Disabled IDF Veterans in Israeli Higher Education: Disability Identity and Use of Support

Even though military service in Israel is mandatory and common among the state population, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) veterans with disabilities are rarely represented in the literature regarding their experience in Israeli higher education (HE). This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating the experiences of disabled IDF (DIDF) veteran students, their experiences as students, identities, challenges, and utilization of support resources on their campuses. The relevant fields of Disability Studies, Veteran Studies, and the use of disability support services on campus are discussed in this study, focusing on the implementation of accessibility regulations and practices in the Israeli HE system concerning the target population of DIDF veterans. This dissertation study aimed to understand the perceptions, needs for disability services, and experiences of DIDF-veteran students within the general student population in Israeli HE. This study applied a qualitative method with a small quantitative component. Participants were recruited to respond to an online survey and then were offered to participate in in-depth interviews. The qualitative sample included 13 participants who had a range of disabilities and attended different HE institutions including colleges and universities. They had varied military service backgrounds and educational experiences during undergraduate and graduate studies. All participants were officially recognized as DIDF veterans by the MoD, having a single or multiple disabilities. This population mainly receives rehabilitation and support services from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD), but not necessarily in HE. The interview transcripts were analyzed using an inductive approach. The findings revealed that many of the participants had learning disabilities (LDs) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other impairments or medical conditions on top of their military disability that impacted their ability to function as students. The study findings were displayed first by the four (sub) research questions and then were organized into three major themes: Disability as a Complex Category, Negotiating Disability, Choice of Support. In conclusion, my study calls for a greater awareness of this unique population and its needs in HE, which has the potential to serve as a rehabilitation site for many of them

Mauthausen und die nationalsozialistische Expansions- und Verfolgungspolitik (Volume 1, Edition 1)

„Europa in Mauthausen" stellt erstmals umfassend die Geschichte der Überlebenden eines nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslagers dar. Diese beruht auf einer einmaligen Sammlung von über 850 lebensgeschichtlichen Interviews mit Überlebenden aus ganz Europa, Israel, Nord- und Südamerika.Der erste Band präsentiert einen Überblick über das Lager und die Mauthausen-Forschung; er konzentriert sich einleitend auf methodologische Überlegungen und makropolitische Zusammenhänge. Die Beiträge zeigen, dass dem nationalsozialistischen Lagersystem in hohem Maße eine ‚Funktion‘ in den Besatzungs- und Verfolgungspolitiken des NS-Regimes (und der kollaborierenden Länder) zukam

Mauthausen und die nationalsozialistische Expansions- und Verfolgungspolitik: Europa in Mauthausen. Geschichte der Überlebenden eines nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslagers, Band 1

"Europe in Mauthausen" presents a comprehensive history of the survivors of a Nazi concentration camp and is based on a unique collection of 859 oral and video history interviews with former concentration camp prisoners in Europe, Israel, North and South America. This first volume focuses on methodological considerations and macro-political contexts. It shows that the National Socialist camp system was not only depending on Nazi persecution policies, but also to a large extent on the forms of occupation and collaboration in the occupied countries.„Europa in Mauthausen“ stellt umfassend die Geschichte der Überlebenden eines nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslagers dar und beruht auf einer einmaligen Sammlung von 859 Oral- und Video-History-Interviews mit ehemaligen KZ-Häftlingen in Europa, Israel, Nord- und Südamerika. Der vorliegende erste Band konzentriert sich einleitend auf methodologische Überlegungen und makropolitische Zusammenhänge. Er belegt, dass das nationalsozialistische Lagersystem nicht nur von der NS-Verfolgungspolitik, sondern auch in einem hohen Maße von den Formen der Besatzungsherrschaft und der Kollaboration in den besetzten Ländern abhängig war

Toward an Argumentation-based Dialogue framework for Human-Robot Collaboration

Successful human-robot collaboration with a common goal requires peer interaction in which humans and robots cooperate and complement each other\u27s expertise. Formal human-robot dialogue in which there is peer interaction is still in its infancy, though. My research recognizes three aspects of human-robot collaboration that call for dialogue: responding to discovery, pre-empting failure, and recovering from failure. In these scenarios the partners need the ability to challenge, persuade, exchange and expand beliefs about a joint action in order to collaborate through dialogue. My research identifies three argumentation-based dialogues: a persuasion dialogue to resolve disagreement, an information-seeking dialogue to expand individual knowledge, and an inquiry dialogue to share knowledge. A theoretical logic-based framework, a formalized dialogue protocol based on argumentation theory, and argumentation-based dialogue games were developed to provide dialogue support for peer interaction. The work presented in this thesis is the first to apply argumentation theory and three different logic-based argumentation dialogues for use in human-robot collaboration. The research presented in this thesis demonstrates a practical, real-time implementation in which persuasion, inquiry, and information-seeking dialogues are applied to shared decision making for human-robot collaboration in a treasure hunt game domain. My research investigates if adding peer interaction enabled through argumentation-based dialogue to an HRI system improves system performance and user experience during a collaborative task when compared to an HRI system that is capable of only supervisory interaction with minimal dialogue. Results from user studies in physical and simulated human-robot collaborative environments, which involved 108 human participants who interacted with a robot as peer and supervisor, are presented in this thesis. My research contributes to both the human-robot interaction (HRI) and the argumentation communities. First, it brings into HRI a structured method for a robot to maintain its beliefs, to reason using those beliefs, and to interact with a human as a peer via argumentation-based dialogues. The structured method allows the human-robot collaborators to share beliefs, respond to discovery, expand beliefs to recover from failure, challenge beliefs, or resolve conflicts by persuasion. It allows a robot to challenge a human or a human to challenge a robot to prevent human or robot errors. Third, my research provides a comprehensive subjective and objective analysis of the effectiveness of an HRI System with peer interaction that is enabled through argumentation-based dialogue. I compare this peer interaction to a system that is capable of only supervisory interaction with minimal dialogue. My research contributes to the harder questions for human-robot collaboration: what kind of human-robot dialogue support can enhance peer-interaction? How can we develop models to formalize those features? How can we ensure that those features really help, and how do they help? Human-robot dialogue that can aid shared decision making, support the expansion of individual or shared knowledge, and resolve disagreements between collaborative human-robot teams will be much sought after as human society transitions from a world of robot-as-a-tool to robot-as-a-partner. My research presents a version of peer interaction enabled through argumentation-based dialogue that allows humans and robots to work together as partners

Kultur wächst an der Grenze

Das Shlomi Center für Alternative Theaterarbeit befindet sich unweit der libanesischen Grenze in der nordisraelischen Stadt Shlomi. In der Umgebung kam es viele Jahre lang immer wieder zu Übergriffen, bis heute wird die gesamte Region als Krisengebiet bezeichnet. Nach dem Abzug der israelischen Truppen aus dem Süden Libanons im Jahr 2000 sollten die nördlichen Grenzstädte Israels in einem von der Regierung geplanten Projekt besondere Unterstützung erhalten. Im Rahmen dieses Projektes wurde David Maayan, israelischer Theaterregisseur und -pädagoge ausgewählt, in Shlomi ein sogenanntes Kulturgewächshaus zu gründen, das einerseits eigenständiges Kunstschaffen in der Peripherie zum Inhalt hatte, andererseits vor allem eine Verbindung zur Lokalgemeinde aufbauen und durch künstlerische Arbeit Dialoge schaffen sollte. Bereits Jahre zuvor war ein ähnlicher Vorschlag von Joshua Sobol gemacht worden, erst 2000 schien aber der richtige Zeitpunkt, um ein Projekt wie dieses zu verwirklichen. Fast alle Mitglieder des Ensembles sind erfahrene Theaterkünstler, die vor Gründung des Zentrums in gemeinsamen Arbeiten eine eigene Performancesprache entwickelt hatten. Das Shlomi Center eröffnete im Jahr 2002 eine als offenes Labor geführte Schule für performative Theaterkünste, die Schüler aus dem ganzen Land aufnimmt. Ab 2003 wurde das Zentrum von David Maayan und dem Ensemble als eigenständiges Theater weitergeführt, im Jahr 2006 folgte Pablo Saltzmann als künstlerischer Leiter nach

Autonomous Corporate Personhood

Several states have recently changed their business organization law to accommodate autonomous businesses—businesses operated entirely through computer code. A variety of international civil society groups are also actively developing new frameworks— and a model law—for enabling decentralized, autonomous businesses to achieve a corporate or corporate-like status that bestows legal personhood. Meanwhile, various jurisdictions, including the European Union, have considered whether and to what extent artificial intelligence (AI) more broadly should be endowed with personhood to respond to AI’s increasing presence in society. Despite the fairly obvious overlap between the two sets of inquiries, the legal and policy discussions between the two only rarely overlap. As a result of this failure to communicate, both areas of personhood theory fail to account for the important role that socio-technical and socio-legal context plays in law and policy development. This Article fills the gap by investigating the limits of artificial rights at the intersection of corporations and artificial intelligence. Specifically, this Article argues that building a comprehensive legal approach to artificial rights—rights enjoyed by artificial people, whether corporate entity, machine, or otherwise—requires approaching the issue through a systems lens to ensure that the legal system adequately considers the varied socio-technical contexts in which artificial people exist. To make these claims, this Article begins by establishing a terminology baseline, and emphasizing the importance of viewing AI as part of a socio-technical system. Part I then concludes by reviewing the existing ecosystem of autonomous corporations. Parts II and III then examine the existing debates around artificially intelligent persons and corporate personhood, arguing that the socio-legal needs driving artificial personhood debates in both contexts include: protecting the rights of natural people, upholding social values, and creating a fiction for legal convenience. Parts II and III also explore the extent to which the theories from either set of literature fits the reality of autonomous businesses, illuminating gaps and using them to demonstrate that the law must consider the socio-technical context of AI systems and the socio-legal complexity of corporations to decide how autonomous businesses will interact with the world. Ultimately, the Article identifies and leverages links between both areas of legal personhood to demonstrate the Article’s core claim: developing law for artificial systems in any context should use the systems nature of the technical artifact to tie its legal treatment directly to the system’s socio-technical reality

Mediation in a conflict society: an ethnographic view on mediation processes in Israel

This thesis addresses the question: how do individuals in a conflict society engage in peaceful dispute resolution through mediation? It provides a close look at Israeli society, in which people face daily conflicts. These include confrontations on many levels: the national, such as wars and terror attacks; the social, such as ethnic, religious and economic tensions; and the personal level, whereby the number of lawyers and legal claims per capita are among the highest in the world. The magnitude, pervasiveness, and often existential nature of these conflicts have led sociologists to label Israel a ‘conflict society’.   Mediation practice came into this society and challenged the existing ethos and norms by proposing a discourse of dialogue and cooperation. The thesis focuses on the meeting point that mediation engenders between narratives of conflict, which have developed in this environment, and the mediation processes, which set out to achieve a collaborative discourse and mutual recognition.   The fieldwork, forming the core of the thesis, consists of the observation of supervised mediation processes of civil disputes in two leading mediation centres, and interviews with professionals and key figures in the discipline. The wide variety of voices of a broad range of interviewees and many different parties provide for rich, qualitative data.   The use of the narrative‐ethnographic approach in observing mediation processes helps identify key themes in participantsʹ  narratives. The subsequent analysis leads to the insight that these mediation processes reflect, in a subtle way, the narratives, beliefs and needs of individuals in a conflict society. The findings from this study indicate that perceptions of life in a conflict society are clearly manifested through mediation processes. These place obstacles and inhibit the attainment of agreements. Yet, surprisingly, some of the findings also demonstrate an aversion to conflict and a well‐expressed desire to maintain communication and to achieve peaceful resolution

The Data Trust Solution to Data Sharing Problems

A small number of large companies hold most of the world’s data. Once in the hands of these companies, data subjects have little control over the use and sharing of their data. Additionally, this data is not generally available to small and medium enterprises or organizations who seek to use it for social good. A number of solutions have been proposed to limit Big Tech “power,” including antitrust actions and stricter privacy laws, but these measures are not likely to address both the oversharing and under-sharing of personal data. Although the data trust concept is being actively explored in the United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada, this is the first Article to take an in-depth look at the viability of data trusts from a US perspective. A data trust is a governance device that places an independent fiduciary intermediary between Big Tech and human data subjects. This Article explores how data trusts might be configured as bundles of contracts in the information supply chain. In addition to their benefits for the social good, data trusts might contribute to relieve some of the tension between EU and US privacy practices

BARGAINING WITH THE RISING POWER: An Analytical Model of China's Trade Policy-making

In bilateral trade disputes with China, the US has greater aggregate power and bargaining resources, yet it had uneven success in extracting concessions. The dissertation aims to address this question: Why does American pressure encounter Chinese resistance, different in issue-topics and time period? In order to interpret China's trade policy-making, I build an analytical framework, which integrates three streams of scholarship: (1) Bounded rationality models how China, as a bounded rational player, adjusted behaviors based on its perception in the learning process; (2) The garbage can model studies the Chinese government as organized anarchies and its non-standard operation; and (3) The two-level game theory reveals how China strikes the balance between domestic bargaining and international negotiations. With the assistance of this model, I conduct a detailed case study of the Sino-American negotiations for the 1999 Bilateral Agreement on China's Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). My research reveals that China tended to yield to American threats when the Chinese reform-minded top leaders finished power transition, when trade was perceived as a solution to China's economic problems, and when the US Congress and executive branch united for credible threats. American pressure confronted strong Chinese resistance when the Chinese protectionists and nationalists had leverage so that the political cost of compliance was high for pro-trade officials, and when the Chinese perceived the divide in American commercial interests and the realignment in American political arena on China issue. Moreover, American pressure encountered less Chinese resistance in issue-topics, behind which were a politically weak industry and a ministry. By contrast, American pressure encountered strong resistance in issue-topics, behind which were a politically strong industry and agency created by long-term policy preference. Upon the case study, I argue that the effectiveness of American threats backed by trade sanctions declined. In bargaining with this rising power, the US should first discern how China perceives its self-interests and build strategic linkage of it to trade liberalization, and then employ the combination of persuasion with appeal to self-interests and tying hands by congressional pressure in bilateral trade negotiations

Exploring the factors that contribute to shaping the goals, aspirations and resilience of young African females in Kwamashu township, Durban.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.South Africa is one of the most economically unequal societies in the world. In trying to redress the inequalities in the education system, the South African government introduced community schools as an alternative for the provision of quality education to disadvantaged communities. These schools have become reservoirs of hope in shaping the goals, aspirations and resilience of young black females. This study argues that the manner in which young black females are socialised shapes their career goals and aspirations. Its aim is to explore factors that contribute to shaping the goals, aspirations and resilience of young African females in KwaMashu Township, Durban. These include: family structure, culture, gender, role models and the education system. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. Data were collected through the use of semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups with a number of 15- to 17-year-old black female pupils in grade 11 at Sivananda High School in KwaMashu Township, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Drawing on intersectionality theory, the findings show that the goals, aspirations and resilience of young black females are shaped by an interconnection of several social identities, including race and gender. Young black female pupils cited race, culture and gender as some of the main factors that influenced their career goals and aspirations. Most young black females felt that they were disadvantaged and discriminated against in pursuit of their career choices because of prevalent social stereotypes and cultural beliefs. The study recommends that the media has a huge role to play in reorienting the minds of young black females by showing them successful black women who are experts in a range of occupations, especially those traditionally dominated by men. In particular it notes that the focus on entertainment, the media and music as the main fields in which women can succeed, to the exclusion of other fields of activity, can prevent women from pursuing other careers. Similarly, men should pursue careers which are regarded as feminine, thus helping to deconstruct the idea that certain career goals are for men only and others are for women only