Gender differences in patterns of adolescent sexual behavior

The findings of a questionnaire survey of sexual attitudes and behavior of a large nationwide sample of Israeli adolescents (N=5410) show clear gender differences in patterns of sexual behavior even among kibbutz adolescents who express very permissive attitudes toward premarital coitus and live under conditions which provide easy access to potential sexual partners. Permissive conditions increase rates of coitus among female adolescents, but this sexual experience occurs within the framework of an emotionally involving relationship. Kibbutz girls who report coital rates equal to those of kibbutz and nonkibbutz boys (about 40%) have their first coital relationship with a steady boyfriend with whom they are in love and continue having sexual relations with the same partner. This pattern is similar to that of nonkibbutz females, who report much lower rates of coitus (14%). Males do not necessarily have sexual relations in the context of an emotional relationship. The findings are interpreted in terms of pattern of sex-role socialization.This study was supported by the Israel Center for Demographic Studies and by the Ministry of Health.Research interests are socialization, parent-child interaction, and cross-cultural research.Presently working on Ph.D. in public health at University of California, Berkeley.Research interests are child development and personality.Research interests are clinical obstetrics and gynecology, contraception, sex education, and family planning.Research interests are chronic disease epidemiology and research methodology.     

Water-soaked evidence: detectability of explosive traces after immersion in water

Various factors governing the detectability of explosive traces after being soaked in water were studied. The variables are: the type of the surface (surfaces liable to be found in aircraft were chosen), the type of explosive, the type of water (tap or seawater), and movement of the immersed surface in the water. The maximal immersion times (tmax) after which explosive detection was possible were evaluated. This datum was found to depend on the type of explosive (one of the important factors is solubility in water), the surface material and the environmental conditions (tap or seawater movement). Detection of PETN on high-density polyethylene, linoleum, glass and aluminum, by the chemical Explosive Testing Kit (ETK), was possible even after a month of soaking in seawater. In addition, it has been found that movement of bulk water around the samples with deposited explosives considerably decreases tmax values. It is, therefore, recommended to retrieve samples for explosive analysis as soon as possible and in areas where the currents of water is minimal.     

Political culture, alternative politics and foreign policy: The case of Israel

This article analyzes how sociopolitical dynamics within a state can help explaining foreign policy. We show that under certain conditions, the public can be involved in ways that extend beyond expressing opinions that act as constraints on policy makers, and also takes active initiatives that eventually shape foreign policies. The article explains how sociopolitical processes in Israeli society, which transformed the nature of citizen–politician relations from a top-down to a bottom-up orientation, gradually led to shifts in foreign policy regarding the conflict with the Palestinians. The Israeli public has adopted an approach to solving social problems by unilateral initiatives, as part of its attempts to shape foreign policy from the bottom up, due to continuous government failure to provide public services, combined with blocked influence channels. As long as Israeli politicians ignored these changes, they failed to mobilize support for policies imposed from the top down and lost their positions of power.     

Citizens' Learning,Involvement, and Participation in Decision-Making Under the Democratic Ethos: A Theoretical Framework and the Israeli Experience

Public administration literature usually assumes that citizens' participation in administrative decision-making (PDM) processes can improve public sector performance and trust. In this article, we question the universality of this assumption, arguing that PDM processes will have positive results in terms of performance and trust only when there are available channels to influence policy outcomes and democratic participatory behavior. We construct theoretical arguments based on a mechanism of social learning and illustrate them by reference to the case of Israel. The framework highlights the centrality and importance of culture and social characters for the study and planning of public administration reforms.     

Religious and Ideological Dimensions of the Israeli Settlements Issue: Reframing the Narrative?

Whether or not it will be possible to relocate settlers from the "territories" depends not just on the willingness of the relevant Israeli officials to authorize evacuation of some or all of the West Bank and Gaza given the violence it may cause, but especially on the thinking and the changing attitudes of the settlers themselves. Only by understanding the views of the current settlers — their motivations, their beliefs, and the differences among them — will it be possible to formulate a sensible relocation strategy. That was the focus of the conference's first panel.     

Academic interventions for academic procrastination: A review of the literature

ABSTRACT

Procrastination is a widespread phenomenon in academic settings. It has been studied from many different theoretical angles, and a variety of causes and consequences have been suggested. Recent studies support the notion that academic procrastination can be seen from a situational perspective and as a failure in learning self-regulation. It suggests that interventions should address situational as well as deficits in self-regulation to help students overcome their procrastinating tendencies. The present review examined the recent literature on causes and consequences of academic procrastination and the limited number of studies of academic interventions for academic procrastination. Findings of this review strengthen the need to further study the topic of academic interventions for academic procrastination and to develop effective interventions. At the end of this review, several suggestions for the development of academic interventions are outlined.     

Focused training of child and youth-care workers for promoting social and educational inclusion of youth at risk

Engaging marginalized youngsters in the mainstream society poses a great challenge for child and youth-care (CYC) workers. Workers' ability to promote significant inclusion of these adolescents is largely shaped in process of their professional education. Most academic programs for CYC workers define the profession too broadly, and this lack of specification, reflecting the scope and complexity of the field, could have a negative impact on the inclusion-aimed process of professionalization. This opinion note aims at opening a discussion about a new, inclusion-focused perspective on higher professional education of CYC workers. This discussion could suggest a refinement of CYC curricula to reflect specific characteristics of the target populations as well as consider some core concepts of the field of child and youth care.