Negev Bedouin Research Articles

Age‐Associated Changes of the Mandibular Foramen Position in Anteroposterior Dimension and of the Mandibular Angle in Dry Human Mandibles

The effect of age on the anteroposterior (A-P) position of the mandibular foramen (MF) and on the size of the gonial angle (GA) was evaluated in this study. From an Israeli Bedouin population, 121 dry mandibles with primary (36), mixed (26), and permanent dentitions (59) were analyzed. The A-P position of the MF perpendicular to the posterior border of the ramus was measured with a digital caliper. A mandibulometer was used to evaluate the GA. The MF distance from the posterior border of the ramus increased significantly with age by 66% from primary (7.75 mm) to permanent (12.9 mm; P < 0.001). Similarly, the MF distance from the posterior border of the ramus relative to the total ramus width in A-P dimension increased significantly (21.4%) with altered dentitions from primary (0.28) to late permanent dentition (0.34; P < 0.001). The GA decreased significantly with age from 140.17° ± 5.9° (primary dentition) to 123.61° ± 6.9° (late permanent dentition; P < 0.001). The anterior movement of the MF and the decreased size of the GA that occurred with changing dentition were related to growth process. The MF moves anteriorly, and the GA decreases with age.

Bedouin Communities in the Negev

Problem: Conflict roils around recognition, planning, and appropriate municipal frameworks for Israel's 194,000 Negev Bedouin, especially the 45,000 Bedouin living in dispersed, unauthorized settlements, housed in tents and cinderblock shacks, lacking municipal water, sewage, or electricity, and accessible only by dirt tracks. Purpose: We examine both the universal (indigenous peoples) and unique (to the Bedouin) aspects of the land claims and planning challenges facing the Israeli Bedouin of the Negev. We seek to shift the focus of land disputes to planning paradigms that facilitate negotiated agreements, which may overcome the impasse between the Bedouin (struggling for land, municipal recognition, and equal economic opportunities) and the Israeli government that perceives the Bedouin as a growing demographic threat and a potential fifth column. We develop a model that builds on the convergence of spatial and socioeconomic forces, reflecting the interplay between Bedouin traditionalism and modernization in developing planning frameworks, and creating an arena of negotiation that balances the interests of the contending stakeholders. Methods: Our methodology is multifaceted: Over a three-year period we conducted in-depth interviews, workshops, and observations, and engaged in a review of the planning literature in indigenous societies, Negev Bedouin society, municipal reforms, societies undergoing modernization through urbanization, and relevant master and statutory plans. Results and conclusions: The universal phenomenon of the clash between traditional cultures and modernization has sharpened with the spread of urbanization into rural areas, presenting a challenge to centralized planning processes. The planning model presents a range of planning options that simplify complex conflicts of interests, needs and goals between the Bedouin and the national and local Israeli governments. Results suggest that diametrically opposite positions may be reconciled by identifying an arena of negotiations within which planning options can be developed through discourse, rather than imposing centrally developed plans that might trigger strong, if not volatile, opposition. Takeaway for practice: While this research deals with conflict over land between traditional and modern societies in Israel, the planning paradigms have international applicability. Forces for economic development and urbanization often compete with environmentalists or indigenous groups clinging to their land to maintain their ways of life. Culturally adaptive versions of collaborative planning are crucial to successful dispute resolution. Research support: None.

Postpartum depression among Israeli Bedouin women

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common complication of childbirth with prevalence estimated at 10-20% reported in many countries, including Israel. However, no data has been reported for Israeli Bedouin women, whose lifestyle is significantly different from that of the general population. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PPD among Bedouin women in the southern Negev. The study included 104 women attending public health clinics for pregnancy and postpartum care. PPD symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The rate of PPD symptoms was 43% at the EPDS cut-off score of 10, and 26% at the more stringent cut-off score of 13. This rate is considerably higher than reported rates among Israeli Jewish women. No significant difference was found between a score of ≥10 and maternal age, number of children, or level of education; however, at the EPDS score of ≥13, there was an inverse relationship between educational level and PPD symptoms. Lower rates were found among women whose pregnancies were planned and those who worked out of the home. The high rate of PPD among these Israeli Bedouin women challenges health authorities to find ways minimize the negative consequences for themselves, their children, and families.

Gendered space, power relationships and domestic planning and design among displaced Israeli Bedouin

Synopsis Following displacement to State planned towns, Israeli Bedouin women lost many of their traditional agro-pastoral productive roles and became subject to stricter patriarchal confinement to their homes. Despite becoming the focus of their lifeworld, their involvement in establishing it, and their domestic gender planning and design relationships, have received little attention. In this study, roles of husbands and wives and participation in planning and designing their homes were examined in the new Bedouin town of Hura. Differences emerge between the displaced generation and the second urban generation, characterized by different ages and educational levels and varying accessibility to forbidden public spaces. This component of Bedouin women's identity and power has begun to recover, following deterioration after displacement. And yet the most significant involvement of women is restricted to the aesthetic, rather than to the physical domestic aspects of gendered relationships. Greater accessibility to hitherto forbidden public spaces has become a major source of changing internal domestic gender planning and design relationships.

Badal Marriages among the Negev Bedouin: 'Urf, Shar'ia and State Law

The practice of men swapping daughters for wives or nieces as daughters-in-law is evident among the Bedouin. Although this pattern has its roots in ancient Arab culture and is a unique exception to theories of exchange marriage (EM), there is little reference to the circumstances of its occurrence in the anthropological literature. This article reviews the background of and suggests explanations for this practice. EM is shown to be a strategy that largely serves the desire for upward mobility of small and hence lowly graded groups of agnates. The article demonstrates how EM operates in an olden 'urfi setting, dominated by patrilineages, while shar'i courts tend to oppose it. We argue that, although it entails structural implications, this behavioural pattern does not have a structural end.

Progress in the congenital dyserythropoietic anemias: Juicy but high-hanging fruits?

Progress in the congenital dyserythropoietic anemias: Juicy but high-hanging fruits?

Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-like Disease Caused by AIMP1/p43 Homozygous Mutation

Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease is an X-linked hypomyelinating leukodystrophy caused by PLP1 mutations. A similar autosomal-recessive phenotype, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher-like disease (PMLD), has been shown to be caused by homozygous mutations in GJC2 or HSPD1. We report a consanguineous Israeli Bedouin kindred with clinical and radiological findings compatible with PMLD in which linkage to PLP1, GJC2, and HSPD1 was excluded. Through genome-wide homozygosity mapping and mutation analysis, we demonstrated in all affected individuals a homozygous frameshift mutation that fully abrogates the main active domain of AIMP1, encoding ARS-interacting multifunctional protein 1. The mutation fully segregates with the disease-associated phenotype and was not found in 250 Bedouin controls. Our findings are in line with the previously demonstrated inability of mutant mice lacking the AIMP1/p43 ortholog to maintain axon integrity in the central and peripheral neural system.

Hyperchlorhidrosis Caused by Homozygous Mutation in CA12, Encoding Carbonic Anhydrase XII

Excessive chloride secretion in sweat (hyperchlorhidrosis), leading to a positive sweat test, is most commonly indicative of cystic fibrosis yet is found also in conjunction with various metabolic, endocrine, and dermatological disorders. There is conflicting evidence regarding the existence of autosomal-recessive hyperchlorhidrosis. We now describe a consanguineous Israeli Bedouin kindred with autosomal-recessive hyperchlohidrosis whose sole symptoms are visible salt precipitates after sweating, a preponderance to hyponatremic dehydration, and poor feeding and slow weight gain at infancy. Through genome-wide linkage analysis, we demonstrate that the phenotype is due to a homozygous mutation in CA12, encoding carbonic anhydrase XII. The mutant (c.427G>A [p.Glu143Lys]) protein showed 71% activity of the wild-type enzyme for catalyzing the CO₂ hydration to bicarbonate and H(+), and it bound the clinically used sulfonamide inhibitor acetazolamide with high affinity (K(I) of 10 nM). Unlike the wild-type enzyme, which is not inhibited by chloride, bromide, or iodide (K(I)s of 73-215 mM), the mutant is inhibited in the submicromolar range by these anions (K(I)s of 0.37-0.73 mM).

Minorities as a resource not as a burden: exploring the case of the Bedouins in Israel

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify patterns of development that fit the unique attributes of minorities living in peripheral regions and determine the role of public policy in stimulating such patterns.Design/methodology/approachFirst, a theoretical model is developed for development measures to be considered for minorities living in a peripheral area, the case of the Bedouins in Israel is analyzed, using secondary data, questionnaires, and focus groups.FindingsThe paper finds that economic development among minorities living in a peripheral region could be achieved through the combination of policies at the local, regional, and national levels: support of local economic activities, development of regional activities, and improvement of access to the labor market at the national level.Research limitations/implicationsThe Bedouins in Israel present unique cultural attributes that do not necessarily reflect the situation of other minorities in peripheral areas. Consequently, some of the conclusions of this study may not be relevant to other cases.Practical implicationsPublic policy should focus on improving education, professional training, infrastructure development, removing barriers, and launching regional economic projects.Originality/valueThis paper suggests an alternative approach to the prevailing policy of social support to retarded regions and populations: using both theory and empirical analysis, it develops an integrative approach at the local, regional, and national level, that would create conditions for healthy and sustainable economic growth.

Congenital insensitivity to pain: novel SCN9A missense and in-frame deletion mutations.

SCN9A encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.7, a protein highly expressed in pain-sensing neurons. Mutations in SCN9A cause three human pain disorders: bi-allelic loss of function mutations result in Channelopathy-associated Insensitivity to Pain (CIP), whereas activating mutations cause severe episodic pain in Paroxysmal Extreme Pain Disorder (PEPD) and Primary Erythermalgia (PE). To date, all mutations in SCN9A that cause a complete inability to experience pain are protein truncating and presumably lead to no protein being produced. Here, we describe the identification and functional characterization of two novel non-truncating mutations in families with CIP: a homozygously-inherited missense mutation found in a consanguineous Israeli Bedouin family (Nav1.7-R896Q) and a five amino acid in-frame deletion found in a sporadic compound heterozygote (Nav1.7-ΔR1370-L1374). Both of these mutations map to the pore region of the Nav1.7 sodium channel. Using transient transfection of PC12 cells we found a significant reduction in membrane localization of the mutant protein compared to the wild type. Furthermore, voltage clamp experiments of mutant-transfected HEK293 cells show a complete loss of function of the sodium channel, consistent with the absence of pain phenotype. In summary, this study has identified critical amino acids needed for the normal subcellular localization and function of Nav1.7. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Cultural and ecological contexts of violent punishment and restraint of Negev Bedouin children: from understandings to interventions

AbstractOver recent decades we have become increasingly sensitised to the importance of considering the cultural and ecological contexts of child abuse. This paper illustrates the necessity for but also the complexity of doing so in practice, through reflection on some of the dilemmas faced by social work professionals encountering physical punishment and restraint of children among the Negev Bedouin. We describe several cases and reflect on two central challenges. First, we point to a significant grey area remaining between consensually unacceptable and consensually acceptable practices, and show how the evaluation of worrying incidents of this kind requires careful reading of the complex interplay of a variety of cultural and contextual factors which are sometimes not easily resolved. Second, we highlight the need for cultural competence not just in understanding but in intervening since cultural differences continue to be important—sometimes critically so—in the ways in which social work interventions are understood by and affect clients and communities. We offer a schema for intervention, distilled from decades of experience working in the Bedouin setting, which describes the kind of decision‐making processes a social worker might follow in this context. This is intended to guide practitioners, but also to be used more interactively and further evolved in discussion with parents and members of the Bedouin community on the one hand, and those shaping state child care policies and procedures on the other. Thus, our schema is a kind of boundary object—a shared instrument for assessment and dialogue in which both Bedouin and professional cultures can negotiate and renegotiate their caring for children at the interface between their different but intersecting worlds. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Punishment and child harm

Child Abuse ReviewVolume 19, Issue 4 p. 225-228 EditorialFree Access Punishment and child harm ‘You Don't Build a Family through a Stick’ (Traditional Zulu saying) Margaret A. Lynch, Margaret A. Lynch Community Paediatrics, Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, London, EnglandSearch for more papers by this authorKenny Ross, Kenny Ross Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, ManchesterSearch for more papers by this author Margaret A. Lynch, Margaret A. Lynch Community Paediatrics, Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine, London, EnglandSearch for more papers by this authorKenny Ross, Kenny Ross Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, ManchesterSearch for more papers by this author First published: 21 July 2010 https://doi.org/10.1002/car.1141AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport 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 References Cashmore J. 2010. Book review of Physical Punishment in Childhood: the Rights of the child. Child Abuse Review 19: 299– 302. DOI: 10.1002/car.1132 Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2008. The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations, Volume 1, Court Orders. The Stationery Office: London. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2009. Being a Parent in the Real World. DCSF Publications: Nottingham. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 2010. Working Together. DCFS Publications: Nottingham. Garb G, Goren T. 2010. Cultural and ecological contexts of violent punishment and restraint of Negev Bedouin children: From understandings to interventions. Child Abuse Review 19: 273– 290. DOI: 10.1002/car.1127 Lynch MA, Saralidze L, Goguadze N, Zolotor A. 2008. National Study on Violence Against Children in Georgia. UNICEF: Tbilisi. Masson JM. 2010. (Mis)understandings of Significant Harm. Child Abuse Review 19: 291– 298. DOI: 10.1002/car. 1129 Multi Indicator Cluster Survey. 2005. Available: http://www.childinfo.org [24 May 2010] Mweru M. 2010. Why are Kenyan Teachers Still Using Corporal Punishment Eight Years after a Ban on Corporal Punishment? Chid Abuse Review 19: 248– 258. DOI: 10.1002/car.1121 Pinheiro PS. 2006. World Report on Violence Against Children. United Nations: Geneva, Switzerland. Rae H, Murray G. 2010. Health Care Workers' Knowledge of Current Child Protection Legislation and Child Discipline Practices. Child Abuse Review 19: 259– 272. DOI: 10.1002/car.1126 Runyan DK, Shankar V, Hassan F, Hunter WM, Jain D, Paula CS, et al. International variations in harsh child discipline. Pediatrics. In press. Singleton R. 2010. Physical Punishment: Improving Consistency and Protection – an independent report by Sir Roger Singleton, Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children. DCFS. Available: http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-00282-2010 [24 May 2010]. Zolotor A J, Theodore A D, Chang JJ, Berkoff MC, Runyan DK. (2008). Speak softly–and forget the stick. Corporal punishment and child physical abuse. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 35(4), 364– 369. Zolotor A J, Puzia ME. 2010. Bans against corporal punishment: a systematic review of the laws, changes in attitudes and behaviours. Child Abuse Review 19: 229– 247 DOI: 10.1002/car.1131 Volume19, Issue4Special Issue: Punishment and Child HarmJuly/August 2010Pages 225-228 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Congenital Glaucoma

To investigate CYP1B1 gene mutations in Arab-Bedouin Israeli patients with primary congenital glaucoma (PCG). Testing linkage to candidate genes using adjacent polymorphic markers and sequencing of genomic DNA samples by standard methods. In 9 of 11 unrelated affected Israeli Bedouin families, PCG was associated with homozygosity of 3 different CYP1B1 mutations. As in Saudi Arabian families, the 3987G>A CYP1B1 substitution accounted for approximately 50% of cases. A novel CYP1B1 mutation, 8405G>A, was found in 2 unrelated families. In 2 consanguineous families, there was no evidence of homozygosity or mutations in CYP1B1. CYP1B1 mutations account for the majority of cases of PCG in the Israeli Bedouin population. The most frequently found CYP1B1 mutation (3987G>A) in our study is also the commonest CYP1B1 mutation in the Saudi Arabian population, in line with the common genetic background of both populations. The absence of homozygosity in the CYP1B1 locus in the affected individuals in 2 consanguineous inbred families, suggests that other genes take part in the causation of congenital glaucomas. This is the first study describing the genetic basis of PCG among Israeli Arab-Bedouin individuals, in whom the frequency of the disease is the highest in the world. Further similar studies based on new diagnosed patients are needed to possibly prevent, screen, and treat (antenatal and postnatal) this sight-devastating childhood disease.

Ethnic differences in age-related changes of postpartum hemoglobin levels

Postpartum hemoglobin (Hb) levels may impact maternal and breast-fed newborn well being and health. Yet, the sources of variation in maternal postpartum Hb levels are poorly understood. We set to investigate whether age has an effect on postpartum Hb levels, and if this effect is similar in different ethnic groups. The birth records of over 200,000 births in a tertiary medical center were scanned for the first and second births to Jewish and Bedouin mothers in Israel. Age trends in Hb levels were analyzed using linear and bi-linear models. Confounding factors were eliminated by testing the significance of the preferred model in homogenous sub-populations. In Jewish Israeli mothers, postpartum hemoglobin level follow a bi-linear trend, peaking at the age of 27-31 years, both during the first and second births. In Israeli Bedouin mothers, a linear decline is observed through all ages. These results suggest an ethnic difference in the age trends of postpartum Hb levels. Clinically, significant changes may occur between the ages of 27 and 30 years.

Livestock Production among Urban Negev Bedouin

Traditionally, Negev Bedouin were nomadic pastoralists who relied on their camels, sheep and goats for their livelihood. Today, about half of the 180,000 Negev Bedouin live in urban settlements and most men have entered the waged labour market; nonetheless, livestock are still very important in their traditions and lifestyle. In the urban settlement of Tel Sheva, 68% of the households raise animals. Women have become central actors in the production of urban livestock, handling poultry and much of the raising of sheep and goats. Why do Bedouin continue to raise livestock in the confined urban setting? Some Bedouin have large flocks and/or herds and livestock are their prime source of income. Another reason given by many other Bedouin is that keeping livestock allows them to maintain their traditional lifestyle. Furthermore, many women have to stay within the confines of the household to care for children and the home and livestock production is compatible with this arrangement. However, economic difficulties and high unemployment in the waged labour market may also provide some explanation. Incomes of urban Bedouin families are among the lowest in the country and unemployment is high. Retention of some livestock, which provides families with milk and other dairy products, as well as with meat and eggs, may be a rational choice as a supplement for those Bedouin who are financially stressed. Furthermore, this provides cash and acts as a hedge against the risk of unemployment and, if sheep, goat and camel production does become more profitable, owning some animals makes it easier to start such an enterprise.

Accountability in Arab Bedouin Schools in Israel

‘School-based management’ (SBM) rose to become a prominent trend in educational reform in Western countries during the last few decades of the 20th century and has likewise been introduced into a number of Asian and African nations. A key component of SBM is the increase of internal accountability within the school with the aim of improving academic outcomes. This research initially questions whether the social/cultural context of traditional Bedouin society in Israel influences the implementation of SBM in the community’s schools, and then discusses the ramifications of this influence. The research findings point to a lack of educational accountability in Bedouin schools in Israel, while concomitantly identifying two omnipresent forms of traditional cultural accountability within this sector—tribal and religious. Moreover, the research contends that these forms of accountability conflict with individual educational accountability among Bedouin school principals and teachers, and thus contribute to poor academic outcomes. Being a member of this community—with intimate knowledge of and sensitivity to its culture—the researcher concludes with specific suggestions for enhancing accountability implementation that will lead to improvement in the academic level of Israeli Bedouin schools.

Factors related to students’ achievements: comparing Israeli Bedouin and Jewish students in college education

This study examined factors contributing to the achievements of Israeli Bedouin and Jewish students in an Israeli college for teacher education. The study employed Tinto’s model and its core concepts of academic and social integration as main explanatory factors for student achievement in an academic institute. Background characteristics were also suggested as potential predictors. Data were collected in an Israeli college for teacher education from 82 Israeli Bedouin and 160 Jewish students at three points in time. Effects of each variable, as well as interaction effects between independent variables (such as socioeconomic background, entrance data) and intermediary variable (social and academic integration) in relation to the dependent variable (achievements) were analysed. Patterns of factors related to achievements of the two groups were compared. The main explanatory variables were matriculation mean grades (14%) and gender (18.3%). A significant interaction effect was found between group and social integration, meaning that only in the Israeli Bedouin group did social integration have a significant effect. Considering the Israeli Bedouin group alone, the matriculation score explained 20% of the variance, gender explained 6.2%, and the rationale for occupational choice explained 5.1%. The results are discussed in the framework of the institutional context and the cultural background of the two groups, also suggesting the need to examine possible institutional actions relating to these findings.

Life prevalence of upper respiratory tract diseases and asthma among children residing in rural area near a regional industrial park: cross-sectional study

The study described was initiated by the Israel Ministry of Health as an effort to respond to and deal with public concern about possible health disorders related to odorous emissions (composed of a great many of organic and inorganic chemicals) from the regional industrial park (IP) in the Negev, southern Israel. Previous ecological studies found that adverse health effects in the Negev Bedouin population were associated with residential proximity to the IP. The objective of the current study was to investigate a hypothesis concerning the link between the IP proximity and life prevalence (LP) of upper respiratory tract chronic diseases (URTCD) and asthma in children aged 0-14 years living in rural Negev, Israel, in small agricultural communities. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 7 localities simultaneously during 2002. The following indirect exposure indicators were used: (1) distance (less than 20 km/ more than 20 km) from the IP ('distance'); (2) presence (yes/no) of the dominant wind direction being from the IP toward a child's locality ('wind direction'); and (3) the child's mother having made odour complaints (yes/no) related to the IP ('odour complaints'). A 20 km cut-off point was used for 'distance' dichotomization as derived from the maximum range of 'odour complaints'. This gave 3 proximal and 4 distant localities, and division of these by the 'wind direction' gave one versus two localities. The study population consisted of 550 children born in the localities. Medical diagnoses were collected from local clinic records. The following were included in the interviewer-administered questionnaire for a child's parents: (1) demography (the child's birth date, gender, mother being married or not, parental origin and education, number of siblings); (2) the child's birth history (pregnancy and delivery) and breast-feeding duration; (3) the child's parental respiratory health; and (4) environmental factors (parental smoking and occupational hazardous exposure, domestic use of pesticides, domestic animals, outdoor odour related to the IP emissions). For statistical analysis, Pearson's chi(2), t-tests and multivariate logistic regressions were used, as well as adjusted odds ratios (OR) within a 95% confidence interval. The multivariate analysis showed that increased LP of URTCD in children of proximal localities was statistically significant when associated with odour complaints (OR = 3.76 [1.16, 12.23]). In proximal localities, LP of URTCD was higher (at borderline level statistical insignificance p = 0.06) than in distant localities (OR = 2.31 [0.96, 5.55]). The following factors were found to be related to the excess of the LP of URTCD: (1) father's lower education (by distance: OR = 2.62 [1.23, 5.57]; by wind direction: OR = 4.07 [1.65, 10.03]); (2) in-vitro fertilization (by distance: OR = 3.03 [1.17, 7.87]; by wind direction: OR = 4.34 [1.48, 12.72]). In proximal localities, the increase in asthma LP was associated with: (1) wind direction (OR = 1.95 [1.01, 3.76]); (2) a child's male gender (OR = 2.95 [1.48, 5.87]); and (3) a child's mother's having had an acute infectious disease during pregnancy (OR = 4.84 [1.33, 17.63]). An increased LP of chronic respiratory morbidity among children living in small agricultural localities in the Negev was found to be associated with indirect measurements of exposure (distance, wind direction and odour complaints) to IP emissions. These results, in conjunction with previously reported findings in the Negev Bedouin population, indicate a need for environmental protection measures, and monitoring of air pollution and the health of the rural population.

Polygamy and mental health of adolescents

The objective is to study the influence of polygamous versus monogamous marriage on the mental health of adolescents in an Israeli Bedouin population. Pupils aged 11-18 years attending schools in Bedouin Arab communities in southern Israel were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and a panel of psychological instruments measuring competence and behavioral problems, anxiety and depression. Findings were compared between pupils of families with one wife and pupils of families with more than one wife. The population comprised 406 pupils of mean age 14.5 years; 56% were female. Fifty-three percent were from polygamous marriages and 47% from monogamous marriages. After allowing for the influence of socioeconomic factors, there were no differences between offspring of polygamous marriages and those of monogamous marriages for any of the psychological scales. When polygamy is the accepted practice in a particular social milieu, it does not have a deleterious psychological effect on adolescents.

Reproductive Encounters: Negev Bedouin Women's Lay Encounters at Childbirth in an Israeli Hospital

Though hospital studies have often focused on the vertical relationships between patients and medical staff, the interactions between patients have received much less attention. Whereas interaction with staff members is episodic, patients often spend long hours sharing intimate space and daily routines. Such encounters are particularly important when hospitals cater to social groups embedded in socio-political tensions. This paper examines the encounters between women on two sides of a socio-political divide: for several days during and after birth, Israeli Jewish and Arab-Bedouin women, share intimate proximity. Many Negev Bedouin women seldom interact with women outside their own immediate social circles, let alone Jewish-Israelis. Most do not move freely in public space, particularly in spaces that are mixed by gender and ethnicity. I suggest that hospital maternity wards present an unusual encounter zone embodying various contradictions. While birthing is central to the political, it also inspires the core metaphors of motherhood and shared humanity. Employing such metaphors can be simultaneously empowering and disempowering. Akin to the de-politicizing potential of medicalization processes, it often conceals the body politics. I analyze the significance of Bedouin women's encounters with unfamiliar women both Jewish and Bedouin and argue that these encounters are particularly revealing for what they betray of Bedouin women's negotiation of self and other. Bedouin women establish unmediated knowledge about the Other and refer to these observations to reflect critically on their own society. Additionally, Bedouin women engage in complex deliberations among themselves, sharing experiential knowledge and concerns related to childcare and motherhood, and in the process generate a critical debate that reaches far beyond these specific issues. The hospital is thus not merely a site where health-related values and practices are enacted, but one where they are formulated, negotiated, and challenged vis-à-vis others. I thus argue for the significance of studying what I here call "lay encounters." They betray the larger social context in which they are embedded.