University of Haifa

About: University of Haifa is a education organization based out in Haifa, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 7558 authors who have published 27141 publications receiving 711629 citations. The organization is also known as: Haifa University & Universiṭat Ḥefah.

Meta-analyses of developmental fMRI studies investigating typical and atypical trajectories of number processing and calculation.

Abstract: The main aim of the present coordinate-based meta-analysis is to identify brain regions that are commonly activated in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies (fMRI) investigating number processing and calculation in children. Here, we include 19 developmental fMRI papers, five of which also examine children diagnosed with developmental dyscalculia and/or mathematical disability. Results reveal that children produce consistent fronto-parietal activation patterns in response to number processing and calculation. Importantly, activation patterns are clearly modulated by notation, task complexity, and competence level. Activation differences between children with and without dyscalculia are observable in number-relevant parietal regions as well as in (pre)frontal and occipital cortex.

Word Recognition and Basic Cognitive Processes among Reading-Disabled and Normal Readers in Arabic.

Abstract: This study investigated word identification inArabic and basic cognitive processes inreading-disabled (RD) and normal readers of thesame chronological age, and in younger normalreaders at the same reading level. The studyfocused on the word identification processes ofphonological decoding and orthographicprocessing and the cognitive processes ofsyntactic and morphological awareness, workingmemory, and visual processing. RD children werecompared with normal readers on a battery oftests developed in Arabic on the basis of thoseavailable in English and Hebrew. The presentresults revealed deficiencies among the RD childrenin phonological decoding, in contrast torelative strengths in orthographic processing. These data were consistent with English-languagefindings. The analysis of basiccognitive processes indicated significantdeficiencies in morphology, working memory, andsyntactic and visual processing, with the mostsevere deficiencies observed for phonologicalawareness. The results are discussed in lightof international RD findings and the nature ofArabic orthography.

Cuts, Trees and ℓ 1 -Embeddings of Graphs*

Abstract: Motivated by many recent algorithmic applications, this paper aims to promote a systematic study of the relationship between the topology of a graph and the metric distortion incurred when the graph is embedded into \math space. The main results are: 1. Explicit constant-distortion embeddings of all series-parallel graphs, and all graphs with bounded Euler number. These are thus the first natural families known to have constant distortion (strictly greater than 1). Using the above embeddings, we obtain algorithms to approximate the sparsest cut in such graphs to within a constant factor. 2. A constant-distortion embedding of outerplanar graphs into the restricted class of \math-metrics known as "dominating tree metrics". We also show a lower bound of \math on the distortion for embeddings of series-parallel graphs into (distributions over) dominating tree metrics. This shows, surprisingly, that such metrics approximate distances very poorly even for families of graphs with low treewidth, and excludes the possibility of using them to explore the finer structure of \math-embeddability.

Group-based Hatred in Intractable Conflict in Israel:

Abstract: Countless theoretical texts have been written regarding the centrality of hatred as a force that motivates intergroup conflicts. However, surprisingly, at present, almost no empirical study has been conducted either on the nature and character of group-based hatred or on its implications for conflicts. Therefore, the goal of the current work has been to examine the nature of group-based hatred in conflicts. Three studies were conducted within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first was a qualitative study, which aimed at creating a preliminary platform for investigation of specific features of group-based hatred. Studies 2 and 3 used various scenarios and survey methods to indicate the appraisal and the behavioral aspects of group-based hatred and to distill them from those of other negative emotions, such as anger or fear. In general, results show that hatred is a distinct emotion that includes a unique cognitive-appraisal component and specific emotional goals.

Fluency in Reading: Synchronization of Processes

Abstract: Contents: Preface. Fluency in Reading: Approaches and Definitions. Reading Rate. Automaticity in Fluent Reading. Prosody as an Indication of Fluency. Naming Speed: A Review. Speed of Processing. Visual Processing: Regular and Dyslexic. Auditory-Phonological Processing: Regular and Dyslexic. Speed of Processing of Visual and Auditory Modalities: Research Evidence. Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) in the Study of Dyslexia. Cross Modal Integration. The Synchronization Phenomenon. Reading Fluency, Training, and Dyslexia. Conclusion: The Key Role of SOP Within the Orchestration of Reading.