Communal values and economic success: A comparison of israeli collective settlements

The association between economic success and adherence to communal values in Israeli kibbutz communes is analyzed over a thirty year period. Adherence to four communal objectives, as independent variables, is considered: Settling the land and absorbing settlers, farming as a way of life, refraining from financial speculation and minimizing consumption. Economic performance was used as the criterion variable. The findings show that the federation of religious kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) adhered most closely to the social objectives and achieved better economic/financial performance than other kubbutz federations. The economic success of the religious kibbutzim is attributed to a religious rational ethic that was developed during their formative years and maintained consistently over time.     

Relational Ethics,Depressive Symptoms,and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples in Therapy

The purpose of this study was to examine depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction as problems related to relational ethics in one's family of origin and current partner relationships in a sample of 68 other‐sex couples seeking therapy at a large university clinic. We used the Actor Partner Interdependence Model to analyze dyadic data collected prior to beginning therapy. Specifically, we found significant actor effects between relational ethics in one's family of origin and depressive symptoms, as well as between depressive symptoms and low relationship satisfaction for both male and female partners. We also found significant partner effects for relational ethics in current partner relationship, depressive symptoms, and low relationship satisfaction. Clinical application of contextual therapy theory is discussed.     

The link between parenting approaches and health behavior: A systematic review

The familial home environment, where parenting takes place, plays an important role in the health behaviors that children and adolescents engage in and has implications on health and well-being in later life. Lifestyle-related behaviors predispose children and adolescents to the global burden of non-communicable and other lifestyle-related diseases. This review therefore examined and described previous studies looking at the associations between health behaviors and parenting approaches. It suggests that engagement in health behaviors, which promotes overall health and well-being, was associated with autonomy, supportive parenting, parental encouragement, behavior control, parental nurturance, warmth and responsiveness, and parental involvement. The review highlights the gap in literature focusing on the health behavior of children and adolescents as well as on parenting. In addition, the review also provides an overview of the continents where fewer studies have examined the presented associations. The findings presented also serve as a guide for program development and implementation to address the increase in non-communicable and other lifestyle-related diseases.     

Does federal flood hazard mitigation assistance affect community rating system participation?

With the inexorable march of climate change, increased flooding is inevitable. Understanding the feedback between federal flood mitigation policies and the ways in which local governments build flood resilience is a significant gap in the literature. In particular, the effect that federal flood mitigation grants have on the intensity of local flood mitigation is nonexistent. This work measures flood risk mitigation by using the level of participation in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS). Communities that participate in the CRS and undertake mitigation are awarded points; more points imply a higher level of participation. Since its inception in 1990, CRS communities have received considerably more federal pre-disaster flood mitigation grants compared to non-CRS communities. This study assesses the effect of federal pre-disaster flood mitigation grants on the level of participation in the CRS program. We use data on Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs and CRS participation data between 2010 and 2015. We link these data to flood risk and socioeconomic information. Our results indicate (i) federal pre-disaster flood mitigation grants do not appear to significantly influence the level of CRS participation, (ii) the effect of flood risk and socioeconomic factors on the level of CRS participation are mixed, and (iii) the current level of CRS participation is influenced by the previous level of CRS participation, which is not tied to federal pre-disaster flood mitigation grant. These findings add to the growing discussions on the drivers and barriers of local flood risk mitigation.     

African Drumming: a perfect tool for a more open and inclusive approach to intercultural education and development

Children are born with rhythm, no matter what their cultural ancestry. Rhythm is the lifeline uniting every child in the macro‐society of the human world. In this article I describe the vast potential of using rhythm, especially that associated with African drumming, when working with young people, both within and outside educational settings.