Reichman University is home to six research projects in the fields of computer science and the social sciences that received the individual grant, which is awarded to researchers for scientific excellence and quality in the fields of exact sciences and technology, life sciences and medicine, humanities, and the social sciences. The Israel Science Foundation (ISF) recently published its list of individual grant recipients for the year 2022.
Reichman University places great importance on the advancement of research, and these grants represent an additional step in Reichman University's pursuit of excellence in research.
The recipients of the grant and the subjects of their research are:
- Prof. Udi Boker (tag page), lecturer and researcher at the Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, for his research “Between deterministic and nondeterministic quantitative automata.”
Understanding the gap between determinism and nondeterminism is a central challenge in computer science. In our research, we try to understand the essence of the gap between deterministic and nondeterministic quantitative automata – automata that not only determine whether the input word is accepted or not, but return a numerical value indicating the degree of acceptance.
- Prof. Tal Moran (tag page), lecturer and researcher at the Efi Arazi School of Computer Science, for his research “Cryptographic foundations of ‘permissionless’ distributed computing.”
This research project approaches permissionless consensus through a cryptographic lens, focusing on three interdependent layers: Theoretical building blocks (upon which permissionless consensus protocols rely), the consensus protocols themselves, and finally, how to use permissionless consensus itself as a building block for the advancement of higher-level cryptographic tasks.
- Prof. Boaz Ben-David and Dr. Yulia Golland, (tag pages), lecturers and researchers at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, for their study “Play-based interaction online and face-to-face, from adulthood to old age: Cognitive and emotional physiological mechanisms and their implications.”
Nowadays, care for the elderly is transitioning from face-to-face interaction to video meetings. Is it possible, despite the distance and the limitations of this medium, to produce effective interaction in old age? We examine this question through playful interaction, for example joint improvisation.
First, we will examine the effectiveness of video call interaction in old age using cognitive and emotional measures. Second, we will try to understand the mechanism (for example by measuring oxytocin): Does playfulness increase physiological arousal and does it involve processes of interpersonal synchronization?
Our research combines theoretical knowledge with real-life application to improve health (both cognitive and emotional) in old age.
- Prof. Gurit Birnbaum, (tag page), lecturer and researcher at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, for her research “Perception of power in romantic relationships and its contribution to sexual expression within and outside of the relationship.”
The research seeks to examine how people deal with the conflict between short-term temptation and long-term plans: What are the factors that will help people be more resistant to temptation, and what are the factors that will weaken this resistance?
When people enter into a relationship that they define as monogamous, they hope to remain faithful to their partner. However, today, more than ever, they are flooded with temptations in the form of alternative partners lurking in all corners of the internet. Many people deal with the conflict that these temptations produce by using relationship-protective strategies, such as ignoring suitors or perceiving them as less attractive than they are. These strategies are not always effective, as the high cheating rates will testify.
- Dr. Geva Shenkman, (tag page), lecturer and researcher the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, for his research “Parenthood aspirations mong lesbians, gays and bisexuals throughout the life span.”
This is a study that seeks to examine, from a psychological perspective, the subject of the desire for parenthood throughout the life span among lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGBs).
The uniqueness of the study is that it focuses on parenthood aspirations (the desire to be a parent, the intention to be a parent, and the assessment of the chance that the person will become a parent) among three samples representing different stages of life: LGB people without children, LGB people who are parents and are asked about their desire for more children, and elderly LGB people who are asked retrospectively about their thoughts and feelings regarding their past parenthood aspirations and about the conditions that allowed/did not allow them to become parents. The research will combine quantitative and qualitative approaches.