The engaged university

Universities play a unique role in society, providing a community of experimentation and innovation. Even so, leaders around the world have had to push for university primacy to retain competitiveness in the global economy. This paper examines efforts taken by universities in the United States to evaluate their contribution to economic development. An emerging role for universities is one of active neighborhood involvement, in which they are engaged in projects with local communities. These projects include providing assistance to local firms and policy advice to state and local government, and getting involved in community outreach. In this role and in an unprecedented manner, universities are engaging on a wide range of topics with local communities, using these communities as labs to test new ideas and find better ways to achieve social and economic goals. This is precisely why it is important to consider the larger role of universities’ in economic and social development.     

Prediction and job-related outcomes of procrastination in the workplace

Abstract

In the current study, we examined whether the impact of the Big Five on procrastination in an organizational context is similar to that in academic settings, and examined the role of dis-regulation of anxiety as a potential moderator of these relationships. One hundred and seven Israeli employees participated in the study. The results showed that agreeableness and conscientiousness were negatively associated with procrastination, while neuroticism was positively associated with procrastination in the workplace. Moreover, the findings supported the hypothesis that dis-regulation of anxiety moderates the relationships between personality traits and workplace procrastination. These findings suggest that the link between personality traits and workplace procrastination is not stable, is affected by different contexts, and interacts with other personality characteristics (specifically, dis-regulation of anxiety).     

Arts districts,universities, and the rise of digital media

In the last decade, arts and culture have been placed at the center of attention when discussing economic growth. In particular, studies on the “creative class” have been using arts and culture as an important factor impacting local economies. In addition, studies on local economic development have frequently viewed universities as a major factor in economic growth. In the middle of this discussion is new economic growth via creativity, via new recipes and new combinations of local capital, and via innovation centers. Combining these disparate literatures brings to center stage both clusters of arts and culture and concentrations of research and human capital development. Hence, the focus of this paper is to analyze the dual impacts of universities and arts districts on innovation and economic growth through employment in digital media. The results indicate that cultural districts have a consistently positive effect on local digital media economic activity—employment and innovation. The same cannot be said for research universities.     

Claiming Citizenship: The Political Dimension of Welfare Fraud

This article exposes the political dimension of welfare fraud by investigating—in the context of the Israeli welfare reform of 2003—how forty‐nine Israeli women who live on welfare justify welfare fraud. I find that women's justifications cannot be fully explained by traditional noncompliance theories that view welfare fraud as an individual, private, criminal activity that solely reflects on the fraudster's moral character or desperate need. Instead, women's justifications for welfare fraud are better understood as a sociopolitical struggle for inclusion and deservedness—as a political act that reflects an alternative concept of citizenship with respect to women's unpaid care work.     

Trapped in Resistance: Collective Struggle through Welfare Fraud in Israel

This paper offers a qualitative empirical examination of the noncompliance of Israeli female welfare recipients with welfare laws and authorities. The paper demonstrates that their behavior, defined as “welfare fraud” by the law, is a limited form of collective resistance to the Israeli welfare state. Although the acts of welfare fraud that the women in my study engaged in entail a political claim against the state, the relationship between these acts and notions of collectivity is very constricted in form. The women's collectivity is shown to be constrained by the welfare authorities' invasive and pervasive investigation practices and methods. Due to fear of disclosure to the authorities, the women emerged as deliberately isolating themselves from their immediate environment and potential members of their like‐situated collective. This weakens the connection between the women's acts of resistance and their collectivity, and prevents their acts of resistance from driving social change, trapping them in their harsh conditions and existence.