Samuel Shye

The systemic life quality model: A basis for urban renewal evaluation

This paper develops, on the basis of explicit assumptions and axioms, a conceptual framework for observing the effectiveness of functioning of action systems, and, in particular of the human individual. The framework is used to construct a facet definition of human quality of life (QOL) which is claimed to be exclusive and exhaustive: The contents of the observational items it produces do not overlap and cover the entire QOL universe. A specification of two facets: the subsystem facet (personality, physical, social, cultural-value) and the functioning mode facet (expressive, adaptive, integrative, conservative) results in 16 content areas, each of which can be represented or covered by an observational item. The systemic QOL measuring represented or covered by an observational item. The systemic QOL measuring instrument is examined with respect to its reliability and validity.Structural hypotheses whose rationale is grounded in the elementary considerations that led to the systemic model of QOL are formulated, tested and are largely confirmed.Finally, the systemic QOL model is applied to the evaluation of life quality and environmental conditions in a neighborhood designated as “distress neighborhood” within national urban renewal project.

Partial-Order Scalogram Analysis by Base Coordinates and Lattice Mapping of the Items by Their Scalogram Roles

Suppose a set P of N subjects,p 1 ⋯ p N , are observed with respect to n variables v 1 ⋯v n , where each variable has an ordered range A k = {1, 2,⋯, α k } (k = 1,⋯,n)(α k ≥ 2). 1,2,⋯, αk are the categories of the kth variable. Moreover, suppose the order of the categories 1,⋯,αk within each range is determined by some external (content) criterion (for example, success in achievements, positive attitude toward a given object, etc.).

Achievement Motive: A Faceted Definition And Structural Analysis.

Facet technique is used to analyze contents of achievement motive questionnaire items proposed in recent years and to construct an explicit definition for achievement motive. The theoretical discussion provides the rationale for an hypothesis concerning the structure (i.e. classifications, ordering, dimensionality) of interrelationships among components of achievement motive. Using data from a sample of executive managers, the hypothesis is then tested by means of Guttmans Smallest Space Analysis and found to be correct.

Nonmetric Multivariate Models for Behavioral Action Systems

Scientific lawfulness may be defined as the correspondence between a conceptual framework for empirical observation and various aspects of the analysis of these observations. In the search for such correspondences, emphasis must be placed on the integration of these two factors and to prefer those definitions and concepts, on the one hand, and those aspects of the data analyses, on the other, between which the correspondence is stable over recurring observations. This is empirical-scientific lawfulness. Scientific theories in developed sciences are often based on a relatively limited number of general laws (Shye, 1978).

INTERRELIGIOUS CONFLICT IN ISRAEL: THE GROUP BASIS OF CONFLICTING VISIONS

Utilizing several theories of sociocultural mobilization, this paper examines the contours of secular-religious conflict in contemporary Israel. According to a survey of adult Israelis, resistance to “religious coercion” among the secular population is driven primarily by symbolic, social, and cognitive forces rather than perceived discrimination or the threat posed by spatial proximity to the religious. As such, it is rooted in cultural identity. The theocratic disposition among religious Israelis is almost entirely a matter of social identification. These findings both confirm existing theories of intergroup conflict and suggest a framework for analyzing religion and state controversies in other polities.

Arab and Jewish Attitudes

This article deals with the attitudes of Arabs and Jews in Israel regarding a Palestinian state. These include their images of such a state, the costs and benefits perceived if a Palestinian state were established, and the fears and desires involved, including the desire to keep contact with the Palestinian population in the various life domains. The article will attempt to analyze the extent to which the attitudes toward the establishment of a Palestinian state and its likely character derive from a rational calculus of expected costs and benefits to ones own group.

The Inclination to Reimmigrate: A Structural Analysis of the Case of Israelis Residing in France and in the U.S.A.

This study analyzes the structure of the relations between experiences in Israel and abroad, and expectations for the future in Israel as reported by Israelis residing in the U.S. and France. A facet definition of the inclination to reimmigrate to Israel is presented, and, on its basis, hypotheses are formulated regarding the relations between the definitional framework and the empirical observations. The results support the main hypotheses. An empirical double-ordered conceptual system is obtained, which reflects the two facets of the definition: Situation (manner, country, and time), and Areas of Life (spiritual, material, and intermediate). Some structural differences were found between the U.S. and the French samples.

Directional consistency: Determinant of learned maze performance of five mice strains

The heterogeneous mouse stocks HS/lbg and SABRA/HUC, and the inbred strains C57B1/6J, CBA/LAC, and BALB/crgl (a total of 88 mice), were employed in an investigation on strain differences in delayed spontaneous alternations (SA), and eight-arm-maze performance (EAM). Intact male mice were tested for SA at age 41 days for two consecutive days, and for EAM at age 50-54 days, under conditions of water deprivation that commenced on day 43. The concept of EAM directional consistency (DC), proposed and defined here, was found highly related to EAM performance, and a better predictor of SA than EAM performance. Faceted smallest space analysis (FSSA), which provides a broad, simultaneous, perspective on the various maze behaviors observed (SA, EAM, DC), indicates that DC is both more closely related to SA and a more coherent concept than performance. The findings suggest that DC is a more elementary behavior, possibly related to different etiology than that of performance. Whilst in some studies EAM performance is viewed as spatial, here DC of mice suggest that, in fact, the animals are learning a set of rules. The results confirmed the superiority of the outbred HS over the inbred CBA, C57 and BALB, with SABRA occupying an intermediate position, and indicate that the medium performance strains rely on DC more than the others.

A Structural Analysis of Achievement Orientation Derived from a Longitudinal Study of Students in Israeli Schools

The Guttman Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) was applied to 51 variables collected on 850 children in 48 Israeli schools, grades 4 through 9. Two alternative mapping sentences were derived for defining the concept achievement orientation. The two definitions fit the patterns of students of both Eastern and Western origin, but relations among the components of the structure were weaker for the Eastern group.