Ben Gurion Research Articles

Obstetric characteristics and neonatal outcome of unplanned out of hospital term deliveries

HOSPITAL TERM DELIVERIES ALEX RABINOVICH, AMNON HADAR, EYAL SHEINER, DANIELA LANDAU, MORDECHAI HALLAK, MOSHE MAZOR, Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel, Soroka University Medical Center, Ob & Gyn, Beer-Sheva, Israel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Faculty of Health Sciences, Soroka University Medical Center, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beer Sheva, Israel, Soroka University Medical Center, Neonate, Beer Sheva, Israel, Ben Gurion University Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel OBJECTIVE: To describe the obstetric characteristics and neonatal outcome of unplanned out-of-hospital deliveries. STUDY DESIGN: The obstetric characteristics and neonatal outcome were compared between 151 consecutive parturients with unplanned out-of-hospital term deliveries and 151 hospital term deliveries. RESULTS: Women delivered out-of-hospital tended to be older (32 G 5.5 years olds Vs 28G 5.0 years olds P = .046) and less educated (4.4G 5.1 years vs 6.5 G 5.0 years P = .005) as compared to women delivered in-hospital. Unplanned out-of-hospital deliveries resulted in statistically significant higher rate of low birth weight newborns (!2500 g) (OR= 3.9, 95% CI 2.0-7.7; P ! .001) postpartum hemorrhage (OR = 8.4, 95% CI 1.1-181.1; P = .018) and trended for higher rate of revision of uterine cavity (4.0% vs 0%; P = .013). Higher rates of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit due to neonatal complications such as polycythemia (12.6% vs 0%; P ! .001), hypoglycemia (9.3% vs 0.6%; P = .001) and convulsions (3.3% vs 0%; P = .024), were noted among the out-of-hospital delivery group as compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Unplanned out-of-hospital birth is an important risk factor for complications such as postpartum hemorrhage, low birth weight and adverse neonatal outcome. 684 INDUCTION OF LABOUR WITH MISOPROSTOL IN WOMEN AT TERM WITH AN UNFAVORABLE CERVIX: A RANDOMIZED COMPARISON OF ORAL AND VAGINAL ADMINISTRATION BLAIR BUTLER, JOAN CRANE, TINA DELANEY, DONNA HUTCHENS, J. HARNETT, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Obstretrics and Gynecology, St.John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Obsterics and Gynecology, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Medicine, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada OBJECTIVE: To determine the best dose and route of misoprostol for the induction of labour in women at term with an unfavorable cervix (Bishop score ! 7) as measured by the induction to vaginal delivery time. STUDY DESIGN: Three hundred and thirty seven women after 37 completed weeks gestation who presented with an indication for induction were randomly assigned to receive either Prostin/Prepidil every 6 hours, misoprostol 25 mg vaginally every 6 hours, misoprostol 50 mg orally every 3 hours, or misoprostol 75 mg orally every 4 hours as needed to induce labour. The primary outcome measure was to determine the best dose and route of misoprostol for induction of labour in women at term with an unfavorable cervix as measured by time from induction to vaginal delivery. Sample size was calculated using a two-tailed a of 0.05 and power of 80%. RESULTS: Baseline demographic data including maternal age, parity, height, gestation, Bishop score, indication for induction, and birth weight were similar between groups. The mean time in minutes (G SD) to vaginal birth was 1278 (G 746) for Prostin/Prepidil , 1182 (G 1014) for misoprostol 25 mg vaginally every 6 hours, 1140 (G 485) for misoprostol 50 mcg. orally every 3 hours, and 1134 (G 590) for misoprostol 75 mg. orally every 4 hours (P = .69). There were no differences in maternal secondary outcomes, including caesarean birth, operative vaginal delivery, perineal trauma, manual placental removal, epidural use, postpartum hemorrhage, or gastrointestinal side effects. Neonatal outcomes including cord pH, Apgar scores, and admission to neonatal intensive care were not different. CONCLUSION: Misoprostol is as effective as Prostin/Prepidil for labour induction when given either orally or vaginally with no differences in maternal or neonatal outcomes. There is no difference in time from induction to vaginal birth with the doses, routes, or frequencies of administration used in this study. It is a safe, inexpensive, and effective alternative to standard induction methods in patients with low Bishop scores. S190 SMFM Abstracts

The Workers' Health Fund in Eretz Israel: Kupat Holim, 1911-1937 (review)

Reviewed by: The Workers' Health Fund in Eretz Israel: Kupat Holim, 1911-1937 Sandy Sufian Shifra Shvarts . The Workers' Health Fund in Eretz Israel: Kupat Holim, 1911-1937. Rochester Studies in Medical History, no. 2. Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2002. xvi + 340 pp. Ill. $85.00, £60.00 (1-58046-122-0). This book is the English translation of the original Hebrew, Kupat Holim Clalit: Itzuva vehitpatchuta kegorem hamirkazi beshirutei habriut be Eretz Israel, 1911-1937 (General Health Fund: Its shape and development as a central factor in the [End Page 735] health services of Eretz Israel, 1911-1937), published in 1997. The book, consisting of ten chapters, focuses on the formative years of Kupat Holim, a health-care institution that eventually became the major medical provider-insurer of the state of Israel. Presenting its development as a sequence of starts, stops, and frequent delays, Shifra Shvarts charts the persistent issues of membership and recruitment, balancing ideological principles with fiscal responsibility, and negotiating institutional relationships. She shows that the organization proved flexible and responsive to the constantly changing social and economic conditions of the Jewish community in Palestine (Yishuv). The work fits squarely into the scholarly literature on the Yishuv that investigates the interaction of Zionist ideas and the process of state-building.1 It can also be situated within a growing but still understudied literature on health issues in modern Jewish history, and it certainly contributes to that scholarship on health-care organizations and management. Head of Health Systems Management at Ben Gurion University, Shvarts is among no more than a dozen scholars who work on health issues during the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods of Palestine. She is considered a senior scholar in this cohort, an expert on the dynamics of public health and medical care in the Yishuv as well as their ramifi-cations in the state period of Israel. She explores the development of Kupat Holim not only as a historical case study but as one of contemporary import, used to understand the nature and politics of health-care delivery in Israel, its constraints and possibilities, at the turn of the twenty-first century. One of the many public needs of Zionist laborers in the process of settlement was for medical services. To respond to this need despite political and ideological tensions, various nonpartisan health funds for Jewish rural workers were established in the early twentieth century, including the Health Fund of the Federation of Agricultural Workers in Judea, and later the health funds of the Galilee and Samaria. After World War I the funds were reorganized along Labor Party lines, but they eventually merged to become Kupat Holim in 1920. The organization's mission, as Shvarts explains, was to serve as the "emissary of the organized working public in the Federation of Labor in matters of health in Israel" (p. 1). The health funds adapted both the Jewish diasporic tradition of linat tzedek (community responsibility for tending to the sick)—reworking it to fit the Zionist notion of self-sufficiency—and the European idea of compulsory insurance, to local conditions. The particular needs and profile of the pioneers during this time, Shvarts points out, distinguish the historical emergence of Kupat Holim from other European cases. As both an insurer and a provider of care, it extended its medical services to laborers and their family members. Bringing services to the sick person and stimulating mutual aid formed the ideological bases of the health fund, principles that reflected the social and political views of [End Page 736] the second Zionist wave of immigration. Their translation into practice was often difficult to fully achieve or uphold; this circumstance constituted one of the organization's many dilemmas. Other dilemmas included continual deficits and governance woes. Membership dues were difficult to collect, and expansion efforts, including employer contributions and the parallel tax, repeatedly failed. The quintessential dilemma of balancing or minimizing expenditures without impairing the quality of service was repeatedly faced. Distinguishing between members and nonmembers for medical service also posed a consistent problem. Attempts to make members of the workers' federation (Histadrut) mandatory members of the health fund were not successful until 1937, which deeply...

A Medical School for International Health Run by International Partners

In early 1996, the Ben Gurion University Faculty of Health Sciences (BGU), Beer-Sheva, Israel, in collaboration with Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), New York City, United States, decided to found a second medical school within BGU, the Medical School for International Health (MSIH), to prepare students to work both in medicine and in cross-cultural and international health and medicine (IHM). Methods used to establish and jointly run MSIH include (1) defining clearly the tasks of each university according to how it can best contribute to the new school; (2) establishing an organizational structure in each university for accomplishing these tasks; (3) establishing clear communication between the two organizational structures; (4) defining outcomes to measure success; and (5) developing methods for addressing management problems. CUMC's functions were admission, public relations, and the fourth-year elective program. BGU's functions were developing and running an innovative curriculum, including a four-year required track in IHM, evaluating students, taking the lead in helping students' with their personal problems, and managing financial aid. The first students were admitted in 1998. Variables reflecting MSIH's success include scores on the United States Medical Licensing Examination, residency placement, the attrition rate, and success in preparing students in IHM (e.g., success in learning cross-cultural medicine and the percentage of students who work in IHM). MSIH is running well and has solved its inter-university management problems. Its 85 graduates matched at very good to excellent U.S. hospitals and have learned and maintained enthusiasm for the IHM curriculum.

More Sinned Against Than Sinning

Eighteen years ago, Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli scientist working at Dimona nuclear facility, revealed that Israel had an atomic bomb project, a secret that had clouded US—Israeli relations since the days of Kennedy and Ben Gurion, and might have involved collusion between the countries. Vanunu was kidnapped in Italy, returned to Israel and sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment, nearly 12 of which he spent in solitary confinement. In April this year, James Thackara went to Israel for Index on Censorship to greet Vanunu on his release from Ashkelon Prison. Ursula Owen interviewed Thackara on his return.James Thackara has had a long involvement in nuclear issues and the Vanunu case, and is the author of America's Children (Chatto & Windus, 1984), a novel dealing with the Manhattan Project and the fate of Robert Oppenheimer

Storytelling as a Way to Work Through Intractable Conflicts: The German‐Jewish Experience and Its Relevance to the Palestinian‐Israeli Context

The storytelling method can be used to work through intractable conflicts. Working‐through enables people who have suffered traumatic social experiences to learn to live with these painful events while developing an ability to listen to the pain of the “other.” The storytelling approach focuses on the way personal storytelling facilitates the working‐through processes in intractable conflicts. The storytelling approach was used in To Reflect and Trust (TRT), a dialogue group that began in 1992 and involved descendants of Nazi perpetrators and Jewish descendants of Holocaust survivors. The storytelling method was applied to a year‐long Jewish‐Palestinian student workshop held at Ben Gurion University in 2000–2001.

CORRESPONDENCE

Anthropology NewsVolume 45, Issue 1 p. 1-3 CORRESPONDENCE On Mamdanl's Lecture Alex Weingrod, Alex Weingrod Ben Gurion U of the NegevSearch for more papers by this author Alex Weingrod, Alex Weingrod Ben Gurion U of the NegevSearch for more papers by this author First published: 07 July 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/an.2004.45.1.3.1AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume45, Issue1January 2004Pages 1-3 RelatedInformation

Association between in utero meconium exposure and brain damage in peri-adolescent rats

BRAIN DAMAGE IN PERI-ADOLESCENT RATS SEAN BLACKWELL, MORDECHAI HALLAK, JOHN HOTRA, WILLIAM KUPSKY, JERRIE REFUERZO, ROBERT SOKOL, YORAM SOROKIN, Wayne State University, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Detroit, MI Ben Gurion University Soroka Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel Wayne State University, Pathology, Detroit, MI Wayne State University, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Detroit, MI OBJECTIVE: To determine whether prolonged in utero meconium exposure is associated with histopathologic brain changes in the peri-adolescent rat. STUDY DESIGN: Timed pregnant Long-Evans rats underwent laparotomy on gestational day (GD) 20 (term = GD 21). Maternal animals received 0.1 cc of human clear amniotic fluid (CLAF) or ‘‘pea-soup’’ meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) injected into each gestational sac. The number of viable fetuses at the time of surgery and the number of liveborn pups were recorded. A neuropathologist masked to study group performed histopathologic grading of brain regions from animals who were euthanized following neurobehavioral testing at postnatal day 32-34. RESULTS: A total of 25 maternal animals underwent the surgical protocol (n = 12MSAF, n = 13CLAF). There was no difference in the rate of fetal survival betweenMSAF andCLAF animals (72.7% [91/129] vs 80% [121 /151]; P = 0.2). Brains from 42 offspring were studied following completion of neurobehavioral testing (MSAF = 21, CLAF = 21). No more than two offspring from each litter were included. MSAF-exposed fetuses were more likely to have evidence of neuronal damage in the hippocampus (CA 3 region) compared to CLAF (33.3 % vs 4.7%; P = 0.045) and had higher grades of damage in this region (0.38 ± 0.13 vs 0.09 ± 0.04; P = 0.027). There were no differences between groups in the other brain regions studied (cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, hypothalamus, white matter of the forebrain, and cerebellum). CONCLUSION: In utero meconium exposure was associated with evidence of hippocampal injury in the peri-adolescent rat. Demonstration of histopathologic damage in this brain region is consistent with our previous work that showed impaired spatial learning in these offspring; lesions of the hippocampus have been correlated with deficits in this neurobehavioral function. Our finding supports the hypothesis that meconium itself may play a causative role in the development of fetal brain injury.

Treatment of vaginitis caused by Candida glabrata: use of topical boric acid and flucytosine

Objective The purpose of this study was to review the treatment outcome and safety of topical therapy with boric acid and flucytosine in women with Candida glabrata vaginitis. Study design This was a retrospective review of case records of 141 women with positive vaginal cultures of C glabrata at two sites, Wayne State University School of Medicine and Ben Gurion University. Results The boric acid regimen, 600 mg daily for 2 to 3 weeks, achieved clinical and mycologic success in 47 of 73 symptomatic women (64%) in Detroit and 27 of 38 symptomatic women (71%) in Beer Sheba. No advantage was observed in extending therapy for 14 to 21 days. Topical flucytosine cream administered nightly for 14 days was associated with a successful outcome in 27 of 30 of women (90%) whose condition had failed to respond to boric acid and azole therapy. Local side effects were uncommon with both regimens. Conclusions Topical boric acid and flucytosine are useful additions to therapy for women with azole-refractory C glabrata vaginitis.

Debating Islam in the Jewish State: The Development of Policy toward Islamic Institutions in Israel (review)

Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. 239 pp., notes, bibliography, index. $20.95. Published in the SUNY Series in Israeli Studies, edited by Russell Stone, this book examines how the Israeli government approached the question of the status of Islamic institutions in Israel following the creation of the state in 1948, especially down to the 1967 War. The debates mentioned in the title thereby refer to those within official circles, not within Israeli society. Dr. Peled focuses on the nature and origin of conflicting arguments within the Israeli establishment as to what policy should be followed toward Israel's Arab Muslim citizens. As she shows, Arab Muslims were treated quite differently Arab Christians, whose welfare was brought under the aegis of the Foreign Ministry for the sake of propaganda overtures to the Christian West. In contrast, Arab Muslim affairs remained closely controlled because Israel feared the linking of Israeli Muslim concerns with strands of Arab nationalism in the broader Arab world, in short to restrict contact, not advertise it as in the case of the Christians. Various ministries [Education, Minority Affairs, Religious Affairs] vied for influence or outright authority, but the issue was deemed sufficiently serious for the matter to be placed in the prime minister's office during Ben Gurion's tenure, in the hands of the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Arab [not Muslim] Affairs. He could either approve or deny ministerial overtures whose motives varied, often resulting in more than one ministry's having input. This meant a more fragmented approach to various issues, but Peled notes that among such motives was a desire to have access to Muslim waqf [religious foundation] funds, which were extensive and which were supposed to be used solely for Muslim matters; some Israeli officials used these funds for their own interests. Disputes over how to take advantage of the remaining Muslim religious establishment ultimately led to a decline in local Muslim leadership, education, and religious representation to the state. Although this situation was remedied to some extent by the absorption of mature Islamic institutions and well-trained educators and theologians after the conquest of the West Bank and Gaza following the 1967 War, governmental suspicion of too much independence by these Muslim officials, resulting in excessive oversight, ultimately discredited many of them in the eyes of the Israeli Muslim population. This situation inspired the emergence of a grass-roots Islamic movement seeking control of Arab Muslim affairs that was far more assertive than the past leadership, a situation presumably exacerbated by Israel's use of live ammunition and snipers against unarmed Israeli Arab demonstrators in October 2000 following Ariel Sharon's September 28 visit to the Temple Mount. Given the parameters of her research, Dr. Peled has done an excellent job of delineating the various aspects of the questions she has posed. As she acknowledges, this is a study from above. Based on research in Israeli state and the Ben Gurion archives as well as the Arabic and Israeli press, it is an examination of elite decision-making for the most part. …

Child health and human development domain after one year.

Joav Merrick*, Isack Kandel, and Mohammed Morad National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Office of the Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Ministry of Social Affairs, Box 1260, IL-91012 Jerusalem and Zusman Child Development Center, Division of Pediatrics and Community Health, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva; Faculty of Social Science, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Judea and Samaria, Ariel; and Division of Community Health, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel

Quality of life philosophy: when life sparkles or can we make wisdom a science?

Soren Ventegodt*, Niels Jorgen Andersen, and Joav Merrick The Quality of Life Research Center, Teglgardstraede 4-8, DK-1452 Copenhagen K, Denmark; Norwegian School of Management, Sandvika, Norway; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Office of the Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Ministry of Social Affairs, Jerusalem and Zusman Child Development Center, Division of Community Health, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel

Five theories of the human existence.

Soren Ventegodt*, Niels Jorgen Andersen, and Joav Merrick The Quality of Life Research Center, Teglgardstraede 4-8, DK-1452 Copenhagen K, Denmark; Norwegian School of Management, Sandvika, Norway; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Office of the Medical Director, Division for Mental Retardation, Ministry of Social Affairs, Jerusalem and Zusman Child Development Center, Division of Pediatrics and Community Health, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel

Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime

Using the example of great modern leaders - Lincoln, Clemenceau, Churchill and Ben Gurion - all of whom were without military experience, Supreme Command argues that, in fact, civilian statesman can be brilliant commanders in times of war. Supreme Command is about leadership in wartime, or more precisely about the tension between two kinds of leadership, civil and military. Eliot Cohen uncovers the nature of strategy-making by looking at four great democratic war statesman and seeing how they dealt with the military leaders who served them. In doing so he reveals fundamental aspects of leadership and provides not merely an historical analysis but a study of issues that remain crucial today. By examining the cases of four of the greatest war statesmen of the twentieth century he explores the problem of how people confront the greatest challenges that can befall them, in this case national leaders. Beginning with a discussion of civil-military relations from a theoretical point of view, Cohen lays out the conventional beliefs about how politicians should deal with generals and the extent to which either can influence the outcome of war. From these he draws broader lessons for students of leadership generally.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice and the Reflective Practitioner

This article presents a practical use of the film version of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'. It is the outcome of the author's experience of discovering the clear illustrations of Schön's concepts in the film and later of using the film in her classes on the subject of 'reflection'. The article is divided into three sections: a reflective description of the film version of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice,' illustrating Schön's concepts of 'knowing-in-action' , 'reflection-in-action' and 'reflection-on-action' ; a discussion of levels of reflection presented by van Manen and Bain et al.; and a case in which the film was used as a basis for teaching reflection to beginning teachers in a teacher certification program at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.

Yitzhak (Eric) Zimmer. The Fiery Embers of the Scholars: the Trials and Tribulations of German Rabbis in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik for Ben Gurion University of the Negev Press, 1999. xii, 355 pp. (Hebrew).

German rabbis of the sixteenth century, as Eric Zimmer remarks in his introduction, were not for the most part very distinguished; they published relatively little, and only one of them (H?ayyim ben Bezalel) achieved even moderate fame. Nevertheless, Zimmer has lavished his attention on these forgotten figures—David of Fulda, Abraham Stang Dülken, Isaac Ginzberg, and others—and his thirty years of patient research of manuscript sources (some of which he publishes here) have culminated in this book. The book is less than a complete survey of the topic, and still shows some signs of having been published initially as separate articles and studies. Zimmer presents a series of snapshots, grouped around the theme of conflict; these German rabbis, distinguished or not, did not lack for quarrels.

Similarity and dissimilarity of electromagnetic radiation from carbonate rocks under compression, drilling and blasting

Similarity and dissimilarity of electromagnetic radiation from carbonate rocks under compression, drilling and blasting A. Rabinovitch*, D. Bahat, V. Frid The Deichmann Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Negev, Physics Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel The Deichmann Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Negev, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

REVIEW: <strong>CRITICAL REAPPRAISALS OF AHARON APPELFELD</strong>: Yitshak Ben MORDECAI AND IRIS PARUSH, EDS. <em>BEIN KEFOR LE'ASHAN: MEHKARIM BITSIRATO SHEL AHARON APPELFELD.</em> and Yigal Schwartz. <em>KINAT HAYAHID VENETSAH HASHEVET: AHARON APPELFELD—TEMUNAT 'OLAM</em>. and Yigal Schwartz. <em>AHARON APPELFELD: FROM INDIVIDUAL LAMENT TO TRIBAL ETERNITY.</em> and Gershon Shaked. “REQUIEM LA'AM HAYEHUDI SHENEHERAG” IN <em>HASIPPORET HA'IVRIT, 1880-1980,</em> and Gershon Shaked. <em>MODERN HEBREW FICTION,</em> ED.

Critical Reappraisals of Aharon Appelfeld Stanley Nash Yitsḥak Ben Mordecai and Iris Parush, eds. Bein kefor leʿashan: Meḥkarim bitsirato shel Aharon Appelfeld. Beersheba: Ben Gurion University of the Negev Press and Mosad Bialik, 1997, 248 pp. Yigal Schwartz . Kinat hayaḥid venetsaḥ hashevet: Aharon Appelfeld-temunat ʿolam. Israel: Magnes Press and Keter, 1996, 235 pp. Yigal Schwartz , Aharon Appelfeld: From Individual Lament to Tribal Eternity. Brandeis University Press of New England, 2001, xxv + 194 pp. Gershon Shaked . "Requiem laʿam hayehudi sheneherag" in Hasipporet haʿivrit, 1880-1980, vol. 5, 48 pp. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad and Keter, 1998. Gershon Shaked , Modern Hebrew Fiction, ed. Emily Budick. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000. Aharon Appelfeld . Beyond Despair: Three Lectures and a Conversation with Philip Roth. New York: Fromm International, 1994, 80 pp. Aharon Appelfeld . Sippur ḥayyim. Israel: Keter, 1999, 178 pp. Aharon Appelfeld . "Zikkaron ishi vezikkaron kibbutsi-siḥah," 7 pp., in Zikkaron samui, zikkaron galui, ed. Yoel Rafel. Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1998, 242 pp. The essays in Bein kefor leʿashan, an extraordinarily fine volume from Ben Gurion University Press, were originally a series of papers presented at a Hebrew University colloquium in 1994. That event marked the peak of Appelfeld's acclaim in Israel after a period when it might have seemed that he was receiving more attention in America, in English translation, than he was in his own country. The reasons for this disparity may reside in the fact that the Israeli literary establishment viewed [End Page 334] Appelfeld as out of step with the dominant emphases-the kibbutz, the army, the entire "first-person plural" ethos (or the debunking of same)-of its leading authors. Appelfeld moved from the periphery to the center of Israeli letters only around the time that Israeli nostalgia for Diaspora Judaism manifested itself in works such as Binyamin Tammuz's Mishle bakbukim (1975) and Yitsḥak Orpaz's Reḥov hatomazhina (1979), and when Holocaust consciousness, or Holocaust-centeredness, in Israel began to catch up with these sensibilities in America. Appelfeld's fortunes in the United States-and perhaps, indirectly, in Israel as well-were given a huge boost by the attention lavished on Appelfeld by Philip Roth in his New York Times Book Review interview1 and in Roth's novel Operation Shylock (1993). The appearance in English translation now of Yigal Schwartz's monograph and of Gershon Shaked's excellent overview of Appelfeld in his Hasipporet haʿivrit, regrettably abridged in the otherwise very fine and useful English version, is a significant milestone for Appelfeld. Hitherto, English readers have been graced by Gila Ramras-Rauch's useful full-length monograph,2 which provides plot summaries, bibliographies, and biographical background. The relative absence of plot summaries in Schwartz's book increases the English reader's appreciation for and dependence upon what Ramras-Rauch has done. Appelfeld's Beyond Despair, a collection of his lectures and interviews, is the best window in English into Appelfeld's worldview as expressed in his own words. And, of course, one cannot underestimate the importance of the labors of Appelfeld's translators, particularly the indefatigable Jeffrey Green, who have made available in English almost all of Appelfeld's works, including some novellas published only in journals or newspapers that readers of the original Hebrew would be hard-pressed to find. Alan Mintz's insightful analyses of Appelfeld's early stories in Ḥurban,3 Leon Yudkin's chapter in Escape into Siege,4 Naomi Sokoloff 's study in her Imagining the Child in Modern Jewish Fiction5 and her study of Tzili,6 Ruth Wisse's critical review in Commentary,7 and Jeremy Edlow's unpublished dissertation8 account for most of what has been available in English until now. Recently, Emily Budick's article appearing in Modern Language Quarterly9 frames the debate with Michael André Bernstein, the trenchant analyst/critic of Appelfeld's most famous English story,10 in the context of Holocaust literary theory. [End Page 335] In his book From Individual Lament to Tribal Eternity and in his essay from Bein kefor leʿashan, Yigal Schwartz dwells upon Appelfeld's personal search for the roots of his tribal...

Role of a medical students' association in improving the curriculum at a faculty of health sciences

The Joyce and Irving Goldman School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev encourages students to take part in the development and evaluation of the teaching experience. These special relations between the school and the students contribute not only to changes in the curriculum but also to increased involvement of faculty and students in the community. This article reviews the special relationship between the Faculty of Health Sciences and its medical students through the Medical Students Association (ASRN). During the last decade, BGU medical students have initiated innovative programmes some of which have recently become integrated into the curriculum. These include: prevention of sexual violence among youth, decreasing white-coat fear in small children ('Teddy Bear hospital' and participation in home-hospice activities. By encouraging students to become equal partners in faculty development and rejecting the traditional paternalistic mode of teacher-student relationships, the faculty has created an improved learning experience, and increased student motivation and levels of communication between the teachers and the future clinicians.

The Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging (CMRA) at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel

The Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging (CMRA) was established at Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Beer Sheva in 2000, to promote research in the different disciplines of gerontology and geriatrics. It benefits from the special features of that university compared to other academic institutions in Israel and from the regional uniqueness of its location, in the southern part of Israel. CMRA serves as a comprehensive outreach unit for collaborative projects, as well as training programs and organization of professional meetings on aging.

Engineering Applications of Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis: With Emphasis on Rotation and Motion Groups

<i>Engineering Applications of Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis: With Emphasis on Rotation and Motion Groups</i>