Psychological Adjustment Among Israeli Adolescent Immigrants: A Report on Life Satisfaction,Self-Concept,and Self-Esteem

Our research examined central issues in the psychological adjustment of adolescents who immigrate: self-concept, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Questionnaires were administered to newcomers from the former Soviet Union (n = 119) as well as to their Israeli host classmates (n = 135) attending secondary schools. Our findings indicate that immigrant adolescents as compared to their counterparts express less satisfaction with their lives and report less congruence between their self-concept and the ways in which in their opinion they are perceived by others. The 2 groups do not differ in global self-esteem. Among the immigrants, the length of stay in Israel was related to the extent of their life satisfaction, and to the degree of similarity between the constituents of their self-concept and those of their classmates. Across the sample, gender and age were also related to self-esteem and self-concept. Our discussion highlights the psychological tasks faced by immigrant adolescents and provides possible implications for enhancing their well-being.     

Chinese medicine in an occidental perspective

This article treats the relationship between the Westerners and Chinese medicine. Firstly, the purpose is to comprehend how young Westerners have come to practice Chinese medicine in their lives and, secondly, to learn the eventual consequences of that practice on their lives and attitudes towards this medicine.

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Multi-Level Governance in a Small State: A Study in Involvement,Participation, Partnership,and Subsidiarity

This article looks into the everyday practices of Estonian local governments regarding the emergence of multi-level governance (MLG) and their mobilization in EU affairs and policies, especially regional policy. The theoreti­cal framework is the concept of MLG, also emphasizing the principles of subsidiarity and partnership. The article contributes new empirical insights from a country outside of the mainstream scholarly debates on MLG. We test and answer five interconnected theses linking MLG with practices of the principles of subsidiarity and partnership and the status of a small, unitary state in the European integration process. For many Estonian municipalities, the EU has hardly any effect. We identified almost no adjustment of local-government structures and routines to EU pressures. There is hardly any involvement of local actors in policy-making processes or in networking. Estonian local governments are weak partners for the state     

Asia meets Europe: cultural exchanges between young Asians and Europeans in Paris

This article describes different aspects of cross-cultural communication, concentrating on the cultural exchanges between young Asians and Europeans in Paris. Speaking foreign languages and having cultural interests can be considered as the most efficient ways to learn about the other.     

Constructing Counseling Through Narrating Adolescence

In this paper we analyze personal narratives of school counseling students so as to better understand how they perceive the influence of their own adolescence on their present views regarding adolescence and counseling. Through the textual analysis of the narratives, we map their perceptions of adolescence and counseling. We consider if and how traditional adolescence views are replicate in the students’ narratives, and reflect on the students’ characterizations of the school counselor’s roles and tasks. The sample includes 34 female respondents aged between 25 and 47 years old. We show that many of the issues raised in the narratives seem to point to a perception of the participants of a need to radically change the school (institutional) culture. We conclude by pointing at the potential confluence between the narratives’ discourse and traditional conceptualizations in sociology and anthropology regarding the organization and practices of informal social spheres.Dr. Zvi Bekerman, teaches anthropology of education at the School of Education and The Melton Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His main interests are in the study of cultural, ethnic and national identity, including identity processes and negotiation during intercultural encounters and in informal learning contexts. He has also recently become involved in the study of identity construction and development in educational computer-mediated environments. He is one of the editors of the soon to be published “Learning in Places: The informal education reader” (Peter Lang).Dr. Moshe Tatar, Senior Lecturer with Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Counseling, School of Education, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Received Ph.D. in Psychology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His major research interests are adolescent help-seeking behaviors and attitudes, counseling adolescent immigrant populations, and parental perceptions of schools