Authoritarianism, perceived threat and exclusionism on the eve of the Disengagement: Evidence from Gaza

Major political events such as terrorist attacks and forced relocation of citizens may have an immediate effect on attitudes towards ethnic minorities associated with these events. The psychological process that leads to political exclusionism of minority groups was examined using a field study among Israeli settlers in Gaza days prior to the Disengagement Plan adopted by the Israeli government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005. Lending credence to integrated threat theory and to theory on authoritarianism, our analyses show that the positive effect of religiosity on political exclusionism results from the two-staged mediation of authoritarianism and perceived threat. We conclude that religiosity fosters authoritarianism, which in turn tends to move people towards exclusionism both directly and through the mediation of perceived threat.     

‘The Winner Takes it All’: Values and Benefits of Israeli Sports Gambling Advertisements

Sports gambling is a well-established practice in Israel, whose beginnings can be traced to 1951. In recent years, the activities of the Israel Sports Betting Board (ISBB), also known as the ‘Toto Commission’, have become extremely popular with the public at large, and especially with sports fans. The study examines the changing advertising messages and creative appeals featured in the ISBB’s various advertising campaigns throughout Israeli history, and specifically the broad social meanings that can be inferred from these campaigns. The findings illustrate how significant structures of meaning in advertising function as reflections of the state of sports and society in Israel and as representations of some of the most salient phenomena in these domains. For example, for many years advertisements have been dominated by male presence, reflected primarily in the featured characters and language representations. Also prominent are representations of militarism as well as global biases, which are illustrated by the use of English in the local Israeli gambling brand name (‘Winner’), for example.     

Applying Tablet‐Based Performance Support Application for Technicians’ Training at the Israeli Air Force: A Case Study

Performance support systems are mechanisms enabling users) productivity while reducing training expenses as support is being delivered in real time, often eliminating the need for costly pre‐performance training. Mobile technologies have created new opportunities for improved performance support systems, especially for tasks performed outside the offi ce. This article describes the fi rst mobile learning and performance support initiative taken by the Israeli Air Force. The project included the development and eff ectiveness pilot study of a learning and performance support application delivered via tablet to helicopter engine technicians. The application provided support videos and illustrations of maintenance routines, thereby enabling learning and practicing at the same time. Pilot study results show high performance levels of application users compared to those applying traditional methods. Results also show that self‐effi cacy levels were not aff ected by the successful performance achieved when using the mobile performance support application. Plans to expand mobile support use are also described.     

An Optimization of Human Performance Technology Intervention Selection Model: A 360‐Degree Approach to Support Performance

The human performance technology (HPT) model suggests various interventions to meet organizational challenges. While the original model includes a matrix to match an intervention according to a performance analysis, accumulated experience and recent research show that there are several parameters that will influence the validity and effectiveness of the solution. This article offers a 360‐degree approach to support the use of a performance model that helps practitioners to select the proper HPT intervention according to key attributes that influence the solution. Successful implementation, such as target audience characteristics and work processes that are at the heart of organizational needs, are examples of the benefits provided by this approach. The model is based on research conducted by Gal and Nachmias (2011, 2012) concerning performance support solutions success factors in corporate settings. In addition, experiences gained by both authors as they implemented HPT solutions in large organizations are considered.     

Caregiver speech predicts the emergence of children's emotion vocabulary

Learning about emotions is an important part of children's social and communicative development. How does children's emotion-related vocabulary emerge over development? How may emotion-related information in caregiver input support learning of emotion labels and other emotion-related words? This investigation examined language production and input among English-speaking toddlers (16–30 months) using two datasets: Wordbank (N = 5520; 36% female, 38% male, and 26% unknown gender; 1% Asian, 4% Black, 2% Hispanic, 40% White, 2% others, and 50% unknown ethnicity; collected in North America; dates of data collection unknown) and Child Language Data Exchange System (N = 587; 46% female, 44% male, 9% unknown gender, all unknown ethnicity; collected in North America and the UK; data collection dates, were available between 1962 and 2009). First, we show that toddlers develop the vocabulary to express increasingly wide ranges of emotional information during the first 2 years of life. Computational measures of word valence showed that emotion labels are embedded in a rich network of words with related valence. Second, we show that caregivers leverage these semantic connections in ways that may scaffold children's learning of emotion and mental state labels. This research suggests that young children use the dynamics of language input to construct emotion word meanings, and provides new techniques for defining the quality of infant-directed speech.     

Assessing the cognitive demands required of students in class discourse,homework assignments and tests

An important question which is often overlooked addresses the nature and quantity of higher‐order thinking activities when teachers are not explicitly ‘teaching for thinking’ but rather acting and behaving routinely. This study investigates the scope and nature of tasks demanding students’ application of higher‐order thinking skills while studying biology in junior and senior high schools in Israel. The method used is the collection and analysis of questions asked by teachers during classroom discourse, in homework assignments and in tests. The main findings show: (a) that the frequency of higher‐order thinking questions in biology class discourse in Israel is approximately 20%; (b) that the cognitive level of teachers’ questioning in HS is higher than in JHS; (c) that the matriculation exam has a strong influence on tests given by teachers; and (d) that while inquiry questions permeated HS testing they are less salient in HS class discourse, indicating the need for remedial treatment which should include the integration of more inquiry‐oriented pedagogies into classroom practice.     

The curriculum potential of Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Unity and diversity are best reconciled by Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Two major dilemmas related to the study of Evolution are described. The first, concerning pedagogy, can be solved by teaching the topic at an elementary level in the middle school so that the Theory may serve as an advanced oragnizer and returning with in-depth study in the last two years of high school. The second, concerning Faith, is a sensitive issue. Some successful approaches are discussed. The place of Darwin's Theory in the all-elective high school biology curriculum is described as well. The role of the Theory regarding explanations is especially highlighted.