Zvi Keren: his contribution to Israel's music scene : an interview in honor of his 85th birthday

It is with great pride that I introduce a new section in this issue of Min-Ad: Israel Studies in Musicology, dedicated to interviews with musicians who have made major contributions to Israel’s music life. I am particularly pleased to inaugurate this section with an interview with our esteemed colleague (and in my case, teacher), Zvi Keren, a major figure in the development of Israel´s contemporary, jazz and light music. This interview is conducted by Alona Keren-Sagee, Zvi Keren´s daughter

Being, Having and Doing Modes of Existence: Confirmation and Reduction of a New Scale Based on a Study among Israeli Female Teachers, Student-Teachers and Counselors*

Des modes d’existence Etre, Avoir et Faire : Confirmation et réduction d’une nouvelle échelle basée sur une étude d’enseignants, stagaires-enseignants et conseillières israéliennes : Suivant les théories de Fromm (1976) et de Rand (1993), une échelle de 51 items d’attitudes envers les « modes d’existence » Etre, Avoir et Faire a été construite par Reichenberg (1996). Ici, nous avons deux objectifs : examiner la validité de cette échelle avec deux méthodes d’analyse en parallèle  -- par l’analyse factorielle et par la théorie des facettes – et racourcir l’échelle de 51 items. Cet article est basé sur des données empiriques concernant 386 enseignants, stagaires-enseignants et conseillières israéliennes d’un département d’éducation dans une université en Israël en 1995 et 1997.Following Fromm's (1976) and Rand's (1993) theory, a scale of 51 items on attitudes towards the Being, Doing and Having "Modes of Existence" has been constructed (Reichenberg 1996). Our objectives are two-fold: first, an examination, in parallel, of the validity of the scale with two methods: Factor Analysis and Facet Theory. And second, a shortening of the scale from 51 questions to a more compact one. The present article is based on empirical data gathered from 386 female teachers, students and counselors in college education departments in Israel in 1995 and 1997

Who wants a political classroom? Attitudes toward teaching controversial political issues in school

• The study examined teachers’, parents’ and students’ attitudes toward controversial political issues (CPI). • A Random stratified sample of 501 adults and 201 high school students completed questionnaires. • Respondents had little confidence in teachers’ ability to conduct CPI discussions in classrooms. • Students reported low incidents of CPI discussions in classrooms. • Support for CPI discussions differed according to specific topics. Purpose: Many argue for the benefits of controversial political issues (CPI) discussions but little is known about teachers’, parents’, and students’ attitudes toward CPI. The present study explored these attitudes, as well as attitudes towards specific controversial topics, and how they relate to socio-demographic variables. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative cross-sectional methodology was employed using questionnaires to collect data.  Random stratified sampling was used to obtain a representative sample of 501 Jewish Israeli adults, including 70 teachers, and 201 Jewish Israeli 10th-12th grade students. Findings: Respondents, including the teachers themselves, had little confidence in teachers’ ability to conduct CPI discussions in classrooms. Students reported low incidents of CPI discussions in classrooms, and that they are mostly held by homeroom and civics teachers. Students supported CPI discussions more than adults (including teachers) and wanted teachers to disclose their opinions much more than adults did. Support for CPI discussions differed according to specific topics. Linear regression revealed that the less religious individuals are, the more left-wing, older and more educated, the more they will support CPI teaching

Being, Having and Doing Modes of Existence: Confirmation and Reduction of a New Scale Based on a Study among Israeli Female Teachers, Student-Teachers and Counselors*

Des modes d’existence Etre, Avoir et Faire : Confirmation et réduction d’une nouvelle échelle basée sur une étude d’enseignants, stagaires-enseignants et conseillières israéliennes : Suivant les théories de Fromm (1976) et de Rand (1993), une échelle de 51 items d’attitudes envers les « modes d’existence » Etre, Avoir et Faire a été construite par Reichenberg (1996). Ici, nous avons deux objectifs : examiner la validité de cette échelle avec deux méthodes d’analyse en parallèle  -- par l’analyse factorielle et par la théorie des facettes – et racourcir l’échelle de 51 items. Cet article est basé sur des données empiriques concernant 386 enseignants, stagaires-enseignants et conseillières israéliennes d’un département d’éducation dans une université en Israël en 1995 et 1997.Following Fromm's (1976) and Rand's (1993) theory, a scale of 51 items on attitudes towards the Being, Doing and Having "Modes of Existence" has been constructed (Reichenberg 1996). Our objectives are two-fold: first, an examination, in parallel, of the validity of the scale with two methods: Factor Analysis and Facet Theory. And second, a shortening of the scale from 51 questions to a more compact one. The present article is based on empirical data gathered from 386 female teachers, students and counselors in college education departments in Israel in 1995 and 1997

Effects of Age on Meiosis in Budding Yeast

In humans, the frequency with which meiotic chromosome mis-segregation occurs increases with age. Whether age-dependent meiotic defects occur in other organisms is unknown. Here, we examine the effects of replicative aging on meiosis in budding yeast. We find that aged mother cells show a decreased ability to initiate the meiotic program and fail to express the meiotic inducer IME1. The few aged mother cells that do enter meiosis complete this developmental program but exhibit defects in meiotic chromosome segregation and spore formation. Furthermore, we find that mutations that extend replicative life span also extend the sexual reproductive life span. Our results indicate that in budding yeast, the ability to initiate and complete the meiotic program as well as the fidelity of meiotic chromosome segregation decrease with cellular age and are controlled by the same pathways that govern aging of asexually reproducing yeast cells.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant number GM62207)National Science Foundation (U.S.). (Grant number MCB-0342285)Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Investigato

Nanoparticles within WWTP sludges have minimal impact on leachate quality and soil microbial community structure and function

One of the main pathways by which engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) enter the environment is through land application of waste water treatment plant (WWTP) sewage sludges. WWTP sludges, enriched with Ag and ZnO ENPs or their corresponding soluble metal salts during anaerobic digestion and subsequently mixed with soil (targeting a final concentration of 1400 and 140 mg/kg for Zn and Ag, respectively), were subjected to 6 months of ageing and leaching in lysimeter columns outdoors. Amounts of Zn and Ag leached were very low, accounting for <0.3% and <1.4% of the total Zn and Ag, respectively. No differences in total leaching rates were observed between treatments of Zn or Ag originally input to WWTP as ENP or salt forms. Phospholipid fatty acid profiling indicated a reduction in the fungal component of the soil microbial community upon metal exposure. However, overall, the leachate composition and response of the soil microbial community following addition of sewage sludge enriched either with ENPs or metal salts was very similar

Continuum-based models and concepts for the transport of nanoparticles in saturated porous media: A state-of-the-science review

Environmental applications of nanoparticles (NP) increasingly result in widespread NP distribution within porous media where they are subject to various concurrent transport mechanisms including irreversible deposition, attachment/detachment (equilibrium or kinetic), agglomeration, physical straining, site-blocking, ripening, and size exclusion. Fundamental research in NP transport is typically conducted at small scale, and theoretical mechanistic modeling of particle transport in porous media faces challenges when considering the simultaneous effects of transport mechanisms. Continuum modeling approaches, in contrast, are scalable across various scales ranging from column experiments to aquifer. They have also been able to successfully describe the simultaneous occurrence of various transport mechanisms of NP in porous media such as blocking/straining or agglomeration/deposition/detachment. However, the diversity of model equations developed by different authors and the lack of effective approaches for their validation present obstacles to the successful robust application of these models for describing or predicting NP transport phenomena. This review aims to describe consistently all the important NP transport mechanisms along with their representative mathematical continuum models as found in the current scientific literature. Detailed characterizations of each transport phenomenon in regards to their manifestation in the column experiment outcomes, i.e., breakthrough curve (BTC) and residual concentration profile (RCP), are presented to facilitate future interpretations of BTCs and RCPs. The review highlights two NP transport mechanisms, agglomeration and size exclusion, which are potentially of great importance in controlling the fate and transport of NP in the subsurface media yet have been widely neglected in many existing modeling studies. A critical limitation of the continuum modeling approach is the number of parameters used upon application to larger scales and when a series of transport mechanisms are involved. We investigate the use of simplifying assumptions, such as the equilibrium assumption, in modeling the attachment/detachment mechanisms within a continuum modelling framework. While acknowledging criticisms about the use of this assumption for NP deposition on a mechanistic (process) basis, we found that its use as a description of dynamic deposition behavior in a continuum model yields broadly similar results to those arising from a kinetic model. Furthermore, we show that in two dimensional (2-D) continuum models the modeling efficiency based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC) is enhanced for equilibrium vs kinetic with no significant reduction in model performance. This is because fewer parameters are needed for the equilibrium model compared to the kinetic model. Two major transport regimes are identified in the transport of NP within porous media. The first regime is characterized by higher particle-surface attachment affinity than particle-particle attachment affinity, and operative transport mechanisms of physicochemical filtration, blocking, and physical retention. The second regime is characterized by the domination of particle-particle attachment tendency over particle-surface affinity. In this regime although physicochemical filtration as well as straining may still be operative, ripening is predominant together with agglomeration and further subsequent retention. In both regimes careful assessment of NP fate and transport is necessary since certain combinations of concurrent transport phenomena leading to large migration distances are possible in either case

Nanomaterials in the Environment: Behavior, Fate, Bioavailability, and Effects-An Updated Review.

This review covers developments in studies of nanomaterials (NMs) in the environment, since the much-cited review of Klaine et al. (2008). It discusses novel insights on fate and behavior, metrology, transformations, bioavailability, toxicity mechanisms and environmental impacts, with a focus on terrestrial and aquatic systems. Overall the findings were that: i) despite the substantial developments, there remain critical gaps, in large part due to the lack of analytical, modelling and field capabilities and in part due to the breadth and complexity of the area; ii) a key knowledge gap is the lack of data on environmental concentrations and dosimetry generally; iii) there is substantial evidence that there are nano-specific effects (different from both ions and larger particles) in the environment in terms of fate, bioavailability and toxicity, but this is not consistent for all NMs, species and all relevant processes; iv) a paradigm is emerging that NMs are less toxic than equivalent dissolved materials but more toxic than the corresponding bulk materials; v) translation of incompletely understood science into regulation and policy continues to be challenging. There is a developing consensus that NMs may pose a relatively low environmental risk, however, with the uncertainty and lack of data in many areas, definitive conclusions cannot be drawn. In addition, this emerging consensus will likely change rapidly with qualitative changes in the technology and increased future discharges. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved