Implementation of Project Management Knowledge Areas by Project Managers

Academic and professional literature records the primary areas of interest within a discipline and how they change across time. However, it does not always keep up to date with the practical needs of various industries. This article discusses the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) areas and their implementation among active project managers (PMs). The PMBOK guide defines terms, guidelines, and knowledge areas within project management. A survey was conducted among 117 active PMs who were asked to rate the degree to which they implement the PMBOK areas. PMs reported integration, cost, and procurement as being implemented by them to the greatest extent, while their implementation of quality, scope, and stakeholders was not reported. This points out the need for reinforcement among PMs. No correlation was found between the degree to which additional knowledge was implemented by PMs and the degree to which the knowledge areas were covered in the last generation of textbooks. Textbooks do not align with the PMs’ implementation in their working fields. The study identified gaps between the degree to which the knowledge areas of project management were implemented and the importance that the authors of the textbooks attach to the above areas of knowledge. The research findings may contribute greatly to reducing these gaps. They can also contribute to training programs targeted at project managers

Rapidly Establishing an Ultra-Cold Supply Chain of Vaccines in Israel: Evidence for the Efficacy of Inoculation to Mitigate the COVID-19 Pandemic

The agenda of this research was to investigate how to mitigate the spread of coronaviruses by rapidly establishing an ultra-cold supply chain of vaccines. Data analysis was conducted by linear regression utilizing a dataset publicly available from the Israel Ministry of Health regarding the daily rates of people vaccinated, tested, hospitalized, etc., since the start of the pandemic. The data provide statistical evidence for the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccines in diminishing a wide variety of disease factors, such as the number of patients who were lightly, moderately, or severely sick, and daily deaths, as well as the rate of spread (R-ratio) and number/percentage of people infected. Insightfully, the data corroborate how the first and second doses of the vaccines were able to decrease the wave of COVID-19, which hit Israel in January 2021, while the booster third dose was able to diminish a subsequent COVID-19 wave occurring in Israel in July 2021

Inclusion of Ultra-Orthodox Students in Higher Education: A Case Study about Women Seminary in the Engineering College of Jerusalem

This study examines how far the establishment of an ultra-orthodox (Haredi) women-only curriculum and learning environment crafted for their needs, such as supplementary Biblical studies, fosters students’ enrollment and achievement in STEM. The methodology utilizes interviews with administrators accompanied by a Google questionnaire surveying students in order to compare the secular Azrieli College of Engineering with its new ultra-orthodox branch, Tmura Seminary, which aims to promote the acquisition by ultra-orthodox Jewish women of an engineering diploma so that they can find employment in the job market. This objective is significant because the ultra-orthodox community in Israel represents a unique family setting in which the men devote most of their workday to Judaic studies while the women are the breadwinners. The findings of the current study show that addressing the higher education gender gap by purposeful efforts to include ultra-orthodox women is indeed feasible. Still, it remains a challenging endeavor because besides being first-generation students subject to religious constraints, Haredi students are insufficiently prepared in mathematics and English before arriving at the campus, which requires that they participate in an intensive pre-academic preparatory program. The analysis of results showed differences between ultra-orthodox and secular students in their motivation for study, sources of information about suitable education institutions, balancing work and family life priorities, financial need for scholarships, and career path, which is directed toward finding a job in the high-tech industry rather than continuing after graduation to pursue a Master-level degree

Inclusion of Ultra-Orthodox Students in Higher Education: A Case Study about Women Seminary in the Engineering College of Jerusalem

This study examines how far the establishment of an ultra-orthodox (Haredi) women-only curriculum and learning environment crafted for their needs, such as supplementary Biblical studies, fosters students’ enrollment and achievement in STEM. The methodology utilizes interviews with administrators accompanied by a Google questionnaire surveying students in order to compare the secular Azrieli College of Engineering with its new ultra-orthodox branch, Tmura Seminary, which aims to promote the acquisition by ultra-orthodox Jewish women of an engineering diploma so that they can find employment in the job market. This objective is significant because the ultra-orthodox community in Israel represents a unique family setting in which the men devote most of their workday to Judaic studies while the women are the breadwinners. The findings of the current study show that addressing the higher education gender gap by purposeful efforts to include ultra-orthodox women is indeed feasible. Still, it remains a challenging endeavor because besides being first-generation students subject to religious constraints, Haredi students are insufficiently prepared in mathematics and English before arriving at the campus, which requires that they participate in an intensive pre-academic preparatory program. The analysis of results showed differences between ultra-orthodox and secular students in their motivation for study, sources of information about suitable education institutions, balancing work and family life priorities, financial need for scholarships, and career path, which is directed toward finding a job in the high-tech industry rather than continuing after graduation to pursue a Master-level degree