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1 – 10 of 24Tehila Kalagy and Orna Braun-Lewensohn
Cultural variance represents a significant challenge to policy designers and, in practice, to employers in the varied employment spaces. Providing workplace accessibility for the…
Abstract
Purpose
Cultural variance represents a significant challenge to policy designers and, in practice, to employers in the varied employment spaces. Providing workplace accessibility for the integration of various cultural groups requires deep thinking and creating unique possibilities for each group in accord with its particular heritage. Ultra-Orthodox society in Israel is a religious minority group that has undergone significant changes, from a desire to maintain total separation, to gradual integration into a variety of areas in Israeli society. In light of these changes, we sought to examine what policies should be adopted in order to improve ultra- Orthodox integration.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodologically, we examined the cultural variance of ultra-Orthodox academics in their workplace using combined methods. The study included 745 ultra-Orthodox academics who responded to an online questionnaire that examined the issue in question from various aspects. In addition, four focus groups were convened, in which discussion examined issues.
Findings
The study findings reveal that the integration policies of the various workplaces were above and beyond the expectations of the cultural diversity management approach. Although the study focused on the personal perspective of the ultra-Orthodox employees who integrated, the employers' open and accepting attitudes were very prominent. The participants' comments showed that the employers showed great consideration for their needs and exceptional cultural sensitivity towards the employees' temperament. This dialogue constitutes the basis for managing variance in a multicultural society. The understanding by the employer of the background and cultural legacy from which the worker has come, alongside the difficulties he must cope with constitutes, in itself, the basis for building a stable relationship between employer and worker and for optimal integration of a minority group in society.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that cultural adjustment is required in four areas: a. Adaptation from the social and cultural aspect in the workplace. b. The definition of different areas of employment specific to gender. c. Consideration of the employees' halachic needs d. Professional preparation for employees prior to their absorption.
Originality/value
This study is a pioneering one, examining the integration of ultra-Orthodox academics in the Israeli economy. This process is very significant in a political entity with different cultural identities. The acquisition of a higher education in ultra-Orthodox society in Israel and subsequent integration into the Israeli economy has a decisive cultural and economic impact on both the ultra-Orthodox and general societies simultaneously. An examination of the issue of integration of the ultra-Orthodox minority in employment is intended not only to investigate the character and nature of the process, but also to examine the place of multiculturalism in Western societies and the interaction between a minority group and the majority group, with an emphasis on employment.
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Izhar Oplatka and Riki Vertaimer
The current study explored the process of emotion regulation among Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in Jewish educational system in Israel.
Abstract
Purpose
The current study explored the process of emotion regulation among Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in Jewish educational system in Israel.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a semi-structured interview comprising 13 Ultra-Orthodox female teachers in single-sex education for girls.
Findings
The teachers preferred to suppress their positive and negative emotions rather than displaying them in their interactions with students, emphasizing the importance of self-restraint and self-control in their professional work and in their religious society.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on the connection between traditional societies whose culture is grounded deeply in their religious faith and teachers' modes of emotion regulation. The findings may enhance the understanding of cultural and contextual influences on teachers' emotion regulation and shed light on the ways in which female teachers balance their personal feelings with emotional rules in the religious society in which they live and work.
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ISRAEL: Ultra-Orthodox controversies will intensify
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES279172
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
Adi Binhas and Yaffa Moskovich
This paper aims to analyze the unique dilemmas and challenges of ultra-orthodox men in academia.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the unique dilemmas and challenges of ultra-orthodox men in academia.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is conducted in the phenomenology approach. It explores the experience and the process that shape the social identity of higher-educated Haredi men through the life stories of twenty individuals.
Findings
The research found the developmental path of Haredi-educated males, till they adopted a hybridist identity. The research uses a new term of hybridist identity, to better analyze the components of this new identity structure that, to the best of the authors knowledge, has not been examined as such in the literature.
Research limitations/implications
The study population is not large and therefore the number of participants is not large.
Practical implications
From this, we can also learn about other conservative groups that integrate into academic institutions.
Social implications
This is a group that has been researched, through which it will be possible to learn about trends of diversity in academia and other public institutions. From the findings, it will be possible to design a policy that will suit the sociological, social and cultural composition of the students, in order to enable access to higher education for more diverse groups.
Originality/value
This is a group that has been researched, through which it will be possible to learn about trends of diversity in academia and other public institutions. From the findings, it will be possible to design a policy that will suit the sociological, social and cultural composition of the students, in order to enable access to higher education for more diverse groups.
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Shalom Levy, Yaniv Gvili and Hayiel Hino
Social media sites facilitate electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication among consumers of diverse cultures and ethnicities. Based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB)…
Abstract
Purpose
Social media sites facilitate electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication among consumers of diverse cultures and ethnicities. Based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the present research proposes a conceptual framework for minority consumers' engagement in eWOM associated with the mainstream culture. The model incorporates social capital and social interaction as key factors that affect cross-cultural eWOM communication between minority and mainstream consumers. This research also aims to explore the responses of minority consumers to eWOM communications originating with members of the majority group.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure was applied to data collected from social media (Facebook) users (N = 539) from two minority communities: Israeli Arab and Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jewish minorities.
Findings
The findings show that: (a) minority consumers' engagement with eWOM is indirectly related to social capital, (b) this relationship is mediated by minority consumers' attitudes and their subjective norms regarding eWOM engagement with dominant cultural groups, (c) social interaction of minorities with the dominant culture enhances the influence of social capital on eWOM engagement and (d) behavioural engagement with eWOM varies across cultural minorities, depending on the minority group’s unique cultural characteristics.
Practical implications
The findings have managerial implications for practitioners who use social media in their marketing and business activities, as they demonstrate that the effectiveness of eWOM communication is contingent on the cultural characteristics of the ethnic minority consumer groups being targeted by managers.
Originality/value
The present research contributes to the theory of consumer engagement by demonstrating that engagement is contingent on the intercultural social context in which eWOM is communicated.
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The assault caused almost no damage after a combined air defence including the United States and other allies intercepted nearly all the projectiles. Nonetheless, it was Iran’s…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB286480
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
This follows a last-minute deal between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and ultra-Orthodox coalition partners allocating more religious education funding. Coalition bargaining…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB279244
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Inbar Livnat and Michal Almog-Bar
This article asks how gender, ethnicity and other identities intersect and shape the employment experiences of social workers. During recent decades, governments have contracted…
Abstract
Purpose
This article asks how gender, ethnicity and other identities intersect and shape the employment experiences of social workers. During recent decades, governments have contracted social care to for-profit and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) globally as a part of the adaption of the neoliberal approach. Most employees in these organizations are women. However, there is a lack of knowledge about women working in social service NPOs and their unique working environments.
Design/methodology/approach
This article explores the experiences of women employed as social workers in social care NPOs in Israel regarding intersectionality. 27 in-depth interviews were conducted with women social workers working in social service NPOs. Participants reflected diversity in ethnicity, religion and full-time and part-time jobs. Thematic analysis was used.
Findings
The findings shed light on: (1) the contradiction social workers experienced between the stated values of the social care NPO and those values’ conduct, (2) intersectional discrimination among social workers from vulnerable populations and (3) the lack of gender-aware policies.
Social implications
The need to raise awareness of the social care sector and governments to those contradictions and to promote diversity through gender-aware policies and practices.
Originality/value
The article suggests a conceptualization describing gender employment contradictions in social care NPOs, discusses how the angle of intersectionality expands the understanding of the complexities and pressures exerted on social workers from minority groups and emphasizes the need for social care NPOs to acknowledge and deal with these contradictions.
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ISRAEL: Right-wing divisions will mount further
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES285856
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
ISRAEL: Social divisions will have long-term impact