Families of Disabled Children in the Israeli Kibbutz: A Community Which Provides for All Needs

One hundred and two families of disabled children in the Israeli kibbutz were studied. Parental responses during the interview revealed that the availability of material and financial resources, which the kibbutz provides, the sharing in the day to day care of the child, and the overall acceptance by the community are important in reducing stress. Yet, parents still experience a number of major hardships and stressors including encounters with the kibbutz “system”, a sense of loneliness, and concerns about their children's social integration and their futures. Similar hardships are reported in the literature for parents of disabled children in other cultures and societies. Implications for educators and family service providers regarding the need for community training, the training of peer case managers and for emotional and practical support are discussed.     

Linguistic influences on professional communication and recognition: A study of chemists and engineers in two Quebec universities

Linguistic influences on networks of professional communication and recognition among engineers at two Quebec universities were examined. It was hypothesized that chemists and engineers affiliated with the French medium University of Montreal and the Ecole Polytechnique would be less active in research and more likely to obtain scientific recognition locally and to feel professionally unrecognized outside Quebec compared to their colleagues at McGill University. The findings suggest that the localizing effects of using a medium of scientific training which is not the predominant language of international scientific communication and recognition (French) are ambiguous. Although chemists and engineers at the French medium institutions were less active researchers, their language of professional communication with other scientific communities was English and there was little sense of isolation.This research has been supported by grants from the Canadian Council and the Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal. The authors also wish to thank Miss Madeleine Palmer, Miss Daniella Quiniou and Miss Rosalba Casas for their help in data collection for this paper.     

The Iranian Library Scene

Iranian librarianship is developing rapidly. While there have been libraries in Iran for several millenia, it is only in the last two or three years that libraries have begun to move forward in modern fashion. Perhaps now that they are improving, an assessment of their status is appropriate, so this paper will attempt to describe the current pattern of Iranian library service and the directions it is likely to take.     

从法学视角审视高考招生制度与高等教育平等

以现行各国关于高等教育平等的一般做法为参照,阐述我国加入的相关国际人权公约及制定的国内立法对于高等教育平等的规定,进而在此基础上,探讨我国现行高考招生制度存在的有关问题,并提出改革我国高考招生制度以促进高等教育平等的一些建议。     

The School Counselor in Israel: An Agent of Social Justice?

In recent years, leaders in the school counseling profession worldwide have been calling on their colleagues to re-examine their role as “agents of social justice” in schools, with a view to promoting equal educational opportunities for all students. This research examines counselors’ perceptions of the role, role behaviors, personal justice sensitivity, the school’s justice sensitivity and the interrelations among these variables. Two hundred and six Israeli school counselors responded to a questionnaire. Findings show that the majority of counselors perceived their role as promoting social justice, and indeed engaged in activities meant to increase disadvantaged students’ chances of success. The variable of role perception was found to mediate between personal sensitivity to justice (justice sensitivity) and counselors’ actual behaviors. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for the professional socialization of counselors as agents of social justice.     

Social‐environmental characteristics (family climate) and sense of coherence in kibbutz families with disabled and non‐disabled children

ABSTRACT

Family climate and sense of coherence were studied among two groups of Israeli kibbutz families: (a) 67 pairs of parents of disabled children and (b) 60 pairs of parents of non‐disabled children. Significant differences were found between the two groups concerning profiles of family climate and the sense of coherence. Parents of the disabled children demonstrated a lower sense of coherence than the control group, were less satisfied with their lives and experienced more conflict. Family systems were less cohesive, and less encouraging of personal growth. Sense of coherence related to the familial quality of relations for all parent groups, although fathers of disabled children were particularly aware of reduced opportunities for personal growth. Findings suggested when major resources were provided by the community, the ‘tragic crisis’ was expressed in two aspects of the family climate: interrelations within the family system; and opportunities for personal growth. Intervention planning should consider these aspects.     

Teaching Classic Probability Problems with Modern Digital Tools

This article is written to share teaching ideas about using commonly available computer applications—a spreadsheet, The Geometer's Sketchpad, and Wolfram Alpha—to explore three classic and historically significant problems from the probability theory. These ideas stem from the authors’ work with prospective economists, mathematicians, and teachers. The historical contexts include the problem of the division of stakes (14^th century), the problem of the Grand Duke of Tuscany (17^th century), and the problem of co-primality of two natural numbers chosen at random (19^th century). The suggested use of computers can be extended to other probability contexts to achieve at least two goals: to make complex mathematical ideas more accessible and to emphasize the importance of experimental evidence as a means of conceptual development in mathematics for all student populations.