Heuristics of Reasoning and Analogy in Children''s Visual Perspective Taking

We propose that children's reasoning about others' visual perspectives is guided by simple heuristics based on a perceiver's line of sight and salient features of the object met by that line. In 3 experiments employing a 2-perceiver analogy task, children aged 3-6 were generally better able to reproduce a perceiver's perspective if a visual cue in the perceiver's line of sight sufficed to distinguish it from alternatives. Children had greater difficulty when the task hinged on attending to configural cues. Availability of distinctive cues affixed on the objects' sides facilitated solution of the symmetrical orientations. These and several other related findings reported in the literature are traced to children's reliance on heuristics of reasoning.     

DEFEATING THE ENEMY WITHIN: EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN HOLOCAUST EDUCATION AND THE ARAB/ISRAELI CONFLICT

This paper exposes the sources of anti‐Jewish education in Zionist thought and praxis by examining an unsuccessful attempt to educate for sensitivity to the suffering of the others in Israel. I argue that by conceiving the “Jew” as the ultimate victim of human history, and instrumentalizing Holocaust memory in the service of Israeli ethnocentrism, this form of education conflicts with central themes of Jewish tradition and leads to violent oppression of the Palestinian “other.” This double violence, to Jewish authenticity and the Palestinian “other,” can only be overcome by a reassessment of the transcendent dimension required for a geniune radical education.     

Higher education in Israel: an historical perspective

Through an analysis of the origins and development of Israel's universities, the paper illuminates the Israeli variation of the wide-spread phenomenon of transfer and adaptation of western concepts of higher education to developing countries. Following the examples of the German university and the use of scientific research in the German colonization effort, the World Zionist Organization supported the establishment the Technion (opened 1924) and the Hebrew University (opened 1925). From the beginning there has been a strong utilitarian emphasis which is examined in three areas: contributions of higher education in settling the land and developing the economy, in the regeneration and redefinition of a national culture, and in enhancing national security. It is further suggested how an emphasis on utlity as defined by perceived national needs has contributed to the structure of institutions, defining areas of research and shaping the curriculum. It is argued that even with independence (1948) and the enormous expansion of Israeli higher education since the 1960s in size and number of universities, continuities with the pre-State practical ethos still dominate. Continuities have also been maintained in governance and finance for, unlike other national systems, foreign citizens still play a significant role in the management and support of Israeli universities. This phenomenon may even contribute to maintaining well-established patterns of service since it is the opportunity to participate in nation-building that continues to excite the imagination and define the responsibility of Diaspora Jewry which initially defined the purposes of Israeli higher education.     

The Quality of Online and Offline Relationships: The Role of Multiplexity and Duration of Social Relationships

Recent studies have shown that adolescents use the Internet not only to maintain social relationships with distant relatives and friends but also to create new relationships online; some of these friendships become integrated into their social circle. Research has focused mainly on the effect of the Internet on existing relationships or the nature of online-only ties, so studies comparing the quality of online and face-to-face relationships are missing. The goal of this study is to bridge this gap. In keeping with previous studies on social association, we argue that the quality of social relationships is dependent on duration and diversity of topics and activities carried together. Time is important, as it facilitates the development of a collective shared history and identity. Intimacy develops through the participation in shared activities and discussion of diverse issues of personal concern. Using a representative sample of the adolescent population in Israel, we find that closeness to a friend is a function of social similarity, content and activity multiplexity, and duration of the relationships. Friendships originated in the Internet are perceived as less close and supportive because they are relatively new and online friends are involved in less joint activities and less topics of discussion. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Saving some news for later: The making and gatekeeping process of the national TV news filler

This paper follows the news routine of the daily evening news broadcasts of the two Israeli commercial TV channels. It is about a very particular and significant moment in national TV news—the making and gatekeeping process of the national TV news filler, also known by the Israeli news people as the shelf item. Based on a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with several Israeli TV news professionals and a textual analysis of a particular TV news item and its shelf potential, findings provide a glimpse at how and for what reasons news stories are prioritized, how gatekeeping is performed in national TV news, and the ways in which the stories that are kept aside and left for later illustrate the overall production of newsworthiness.     

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Reuters established a picture service after its competitors. So why did it enter the picture market when it did? What advantage did late entry give it? How did this new technologically driven business model based on pictures offer the key bridge to the contemporary multimedia company Reuters is today? In this article, the story of the Reuters picture service is told for the first time since it was officially established in 1985. Using Reuters archive, it begins with the purchase of UPI's US pictures service and ends with the contemporary business. It explores the ways Reuters managed to finance the production of pictures; build a new network for the picture service; invest in (and develop) new technologies of distribution, consumption and operation while being constantly on guard through research; study its markets, its competitors and clients; make room for new product lines in the form of news pictures within an already fully operational organisation, and deal with difficulties that resulted from such structural changes. Establishing its picture service during the 1980s not only helped Reuters make a strong entry into the international image market at a time when international news had just entered a new digital era, it also helped Reuters build a strong business and technological model during a period of media industry upheaval. And it used its picture operations to establish an elaborative infrastructure, enabling this forward-looking multimedia business to become a powerful international news agency ready for the future.     

Acquisition and retention of dark avoidance by the toad,Xenopus laevis (Daudin)

Young toads,Xenopus laevis, were trained for dark avoidance in a passive avoidance paradigm using electric shock in a fully automatic training and recording procedure. Dark avoidance was acquired within approximately 30 min and was retained on retesting 24 h later. Comparison of the performance of the toads during training and during retesting was used as an indicator for saving or reinforced retention. Control experiments demonstrated that changes in behavior were due to learning and not to nonassociative effects such as pseudoconditioning, increased sensitization to shock, or acquaintance with the testing apparatus.     

Sense of Challenge,Threat, Self-Efficacy,and Motivation of Students Learning in Virtual and Blended Courses

Feelings of threat, challenge, motivation, self-efficacy, and transactional distance reflect students’ struggles with the learning process. This study examined the relationship between students’ subjective feelings about the learning process in virtual and blended courses (VC and BC). This is a mixed-method study. The sample included 484 students from two academic institutions in Israel. The study found a connection between students’ subjective feelings about the learning process in VC and BC and feelings of threat/challenge, motivation, and self-efficacy. We found differences between students in different years of study and between those studying in various fields of study.