What are Social Work Students’ Perceptions of the Community Practice Method?

Summary. A unique aspect of the social work profession is the combination of intervention on the personal, community, and societal levels and their interaction. The purpose of this research is to determine students’ perceptions of community practice. Qualitative research was conducted among Israeli social work students before gaining any practical experience in community practice. Findings. The results demonstrated a change in students’ perceptions of the importance of community practice to the profession, and the factors that contributed to this change. Applications. Recommendations that may contribute to changing students’ perceptions of community practice are offered to educators.     

High School Reunions and the Management of Identity

Organized around an intersection of the past with the present, high school reunions confront those who attend with discontinuities in their own lives as well as the lives of others. Based on observations of and interviews with attendees at five reunions, we argue, contrary to many claims about the contemporary segmentation of the self, that reunion goers are able to construct accounts of coherent lives by reference to “true selves” independent of appearances. Although reunion attendees may attempt to manage impressions by controlling information about themselves, these efforts are limited by attendees efforts to sustain convictions of their own integrity. These convictions, however, also depend on accounts, albeit accounts directed inward. Moreover, the maintenance of this conviction depends on the successful “neutralization” of others' judgments.     

The Effect of Occupational Sex Composition on the Gender Gap in Workplace Authority

This article compares women and men's attainment of workplace authority in female-dominated, mixed, and male-dominated occupations. It is based on a representative mobility study of Jewish women in the Israeli labor force conducted in 1991–1992. Two sets of hypotheses are offered based on two competing theories. The first theory predicts that in female occupations women have more influence and mutual support than in male occupations, and, hence, they will have more access to authority. The opposing perspective argues that in male-dominated occupations the competition between women and men is weaker, and therefore men have a smaller incentive to discriminate against women. Our findings support the second argument. The gender gap in authority is larger in female-dominated occupations, and women have the highest chances to have authority when they work in male occupations; men have similar chances, no matter in which type of occupation they are employed.     

Social, Economic, and Attitudinal Characteristics of Cohabitation in Israel

This article examines cohabitation in Israel. Since the 1980s cohabitation has been on the rise, with heterosexual couples living together without being legally married. The purpose of this article is to address the following questions: What are the characteristics of cohabitation; what economic circumstances affect cohabitation; why is cohabitation chosen over “family” and is it becoming a threat to the family institution? The sample consisted of 50 couples. Our major findings were that cohabitation does not seem to be an alternative to marriage, but a prelude to it. We found a high correlation between the cohabitants' willingness to marry and their willingness to have children in the future. Cohabitants live in rented apartments, usually do not share a bank account, and have no formal economic agreement.     

Factors Affecting Juvenile Court Decisions in Israel: A Multivariate Approach*

This paper investigates the factors influencing the disposition of cases in juvenile courts. The factors considered are the prior record of the offender, the nature of the offense, the recommendation of the probation officer, and the age of the offender. These four factors are essential components of the juvenile justice system and as such are perceived to be crucial for the understanding of the court's decision. A multivariate analysis of the data is undertaken using the method of log-linear analysis for hierarchical models. In contrast to other studies that have utilized the same method but with fewer variables, the model arrived at in the paper seems to be more accurate and suggests that while the offense and the prior criminal record are quite important factors, their influence on the disposition of cases is greatly bound by the age of the offender and the recommendation of the probation officer.     

Smartphones and young publics: A new challenge for public relations practice and relationship building

This study focuses on smartphones and their potential contribution to relationship building, between organizations and young publics. A survey among a representative sample of 550 young, Israelis, aged 21–31, and sixty personal in-depth interviews with undergraduate students were, conducted. The findings reveal that the smartphone satisfies both interaction-related and cognitive-related, needs, but organizations do not utilize the dialogic potential of the smartphone to engage and, to build relationships with young publics.     

The Public Perception of Female and Male Violence in Marital Relationships

Most studies dealing with intimate partner violence (IPV) investigate situations where the man is the aggressor. The present study examines the participants’ social perception of IPV and the connection between social perception and the severity of the violent act and its justification when carried out by men against women and vice versa. The research is based on a structured, self-reported anonymous questionnaire answered by 240 participants. The questionnaire examined demographic variables, attitudes toward IPV, the severity of the violent act, and its justification. Findings indicate that violent behavior of women is perceived as more justified than that of men and that men’s violent behavior is perceived as more severe by women than by men, but women’s violent behavior is perceived to be equally severe by men and women. The study raises awareness of the lack of gender boundaries in violence and of gender discrimination against males.     

Collaborations: A Combination of Outlook,Vision, and Social Responsibility Among Different Parties—The Key to Success

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Our study examined whether collaboration enhances employees’ knowledge and commitments, thus improving the quality...     

In Precarious Motion: From Territorial to Transnational Cultures*

En dépit des efforts déployés pour s'éloigner d'une pratique ethnographique axée sur les cultures territoriales, les récents travaux anthropologiques sur les entreprises “transnationales” se sont souvent fondés sur des cas semblables à ceux des sociétés localisées, études qui sont le propre de l'ethnographie traditionnelle. Cette approche ne peut toutefois tenir compte des effets désunificateurs de la mondialisation. L'auteure de la présente étude se penche sur les orientations convergentes de deux interprétations ayant cours en anthropologic contemporaine et fait état des lacunes de celles-ci dans l'examen socioculturel des transnationales. Le cas des expatriés d'Amérique du Nord et d'Europe travaillant à contrat dans les îles Caïmans est ensuite examiné. L'insécurité d'emploi, l'absence de domicile fixe et le phénomène de déracinement propres à ces travailleurs n'ont pas eu l'effet de créer un rés?eau social transnational bien articulé. L'auteure invite alors les anthropologues á accepter la “perte de la collectivité” comme fondement conceptuel et épistémologique, ceci dans le but de mieux examiner la situation des nombreux voyageurs déracinés et travailleurs itinérants qui n'ont pas reproduit les “agrégats” transnationaux. In spite of an effort to reorient ethnographic practice away from territorial cultures, recent anthropological treatments of the “transnational” have tended to rely on cases that closely approximate localized communities of traditional ethnography. This kind of focus, however, cannot address the more diffuse and disaggregated outcomes of globalization. This essay examines the convergent orientations and limitations of two influential anthropological renderings of transnational social and cultural fields. It then reviews the case of North American and European expatriates working on temporary labour contracts in the Cayman Islands, where insecure employment and residence conditions, cross-border mobility and a sense of displacement have not resulted in the development of a well-articulated transnational social network. In considering the implications of the Cayman case study, I suggest that anthropologists may have to accept the loss of collectivity as a conceptual and epistemological anchor in order to address the situations of the many unconnected travellers and migrants whose movements do not involve the reproduction of transnational aggregates.     

THE COURSE OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION: Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Suburbanization in Israel

As is well documented, today, 40 years after the establishment of statehood, ethnicity figures importantly in determining educational and occupational attainment in Israel. The present study measures residential patterns to examine the relevance of ethnic differences in generating social distance.
Census data on the Jewish population and pairs of ethnic groups depict residential pattern changes in the central city and suburban ring for the largest metropolitan area, Tel Aviv, in 1972 and 1983. Segregation patterns are moderate in the central city, low in the suburban ring; in both localities, moreover, segregation declines during the decade studied. Although ethnicity significantly affects a group's separation, its relative importance declines. With Socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and other intervening variables controlled, Jewish ethnic groups' attainments significantly differ by locale: Suburban residence increases spatial assimilation.