Studies in Language and Language Education – Essays in Honor of Elite Olshtain is a collection of state-of-the-art articles on current issues in language education, examined from individual and societal perspectives. The chapters address these issues by exploring empirical evidence from written and spoken forms of language, following a variety of communicative, educational, developmental and cultural research agendas. Together, the works in this volume create a continuum ranging from infancy to adulthood, in mono- or multilingual contexts and among native and immigrant populations. This book is a tribute to Elite Olshtain's wide array of academic endeavors, and will be of great interest to researchers, pre- and post-qualifying practitioners and students at the graduate and post-graduate levels, in the domains of language acquisition, multilingualism, discourse analysis, language and education, learning and teaching, language planning and language policy.

How did cooperative social groups evolve? This is one of the major questions that concern evolutionary biologists ever since Darwin. One of the first explanations was selection at the level of the group: groups with cooperating individuals increase their reproduction and survival as a whole. Alternative explanations exist, such as selection at the level of the individual: a former beneficiary later rewords a cooperating organism or the seemingly altruist increases its social status thus increases its chances of finding a mate. Another explanation involves selection at the level of the gene: although an individual helping its relatives reduces its direct fitness, measured by its expected number of viable offspring, it enhances the frequency of genes identical to its own in the population. Each one of these models claims centrality or even exclusivity - theoretical primacy - in answering the question of the evolution of altruism. The book is an original and interdisciplinary contribution to the study of the evolution of cooperation. It facilitates a renewed discussion, from a fresh point of view, of classical problems in the fields of evolutionary biology and philosophy of biology; and raises fascinating questions about the history and sociology of science and the complex ties between science and values. From the Introduction by Prof. Yemima Ben Menahem and Prof. Eva Jablonka: Shavit's book discusses the different explanations to the evolution of altruism and how evolutionary researchers commonly decide between them. The author elucidates the nature of the problems and predicaments in this field, tries to identify their sources, and by using these insights offer new ways of thought that will avoid such pit falls in the future. The disposition to undermine observations and experiments of the local population while seeking the cause for universal altruism, and use of a narrow concept of 'group', biases researchers toward a semantic dispute, which completely denies group selection or spots this process everywhere. According to the author the roots of this practice lie, at least partly, in the socio-political echoes of the concept of 'group selection' since World War II. The author explicates an implicit and multifaceted dialog between science and values and argues for a plurality of selection processes in the evolution of altruism. This book is intended for anyone interested in the nature behind the well-known about the human nature. .

The book Selected Issues in Business Ethics and Social Responsibility deals with a subject that is at the forefront of our economic and social agenda and presents the ethical credo of the author. It is unique in the sense that it comprises theoretical chapters, case studies that are based on the large business experience and the academic research of the author, and the analysis of masterpieces on business ethics. The parts of the book focus on the ethical facets of leadership, integrity, whistleblowers, corporate governance, stock market, banking, government and business, corruption and bribes, wrongdoing of stakeholders, trust, transparency, decency, sustainability, social responsibility, activism, environment, globalization, international aspects and business ethics in Israel. The combination of theoretical and empirical components and the analysis of works on business ethics, addressing the reason and the emotions as well, was proven as a successful mix that has assimilated the concepts of ethics by businessmen and students. The author maintains in his book that it is possible to succeed in business while keeping rigorous ethical standards in the complex business environment of today.

What drives certain Bedouin women to fight for their right to higher education? Are they a rising power in their communities? What price are they forced to pay? These questions and others are discussed in Excluded and Loved , which delves into the world of the Bedouin women who have chosen to attain higher education in Israel. The book touches upon their private and community lives, telling the story of their pain and strength. It depicts a broad picture of the relationships between men and women in the southern-Israeli Bedouin communities, unraveling the changes that occurred over the last decade. The stories of the interviewed women are interwoven in the personal story of the researcher, one of the first women in her tribe to seek higher education.

The Temple Mount is the most sacred site in Judaism and the third most sacred site of Islam in, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The sacred nature of the site has made it one of the main foci of tension and friction in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Jewish fundamentalism and the Temple Mount is original and pioneering research on a number of radical and messianic movements in Israel that wish to, and at times, are making preparations to rebuild the Temple. The manuscript examines the theological roots and historical circumstances that have given rise to the movement of Temple Builders. It places the different movements within larger political, social and religious developments, offering the readers a context to understand the place of such groups within the larger Israeli, and global realities of our time. The research is described in the context of the fundamentalist phenomenon – a wave whose ramifications go far beyond the context of the Middle East. The research gives special attention to the connection between Jewish Temple Builders and Christian fundamentalist supporters and presents the theological exchanges that have taken place. The Book points to the Six Day War as a watershed event that has given rise to messianic interpretations of the Israeli victory and its significance for Jewish history. Israel’s’ overtaking of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, resurrected and enhanced messianic convictions of Zionist Orthodoxy. However, the crystallizing during the 1980s-2000s of contemporary Messianic groups and their Temple oriented Messianic beliefs has driven not the euphoria of victory, but form the fear of disappointment. Those aspiring to build the Temple are afraid of an imminent loss of the territorial gains of made in the Six Day War, due to the peace process, and the theological implications of such setback to their messianic hopes.

As a re-examination of Socialist attitudes to the 'Jewish question' and antisemitism, of how the growth of socialism affected relationships between Poles and Jews, and of the character of Jewish Socialist groups in Poland, it makes a significant contribution to the history of the Jews in Poland. It also sheds light on the history of Socialism in east-central Europe and the complexity of nationality problems there.

"Criticism of Modern Secular Culture" discusses the ethical, social, national-political humanistic and religious foundations of modern and post-modern secular culture, especially amongst the Jewish People and in the State of Israel. The topics discussed are from a philosophical-historical perspective that relates directly to the present. The book defines the basic values of Western Humanism from a Jewish point of view, and analyses the problems of their implementation. It evaluates the achievements and the tragic failures of secular modernism which became factually anti-humanistic.

This book is about the central figure of our contemporary, 'liquid modern' times – the man or woman with no bonds, and particularly with none of the fixed or durable bonds that would allow the effort of self-definition and self-assertion to come to a rest. Having no permanent bonds, the denizen of our liquid modern society must tie whatever bonds they can to engage with others, using their own wits, skill and dedication. But none of these bonds are guaranteed to last. Moreover, they must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again, quickly and as effortlessly as possible, when circumstances change – as they surely will in our liquid modern society, over and over again. The uncanny frailty of human bonds, the feeling of insecurity that frailty inspires, and the conflicting desires to tighten the bonds yet keep them loose, are the principal themes of this important new book by Zygmunt Bauman, one of the most original and influential social thinkers of our time. It will be of great interest to students and scholars in sociology and in the social sciences and humanities generally, and it will appeal to anyone interested in the changing nature of human relationships.

Ethical dilemmas faced by teachers and the need to evaluate them with critical tools were the starting point of this study, which is based on stories collected in hundreds of interviews with educators from different sectors of Israeli society. Teachers and school principals recount how complicated it is to express in their work a variety of values and commitments, with pressure coming from different directions. Many educators are unhappy with the results of their work, but nevertheless keep ethical dilemmas to themselves, without consulting anyone.