Kaye Academic College of Education

About: Kaye Academic College of Education is a education organization based out in Beersheba, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Teacher education & Heutagogy. The organization has 87 authors who have published 179 publications receiving 2221 citations.

Association between ankle muscle strength and limit of stability in older adults

Abstract: SIR—Loss of balance and falls in the elderly constitute a major problem associated with human suffering as well as high costs for society [1]. Falls might occur during various daily activities, such as tripping or tangling the feet, reaching movements or bending [2]. Many of these activities are constrained by limits of stability (LOS). LOS can be described as the maximum distance a person can intentionally displace his/her centre of gravity, and lean his/her body in a given direction without losing balance, stepping or grasping. Accordingly, one's LOS capacity is likely to be an important prerequisite for the successful planning and execution of movements such as using a step stool to reach into a high cabinet as well as bending over from standing position to pick up an object from the floor. Ageing is associated with decreased LOS [3–5], muscle strength [6] and foot sensation [7]. Investigators have reported significant correlations between postural stability, quadriceps, ankle dorsiflexion and hand-grip strength [8–11], tibialis anterior latency [8] and functional clinical balance testing [12] among older adults. However, the relationships between lower-limb muscle strength and falls are unclear. Several studies show minimal or no differences in strength between fallers and non-fallers [13, 14] while others show no strength–falls relationships [15]. Cutaneous mechanoreceptors at the soles of the feet contribute to postural stability when standing [16]. Those with reduced feet sensation have a higher risk of falling [17] and greater instability [18]. Reduced foot sensation may contribute to reduced LOS, since older adults might not properly detect when the centre of gravity approaches the LOS. To our knowledge, no one has studied how postural control during LOS relates to ankle strength and foot sensation among older adults. The aims of this study are to investigate how two specific tests of postural control, LOS and postural stability, relate to ankle muscle strength and foot sensation in older adults. Identification of sensorimotor factors associated with both types of balance control can help us to understand better the balance problems facing older adults. Given that LOS likely requires highly active muscular control and that postural stability requires careful sensory monitoring of stance, we hypothesised that ankle muscle strength (and not foot sensation) will be significantly correlated with LOS and that foot sensation (and not ankle muscle strength) will be significantly correlated with postural stability. Data from this study may lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying falls that occur during reaching and bending movements.

The Dialogue between the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’: A Process Analysis of Palestinian-Jewish Encounters in Israel

Abstract: This study assumes that the collective identities of both Jews and Palestinians in Israel have long been constructed around the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, a major focus of social and historical reality in the Middle East region. Monolithic in their early stages, these constructions of identity underwent a process of deconstruction and reconstruction, primarily due to changes in the political reality (the peace process), globalization, and the surfacing of conflicts that were hidden within the monolithic construction. The deconstruction process, though painful and problematic, creates new opportunities for a dialogue that engages elements of identity, which no longer ‘fit’ the contenders. Such a dialogue took place in ‘laboratory’ form at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev from October 1996 and June 1997 between two leading participants in an ongoing workshop for Jewish and Palestinian Israeli students. Most conflict group encounters are measured by outcomes, not by process. We identified problems when t...

How do general knowledge and reading strategies ability relate to reading comprehension of high school students at different educational levels

Abstract: The study examines the relationship between general knowledge, skills in applying reading strategies, and reading comprehension for ninth-grade students at varying educational levels: academic, semi-academic, vocational and learning disabilities. Two hundred and five students received a battery of tests evaluating their general knowledge, skills in applying four reading strategies (summary, self-questioning, clarification and prediction), and two reading comprehension tests. The findings revealed differential contributions of general knowledge and strategy application to reading comprehension. Compared with the academic students, semi-academics have deficient strategic skills. Vocational students, in addition to deficient strategic skills, have poor general knowledge, which further impedes their reading comprehension. The deficiency of students with learning disabilities goes beyond these two components. These results led us to recommend different foci of comprehension intervention for each group.