Using the Information Structure Model to Compare Profile-Based Information Filtering Systems

In the IR field it is clear that the value of a system depends on the cost and benefit profiles of its users. It would seem obvious that different users would prefer different systems. In the TREC-9 filtering track, systems are evaluated by a utility measure specifying a given cost and benefit. However, in the study of decision systems it is known that, in some cases, one system may be unconditionally better than another. In this paper we employ a decision theoretic approach to find conditions under which an Information Filtering (IF) system is unconditionally superior to another for all users regardless of their cost and benefit profiles.It is well known that if two IF systems have equal precision the system with better recall will be preferred by all users. Similarly, with equal recall, better precision is universally preferred. We confirm these known results and discover an unexpected dominance relation in which a system with lower recall will be universally preferred provided its precision is sufficiently higher.     

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.     

REPORT OF BIBLICAL INSTRUCTORS CONFERENCE*

This article examines the psychoanalytic concepts of object-relations theorist Christopher Bollas, applying them to a view of the Bible as “transformational object.” Emphasizing the connection between psychological process and religious experience, this article suggests that each person's innate ability to choose and use objects is a key factor in their ability to appropriate the Bible for constructive use. By offering religious objects with psychological awareness, religious educators may come to appreciate that silence, empathy, and open-ended lesson plans are important incubators of transformation; and that aggression has a potentially positive role in the healthy development of worship communities.     

Ethnic origin and social control: Jewish and Arab delinquents in IsraelLos delincuentes Arabes y Judios en IsraelL'origine ethinque et le contrôle social: délinquants Juifs et Arabes en Israël

A review of the literature reveals that minorities often receive relatively severe dispositions by the various law enforcement agencies (police, probation, and the courts). This discrimination is usually explained by the prejudices of officers of these agencies. A study of the official statistics of juvenile delinquency in Israel reveals a similar pattern: Arab juveniles are overrepresented among recipients of severe recommendations and decisions. This overrepresentation is mostly due to the harsher recommendations Arab juveniles receive from their probation officers. However, since these officers are Arabs, prejudice cannot be the explanation. An attitudes and opinions survey reveals that Arab probation officers are more concerned with the community's welfare than the Jewish ones. This fact seems to be the cause of the difference in the pattern of recommendations.     

Principals’ Survival with Parental Involvement

This paper explores the dynamics of purposeful leadership and parental involvement, two central components of effective schools. The results of four cases studies are presented that consider the ways in which principals work with parents in schools that have a shared, consistent mission. The case studies reveal that principal‐parent interactions are the result of unique processes in each school and are negotiated and institutionalized over time.     

Building an innovation hub: A case study of the transformation of university roles in regional technological and economic development

Universities have assumed an expanded role in science and technology-based economic development that has become of interest to catch-up regions as well as to leading innovation locales. This paper examines how the role of the university has evolved from performing conventional research and education functions to serving as an innovation-promoting knowledge hub though the case of Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). This case is discussed in the context of state efforts to shift the region from an agricultural to an industrial to an innovation-driven economy. Central to the transformation of Georgia Tech as a knowledge hub is the emergence of new institutional leadership, programs, organizational forms and boundary-spanning roles that meditate among academic, educational, entrepreneurial, venture capital, industrial, and public spheres. Comparisons between Georgia Tech's experiences and those of university roles in selected other catch-up regions in the southern United States highlight the importance to the case of networked approaches, capacity building, technology-based entrepreneurial development, and local innovation system leadership. Insights on the transformation of universities and the challenges of fostering a similar transformation in regional economies are offered.