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This paper discusses the need for sociological diffusion research to incorporate consideration of the characteristics of agricultural technologies in relation to ecological variations in peasant agriculture. Data on the diffusion of high-yielding varieties in three micro-climates of the hills of Nepal show the location-specificity in the adaptability of new agricultural technology to different farming environments. The implications of interdependence between the environmental and social-organizational requirements of technologies for differential patterns of adoption are discussed by contrasting rates of adoption among different types of farm in one micro-climatic zone. Farmers' adoption behavior appears more or less innovative depending on the suitability of the technology for different types of farm and has an ecological basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edward Tylor had envisioned anthropology to be comprised of ethnology and ethnography in equal parts, but today ethnography dominates the field. In this paper, we examine two reasons for the refugee status of ethnology. First, we look at the notorious "Galton effect." Second, we examine the problem of defining and using cultural units, particularly when positivistic and static theories and methods of culture have been largely discredited by anthropology. We argue against any formulaic solutions to these problems and show that for each research question one needs to reconsider the criteria for how to construct cultural units and how to ensure that the cultures under study are not merely replicas of one another. We show that previous solutions to these issues are limited because they fail to appreciate the contingent and multidimensional nature of culture. We also argue that, instead of a "Galton problem," there is actually a "Galton asset," which can be used to study historical and emergent communicative networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the book ''Time Distortion in Hypnosis,'' by Linn F. Cooper and Milton H. Erickson.