Semiotics

Table 2. Organizing Themes in Causal Representations of Israeli School Violence

YOUTH PEERS FAMILY SCHOOL OTHER INSTITUTIONS SOCIETAL PROBLEMS

Explicit
Organizing
Theme I:
Violence

• 
  
  
  
  1. Violence
     is a ̳cool‘
     norm among
     youths
  
  
  2. Teachers
     fear students
     2. Set violent, aggressive
     example
     3. Teach to live to survive
     and expect worst from
     others
     19. Teachers fear parents
     8. System tolerates
     early norm of
     aggression and violence
     9. Allows good kids to
     be bullied
     12. Violence learned via
     television, internet and
     videogames
     13. Mass media coverage makes
     violence ̳real‘ and thus a norm to
     live up to
     29. No clear limits or
     moral boundaries
     30. Corruption /loss of
     faith in society
     31. Lack of respect for
     others
     32. Weakening of
     respect for law and
     order
     33. No respect for
     individual rights
     34. Violence a
     societal-wide
     norm/value
     35. Outdated ̳macho‘
     values rule
     36. General agitated
     psychological state of
     the Israeli
  
  
  
  

Explicit
Organizing
Theme II:
Alienation

• 
  
  
  
  • 
    
    
    
    4. Lack of maternal warmth
       and parental presence
    
    
    5. Parent-child alienation
    
    
    6. Parents allow television
       to substitute for parenting
       10. Children are
       alienated from school
       system
       15. Parents alienated
       from larger school
       system
       11. Children are alienated from
       larger societal institutions
       17. Mass media robs parents of
       control
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Explicit
Organizing
Theme III:
Cross-
Institutional
Dysfunction

14.

Students

enlist

parents

against

school

authority

• 
  
  
  
  20. Parents join with their
      children in opposing school
      decisions
  
  
  21. Parents allow television
      to substitute for parenting
  
  
  22. School too strict
  
  
  23. School too
      permissive
  
  
  24. Children are
      alienated from school
      system
  
  
  25. Parents alienated
      from larger school
      system
  
  
  26. Schools are
      mismanaged generally
  
  
  27. Schools politicize
      process of getting help
      from government
  
  
  28. Economy puts pressures on
      family structure
  
  
  29. Mass media robs parents of
      control
  
  
  30. Schools are mismanaged
      generally
  
  
  31. Government understaffs
      school system
  
  
  32. Government doesn‘t back
      school system policy
  
  
  33. Government is too corrupt to
      help schools
  
  
  34. Economy limits government‘s
      ability to help
  
  
  35. Government is corrupt