A novel socially assistive robotic platform for cognitive-motor exercises for individuals with Parkinson's Disease: a participatory-design study from conception to feasibility testing with end users.

The potential of socially assistive robots (SAR) to assist in rehabilitation has been demonstrated in contexts such as stroke and cardiac rehabilitation. Our objective was to design and test a platform that addresses specific cognitive-motor training needs of individuals with Parkinson's disease (IwPD). We used the participatory design approach, and collected input from a total of 62 stakeholders (IwPD, their family members and clinicians) in interviews, brainstorming sessions and in-lab feasibility testing of the resulting prototypes. The platform we developed includes two custom-made mobile desktop robots, which engage users in concurrent cognitive and motor tasks. IwPD (n = 16) reported high levels of enjoyment when using the platform (median = 5/5) and willingness to use the platform in the long term (median = 4.5/5). We report the specifics of the hardware and software design as well as the detailed input from the stakeholders.

The Question of Moral Worth in a Controversial Market: Moral Justification Regimes and Boundary Work Among Israeli Men Who Pay for Sex Abroad.

This study examined the internal moral debate that takes place among Israeli men who pay for sex (MWPS) while traveling abroad. We explored how they construct their sense of moral worth and present themselves as moral subjects in light of the intensified stigmatization of their actions. Using the theoretical frameworks of pragmatic morality and boundary work, we conceptualize four main moral justification regimes that MWPS use to construct themselves as moral subjects: Cultural normalization; Conditional freedom of choice; The altruistic act of charity; and Unpacking the Stigma Discourse. The findings highlight how these justification regimes are anchored in three intersecting fields - cultural, spatial, and power relations - which produce various matrices of conflict, compromise, or collaboration in different situations. Thus, the flexible switching between various justification regimes reveals how MWPS define themselves and their activities and negotiate various moral dispositions - akin to various cultural logics - in the context of moral taint and stigma.

Helping individuals in the sex trade during COVID-19: The perspectives of Israeli aid organizations.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a collateral effect on marginalized populations, including individuals in the sex trade (IST). In addition, the literature of the past year has documented a significant impact of the pandemic on healthcare providers. However, there is a lack of research on the new challenges and existing hardships facing aid organizations working with IST populations. This naturalistic qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with 33 IST aid organization workers in Israel between May and July 2020 to capture their perceptions and experiences within broader social-relational contexts. Data analysis revealed that the pandemic impacted three different arenas: The assistance systems and the quality of care; The relationship between aid organizations and state authorities; and The intraorganizational and interorganizational relationship. These findings add to the knowledge about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on aid organizations, particularly the need for greater collaboration between aid organizations during health crises and governmental support for these organizations. In addition, the study highlights the opportunities that a global and local health crisis can create advancing new knowledge and practices used by aid organizations in their work to assist IST populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Who Takes Part in the Political Game? The Sex Work Governance Debate in Israel.

INTRODUCTION: This study explores the recent neo-abolitionist legislation of the Israeli sex industry by illustrating the competing claims of various stakeholders: those leading the legal change and those protesting it. The main question is how Israeli sex workers perceive the public debate over governing the Israeli sex industry. METHODS: This study combines qualitative methods that include ethnographic observations and interviews. The ethnographic observations were carried out between November 2018 and October 2019 in gatherings, protests, and academic conferences where sex workers were the lead speakers. In addition, 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with sex workers across various indoor sectors, and four interviews were conducted with political figures to learn about their efforts to adopt neo-abolitionist legislation. RESULTS: the Israeli legislative proceedings initiated in 2007 deny sex workers a voice and exclude them from the political space and policy debates that have a direct bearing on their working lives and wellbeing. Thus, Israeli sex workers perceive sex work governance as controlling their agency and deepening their stigmatization. In this process, we show how contrasting groups became strange bedfellows in their attempt to protect sex workers by incriminating clients of the sex industry. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the binary framings of debates about sex work in Israel do not address the actual needs or political desires of sex workers who are ignored and excluded from the discourse about them. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Furthermore, we conclude that the issue at hand is not about permitting sex workers to express their views but rather about the need to listen to their critiques to ensure that policy is built on their knowledge and experience.