Mediating touristic dangerscapes: the semiotics of state travel warnings issued to Israeli tourists

Official ‘travel warnings’ are recurrently published by the Counter-Terrorism Bureau in Israeli media, with the aim of informing potential tourists about the dangers of terrorism aimed at Israelis who travel abroad. These travel warnings, which juxtapose menacing warnings with tranquil visual representations of touristic vacationscapes, have recently gained a considerable public attention and have sprouted discussions around local tourism and identities. In this article, we offer a discursive and semiotic analysis of 55 travel warning articles, which appeared between 1998 and 2010 in printed and digital Hebrew press in Israel. We address visual and textual aspects of the articles and ask how they represent and mediate touristic vacationscapes. Following recent developments (‘turns’) in both tourism studies and media studies, we argue that these warnings articles construct multilayered spatial–visual representations of tourist destinations, which amount to a unique genre of tourism imagery in and of itself. Focussing on travel warnings addressing Israeli tourists who travel to the Eastern shores of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, we find that these combined or hybrid images and spaces present a convergence of two contemporary systems of representation, related to tourism and mass media, respectively, and construct a charged and mediated cultural space in Israeli collective imagination.     

From ideological space to recreational tourism: the Israeli forest

ABSTRACT

The forest as a leisure, recreation, and tourist space is growing in significance as part of nature-based tourism. It contributes to social and economic development, particularly in light of the global trend for more recreation and tourism in developed and developing countries. The main aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the evolution of forest development policy and its implications for the function of the forest as a recreation and leisure space, using an Israeli case study. The methodology is based on historic-geographic research to analyze forest tourism over time and into the present. The study finds that the spatial processes that took place over nearly a century in Israel transformed its forests from expressions of an ideology to spaces dedicated to leisure, recreation, and tourism.     

中以农业合作研究报告

以色列拥有创新、先进而高效的农业体系,其农业科研开发产业通过开发诸如滴灌之类的前沿科技产品,在世界范围内赢得了肯定.以色列农业已居世界领先地位.中以农业合作潜力巨大,前景广阔.近年来,中以农业交流与合作日益活跃,合作项目快速发展,在奶业、温室使用、良种、食品加工、灌溉技术、医药等领域都能开展广泛合作,这对双方都具有积极的意义.     

Maturing born globals and their acquisitive behaviour

Born globals are becoming more common in our interconnected world. While a body of knowledge exists regarding the establishment and early growth of born globals, we know less about how these companies develop. Arguing that acquiring new knowledge, technologies, and products will enable companies to survive beyond their initial success, the current study specifically aims to explore the value of technology-motivated acquisitions, and their effect on performance. To this end, the study employs a hybrid methodology; statistically studying 108 acquisitions conducted by 45 maturing, technology-based born globals in Israel over a period of 10 years, and further substantiate the findings with an in-depth case analysis of four sample companies. The results indicate that technology-motivated acquisitions are valuable in terms of both financial performance and independent survival, but that there likely exists an optimal threshold, indicating that such a strategy, though beneficial, should be carefully managed.     

以色列经济高速发展中主观隐形性因素的分析

以色列经济从建国以来一直保持着高速的发展。以色列经济高速发展的原因有内部因素和外部因素两方面,内、外因素都有客观直接性因素和主观隐形性因素。关于以色列经济的发展,在强调客观直接性因素发挥重大作用的同时,不能忽视主观隐形性因素的影响。     

Technical note:: Hybrid corn: Its adoption revisited

The analysis presented is for the adoption of hybrid corn. Among the three functional relationships that are tried the log logistic performs best in terms of explanation (R²) and serial correlation before adjusting for it. After adjusting for the serial correlation using the Cochrane Orcutt procedure the differences between the three functional forms practically vanish. The adoption parameter of the log logistic is best explained by economic variables among which the total area of corn in the state, which stands for both the importance in the economy and economies of scale of extension services, is outstanding.     

Machine Control – A Design and Technology Discipline in Israel's Senior High Schools

This paper presents a concept of the Machine Control discipline developed through the past decade as part of the technological education reform in Israel. The discipline has been widely implemented in senior high schools as an optional matriculation subject. Principles, contents, experience, evaluation and challenges of the curriculum are discussed. Specific features of the discipline in rural, technological and general school environments are presented and illustrated by examples. Arguments in support of a cross-national comparison of specific technology programs are given. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Losing faith in planning

Israeli planning is at a crossroad, and not for the first time. As the housing crisis is coupled with a traffic and transportation catastrophe, the planning system is desperate to create new tools and invent new procedures for speeding up plan- and decision-making. A deep look at the performance of planning in Israel reveals that the abundance of short-cuts, circumventions and detours are actually a reflection of the loss of faith in the essence of planning. Particularly, when taking into account two major setbacks: the complete lack of agreeable (spatial) planning principles at all levels of planning, and the congruence between planning institutions and other governmental bodies. These flaws, stemming from the modernist origins of Israeli Planning, continuously erode the practice of planning. Planning institutions are therefore the first to ignore, cancel and evade approved plans and declared policies, which affects other governmental authorities. The result is the practical abandonment of the belief in planning's ability to bring about positive change and a dangerously weakened planning system.     

以色列的科学技术和科技产业

本文分析了以色列的人才政策和科学教育事业、科技体制、科学活动的层次结构和国家市局、科技资助政策、科技成果转化政策和高技术产业政策。     

Effects of inflation on consumer choice

Possible effects of a nonhomogeneous inflation on consumer choice among brands of energy-using durables are considered. For this purpose price differentials among brands are regarded as “investments,” while operating costs differentials are viewed as “returns.” Using a life cycle-cost approach, it is shown how inflation may affect consumers' critical implicit rates of return and ultimately their brand choice. Empirical observations which support the theoretical results are provided.