their learning experience.

It is important to develop commitment to community practice among social work students to encourage their engagement in this field as professionals later in life. This research examines factors that affect commitment to community practice among social work students. A structured questionnaire was administered to 277 social work students in one university and one college in Israel. The findings indicate three main factors that explain variance in commitment to community practice: specific self-efficacy for this field, positive experience in a community project during training, and experience with politics. Surprisingly, theoretical studies and support for community work during supervision did not significantly contribute to explanation of commitment to community work. The findings are discussed.

Background: Currently, no local database in Israel collects neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants. We investigated neurodevelopmental outcomes in one district of the largest healthcare organization in Israel. Methods: A cross-sectional study including all VLBW (<1500 g) preterm infants born between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2016 who were followed in any of seven child development centers in Israel's Northern District. Data were retrospectively collected from the computerized medical record database. Results: Out of 436 participants, 55.1% had normal developmental outcomes. A total of 8.9% had cerebral palsy (CP), 12.2% had a global developmental delay (GDD), and 33.4% had a language delay. Out of the extremely preterm infants (n = 109), 20.2% had CP, 22.0% had GDD, and 44.9% had language delay. We found a statistically significant higher rate of abnormal neurodevelopment outcomes in non-Jews compared to Jews (57% vs. 37.8%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: We found a relatively high overall rate of CP in our local population and a significant difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes between Jews and non-Jews. This study emphasizes the need for an expanded and detailed national database collecting post-discharge outcomes, as well as an assessment of national healthcare resource allocation and inequalities in preterm infants' post-discharge care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use existential theory as a framework to explore the levels of and relationship between job and couple burnout reported by dual-earner couples in the "sandwich generation" (i.e., couples caring both for children and aging parents) in a sample of such couples in Israel and the United States. This comparison enables an examination of the influence of culture (which is rarely addressed in burnout research) and gender (a topic fraught with conflicting results) on both job and couple burnout in this growing yet understudied group of workers who are reaching middle age and starting to face existential issues as part of their own life cycle. Results revealed significant differences in burnout type (job burnout higher than couple burnout); gender (wives more burned out than husbands); and country (Americans more burned out than Israelis). Job related stressors and rewards as well as parent care stressors predicted job burnout, and marital stressors and rewards predicted couple burnout. In addition, there was evidence for both crossover and spillover. (Contains 3 footnotes and 5 tables.)

This paper focuses on factors that influence the appropriateness of entrepreneurship studies to the needs and expectations of management students in Israel, where entrepreneurs are considered cultural heroes. The results of the authors' research revealed great interest in entrepreneurship studies among most of the students surveyed. However, differences were found between those students who intended to start a business and those who did not--in their business-related background, entrepreneurial traits and their business needs and expectations from entrepreneurship studies. These results highlight the disparity between the supply and the expectations from entrepreneurship programmes in universities, and as such have important implications for entrepreneurship education. (Contains 6 tables.)

Purpose: The paper addresses the influence of culture and gender on the choice of a management career among men and women MBA students in Israel, the USA, the UK, Turkey, Cyprus, Hungary and India. The culture by gender comparison enabled an examination of five theories: two that focused on culture (Hofstede's and an application of Schneider's ASA model) and three that focused on gender (evolutionary theory, social role theory and social construction theory). The five theories have contradictory predictions about the relative influence of culture and gender. Design/methodology/approach: Seven hundred and forty-seven MBA students (390 male and 357 female and approximately 100 in each country) responded to a self-report measure that was assembled especially for the purpose of the study. Findings: The findings showed large cross-cultural differences and small gender differences in the influences and aspirations associated with a career choice in management. Research limitations/implications: The findings support Hofstede's research and social construction theory, which predicted the cross-cultural differences. They provide some support for social role theory, which predicted both gender and cross-cultural differences, and very limited support for evolutionary theory, which predicted large and universal gender differences, and for the application of Schneider's ASA model, which predicted no cross-cultural differences. Originality/value: The findings are important in light of the small percentage of women in top management positions and the view of an MBA as means for breaking through the glass ceiling into top management. The findings can be translated to recommendations for encouraging women's entry into management. (Contains 5 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers in this special issue and some issues surrounding choosing management as a career. A jointly developed questionnaire is also presented. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is descriptive in nature. Findings: It is crucial for researchers and practitioners to expand their perspectives to include other cultures and other theoretical perspectives beyond those offered by traditional vocational choice theories. Originality/value: Understanding the antecedents, correlates and consequences of people's vocational choice to become managers will not only help researchers and practitioners and benefit managers, but will improve the understanding of career choice in general. (Contains 1 note.)

This study aimed to identify aggression patterns among students, compare teachers' and students' reports on aggressiveness, and examine whether emotional and behavioral problems and self-control intercorrelate with aggression and can explain it among students. The study investigated 363 students aged 8 to 11 years and their 12 homeroom teachers in two elementary schools in central Israel. As expected, students reported higher verbal aggression than physical without gender differences in the general tendency. Also, students reported a higher rate of others' aggression toward them than their own aggression toward others. Similarities emerged between students' and teachers' reports. Four types of students were classified: the aggressive initiator (proactive), the aggressive responder (reactive), the passive victim, and a neutral type. An important outcome was the significant negative association of aggressiveness with self-control. Students with higher rates of self-control skills presented lower rates of aggressive behavior.

Purpose: This study investigates gender differences in the association between self-rated health (SRH) and mortality. This association has been well-documented, but findings regarding gender differences are inconsistent. The specific objectives were (a) to examine these differences in a short and a long time frame, (b) to examine these differences among old and old-old people, and (c) to address the question of whether this association is based on the accuracy of poor SRH as a predictor of future decline, and/or of better SRH as a predictor of longevity. Design and Methods: The study is based on an Israeli nationally representative sample of 622 women and 730 men who were interviewed about their SRH, as well as sociodemographic information and other measures of health, physical functioning, cognitive status, and depression. Results: For both genders, SRH was associated only with shorter term mortality (within the next 4 years) and not with longer-term mortality (9 years of follow-up). This association was strongest among the old (ages 75-84) women, compared with the old men and with the old-old (85-94) women and men. A possible explanation may be related to differences in the accuracy of excellent SRH at very old age. Implications: The SRH-mortality association may differ among age and gender groups. Identifying the conditions under which it is more accurate will enable researchers and practitioners to know when it can be utilized. It is important to assess differences in the accuracy of poor SRH as well as of excellent SRH as predictors of future health outcomes.

Interviews with 485 Jews and 384 Arabs living in Israel showed how different cultural orientations affect occupational burnout. For Arabs, burnout correlated negatively with quality of parent relationships, for Jews with supervisor and coworker relationships. Arabs were significantly less likely to discuss or seek counseling for work-related problems. (Contains 74 references.) (SK)

As populist campaigns against the media become increasingly common around the world, it is ever more urgent to explore how journalists adopt and respond to them. Which strategies have journalists developed to maintain the public's trust, and what may be the implications for democracy? These questions are addressed using a thematic analysis of forty-five semistructured interviews with leading Israeli journalists who have been publicly targeted by Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. The article suggests that while most interviewees asserted that adherence to objective reporting was the best response to antimedia populism, many of them have in fact applied a "strategic bias" to their reporting, intentionally leaning to the Right in an attempt to refute the accusations of media bias to the Left. This strategy was shaped by interviewees' perceived helplessness versus Israel's Prime Minister and his extensive use of social media, a phenomenon called here "the influence of presumed media impotence." Finally, this article points at the potential ramifications of strategic bias for journalism and democracy. Drawing on Hallin's Spheres theory, it claims that the strategic bias might advance Right-wing populism at present, while also narrowing the sphere of legitimate controversy—thus further restricting press freedom—in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: There is a debate regarding the preferred intravenous (IV) access for newborns. Our aim was to study practices regarding the choice of vascular access and outcomes. Methods: A seven-month prospective observational study on IV lines used in all newborns admitted to Bnai Zion Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Results: Of 120 infants followed, 94 required IV lines. Infants born at ≤32 weeks gestation, or with a head circumference ≤29 cm were more likely to require two or more IV lines or a central line for the administration of parenteral nutrition or medications for longer periods. However, central lines (umbilical or peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC)) were not associated with better nutritional status at discharge based on weight z-scores. Only one complication was noted—a central line-associated bloodstream infection in a PICC. Conclusions: Our data suggest preferring central IV access for preterm infants born at ≤32 weeks or with a head circumference ≤29 cm. We encourage other NICUs to study their own data and draw their practice guidelines for preferred IV access (central vs. peripheral) upon admission to the NICU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herod "the Great", king of Judea in the second half of the first century BC, was known for his building projects, wealth, and political power. Two of his personal calcite-alabaster bathtubs, found in the Kypros fortress and the palace of Herodium, are among the very limited archaeological evidence of his private life. It seemed plausible that they were imported from Egypt, the main source of calcite-alabaster in ancient periods. Yet, the recent identification of a calcite quarry in the Te'omim cave, Israel, challenges this hypothesis. Here, we developed an approach for identification of the source of calcite-alabaster, by combination of four analytical methods: ICP, FTIR, ssNMR and isotope ratio. These methods were then applied to Herod's bathtubs demonstrating that they were indeed quarried in Israel rather than in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant role of the community in the lives of children and youth at-risk has become increasingly clear to social work academics and professionals over the last three decades. Alongside the more traditional individual and family responses, community interventions have been designed to catalyze change in the environment of children and youth at-risk and supply holistic and sustainable responses to their needs. Ten such community intervention programs were identified from the United States, Australia, Canada, and Israel. Most employed the community development model, focused on developing leadership and social capital (improving community networking) and advancing coordination between the organizations and sectors in the field of risk among children and youth. The diverse programs reviewed focused both on at-risk children and youth in general or specifically on child abuse and neglect. The programs originated from different health, education, and welfare disciplines and sponsoring authorities. The majority were funded originally by private foundations; however, government involvement was significant, particularly in the adoption and support of initiatives after their development. The current analysis of the programs refers to core issues that arose from the review: professional orientation, main target unit, main initiator, and research and evaluation. Analysis of program characteristics enables identifying relevant aspects of these programs for use by policy, governmental, and nonprofit sector stakeholders seeking to develop similar programs. Conclusions and recommendations to advance the field are suggested considering the current context of government cuts in welfare funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To examine nursing students' stress and coping with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic through an ecological model of resilience. Specifically, to examine the relative contribution of different resilience levels in decreasing nursing students' strain symptoms: at the individual level, resilience trait; at the relational level, students' coping strategies; at the university level, nursing students' perceptions on their university's readiness to handle the virus outbreak; and at the national level, nursing students' trust in policymakers' decisions. Design: The study used a cross‐sectional design. Methods: Undergraduate students of five universities were recruited via an electronic link sent to their emails during the first months of the COVID‐19 outbreak: May–July 2020. Of them, 492 participants completed the research questionnaire. Results: Hierarchical Regression Analysis revealed that nursing students' resilience, as a multi‐level factor, decreased the students' level of strain symptoms above and beyond their stress levels and control variables. Specifically, the nursing students' trait resilience, perceptions of their university's positive response to the pandemic and trust in their national policymakers were negatively associated with their strain symptoms. Conversely, disengagement‐in‐emotion coping strategies was positively associated with the students' strain symptoms. Conclusions: Nursing students' resilience should be seen as a flexible resource that can be developed and influenced by their academic and clinical training, and by the intentions and actions of their university and the nursing administration at the Ministry of Health (MOH). Impact: The findings call for the nursing administration at the MOH and for the university deans and department heads to prepare in advance a crisis plan that could be rapidly and effectively implemented when needed. Furthermore, topics such as developing flexible coping strategies should be integrated into the nursing curricula. These would allow students to prepare and cope better with adversity in their routine and in times of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the strategy of Shared Decision Making (SDM) originated in the medical field and was later adopted into the mental health arena, little attention has been paid to practice in the broader fields of the allied health and social care professions. These professions are grounded in the recognition of a need for practice that reflects the partnership and collaboration of the professional and the service user working together to further the health and well-being of the user. A pilot training module was developed to introduce and support students in their journey from exposure to the co-production ideology and the SDM strategy into clinical practice in the allied health and social care professions. The aim of the present article is to describe the students' experiences while learning about SDM and their use of this knowledge in their field practice in Israel. The students' experiences highlighted the complexity of integrating SDM into practice both at the individual student level as well as the macro environment. Moreover, it pointed to the need to further develop this co-production paradigm and the SDM strategy into the education of the allied health and social care professions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theorised that competitive victimhood—the tendency to see one's ingroup as having suffered more than the outgroup as a result of a prolonged conflict—may function strategically as a psychological mechanism to justify violent actions against the outgroup under high (vs. low) realistic threat. Focusing on the Jewish Israeli perspective in the Israeli‒Palestinian conflict, the present study supports this argument by demonstrating the positive relationship between competitive victimhood and justifying both direct and structural violence against Palestinians following high (vs. low) realistic threat. Theoretical and applied implications for conflict resolution are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The lack of early education services for the children of asylum-seekers is a significant problem worldwide. • The study focused on community daycares in Israel, known as the 'Babysitters'. • It examined an intercultural early education consultation program for undocumented caregivers working in Babysitters. • The program was designed to enhance caregivers' knowledge, sense of belonging and caring skills. • Alliances between counselors and caregivers were important and enhanced caregivers' sense of meaning and belonging. The lack of early childhood education services for the children of asylum-seekers is a significant problem in many countries. The urgent need for childcare and the lack of national solutions often lead to temporary and unregulated childcare services. This paper examines the case of community daycares, known as the 'Babysitters,' for undocumented children of African asylum-seeking families in Israel. These centers are generally staffed by undocumented community members. The study examined the C-SMART program, an intercultural consultation program provided by counselors to enhance community caregivers' developmental knowledge and caring skills for infants and young children. The qualitative study, guided by a grounded theory methodology, examined the caregivers' experiences and perceptions of learning within the C-SMART program. Fifteen undocumented African migrant and asylum-seeking caregivers shared their experiences in semi-structured interviews. Caregivers indicated that the consultation process included cultural tensions alongside moments of connection when shared cultural meanings were created. When the counselors demonstrated a humble, curious, and enabling attitude, the caregivers had significant learning moments and felt a sense of meaning and belonging that enhanced their caring skills. These results have substantial implications for the development of intercultural services for the caregivers of children from refugee or asylum-seeking families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to describe environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure using urinary biomarkers and its correlation with parent report, among children presenting to emergency room. This is a case control study among children aged 3 to 12 years at a tertiary pediatric emergency department in Israel. Children with respiratory (case) or gastrointestinal (control) symptoms were recruited and their accompanying parent completed a short survey. Urine samples were obtained and analyzed for nicotine, cotinine trans-3'-hydroxycotine. Clinical data were extracted from medical records. We compared tobacco exposure using urinary biomarkers, parent report, and Pearson's product-moment correlation, including 95% confidence intervals, between cases and controls. Forty-nine cases with respiratory symptoms and 96 controls with gastrointestinal symptoms were enrolled in the study. Parent-reported ETS exposure in the previous month was higher in the cases compared to control (71.4% vs 57.3%), although the difference was not statistically significant. The mean values of detectable biomarkers did not differ by between cases and controls. However, there was a correlation between urinary biomarkers and reported ETS exposure (0.278–0.460 for various biomarkers) only among cases. The majority of children in this study had detectable nicotine urinary biomarkers, regardless of their symptoms. However, correlation between parental report and urinary biomarkers was only found among children with symptoms potentially related to ETS. These findings imply that parents of children without respiratory symptoms may underestimate exposure. Efforts to educate parents and caregivers on the risks associated with exposure to ETS should be intensified, regardless of illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reducing length of stay (LOS) is one of the urgent problems in healthcare systems worldwide. Popular methods that are used to reduce LOS are the Lean and the 6 Sigma, which in practice result in limited improvements. In this paper, we introduce and test a tailored method for implementing the 6 Sigma principles in healthcare (we call H-6S).Objective: To reduce the variability in the time between admission and discharge of patients in the emergency department.Methods: The study took place within the emergency department (ED) of Josephtal Medical Center in Eilat, Israel. Our analysis focused on the processes of examining and treating patients from admission to ED until discharge home. The analysis was done during the second quarter of 2018. The implementation of the recommendations took place during Q3 2018. The reported results are from Q3 2018 to Q2 2019, compared to the corresponding period in 2017 (experienced team).Results: In Q2 2017, LOS was 2.42 ± 2.07 h (experienced team, n = 9928). In Q2 2018, the LOS was 2.62 ± 7.04 h (before the H-6S, inexperienced team, n = 9484). In Q2 2019 following the intervention, it reached 2.3 ± 1.74 h (n = 7647). The differences between the standard deviations of the three periods are significant.Conclusion: Implementing H-6S dropped the variance of LOS within 3 months and remained low for the whole year. Each new team of physicians who enter the ED should be thoroughly instructed as to the routines and expectations of the system from them, which should narrow the differences of previous education between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various countries have seen a rise in populist rhetoric used by politicians, parties, and movements to discredit journalists, news outlets, and “The Media.” Research indicates that such rhetoric affects the public’s perceptions of the news media, posing a real challenge to professional journalism. Unlike other targets of populist criticism, journalists find themselves required to mediate that criticism to the public, which puts them in a particularly awkward position. Drawing on thematic analysis of 40 semistructured interviews with Israeli journalists who have been publicly scrutinized by Israel’s prime minister, this article suggests that journalists’ interpretation of traditional journalistic norms, and particularly the ethos of objectivity, leads them to amplify the accusations against them, while refraining from refuting them. As journalists confuse objectivity with passivity, the populist criticism turns into a sophisticated form of “soft” censorship, which uses imagined audiences to manipulate journalists’ professional norms against them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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By the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, populists have taken charge in Turkey, India and Israel, all previously heralded as exceptional democracies in difficult regions. This moment offers a unique opportunity to explore populism in power outside Europe and the Americas, in three states shaped by deep social, ethnic and religious divisions. This article locates Turkey, India and Israel within a global wave of electorally successful populist movements. It explores how populism can jeopardize democratic choice in deeply divided societies and whether Erdoğan's capture of democracy in Turkey offers a blueprint for the political strategies employed by Modi and Netanyahu. In unravelling parallels between the three administrations, our analysis uncovers a common populist playbook of neoliberal economic policies, the leveraging of ethnoreligious tensions as well as attempts to denigrate independent news media, by portraying it as the "enemy of the people". Although their position on the spectrum between democracy and authoritarianism differs, our analysis reveals striking continuities in the erosion of democracy in Turkey, India and Israel as a result of these policies, thus highlighting the vulnerability of political systems, particularly those of deeply divided societies, to democratic decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is a devastating condition associated with significant morbidity. Due to universal vaccination programs, it is currently a rare condition, especially in developed countries. We report an infant born in Israel to a foreign worker from the Philippines who presented with a blueberry muffin rash immediately after birth. Initial workup revealed sonographic brain anomalies, abnormal hearing tests, and a patent ductus arteriosus. CRS was subsequently confirmed by laboratory diagnosis. Rubella virus genotype 1E was detected in the infant's nasopharyngeal swab and urine samples. This was the first case of CRS in Israel in 20 years, emphasizing the need to "think outside the box" when dealing with infants of mothers who are foreign workers, refugees, or visitors of foreign relatives, in which rubella immune status is unknown. Additionally, public health authorities should consider the routine assessment of rubella immunity status of foreign workers in order to avoid such tragic, preventable diseases. We present a case of congenital rubella syndrome – rarely seen in developed countries. This emphasis the need to "think out of the box" when dealing with infants of mothers who come from countries in which the vaccination program is not well established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel; 5Recanati Genetics Institute, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petach Tikva, Israel; 6Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Early Detection and High Risk Unit, Petach Tikva, Israel; 7Institute of Oncology, Davidoff Center, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, IsraelCorrespondence: Naama HalpernDepartment of Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Rmat Gan, IsraelTel +972-3-530-2668Fax +972-3-5304958Email naama.halpern@sheba.gov.il Background: The prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) is poor with a median overall survival (OS) of less than 12 months in advanced-stage disease. The search for distinct genetic subgroups of GC patients and predictive biomarkers is ongoing. While BRCA1 or BRCA2 germline mutations (gBRCAm) have potential therapeutic implications in ovarian, breast and pancreatic cancers, their significance in GC patients has not been established. Patients and Methods: A retrospective multi-center data analysis of GC patients with gBRCAm was conducted, detailing the clinical characteristics and disease course in this unique subset of patients. Results: Ten GC patients with gBRCAm were identified, six of them with metastatic disease. The median OS of all ten GC patients was 47.5 (13– 192) months. Median OS for patients diagnosed with operable disease was 55.5 (13– 192) months and of the patients with metastatic disease (calculated from metastatic disease diagnosis) 32 (15– 52) months with an exceptional 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rate of 100%, 83.3% and 50%, respectively. Conclusion: These preliminary data suggest that gBRCAm in GC patients are associated with a favorable prognosis. Furthermore, gBRCAm might be a predictive biomarker to DNA-damaging agents response in GC patients, similarly to its established role in other malignancies. Further research is needed to confirm our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the hypothesis that children scheduled for ventilation tube insertion (VTI), a surrogate procedure reflecting otitis media (OM) presence, are overweight or obese. Patients and Methods: Charts of Israeli children aged 0 to 9 years undergoing VTI with or without adenoidectomy between 9/1/17 and 3/31/19 in a secondary level hospital were retrospectively identified. We compared their mean body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) to the mean BMI of a control group comprised of children who underwent surgeries unrelated to OM (fracture fixation/reduction, inguinal/umbilical hernia repair, meatotomy, appendectomy). BMI measurements were plotted on gender- and age-matched curves to determine BMI percentile, and were also compared to the national pediatric overweight/obesity data. Normal weight was defined as BMI percentile <85%, overweight was BMI percentile between 85% and 97%, and obesity was BMI percentile >97%. Results: The VTI group included 83 children (mean age: 3.5 ± 1.8 years). The control group included 77 children (mean age: 6.3 ± 1.9 years). No statistically significant difference was found in the mean BMI values between both groups (P =.22). When compared to age- and gender-adjusted 50th BMI percentile of the general pediatric population, the mean BMI of the VTI group was significantly higher: for boys, 16.9 versus 15.2 (P <.01), and for girls, 16.6 versus 15.3 (P =.03), but not in the control group: P =.16 (boys) and P =.11 (girls). Conclusion: Children undergoing VTI were overweight when compared to their age- and gender-matched peers. This observation was more noticeable in boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexuality has an essential part in human lives and can be affected by changes in one's health status. Since the nursing profession delivers holistic care for patients, nurses must have the knowledge and skills to deliver care concerning sexuality. Evidence from the professional literature demonstrates that nurses do not address sexuality care consistently, mainly due to different factors such as lack of knowledge, skills, and cultural attitudes. This study's purpose was to learn about the factors that affect nursing students' willingness to grasp the nurse's role as a sexuality educator in practice prior to establishing a specified course in sexual education for BSN students. A quantitative study was conducted in a college at the center of Israel, with a convenience sample of nursing students in a BSN program (n = 214). The research tool was a questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of nursing students to practice sexuality education in the future. The study's approach was based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicated that self-efficacy is the main mediator between attitudes and intentions. There is a need to reinforce nursing student's self-efficacy on the subject to increase their intention to practice it in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of two methods in encouraging the consideration of a leap from one patient management routine to another: (i) real-time review of the facts by an external medical team (ii) implementation of the 're-thinking-protocol' ('de-Freezing') by both treating and external medical teams.Design: Students accompanied doctors, nurses and patients as non-interrupting observers. When an obvious gap between the expected and actual findings occurred, it was discussed four times: by two teams (treating team, external medical team) in two discussion modes (real-time review, de-Freezing-questionnaire). The students then recorded if a leap was considered for each discussion.Setting: The study was conducted in the emergency department of the Baruch Padeh Medical Centre, Poriya, Israel.Participants: All patients were included during times when both medical teams (treating, external) were present.Intervention(s): During 14 periods of 5-7 h each, 459 patients were sampled. In 183 patients, 200 gaps were discovered.Results: The external team considered a leap 76 times, compared with 47 by the treating team (P < 0.001). Using the de-Freezing-protocol, the treating team considered a leap 133 times. Interestingly, even the external team benefited from the de-Freezing protocol and considered a leap 140 times (NS compared to the treating team).Conclusions: While the importance of timely leaping from one patient management routine to another is emphasized in the training of physicians, medical teams too often fail to do so. The de-Freezing-protocol inexpensively encourages the consideration of a leap beyond what is evoked by the involvement of an external team. The protocol is applicable to all medical processes and should be incorporated into medical practice and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disparity of power and authority in the relationship between parents and professionals has been shown to be a major challenge in creating a successful partnership in caring for children with disability. The goal of this article was to evaluate workshops attended by professionals and parents of children with disability by raising awareness to barriers related to incompatible expectations and role definitions. The research explored the experiences of the participants in order to identify factors that facilitated or impeded their collaborations. Data were collected from three workshops attended by 22 mothers of children with disability and 24 professionals (most of them are social workers). This qualitative research used interpretative phenomenological analysis to investigate the participants' experiences. Findings showed that parents and professionals joined forces to create a productive working relationship by taking advantage of power over and power together relationships. This mutual process required participants to be aware, empathic, and respectful of one another's needs and limitations; acknowledge the contribution of experiential and professional knowledge; and co‐operate in overcoming the effects of ineffective bureaucratic service systems. Interventions geared to contain emotional burden, acknowledge differential knowledge and experience, and structure the use of power are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: (1) To introduce the Methodical Hazard Identification Checklist (MHIC) for structured brainstorming and the four V&V categories on which it is based, and (2) to compare its efficacy with that of brainstorming (BS) in identifying hazards in healthcare.Design: Comparative analysis of MHIC and team BS results.Setting: Baruch Padeh Medical Center, Poriya, Israel.Study Participants: Quality engineering students, facilitators, validation teams and hospital staff who were familiar with the specific processes.Intervention(s): The number of hazards identified by team BS were compared with those deduced by applying the four V&V hazard categories to each step (the MHIC) of 10 medical and 12 administrative processes.Main Outcome Measure(s): The total number of hazards (1) identified by BS, (2) identified by MHIC, (3) validated by the validation team and (4) hazards identified by both methods that the validation team deemed unreasonable.Results: MHIC was significantly more successful than BS in identifying all hazards for the 22 processes (P < 0.0001). The estimated probabilities of success for BS for administrative and medical processes were 0.4444, 95%CI = [0.3506, 0.5424] and 0.3080, 95%CI = [0.2199, 0.4127], respectively. The estimated probabilities of success for MHIC for administrative and medical processes were 0.9885, 95%CI = [0.9638, 0.9964] and 0.9911, 95%CI = [0.9635, 0.9979], respectively.Conclusions: Compared to traditional BS, MHIC performs much better in identifying prospective hazards in the healthcare system. We applied MHIC methodology to administrative and medical processes and believe it can also be used in other industries that require hazard identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]