This study examined the role of parenting styles and parental warmth in moderating relations betw... more This study examined the role of parenting styles and parental warmth in moderating relations between exposure to political life events and mental health symptoms among 277 Israeli adolescents aged 12-14 and their parents, who had been exposed to protracted periods of war, missile bombardments, and terrorism. Adolescents completed the Political Life Events (PLE) scale, Brief Symptom Inventory and questionnaires regarding parenting style and parental warmth. The primary caregiver completed the Child Behavior Checklist for assessment of the child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results confirmed that severity of PLE exposure was positively correlated with psychological distress and with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Maternal authoritativeness and warmth functioned as protective factors and had moderating effects on the relation between PLE exposure and mental health symptoms. In contrast, maternal authoritarianism exacerbated the relation between PLE exposure and children's externalizing symptoms. Fathers' parenting style and warmth had no significant relationship with children's mental health outcomes. These findings have important clinical and practical implications for parental guidance and support during periods of war and armed conflict.
Despite the flourishing in recent years in applications of positive psychology in the field of ed... more Despite the flourishing in recent years in applications of positive psychology in the field of education, there is a paucity of research investigating positive psychology interventions for preschool children. The present study examined the effects of a positive psychology-based intervention conducted in Israel on children's subjective well-being, mental health and learning behaviors. Twelve preschool classrooms of 3-6.5 year-olds were randomly assigned to a positive psychology intervention condition or a wait-list control condition. In the intervention condition, during one school year, 160 children experienced eight modules of basic concepts in positive psychology that were adapted to the developmental characteristics of young children and were compared to 155 children in demographically similar control classrooms. Children were administered a pre-test and post-test of subjective well-being measures. In addition, children's mental health and emotional well-being were measured by parental questionnaires. Preschool teachers completed questionnaires concerning children's learning behaviors. The findings showed significant increases in subjective well-being and positive learning behaviors among the intervention participants, with no significant changes in the control group. The results highlight the potential of positive psychology interventions for increasing subjective well-being and a positive approach to learning at young ages.
This study aimed to investigate the referrers (including educators) and reasons children were ref... more This study aimed to investigate the referrers (including educators) and reasons children were referred to an audiology clinic for central auditory processing (CAP) evaluation, to identify a referral pathway for listening problems and professional development needs. A case file audit was used to examine the intake questionnaire completed by 150 parents whose child was diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). School staff were the most common referrers, followed by medical/allied health professionals, and family members. The most common concerns leading to referral were literacy, speech, language, and academic underperformance, followed by hearing, listening, and processing difficulties and emotionalbehavioral issues. Significant correlations were observed between the referral sources and concerns. Results suggest that CAPD is primarily conceptualized as part of a more general educational concern. Continuing education and informational counseling is required to ensure that CAP referrals continue to be appropriately made.
This meta-analysis of 20 studies (including a total of 26,302 children) examined effects of polit... more This meta-analysis of 20 studies (including a total of 26,302 children) examined effects of political violence exposure for Jewish Israeli, Arab Israeli and Palestinian youth from 12 years of research in the Middle East conflict. The meta-analysis found a small relation between exposure and all symptoms examined, namely posttraumatic, behavioral and emotional symptoms, among all children. The relation between exposure and posttraumatic or emotional symptoms was significantly higher than that between exposure and behavioral symptoms. The relation between proximity to exposure and symptoms was significantly stronger than that for direct exposure, which was significantly stronger than that for media exposure. Implications of these findings extend beyond the geographic borders of this particular conflict. Millions of children worldwide are affected by armed conflict, war and terrorism and understanding the toll on children is of theoretical, clinical and practical import.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 2016
Children's exposure to stressful events requires effective interventions to strengthen adapti... more Children's exposure to stressful events requires effective interventions to strengthen adaptive development. Expanding the teachers' role to deliver resilience-focused interventions has been shown to enhance children's coping and to have a positive impact on the teachers themselves. This study compared the self-efficacy and perceived performance of 48 teachers following the implementation of such an intervention with 52 control teachers. Trained teachers reported higher self-efficacy and perceived performance. Associations between years of experience, perceived performance and self-efficacy are discussed. This study provides further evidence on the positive impact of teacher-delivered interventions on teachers' performance and self-efficacy. Future studies should replicate this design with a larger sample to examine stages of professional experience, grades, before-after measures, association with students' coping and include male teachers.
This study examined whether attitudinal and emotional responses to broadcasts of images of terror... more This study examined whether attitudinal and emotional responses to broadcasts of images of terrorist events differ according to ethnic group (Jewish and Arab Israelis) and outgroup affiliation during an intense wave of terrorism that occurred in Israel during 2015. Participants were 118 Jewish and 110 Arab-Israelis adults randomly allocated to a terrorism or criminal violence television broadcast. State anxiety, state anger, stereotypes, and negative attitudes toward an adversary were examined prior and subsequent to the media exposure. Findings showed significant increases in anxiety, anger, stereotypes, and negative adversary perceptions in the terrorism exposure group compared to only anxiety increases in the criminal violence exposure. In the terrorism exposure group, Jewish participants showed greater increases in negative adversary perceptions of the Palestinians than Arab Israeli participants, but both groups showed similar significant increases in levels of anxiety and anger. Exposure to broadcasts of terrorism increased willingness to negotiate with the adversary among the Arab participants, but not among the Jewish participants. In the terrorism exposure group, both Jewish and Arab Israelis with high affiliation with the Palestinian cause showed less increases in stereotypes than those with low affiliation. Findings emphasize the role of ethnicity and outgroup affiliation in responses to media exposure to terrorism images.
This study investigated the role of character strengths and virtues in moderating relations betwe... more This study investigated the role of character strengths and virtues in moderating relations between conflict exposure and psychiatric symptoms among 1078 adolescents aged 13-15 living in southern Israel, who were exposed to lengthy periods of war, terrorism and political conflict. Adolescents were assessed for character strengths and virtues, political violence exposure using the Political Life Events (PLE) scale, and psychiatric symptoms using the Brief Symptom Inventory and the UCLA PTSD Index. Results confirmed that political violence exposure was positively correlated with psychiatric symptoms. Interpersonal, temperance and transcendence strengths were negatively associated with psychiatric symptoms. Moderating effects of the interpersonal strengths on the relation between political violence exposure and the psychiatric and PTSD indices were confirmed. The findings extend existing knowledge about the resilience function of character strengths in exposure to protracted conflict and have important practical implications for applying strength-building practices for adolescents who grow up in war-affected environments.
Preschool children are among the most vulnerable populations to adversity. This study described t... more Preschool children are among the most vulnerable populations to adversity. This study described the effects of 4 weeks of daily exposure to rocket attacks on children living on Israel's southern border. Participants enrolled in this study were 122 preschool children (50% boys) between the ages 3 and 6 years from 10 kindergartens. We assessed mothers' report of children's symptoms according to the DSM-IV and alternative criteria resembling the DSM-5 criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general adaptation, traumatic exposure, and stressful life events 3 months after the war. The prevalence of PTSD was lower when the diagnosis was derived from the DSM-IV (4%) than from the DSM-5 criteria (14%). Mothers of children with 4 or more stressful life events reported more functional impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning compared to children with 0 or 1 stressful life event. Children with more severe exposure showed more severe sy...
The 2015 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more ... more The 2015 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more easily through the poster session. The content themes are based upon the ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Education (www.asm.org/index.php/guidelines/curriculum-guidelines). The guidelines identify six overarching concepts, which provide a framework for 22 key microbiological topics, and two key skills and are based on concepts put forth in the 2011 national report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology: A Call to Action. The ASM concepts and topics were selected to promote deep understanding of core concepts that are deemed to be of lasting importance beyond the classroom. Likewise, students' development of competency in the selected skills will have enduring and lasting value beyond both the classroom and laboratories. In May 2012, a Perspectives article published in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (JMBE) entitled "The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding" described the consensusbuilding process around the new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses. For the purposes of ASMCUE, a seventh concept, advancing STEM education and research, has been added to the abstracts in order to identify authors working in this broader-scoped area. The seven concepts are therefore evolution, structure and function, pathways, information flow, systems, the impact of microorganisms, and advancing STEM education and research. The pedagogy themes are organized into five categories: course design, hands-on projects, student learning, teaching approaches, and teaching tools. Each abstract is assigned to both content and pedagogy themes. These assignments, designated by the submitting author, are indicated for each abstract. A quick reference index listing abstracts by content is available on p. 121, and by pedagogy on p. 121.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 2013
Belonging to ethnic minorities is a risk factor for traumatized children. this study investigated... more Belonging to ethnic minorities is a risk factor for traumatized children. this study investigated the influence of exposure to rocket attacks during the 2006 Lebanon War on Jewish and two groups of arab Israeli students and the effect of implementing a teacher-delivered intervention focusing on resilience enhancement. Children from both ethnic groups (N = 1,372) were assessed for stressful life events, symptoms and parental concern regarding adaptation before the 16- week program (t1) and after its completion (t2). arab children reported more severe symptoms at t1. the three groups showed a significant decrease to the same level at t2. Both ethnic groups differed in the level of parental concern and in the way stressful life events affected children's symptoms. the results suggest that school-based programs with teachers as clinical mediators could be a valuable, cost-effective cross-cultural model of intervention after mass trauma, moderating vulnerabilities of ethnic minorities.
We explored the cognitive development of physical knowledge for heating and cooling in a cross-cu... more We explored the cognitive development of physical knowledge for heating and cooling in a cross-cultural, mixed-gender sample of 270 children. Subjects were drawn from five age groups ranging in age from 4 to 13 years. Subjects were individually exposed to heating and cooling demonstrations, whereafter they were interviewed and assessed for their understanding of the phenomena in question. Results showed a clear developmental progression. The youngest children gave relatively unsophisticated explanations that focused on the source of heat but failed to explain the process itself. Slightly older children gave explanations that were characterized by a notion of movement (without a kinetic basis). The oldest children gave more sophisticated accounts of the process of heat transferral, which employed notions of convection, radiation, and conduction. This progression was unaffected by population group or gender, although a significant interaction between age and population was observed in the case of heating. The implications of these results for neo-Piagetian research are discussed. Some parallels between the developmental progression observed here and the historical development of scientific concepts of heat are noted.
The symbiotic relationship between terrorism and its media coverage is explored from the perspect... more The symbiotic relationship between terrorism and its media coverage is explored from the perspective of audience reactions. In an empirical study, effects of television broadcasts of terrorism on viewers’ emotional and attitudinal reactions are examined. Participants were 300 Israeli adults randomly allocated to terrorism or violent nonterrorism broadcasts. Anxiety, anger, stereotypes, and enemy perception were measured prior and subsequent to
Children's psychological distress and sym... more Children's psychological distress and symptoms after forced evacuation from the Gaza Strip in Israel were studied. Fifty families living in temporary residences 2 weeks postevacuation were assessed for general political and evacuation life events exposure as risk factors and family support and hardiness as protective factors. The hypothesis predicting a positive correlation between forced evacuation events and political life events and symptom levels was confirmed. Perceived family support served as a significant predictor of symptomatology, but not family hardiness, substantiating parents' role in aiding children's coping.
The 2006 Lebanon War exposed children in the north of Israel to daily rocket attacks. To cope wit... more The 2006 Lebanon War exposed children in the north of Israel to daily rocket attacks. To cope with the massive psychological needs, a teacher-delivered protocol focusing on enhancing personal resilience was implemented. Children were assessed for risk factors, symptoms, and adaptation before the 16-week program (Time 1; n = 983) and after its completion (Time 2; n = 563). At a 3-month follow-up (Time 3; n = 754) children were assessed together with a waiting-list comparison group (n = 1,152). Participating children showed a significant symptom decrease at Time 2 and significantly fewer symptoms than the control group at Time 3. Six or more risk factors were associated with greater symptoms and parental concern about the child's adaptive functioning. Teachers are valuable cost-effective providers for clinically informed interventions after mass trauma and disaster.
C entral Auditory Processing (CAP) difficulties have attained increasing recognition leading to e... more C entral Auditory Processing (CAP) difficulties have attained increasing recognition leading to escalating rates of referrals for evaluation. 1 Recognition of the association between (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder ((C)APD) and language, learning, and literacy difficulties has resulted in increased referrals and detection in school-aged children. However, attention to (C)APD as a cause of academic difficulties in adolescence is still overlooked. The present clinical observation report is based on the supposition that even mild (C)APD could result in significant impact on different academic and life domains during adolescence. The aim of presenting this report is to alert school staff to the association between C(APD) and academic performance deficits in order to prompt its consideration as a possible etiological factor in underperformance. (C)APD is a deficit in the ability to process and channel information through the auditory system, reflected in difficulty in some or all of the following auditory tasks: sound localization and lateralization, dichotic listening, temporal processing, and sound discrimination in competing or degraded listening conditions. 2 Behavioral characteristics associated with the suspected disorder include difficulty comprehending speech in competing or reverberant environments, requests for repetition of information often using nonspecific clarification requests, misunderstanding messages, inconsistent or inappropriate responses, delays in responding to oral communication, difficulty following complex auditory directions, difficulty with sound localization, inattentiveness and distractibility, and literacy difficulties. 2,3 The heterogeneous nature of this extensive list of associated behavioral features has evoked criticism since it defies definition and specification on the basis of a unique cluster of diagnostic signs that reflect some underlying mechanism. 3 However, (C)APD is not a unitary disorder but rather a combination of functional deficits that has been observed in various population groups attributed to various causes, such as central nervous system pathology or neurodevelopmental disorders. 4 Diagnosis of (C)APD is based on performance on a specialized battery of tests assessing the integrity of the central auditory pathway and identifying the nature of the auditory deficit, particularly in auditory closure, auditory figureground, binaural separation, binaural integration, and temporal processing.
This study evaluates a school-based primary prevention intervention designed to promote adolescen... more This study evaluates a school-based primary prevention intervention designed to promote adolescents' coping in the immediate aftermath of war exposure in Operation Cast Lead. Participants were 179 adolescents from two demographically similar schools in Ashkelon in south Israel. The intervention incorporated two previously proven resilience factors-mobilization of support and self-efficacy. In a repeated measures design, the study assessed pre-to post-test changes in intervention (n = 94) and control (n = 85) conditions among adolescents exposed to high or low political life events (PLE). Findings showed significant pre-test differences in self-efficacy and psychological symptoms between participants with low and high PLE. For both PLE groups, the intervention strengthened support mobilization and self-efficacy and reduced psychological distress and emotional symptoms. Findings reinforce the importance of offering appropriate evidence-based interventions for school staff to restore security and well-being to adolescents in a crisis context immediately following war. Despite the apparent return to a school routine after war, school staff should be aware of the risk to youth for development of psychological symptoms and disorders, and the need for preventative intervention.
s from the 19th Annual ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE), held June 16-19, 2012... more s from the 19th Annual ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE), held June 16-19, 2012 in San Mateo, CA.
The 2017 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more ... more The 2017 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more easily through the poster session. The content themes are based upon the ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Education (www.asm.org/index.php/guidelines/curriculum-guidelines). The guidelines identify six overarching concepts, which provide a framework for 22 key microbiological topics, and two key skills and are based on concepts put forth in the 2011 national report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology: A Call to Action. The ASM concepts and topics were selected to promote deep understanding of core concepts that are deemed to be of lasting importance beyond the classroom. Likewise, students' development of competency in the selected skills will have enduring and lasting value beyond both the classroom and laboratories. In May 2012, a Perspectives article published in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (JMBE) entitled, "The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding," described the consensusbuilding process around the new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses. For the purposes of ASMCUE, a seventh concept, advancing STEM education and research, has been added to the abstracts in order to identify authors working in this broader-scoped area. The seven concepts are therefore: evolution, structure and function, pathways, information flow, systems, the impact of microorganisms, and advancing STEM education and research. The pedagogy themes are organized into five categories: course design, hands-on projects, student learning, teaching approaches, and teaching tools.
This study investigated a horizontal décalage phenomenon in the development of children'... more This study investigated a horizontal décalage phenomenon in the development of children's knowledge about heating and cooling. Décalage phenomena have posed a problem to orthodox Piagetian theory and have reinforced the objection by some domain-specific theorists to the central Piagetian notion of overarching structures. The aim of this study was to contribute to this debate by empirical observation of décalage phenomena. A total of 270 children from 3 ethnic groups were tested for their understanding of heating and cooling concepts, using a standard task and a structured interview. Results showed a strong décalage effect: Children used more sophisticated explanations, at earlier ages, for heating than for cooling phenomena. This horizontal décalage was present in a similar form in all three ethnic groups. We argue that the uniformity of the décalage is difficult to reconcile with domain-specific views.
This study examined the role of parenting styles and parental warmth in moderating relations betw... more This study examined the role of parenting styles and parental warmth in moderating relations between exposure to political life events and mental health symptoms among 277 Israeli adolescents aged 12-14 and their parents, who had been exposed to protracted periods of war, missile bombardments, and terrorism. Adolescents completed the Political Life Events (PLE) scale, Brief Symptom Inventory and questionnaires regarding parenting style and parental warmth. The primary caregiver completed the Child Behavior Checklist for assessment of the child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results confirmed that severity of PLE exposure was positively correlated with psychological distress and with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Maternal authoritativeness and warmth functioned as protective factors and had moderating effects on the relation between PLE exposure and mental health symptoms. In contrast, maternal authoritarianism exacerbated the relation between PLE exposure and children's externalizing symptoms. Fathers' parenting style and warmth had no significant relationship with children's mental health outcomes. These findings have important clinical and practical implications for parental guidance and support during periods of war and armed conflict.
Despite the flourishing in recent years in applications of positive psychology in the field of ed... more Despite the flourishing in recent years in applications of positive psychology in the field of education, there is a paucity of research investigating positive psychology interventions for preschool children. The present study examined the effects of a positive psychology-based intervention conducted in Israel on children's subjective well-being, mental health and learning behaviors. Twelve preschool classrooms of 3-6.5 year-olds were randomly assigned to a positive psychology intervention condition or a wait-list control condition. In the intervention condition, during one school year, 160 children experienced eight modules of basic concepts in positive psychology that were adapted to the developmental characteristics of young children and were compared to 155 children in demographically similar control classrooms. Children were administered a pre-test and post-test of subjective well-being measures. In addition, children's mental health and emotional well-being were measured by parental questionnaires. Preschool teachers completed questionnaires concerning children's learning behaviors. The findings showed significant increases in subjective well-being and positive learning behaviors among the intervention participants, with no significant changes in the control group. The results highlight the potential of positive psychology interventions for increasing subjective well-being and a positive approach to learning at young ages.
This study aimed to investigate the referrers (including educators) and reasons children were ref... more This study aimed to investigate the referrers (including educators) and reasons children were referred to an audiology clinic for central auditory processing (CAP) evaluation, to identify a referral pathway for listening problems and professional development needs. A case file audit was used to examine the intake questionnaire completed by 150 parents whose child was diagnosed with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). School staff were the most common referrers, followed by medical/allied health professionals, and family members. The most common concerns leading to referral were literacy, speech, language, and academic underperformance, followed by hearing, listening, and processing difficulties and emotionalbehavioral issues. Significant correlations were observed between the referral sources and concerns. Results suggest that CAPD is primarily conceptualized as part of a more general educational concern. Continuing education and informational counseling is required to ensure that CAP referrals continue to be appropriately made.
This meta-analysis of 20 studies (including a total of 26,302 children) examined effects of polit... more This meta-analysis of 20 studies (including a total of 26,302 children) examined effects of political violence exposure for Jewish Israeli, Arab Israeli and Palestinian youth from 12 years of research in the Middle East conflict. The meta-analysis found a small relation between exposure and all symptoms examined, namely posttraumatic, behavioral and emotional symptoms, among all children. The relation between exposure and posttraumatic or emotional symptoms was significantly higher than that between exposure and behavioral symptoms. The relation between proximity to exposure and symptoms was significantly stronger than that for direct exposure, which was significantly stronger than that for media exposure. Implications of these findings extend beyond the geographic borders of this particular conflict. Millions of children worldwide are affected by armed conflict, war and terrorism and understanding the toll on children is of theoretical, clinical and practical import.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 2016
Children's exposure to stressful events requires effective interventions to strengthen adapti... more Children's exposure to stressful events requires effective interventions to strengthen adaptive development. Expanding the teachers' role to deliver resilience-focused interventions has been shown to enhance children's coping and to have a positive impact on the teachers themselves. This study compared the self-efficacy and perceived performance of 48 teachers following the implementation of such an intervention with 52 control teachers. Trained teachers reported higher self-efficacy and perceived performance. Associations between years of experience, perceived performance and self-efficacy are discussed. This study provides further evidence on the positive impact of teacher-delivered interventions on teachers' performance and self-efficacy. Future studies should replicate this design with a larger sample to examine stages of professional experience, grades, before-after measures, association with students' coping and include male teachers.
This study examined whether attitudinal and emotional responses to broadcasts of images of terror... more This study examined whether attitudinal and emotional responses to broadcasts of images of terrorist events differ according to ethnic group (Jewish and Arab Israelis) and outgroup affiliation during an intense wave of terrorism that occurred in Israel during 2015. Participants were 118 Jewish and 110 Arab-Israelis adults randomly allocated to a terrorism or criminal violence television broadcast. State anxiety, state anger, stereotypes, and negative attitudes toward an adversary were examined prior and subsequent to the media exposure. Findings showed significant increases in anxiety, anger, stereotypes, and negative adversary perceptions in the terrorism exposure group compared to only anxiety increases in the criminal violence exposure. In the terrorism exposure group, Jewish participants showed greater increases in negative adversary perceptions of the Palestinians than Arab Israeli participants, but both groups showed similar significant increases in levels of anxiety and anger. Exposure to broadcasts of terrorism increased willingness to negotiate with the adversary among the Arab participants, but not among the Jewish participants. In the terrorism exposure group, both Jewish and Arab Israelis with high affiliation with the Palestinian cause showed less increases in stereotypes than those with low affiliation. Findings emphasize the role of ethnicity and outgroup affiliation in responses to media exposure to terrorism images.
This study investigated the role of character strengths and virtues in moderating relations betwe... more This study investigated the role of character strengths and virtues in moderating relations between conflict exposure and psychiatric symptoms among 1078 adolescents aged 13-15 living in southern Israel, who were exposed to lengthy periods of war, terrorism and political conflict. Adolescents were assessed for character strengths and virtues, political violence exposure using the Political Life Events (PLE) scale, and psychiatric symptoms using the Brief Symptom Inventory and the UCLA PTSD Index. Results confirmed that political violence exposure was positively correlated with psychiatric symptoms. Interpersonal, temperance and transcendence strengths were negatively associated with psychiatric symptoms. Moderating effects of the interpersonal strengths on the relation between political violence exposure and the psychiatric and PTSD indices were confirmed. The findings extend existing knowledge about the resilience function of character strengths in exposure to protracted conflict and have important practical implications for applying strength-building practices for adolescents who grow up in war-affected environments.
Preschool children are among the most vulnerable populations to adversity. This study described t... more Preschool children are among the most vulnerable populations to adversity. This study described the effects of 4 weeks of daily exposure to rocket attacks on children living on Israel's southern border. Participants enrolled in this study were 122 preschool children (50% boys) between the ages 3 and 6 years from 10 kindergartens. We assessed mothers' report of children's symptoms according to the DSM-IV and alternative criteria resembling the DSM-5 criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), general adaptation, traumatic exposure, and stressful life events 3 months after the war. The prevalence of PTSD was lower when the diagnosis was derived from the DSM-IV (4%) than from the DSM-5 criteria (14%). Mothers of children with 4 or more stressful life events reported more functional impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning compared to children with 0 or 1 stressful life event. Children with more severe exposure showed more severe sy...
The 2015 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more ... more The 2015 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more easily through the poster session. The content themes are based upon the ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Education (www.asm.org/index.php/guidelines/curriculum-guidelines). The guidelines identify six overarching concepts, which provide a framework for 22 key microbiological topics, and two key skills and are based on concepts put forth in the 2011 national report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology: A Call to Action. The ASM concepts and topics were selected to promote deep understanding of core concepts that are deemed to be of lasting importance beyond the classroom. Likewise, students' development of competency in the selected skills will have enduring and lasting value beyond both the classroom and laboratories. In May 2012, a Perspectives article published in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (JMBE) entitled "The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding" described the consensusbuilding process around the new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses. For the purposes of ASMCUE, a seventh concept, advancing STEM education and research, has been added to the abstracts in order to identify authors working in this broader-scoped area. The seven concepts are therefore evolution, structure and function, pathways, information flow, systems, the impact of microorganisms, and advancing STEM education and research. The pedagogy themes are organized into five categories: course design, hands-on projects, student learning, teaching approaches, and teaching tools. Each abstract is assigned to both content and pedagogy themes. These assignments, designated by the submitting author, are indicated for each abstract. A quick reference index listing abstracts by content is available on p. 121, and by pedagogy on p. 121.
The Israel journal of psychiatry and related sciences, 2013
Belonging to ethnic minorities is a risk factor for traumatized children. this study investigated... more Belonging to ethnic minorities is a risk factor for traumatized children. this study investigated the influence of exposure to rocket attacks during the 2006 Lebanon War on Jewish and two groups of arab Israeli students and the effect of implementing a teacher-delivered intervention focusing on resilience enhancement. Children from both ethnic groups (N = 1,372) were assessed for stressful life events, symptoms and parental concern regarding adaptation before the 16- week program (t1) and after its completion (t2). arab children reported more severe symptoms at t1. the three groups showed a significant decrease to the same level at t2. Both ethnic groups differed in the level of parental concern and in the way stressful life events affected children's symptoms. the results suggest that school-based programs with teachers as clinical mediators could be a valuable, cost-effective cross-cultural model of intervention after mass trauma, moderating vulnerabilities of ethnic minorities.
We explored the cognitive development of physical knowledge for heating and cooling in a cross-cu... more We explored the cognitive development of physical knowledge for heating and cooling in a cross-cultural, mixed-gender sample of 270 children. Subjects were drawn from five age groups ranging in age from 4 to 13 years. Subjects were individually exposed to heating and cooling demonstrations, whereafter they were interviewed and assessed for their understanding of the phenomena in question. Results showed a clear developmental progression. The youngest children gave relatively unsophisticated explanations that focused on the source of heat but failed to explain the process itself. Slightly older children gave explanations that were characterized by a notion of movement (without a kinetic basis). The oldest children gave more sophisticated accounts of the process of heat transferral, which employed notions of convection, radiation, and conduction. This progression was unaffected by population group or gender, although a significant interaction between age and population was observed in the case of heating. The implications of these results for neo-Piagetian research are discussed. Some parallels between the developmental progression observed here and the historical development of scientific concepts of heat are noted.
The symbiotic relationship between terrorism and its media coverage is explored from the perspect... more The symbiotic relationship between terrorism and its media coverage is explored from the perspective of audience reactions. In an empirical study, effects of television broadcasts of terrorism on viewers’ emotional and attitudinal reactions are examined. Participants were 300 Israeli adults randomly allocated to terrorism or violent nonterrorism broadcasts. Anxiety, anger, stereotypes, and enemy perception were measured prior and subsequent to
Children's psychological distress and sym... more Children's psychological distress and symptoms after forced evacuation from the Gaza Strip in Israel were studied. Fifty families living in temporary residences 2 weeks postevacuation were assessed for general political and evacuation life events exposure as risk factors and family support and hardiness as protective factors. The hypothesis predicting a positive correlation between forced evacuation events and political life events and symptom levels was confirmed. Perceived family support served as a significant predictor of symptomatology, but not family hardiness, substantiating parents' role in aiding children's coping.
The 2006 Lebanon War exposed children in the north of Israel to daily rocket attacks. To cope wit... more The 2006 Lebanon War exposed children in the north of Israel to daily rocket attacks. To cope with the massive psychological needs, a teacher-delivered protocol focusing on enhancing personal resilience was implemented. Children were assessed for risk factors, symptoms, and adaptation before the 16-week program (Time 1; n = 983) and after its completion (Time 2; n = 563). At a 3-month follow-up (Time 3; n = 754) children were assessed together with a waiting-list comparison group (n = 1,152). Participating children showed a significant symptom decrease at Time 2 and significantly fewer symptoms than the control group at Time 3. Six or more risk factors were associated with greater symptoms and parental concern about the child's adaptive functioning. Teachers are valuable cost-effective providers for clinically informed interventions after mass trauma and disaster.
C entral Auditory Processing (CAP) difficulties have attained increasing recognition leading to e... more C entral Auditory Processing (CAP) difficulties have attained increasing recognition leading to escalating rates of referrals for evaluation. 1 Recognition of the association between (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder ((C)APD) and language, learning, and literacy difficulties has resulted in increased referrals and detection in school-aged children. However, attention to (C)APD as a cause of academic difficulties in adolescence is still overlooked. The present clinical observation report is based on the supposition that even mild (C)APD could result in significant impact on different academic and life domains during adolescence. The aim of presenting this report is to alert school staff to the association between C(APD) and academic performance deficits in order to prompt its consideration as a possible etiological factor in underperformance. (C)APD is a deficit in the ability to process and channel information through the auditory system, reflected in difficulty in some or all of the following auditory tasks: sound localization and lateralization, dichotic listening, temporal processing, and sound discrimination in competing or degraded listening conditions. 2 Behavioral characteristics associated with the suspected disorder include difficulty comprehending speech in competing or reverberant environments, requests for repetition of information often using nonspecific clarification requests, misunderstanding messages, inconsistent or inappropriate responses, delays in responding to oral communication, difficulty following complex auditory directions, difficulty with sound localization, inattentiveness and distractibility, and literacy difficulties. 2,3 The heterogeneous nature of this extensive list of associated behavioral features has evoked criticism since it defies definition and specification on the basis of a unique cluster of diagnostic signs that reflect some underlying mechanism. 3 However, (C)APD is not a unitary disorder but rather a combination of functional deficits that has been observed in various population groups attributed to various causes, such as central nervous system pathology or neurodevelopmental disorders. 4 Diagnosis of (C)APD is based on performance on a specialized battery of tests assessing the integrity of the central auditory pathway and identifying the nature of the auditory deficit, particularly in auditory closure, auditory figureground, binaural separation, binaural integration, and temporal processing.
This study evaluates a school-based primary prevention intervention designed to promote adolescen... more This study evaluates a school-based primary prevention intervention designed to promote adolescents' coping in the immediate aftermath of war exposure in Operation Cast Lead. Participants were 179 adolescents from two demographically similar schools in Ashkelon in south Israel. The intervention incorporated two previously proven resilience factors-mobilization of support and self-efficacy. In a repeated measures design, the study assessed pre-to post-test changes in intervention (n = 94) and control (n = 85) conditions among adolescents exposed to high or low political life events (PLE). Findings showed significant pre-test differences in self-efficacy and psychological symptoms between participants with low and high PLE. For both PLE groups, the intervention strengthened support mobilization and self-efficacy and reduced psychological distress and emotional symptoms. Findings reinforce the importance of offering appropriate evidence-based interventions for school staff to restore security and well-being to adolescents in a crisis context immediately following war. Despite the apparent return to a school routine after war, school staff should be aware of the risk to youth for development of psychological symptoms and disorders, and the need for preventative intervention.
s from the 19th Annual ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE), held June 16-19, 2012... more s from the 19th Annual ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE), held June 16-19, 2012 in San Mateo, CA.
The 2017 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more ... more The 2017 abstracts are organized by both content and pedagogy to help participants navigate more easily through the poster session. The content themes are based upon the ASM Recommended Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology Education (www.asm.org/index.php/guidelines/curriculum-guidelines). The guidelines identify six overarching concepts, which provide a framework for 22 key microbiological topics, and two key skills and are based on concepts put forth in the 2011 national report, Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology: A Call to Action. The ASM concepts and topics were selected to promote deep understanding of core concepts that are deemed to be of lasting importance beyond the classroom. Likewise, students' development of competency in the selected skills will have enduring and lasting value beyond both the classroom and laboratories. In May 2012, a Perspectives article published in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (JMBE) entitled, "The Development of Curricular Guidelines for Introductory Microbiology that Focus on Understanding," described the consensusbuilding process around the new, concept-based curriculum for Introductory Microbiology courses. For the purposes of ASMCUE, a seventh concept, advancing STEM education and research, has been added to the abstracts in order to identify authors working in this broader-scoped area. The seven concepts are therefore: evolution, structure and function, pathways, information flow, systems, the impact of microorganisms, and advancing STEM education and research. The pedagogy themes are organized into five categories: course design, hands-on projects, student learning, teaching approaches, and teaching tools.
This study investigated a horizontal décalage phenomenon in the development of children'... more This study investigated a horizontal décalage phenomenon in the development of children's knowledge about heating and cooling. Décalage phenomena have posed a problem to orthodox Piagetian theory and have reinforced the objection by some domain-specific theorists to the central Piagetian notion of overarching structures. The aim of this study was to contribute to this debate by empirical observation of décalage phenomena. A total of 270 children from 3 ethnic groups were tested for their understanding of heating and cooling concepts, using a standard task and a structured interview. Results showed a strong décalage effect: Children used more sophisticated explanations, at earlier ages, for heating than for cooling phenomena. This horizontal décalage was present in a similar form in all three ethnic groups. We argue that the uniformity of the décalage is difficult to reconcile with domain-specific views.
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Papers by Michelle Slone