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Previous research has repeatedly shown that people only search for files in a small minority of cases when they do not remember the file's location. The current study aimed to examine whether there is a group of hyper-searchers who search significantly more than others. Based on previous neurocognitive studies, this study aims to hypothesize that if such a group exists, they will have superior verbal memory and reduced visuospatial memory.

In total, 65 participants completed a questionnaire estimating their search percentages, as well as reporting demographic data. Verbal memory was measured using the Wechsler logical memory test, and visuospatial memory was assessed using an online card memory game.

Hyper-searchers were defined as participants with search percentage of over one standard deviation (SD) above the mean. The average search percentage of the seven participants who met this criterion was 51% (SD = 14%), over five times more than the other participants (M = 10%, SD = 9%). Similar results were obtained by re-analyzing data from four previous papers (N = 1,252). The results further confirmed the hypothesis that hyper-searchers have significantly better verbal memory than other participants, possibly making searching easier and more successful for them. Lastly, the search percentage was positively predicted by verbal memory scores and negatively predicted by visuospatial memory scores. Explanations and future research are discussed.

This preliminary study is the first to introduce the concept of hyper-searchers, demonstrate its existence and study its causes.

Personal information management (PIM) is an activity in which people store information items in order to retrieve them later. The purpose of this paper is to test and quantify the effect of factors related to collection size, file properties and workload on file retrieval success and efficiency.

In the study, 289 participants retrieved 1,557 of their shared files in a naturalistic setting. The study used specially developed software designed to collect shared files’ names and present them as targets for the retrieval task. The dependent variables were retrieval success, retrieval time and misstep/s.

Various factors compromise shared files retrieval including: collection size (large number of files), file properties (multiple versions, size of team sharing the file, time since most recent retrieval and folder depth) and workload (daily e-mails sent and received). The authors discuss theoretical reasons for these negative effects and suggest possible ways to overcome them.

Retrieval is the main reason people manage personal information. It is essential for retrieval to be successful and efficient, as information cannot be used unless it can be re-accessed. Prior PIM research has assumed that factors related to collection size, file properties and workload affect file retrieval. However, this is the first study to systematically quantify the negative effects of these factors. As each of these factors is expected to be exacerbated in the future, this study is a necessary first step toward addressing these problems.

The paper aims to focus on a unique quality control system that was set up ten years ago to evaluate Medical Classification Committee decision‐making processes at the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conscription center.

Two main approaches were deployed by the control system to assess medical classification committees' performance. The first was direct assessment of the medical committees' clinical work and decision‐making processes. The second applied data mining procedures to the computerized medical databases. The functional classification codes (FCCs) – codes for the most common medical disorders assigned to male recruits from the central computerized central IDF database, the sub‐districts comprising the recruitment centers, and the chairmen assigning the FCCs to recruits – were all analyzed.

A total of 26 FCCs, each indicating a common medical problem and its severity, constituted approximately 90 percent of all FCCs assigned at recruitment centers between 2001 and 2006. Major contributors to medical profiling outcomes were underweight, asthma, chronic headache, mental illness, symptomatic scoliosis, hypnosis, chronic back pain, knee joint disorders, allergic rhinitis and sinusitis. Evaluating the computerized medical database revealed significant differences in: medical profile prevalence; recruitment center FCCs; different sub‐districts in a given recruitment center; and profiling by medical committee chairmen.

Findings indicate disparities between recruitment centers and their chairmen in the medical profiling process owing to variations in recruitment center working methods and medical history taking, physical examinations, interpreting medical information and individual differences in the chairmen's decision‐making process. Other reasons include technician and laboratory staff inaccuracies. These significant discrepancies highlighted the need for an intervention program. To minimize variations and create a uniform work platform, an orderly instruction system and training programs for the committee chairmen, technicians and laboratory staff were established. These actions resulted in improved performance in 2007 as confirmed by a decreased variability in the assignment of medical FCCs.

The paper highlights methods that can be used to assess disability screening, sports medicine committees and primary care setting procedures.

Border environments differ as foci for conflict discourse. While classic realist theories are used to account for mechanisms of securitized borders, socially oriented theories are often invoked to characterize relaxed borders. This distinguishing pattern regarding securitization reflects a deeply rooted focus on idealized borders, based on implicit expectations that relaxed borders are a viable option and goal for all. This orientation is prone to mistaken assumptions regarding local, national and regional interests and ultimately threatens delicately balanced states of stability. This paper aims to question this somewhat simplified categorization and posit that securitized borders are longstanding realities which warrant more complex theoretical conceptualization.

The analysis is based on documentary study and qualitative field research, mapping and evaluating Israel–Jordan cross-border interactions conducted during 2006-2014. Local civilian interactions were studied using three tools: interviews, non-participant observations and a sector-based analysis of original and secondary sources. In the course of research, many tours and observations of the border region were conducted, and key actors in Israel and Jordan were interviewed: entrepreneurs, local residents, local and national government officials, security personnel and representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in the administration and funding of normalization-promoting initiatives.

In light of internal and external security threats which challenge states and border regions in conflict environments and in normalized settings, there is increasing value in recognizing multi-level power relations (“bringing the state back in”) that design, inhibit and ultimately control the inevitability, circumstance and social–political effectivity of any cross-border interaction. Cross-border cooperation (CBC), which evolves gradually, monitored by the border regime and reflecting actual levels of inter-state political dialogue, is a slower yet safer option and a more realistic expectation for CBC, especially in regions of minimal communication between cross-border neighbors. In the backdrop of the Middle East turmoil, Israel and Jordan mark 20 years of peaceful relations, enjoying stability based on shared political and security interests, yet displaying no apparent tendency toward increased cross-border interaction. Given the stark differences in regimes and ongoing regional unrest, this securitized border fulfills local and regional needs and is far from a temporary “second-best” reality.

The analysis is based on original fieldwork and documentary study, mapping and evaluating Israel–Jordan cross-border interactions conducted during 2006-2014.

Since 2010, the eastern Mediterranean has witnessed a transformative narrative with the discovery of natural gas reserves off the coasts of Cyprus and Israel. This pivotal development has drawn attention to the region, where Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece share maritime borders. The emergence of natural gas has reshaped geopolitical dynamics, and Western countries assume to reduce their reliance on Russia for energy supplies. This chapter explores the magnitude of natural gas discoveries and production in Cyprus and Israel, examining the interconnection of their fields and the ambitious endeavor of laying a 1,900-km underwater pipeline to the Greek island of Crete. Additionally, it highlights the pivotal roles played by key regional actors such as Israel, Turkey, and Egypt in shaping security and energy negotiations. However, Turkey has a significant position in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, but tensions have arisen as neighboring countries seek to limit Turkey’s involvement in regional energy discussions, viewing its policies as a potential threat, thereby exacerbating Turkey’s regional interventions, particularly in Cyprus. Each of these countries in the Middle East is struggling to get more of the cake. Above all, Israel has been a gas importer throughout its history and now dreams of becoming a natural gas exporter to Europe.

Through life stories and the unique lens of military combat service, this study analyzes how Israeli Jewish women construct their relationship to the Jewish nation-state.

This qualitative study establishes a theoretical relationship between gender and the nation, including concepts such as the nation-state, the public/private divide, Jewish womanhood, and militarization in Israel. It utilizes in-depth semi-structured life story interviews with 17 Israeli Jewish women, who served in combat roles in the Israeli military.

These women demonstrate ambivalent and gendered narratives of sacrifice and success and of loyalty and resistance as they transgress and comply with the idea of the national Jewish home. They reveal a strong desire for national belonging that can be seen as an attempt to challenge the gendered public/private divide and secure their status as qualified citizens.

Women’s integration in the military is a political issue in Israel where liberal and radical feminists, religious, bureaucratic, and other civil groups are pushing for contrasting demands. I engage in this debate by emphasizing the voices of women soldiers.

Instead of focusing on subjugation and marginalization owing to the unsolvable conundrum of partial military inclusion leading to (partial) political and societal exclusion, I offer an analysis of military combat service as a meaning-making practice providing a new understanding of Israeli women’s relationship to the Jewish nation-state.