Cities In Israel Research Articles

ЯЗЫКОВОЙ ЛАНДШАФТ: ЧТО ОН НАМ ГОВОРИТ ОБ ИНТЕГРАЦИИ РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА В ЭКОНОМИКУ ИЗРАИЛЯ

This essay analyzes the use of Russian in the linguistic landscape of Israel. Despite continu-ing hegemony of Hebrew, Russian has penetrated all spheres of public life, although concessions to multi-lingualism in Israeli society are hesitant and unsystematic. Russian written texts marking urban areas are unevenly distributed and reveal ethnic and social stratification of Israeli cities. The concentration of Russian signs is highest in business and commercial areas, where they target both domestic and international cus-tomers. The article focuses on the use of Russian in language-intensive domains and traces its influence on the symbolic economy in which cultural symbols are used as a marketing strategy.

Assessing innovation: Dynamics of high-rise development in an Israeli city

Urban models serve as laboratories, providing researchers with the opportunity to assess the impact of a wide range of social and economic processes on the development of a built environment. Novelty and unexpected changes play an essential role in this development, but these are difficult to formalize and imitate. Typically, urban models simulate innovation by introducing stochastic fluctuations of the pre-established development rules. This research offers a methodology for assessing innovation in a developing city and examining its impact on urban development. The methodology is implemented in the Israeli city of Netanya, where urban development is analyzed at a resolution of single buildings over a period of three decades. We recognize two types of innovation: spatial innovation, manifested by leapfrogging residential clusters that establish new development areas; and contextual innovation, manifested by residential clusters that include buildings that are substantially higher than their surroundings. We demonstrate the impact of few innovative residential clusters on urban development in the following decades and highlight the diffusion of innovation in the city.

Exploring and assessing meaning in life in elementary school children: Development and validation of the meaning in life in children questionnaire (MIL-CQ)

Meaning in life, which is almost unanimously recognized as a fundamental component of subjective well-being, has received little research attention when it comes to children, presumably due to a lack of suitable measurement tools for this age range. This study provides evidence for the internal consistency, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life in Children Questionnaire (MIL-CQ), a new 21-item self-report measure of the presence and the sources of meaning in life in children, based on Viktor Frankl's concept of the ‘meaning triangle’ (Frankl, 1959). The MIL-CQ was administered to 1957 elementary school children aged 9–12 in two diverse samples from several cities in Israel. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor structure (creative, experience, and attitude), representing different sources of meaning in life. Children's level of meaning in life was positively associated with their life satisfaction and positive affectivity (higher positive emotions and lower negative emotions), and negatively with social and emotional difficulties. Girls reported significantly higher overall meaning in life than boys, and lower levels of social, emotional and behavioral problems. Theoretical and research implications of these findings are discussed.

Urban bus network of priority lanes: A combined multi-objective, multi-criteria and group decision-making approach

This study presents a multi-objective approach for selecting an optimal network of public transport (PT) priority lanes. Bus priority schemes and techniques on urban roads and highways have proven effective for increasing reliability, efficiency, and faster travel times. This study develops a multi-objective model for selecting an optimal PT priority lanes network that 1) maximizes total travel time savings; 2) maintains balanced origin and destination terminals; and 3) minimizes the construction budget. In contrast to commonly used single objective models, which must be executed numerous times in order to provide the decision-maker with feasible solutions, multi-objective models exhibit a complete set of feasible and optimal solutions with a single execution. Since the major disadvantage of a multi-objective model is the need to select a preferred solution from a set, a multi-criteria approach was developed for: 1) ranking each decision-maker's solutions; and 2) selecting a compromise solution acceptable to a group of decision-makers. This methodology is demonstrated with a case study of Petah Tikva, a medium-sized city in Israel.

Judicial Anti-Corruption Enforcement Can Enhance Electoral Accountability

Can court decisions affect electoral behavior? Can they enhance electoral accountability by signaling to voters that integrity considerations are important? In this paper we utilize a unique political-legal situation that emerged in 2013 shortly before the municipal elections in Israel. Then, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the immediate removal of three mayors from their office after they had been indicted for charges of corruption. We take advantage of this unique setting to estimate the effect of anti-corruption judicial activity on electoral sanctioning of low-integrity incumbents. Relying on actual voting data from 65 Israeli cities for the 2008 and 2013 municipal elections, we apply a difference-in-difference estimation to test this effect. The results indicate that the electoral effect of judicial anti-corruption activity on the vote-share of low-integrity incumbents is negative and substantively significant. We further demonstrate that this effect is not the result of a change in turnout. These findings suggest that the integrity salience cue created by the court’s actions caused the biggest recorded effect on electoral sanctioning of corruption, suggesting that these judicial bodies carry the capacity to influence electoral behavior.

Adolescent versus parent reports on asthma and asthma symptoms.

Epidemiological studies of asthma in adolescence commonly rely on self-reports. This study aimed to compare adolescent and parent reports regarding the presence of asthma and asthma symptoms in two ethnic groups, Jews and Arabs, living in the same country. Eighth-grade pupils attending five schools in Tel Aviv and four schools in two Arab cities in Israel were asked to complete the self-report International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire in the classroom. Their parents were interviewed by telephone using the parental ISAAC questionnaire. We assessed prevalence rates of asthma and asthma symptoms according to adolescent and parent responses. Agreement between adolescents and parents was assessed by Cohen's kappa coefficient. Adolescents reported more asthma and asthma symptoms than their parents in both the Jewish (327 adolescent-parent pairs) and the Arab (335 adolescent-parent pairs) groups. Both groups showed moderate adolescent-parent chance-corrected agreement for current asthma (kappa 0.59 in Jews, 0.52 in Arabs, P = 0.60) and lifetime asthma (kappa 0.53 Jews, 0.44 in Arabs, P = 0.33); and slight to fair chance-corrected agreement for asthma symptoms. There were no statistically significant differences between the Jewish and Arab populations in chance-corrected agreement for any of the parameters assessed. Jewish and Arab adolescents more often report asthma and asthma symptoms than do their parents. This seems to be a cross-cultural phenomenon. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to the source of information when comparing prevalence of asthma and asthma symptoms across studies. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2017;52:154-159. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gender Differences in the Factors Explaining Risky Behavior Online.

In searching for the social and cognitive antecedents of risky online behaviors, some studies have relied on the theory of planned behavior. According to the theory, three components serve as predictors of a given behavior-attitudes toward the behavior (beliefs that people hold about a given behavior), subjective norms (perceptions of what significant others think about the behavior) and perceived behavior control (perceptions about the ease or difficulty of engaging in a particular behavior). However, none of these studies considered the possibility that these factors work differently for boys and girls. We constructed models of the possible antecedents (attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavior control) of risky behavior online and tested them using a representative sample of 495 sixth to eleventh grade students (46% female) in a large city in Israel. We measured risky behavior online with items indicating the frequency of posting personal details, sending an insulting message and meeting face-to-face with a stranger met online. Structural equation modeling revealed that peers' subjective norms (beliefs that friends approve of engaging in risky online behaviors), parents' subjective norms (beliefs that parents accept involvement in risky online behaviors) and perceived behavior control were related to boys' risky behavior online, whereas for girls, only parents' subjective norms had such an association. Expanding the models to include other factors underscored that family factors were most strongly associated with girls' risky behavior online.

Increase in dust storm related PM10 concentrations: A time series analysis of 2001–2015

Over the last decades, changes in dust storms characteristics have been observed in different parts of the world. The changing frequency of dust storms in the southeastern Mediterranean has led to growing concern regarding atmospheric PM10 levels. A classic time series additive model was used in order to describe and evaluate the changes in PM10 concentrations during dust storm days in different cities in Israel, which is located at the margins of the global dust belt. The analysis revealed variations in the number of dust events and PM10 concentrations during 2001–2015. A significant increase in PM10 concentrations was identified since 2009 in the arid city of Beer Sheva, southern Israel. Average PM10 concentrations during dust days before 2009 were 406, 312, and 364 μg m−3 (median 337, 269,302) for Beer Sheva, Rehovot (central Israel) and Modi'in (eastern Israel), respectively. After 2009 the average concentrations in these cities during dust storms were 536, 466, and 428 μg m−3 (median 382, 335, 338), respectively. Regression analysis revealed associations between PM10 variations and seasonality, wind speed, as well as relative humidity. The trends and periodicity are stronger in the southern part of Israel, where higher PM10 concentrations are found. Since 2009 dust events became more extreme with much higher daily and hourly levels. The findings demonstrate that in the arid area variations of dust storms can be quantified easier through PM10 levels over a relatively short time scale of several years.

Examination of factors predicting secondary students’ interest in tertiary STEM education

ABSTRACTBased on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the study aims to investigate factors that predict students’ interest in pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in tertiary education both in general and in relation to their gender and socio-economic background. The results of the analysis of survey responses of 2458 secondary public school students in the fifth-largest Israeli city indicate that STEM learning experience positively associates with students’ interest in pursuing STEM fields in tertiary education as opposed to non-STEM fields. Moreover, studying advanced science courses at the secondary school level decreases (but does not eliminate) the gender gap and eliminates the effect of family background on students’ interest in pursuing STEM fields in the future. Findings regarding outcome expectations and self-efficacy beliefs only partially support the SCCT model. Outcome expectations and self-efficacy beliefs positively correlate with students’ entering tertiary education but did not differentiate between their interests in the fields of study.

Everyday experience in Israeli cinema: The port and the city's margins

Representation of the port in Israeli cinema reveals a dialectic relationship to the concept of boundary and the possibilities that this suggests. A port is a physical place with a symbolic dimension, since it is an urban edge with various roles connected to both its environment and its users. The way it is presented leads to conclusions regarding its perceived urban atmosphere and related environmental affordances. Its inaccessibility to a look, a touch or movement indicates its limitations in realizing ambitions to escape a confining space, emerge from a crisis, or even just offer hope. An analysis of Israeli films shows that the port, as an urban edge, with historical, cultural and political contexts, is disconnected from the Israeli city fabric, and appears as a detached cinematic image in the way it is used and perceived. In this study I argue that when the protagonists arrive at the edge of the city in Israeli films, their actions have common features. In this cinematic universe the port serves as a site symbolizing rejection and denial of both sea and land, and concentration on daily life, the personal and the individual, thus producing unusual and sometimes unique human activity. Assuming that there are no innocent representations, and each one is therefore ideological (Comolli and Narboni, 1969), I trace the way urban portrayals of the physical environment are used as mediating images leading to the inner world of the characters and common, inter-subjective expectations and preferences. The research method is interdisciplinary and deals with an examination of the cinematic medium (structure, theme, characters and expression) from the spatial and architectural perspective (such as usage, form, geometry, materials, and borders).

City of go(l)d: Spatial and cultural effects of high-status Jewish immigration from Western countries on the Baka neighbourhood of Jerusalem

Immigration to Israel by Jews from western countries has been growing over recent years. Jerusalem attracts more of these mainly religious immigrants than any other city in Israel. They are a desired population by the State of Israel, and for many reasons can be considered privileged immigrants. The way Diaspora Jews imagine Israel and Jerusalem plays a crucial role in their decision to move there. Many of these lifestyle/homecoming immigrants find their way to Baka, where they can live near other expatriates and enjoy the comforts of the ethnic enclave. The paper deals with the spatial and cultural implications that privileged lifestyle migration has on the space in which it settles. It focuses particularly on the case-study of English- and French-speaking Jewish immigrants who live in Baka and on their effects on the neighbourhood’s gentrification process, its real estate market and issues of consumerism and belonging.

Recent Trends and Future Predictions until 2060 of Urban Warming in Four Israeli Cities Employing the RegCM Climate Model

During periods of global warming (GW), expected increases in urban temperatures can have adverse impacts on city climate and thermal discomfort due to combined urban and global warming effects. The different climates in four cities in Israel are studied for the purpose of differentiating global vs. urban warming. Trends in urban and nearby rural areas were compared in order to estimate the urbanization effect on the local climate zones. Daily 06:00 and 15:00 Local Time (LT) temperatures for July 1980-2014 were investigated. The linear relationship between the urban warming and population growth observed in present climate data is assumed to continue into the near future. The Regional Climate Model (RegCM) temperature trends into the 21st century are assumed to represent primarily the GW because of the relatively coarse grid interval of 25 km. Hence, this study first differentiates between global and local warming past trends, and then uses this past result to make future projections that consider both factors. A unique feature of this study is the large climatic variety over Israel—a small country that encompasses no less than 5 different K?ppen climatic zones. The urban minus rural temperature (1980-2014) changes, ΔTu-r, show more intense warming in the afternoon in all 4 cities. For instance, in Jerusalem and Eilat, the ΔTu-r has increased by ~1.2°C. Following the RegCM predictions, by 2060 with “No population growth”, this temperature increase is expected to continue, by 1.114°C and 1.119°C, respectively. If, however, these cities grow rapidly, air temperature will increase by 2.937°C - 4.129°C and 2.778°C - 3.939°C, respectively.

Masculine and family honor and youth violence: The moderating role of ethnic-cultural affiliation.

This study examines the involvement in violent behavior of at-risk Arab and Jewish male youth from a large city in Israel. It explores the role masculine and family honor plays in predicting youth involvement in violence and tests whether this association is moderated by ethnic-cultural affiliation. A total of 282 males (59.2% Arab), aged 15-21, filled out a self-report closed-ended questionnaire. We found that among both Jewish and Arab youth a greater concern with masculine honor was positively associated with involvement in violence. We also found that Arab youth are significantly more involved in violent behavior than Jewish youth, and that Arab participants were more concerned with masculine and family honor. However, contrary to what was expected, greater concern with family honor was associated with lower levels of Arab youth involvement in violence. (PsycINFO Database Record

Spatial patterns of retail activity and street network structure in new and traditional Israeli cities

The association between spatial patterns of retail activity and the spatial configuration of street networks was examined by means of the space syntax methodology in eight Israeli cities that represent two city types, characterized by different planning approaches and urban growth: (i) new towns, which were established according to a comprehensive city plan and modern planning concepts of “tree-like” hierarchical street networks and “neighborhood units”; (ii) older cities, where street networks and the spatial patterns of retail activity were formed incrementally during their growth. Unlike in older cities, retail activity in new towns concentrates in relatively less-accessible and intermediate locations. This is indicated by a weak correlation between retail activity and the street network’s Integration and Choice centrality measures. The comparison between Israeli cities illustrates the influence of urban growth and planning approaches on the formation of retail activity and its interaction with the structure of the street network.

New Trajectories in Historic Preservation: The Rise of Built-Heritage Protection in Israel

ABSTRACT:Current research into Israeli historic preservation policy tends to focus on the ideological and socioeconomic factors that mold preservation of the built heritage. However, few attempts have been made to measure preservation policy, to inquire whether it is a growing phenomenon, or to clearly identify economic and political factors which may have an impact on its assimilation in the planners’ toolkit. To remedy that, this article studies preservation policies in Israel by looking at hundreds of development plans inclusive of heritage-protection mechanisms. A learning curve is identified indicating how gradually more plans were introduced through the years by localities and especially by major Israeli cities. The increase in preservation efforts clearly suggests that fiscal constraints, contested pasts, and existing heritage dissonances have not prevented continuous preservation efforts. These efforts can be explained by looking at economic boons in the form of statutory incentives, the location of protected historic properties, and the types of heritage being protected.

Measuring the biophysical dimension of urban sustainability

An ecological economics perspective on urban sustainability embraces a biophysical view which emphasizes the dependence of cities on vast quantities of natural capital from various sources and spatial scales, and the generation of urban wastes which impact the local, regional and global systems. In recent years, several sets of urban sustainability indicators and indices have been developed. However, only a few consider the complex multi-scale interactions between the urban activities and the environment. Furthermore, most existing indices use a relative evaluation approach instead of an absolute approach that is needed when dealing with ecological thresholds. The paper introduces a new urban biophysical sustainability index whose framework includes: the city environmental quality, use of natural resources, and GHG emissions. Each contains topics for assessment related to local, regional and global scales and associated indicators. Standard and optimum values were determined for each indicator and a formula is provided for grading each indicator measurement. The integration of those grades allows for generation of a compound score of each topic, category, spatial scale and the entire urban biophysical sustainability performance. It then demonstrates the index in three major Israeli cities.

Israel’s Human Shields Defense

Israel’s Human Shields Defense

Negotiating control

Excluded from ‘the national order of things' refugees live under specific forms of control. Similarly, those citizens that the state considers as potential or real ‘enemies of the nation' live under forms of control that do not apply to other citizens. Using the paired comparison of a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank and the Palestinian districts of an Israeli city, this paper argues that a focus on control can help break the strict analytical dichotomy between cities and camps and between citizens and refugees. It draws attention to the role of agencies of control ranging from humanitarian organizations to policing agencies in shaping how marginalized refugees and citizens negotiate access to scarce material and symbolic resources. In the process, it shows how the forms that political engagement takes in the city and the camp challenge fixed notions of citizenship, cities and camps—for example, the notion that citizenship status and cities are inherently politically empowering while refugee status and camps are inherently depoliticizing.

Assessing the state of environmental quality in cities – A multi-component urban performance (EMCUP) index

Urban environmental quality indices can provide policy makers and the public with valuable information. However, common assessment tools have several shortcomings: most indices do leave out some important components of the state of urban environmental quality; they use a relative assessment in which urban environmental performance is evaluated relative to other cities, not against established environmental benchmarks; and only a few assessment tools compare urban performance to environmental quality standards. This paper presents a new multi component urban performance (EMCUP) index aiming to tackle those shortcomings. It analyses the overall state of urban environmental quality by using a list of indicators to evaluate key urban environmental quality topics such as air, water, open space, sanitation and solid waste. It presents an absolute score calculated in relation to both the standard and desired optimum levels. The use of the index is demonstrated by three Israeli cities.

World attending in interaction: Multitasking, spatializing, narrativizing with mobile devices and Tinder

Studies of new mobilities have emphasized changes in spatialization processes affecting conditions for conversational interaction. Conversations from four Ethiopian-Israeli male teens walking in a northern, peripheral Israeli city to and from pickup games (soccer/football, basketball) at public parks are analyzed. The data selected below all involve talk whilst using a social networking application called Tinder. Analyses follow a narrative practices approach (De Fina and Georgakopoulou, 2008, 2011), particularly that of small stories (Georgakopoulou, 2007). These teens are found to be world attending (a subtype of breaking-news stories) in voicing their noticings of the perceptible surroundings amidst pursuit of individual local interactional projects, i.e. a one-upmanship often exploitive of narrative practices of projections, i.e., unrealized possibilities, the irrealis. The introduction of mobile devices into conversational interactional space provides an added/resource of potential items (referents) to be attended to and thus creates a continued state of incipient multitasking across offline and online spaces.