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Abstract: Previous anthropology emphasized symbolic incantations at the expense of the embodied practice of magic. Foregrounding embodiment and performance in war magic and warrior religion collapses the mind-body dualism of [...]

One of the many important functions of art is to encourage people to see different cultural perspectives and enable them to better understand and appreciate themselves and others. Engagement with [...]

This article offers a reflection upon the process of intercultural collaboration in light of a global feminist theology immersion pedagogy project, which brought together young scholars from Kenya and the United States. The authors use dualistic categories arising in feminist theological discourse to discuss the ways in which they negotiated difference in the context of intercultural research and collaborative learning. Obioma Nnaemeka's nego-feminist stance, a feminism of negotiation, provides a way forward for intercultural feminist collaboration as it corresponds to the cultural, practical, and methodological insights of the immersion experience., Border crossing entails learning about the 'other,' but more importantly, it should also entail learning from the other. Learning about is a gesture that is often tinged with arrogance and [...]

Abstract Purpose--The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between an employee's trust of coworkers and that employee's enterprising behavior. The extent to which cultural dimensions, in-group collectivism [...]

With governments around the world needing to attract talented professionals, this exploratory, cross-cultural research analyzes career values of 384 MPA and MPP students at major universities in the capitals of China, Malaysia and the United States. Malaysians and Americans structured 23 goals along dimensions that contrasted sharply to those of the Chinese. Moreover, Malaysians and Americans cared more about self-actualization and less about co-worker comradeship than did the Chinese. All three groups prioritized elements of altruism and affluence. Segmentation analysis uncovered six distinct subgroups (Acheivers, Altruistic Analysts, Administrators, Altruistic Affluents, Acquiescents, and Apathetics) with their distributions varying by country.

The present article aims to interlink the following aspects related to cross-cultural European experiences: the educational mobility, as a subtype of modern physical and cultural flexibility, the cosmopolitan identity and values, to whom this type of mobility can give birth to, in similar circumstances all over the continent, and the way these are shared by individuals. The paper draws on the empirical research performed in an intercultural community, amongst Erasmus students incoming to Bordeaux, France, during the former academic year. Key words: Erasmus program, cross-cultural European experience, mobility, identity, cosmopolitism, Introduction Mobility nowadays has became a central focus of social research, its interests varying from the almost mythic figure of the transnational migrant, (1) to the subject of tourism (2) [...]

Hofstede identified four value dimensions at the country level but did not find matching dimensions at the individual level. Schwartz discriminated different sets of value constructs at individual and country-levels, based on separate analyses per level. In this article, the authors directly examine the degree of similarity or isomorphism between the structure of values in individual- and country-level analyses, using multidimensional scaling followed by generalized Procrustes analysis. Using data from the Schwartz Value Survey from 53 and 66 countries, the authors find substantial similarity in structure across levels, but indices fall somewhat short of structural isomorphism. The authors then test hypotheses regarding possible causes of the less than perfect isomorphism between the levels. Number of countries (sample size at country level) and structural shifts in individual items account for some of the lack of isomorphism. Implications for future cross-cultural research are discussed.

In this article, the authors share concerns and considerations for researchers conducting cross-cultural research in gifted education. They contend that researchers should be mindful of the need to consider their own humanness--their beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, values, paradigms--and the limitations of their humanness when working with research participants from racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse backgrounds, especially those backgrounds that differ from their own. Furthermore, the authors assert that research is culture bound and that it is very difficult to conduct research where circumstances, demographics, and context can be ignored, minimized, negated, or in any way trivialized. Examples are presented of racially, culturally, and linguistically responsive researchers., Over the last 5 years, we have directed our efforts toward both gifted education and urban education. Much of this work has focused on the critical need for educators (e.g., [...]

The gendered nature of the ways that young Turkish men negotiate belonging in Austria is discussed. Focus is laid on the dynamics of masculinities in the context of migration.

In a 1982 publication, Ng et al. surveyed the cultural values of select East Asian and Pacific Island nations. In 2002, this study repeated their work, using the same sampling frame, questionnaire, and collaborators, where possible. The authors also reclassified the 1982 and 2002 survey results using Schwartz's cultural-level value dimensions. Submission versus Dionysian values that differentiated the nations in 1982 continued to do so in 2002. Furthermore, nations that endorsed Mastery (and rejected Harmony) in 1982 experienced greater subsequent economic growth than did the other countries. Moreover, economic development in 1982 predicted ensuing changes in Submission versus Dionysian and Hierarchy versus Egalitarianism values. Richer nations tended to endorse Dionysian, Autonomy, and Egalitarianism, whereas poorer nations tended toward Submission, Embeddedness, and Hierarchy values. Overall, the results support both economic and cultural determinism and imply two opposing directions of cultural change. Keywords: economic development; cultural values; cultural change; cross-cultural study

The present cross-cultural study examined the relationship between deductive reasoning and creativity among college students (M age = 20.4 yr., SD-.6) from Hong Kong (n = 39) and the United States (n = 38). Participants performed tasks designed to measure deductive reasoning, creative writing, and insight problem-solving, all in verbal form. No correlation was found between the performance for deductive reasoning and creativity as measured by creative writing. Insight problem-solving performance correlated significantly with that for both reasoning and creativity. Significant cultural differences favoring the American participants were only found on the creative writing and insight problem-solving tasks, both of which supposedly involve creative thinking. There seems to be cultural dependence for creativity but not for deductive reasoning which suggests a qualification of a strong cultural-relevance view positing pervasive cultural influences on human thinking processes.

In the introduction to his seminal work dealing with white representations of the 'indigene', white Canadian scholar Terry Goldie observes that because the Other is of interest only in as [...]

A heuristic framework for how individuals orient themselves within relationships that include two dimensions, focus and power, evolving out of the social context is presented. The two dimensions are considered to present the four basic relational orientations, position directed, rule directed, independence directed, and relationship directed orientations along with case examples.

Three fundamental cultural dimensions and their effect on e-learning environments are examined and the simple structural adaptations required for Japanese audiences are outlined. It is observed that core cultural dimensions prove as the most effective constituents of the internationalization process.

The importance of using a feminist perspective to explore the 'war on global terror' in the aftermath of 9/11 is highlighted. The application of pedagogical expertise to encourage an extensive and informed debate in the academic classroom is advocated.

I In Chinua Achebe's Arrow of God, we are presented with an intriguing character, Ezeulu. In many instances, Ezeulu is portrayed as being ahead of his time. Among his special [...]

Steve Angle correctly notes that I do not believe that he provides a satisfactory answer to the questions of how to determine whether we are dealing with a single rights […]

Terms such as society, habitus, and culture can all too easily obscure the lifeworlds they are supposed to cover, and we must continually remind ourselves that social life is lived [...]

Five abbreviated case histories of ongoing development projects are presented that illustrate the difference of approach. The cultures of control employed by the planners are noted, but the dynamic of the societal context into which projects are introduced is shown to be equally important to the outcome.

The 'Natyasastra', a Sanskrit work on drama, dance and music of uncertain date, describes in its Fourth Chapter, the 108 dance units, Karanas, of the tandava dance of Lord Siva, and this particular chapter was translated into English in 1936 under the name, 'Tandavalaksanam'. Karanas are also presented as conceptual kinetic units, a tool for dance analysis, applicable in cross-cultural contexts, and they serve as pegs on to which one can hang specific issues surrounding corporeality and the dancing body in the present and in the past.

Anthropologists can use longitudinal, comparative, and multiscale research to illuminate aspects of global change and development. Goals and procedures of the emerging field of sustainability science are examined here in relation to those of the linkages methodology and other multisited, historical, and transnational approaches in recent anthropology. Conclusions about the sustainability of development emerge from field studies in Arembepe, Brazil, and Ivato, Madagascar. The contrasts between Arembepe and Ivato, and the regions and nations that include them, are sharp and almost certainly irreversible. Madagascar suffers from an overdose of environmentalism, while Brazil has been dominated by developmentalism. Arembepe now has a sustainable diversified economy and cultural contacts linking its future with the dynamics of capitalist globalization, Ivato, by contrast, is in a region and nation with dramatically increasing population and diminishing natural resources but no investment stream to provide significant employment alternatives. In future years Ivato and similar farming communities may have little left of their past to sustain. Key words: sustainability, longitudinal fieldwork, cross-cultural comparison, development, environmentalism, Brazil, Madagascar

As an introduction to the five articles in this section that present data analyses focused at the nation level, three dilemmas pertinent to nation-level studies are discussed. First, reasons are explored as to why it is valuable for psychologists to give attention to the national contexts within which the behavior of individuals has more typically been studied. Second, there is some discussion of the extent to which causal explanations of cultural differences can be sustained. Finally, it is argued that nation-level studies have a crucial and growing role to play in explaining variations in the findings of individual-level studies conducted at different locations. Keywords: cultural-level comparisons; ecological fallacy; multiple-nation samples

This paper presents lessons that were learned while conducting cross-cultural research of cultural information differences between North American and Chinese consumers. It also underscores the importance of fully understanding those differences in a marketing environment and how such differences can affect study results.

Managers throughout the world regularly face ethical dilemmas that have important, and perhaps complex, professional and personal implications. Further, societal consequences of decisions made can be far-reaching. In this study, 210 financial services managers from Australia, Chile, Ecuador and the United States were queried about their ethical beliefs when faced with four diverse dilemmas. In addition, the situational context was altered so the respondent viewed each dilemma from a top management position and from a position of economic hardship. Results suggest a complex interaction of situation, culture and issue when individuals make ethical judgments. Specifically, Chileans were found to have different beliefs about sex discrimination and child labor dilemmas when compared to their colleagues from the other three nations. Chileans and Australians also disagreed on the bribery dilemma. Anglo managers were more likely than Latin American managers to change their ethical responses when the situation was altered. For multinational firms interested in maintaining healthy ethical climates, the findings suggest that culturally contingent ethical guidelines, or policies adapted to the local customs, must be considered. Further, managers must remain aware of issues related to specific situations, both internal and external, that would cause subordinates to alter their moral judgment. KEY WORDS: culture, dilemmas, situational ethics

This article presents an analysis of the coverage of the introduction of the Euro currency from the leading news publications in Germany and the United Kingdom, focusing on the possible differences in the level of coverage and news frames. The author found the British print media to be anti-Euro and used episodic style, while the German news remained neutral and used a thematic style. He suggests that the different worldviews and identity concepts influence the agenda-setting effect of news print media in different countries.

Social comparison theory maintains that people think about themselves compared with similar others. Those in one culture, then, compare themselves with different others and standards than do those in another culture, thus potentially confounding cross-cultural comparisons. A pilot study and Study 1 demonstrated the problematic nature of this reference-group effect: Whereas cultural experts agreed that East Asians are more collectivistic than North Americans, cross-cultural comparisons of trait and attitude measures failed to reveal such a pattern. Study 2 found that manipulating reference groups enhanced the expected cultural differences, and Study 3 revealed that people from different cultural backgrounds within the same country exhibited larger differences than did people from different countries. Cross-cultural comparisons using subjective Likert scales are compromised because of different reference groups. Possible solutions are discussed.

This article provides research on the comparative muscle power of French and Brazilian girls between 9 and 18 years of age. The authors found that even with normalization of anthropometric variables, French girls' anaerobic performance was significantly higher than that of their Brazilian counterparts; French girls had a higher participation percentage in sports and training activities; motor learning may be potentially important in muscle power assessment, because of the Brazilian girls' poor sprint cycle skills.

The use of salt in diets throughout cultures worldwide is discussed with a focus on accessibility of salt and attitudes toward salt. The author, comparing diets primarily derived from the plant kingdom with diets primarily derived from the animal kingdom, concludes cultures with plant kingdom diets have more positive attitudes toward the use of salt, whereas cultures with animal kingdom diets have negative attitudes.

The Hispanic MMPI-A was developed for use with Spanish-speaking adolescents living in the United States. In order to sample its potential usefulness in other countries, the test was administered to 385 Spanish-speaking adolescents in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and the United States. The results showed a high degree of similarity across the five countries on the basic content and supplementary scales. Most scales were within 1/2 standard deviation of the U.S. Hispanic mean, and no scale elevations were greater than T = 65. Slight differences (T = 55-60) were obtained on scale F for males and scales F, Hs, Mf (Peru and Colombia), Pa, and Sc for females. This study would suggest that the Hispanic MMPI-A, with its established norms, is appropriate for adaptation in Spanish-speaking countries other than the United States. Further studies with the Hispanic MMPI-A are recommended to determine its effectiveness in clinical assessment in Spanish-speaking countries. Keywords: MMPI-A; Hispanic MMPI-A; adolescent assessment; cross-cultural assessment

This article discusses analysis of cross-national survey databases which test theories on public opinion at the national, but not the individual level, which is described as a form of ecological fallacy called indiviualistic fallacy. The author tests this syndrome with data from the Eurobarometer, Latinbarometer, World Values Survey, and other surveys of the public in Central America; the associations between variables of democracy and this syndrome are found to be exmaples of spuriousness and are unrelated to support for democracy or democratic liberties.

This article tells of a process in which African American female college students became co-researchers in a project in which they told of their experiences on a predominantly White campus. They later engaged in the reflection of those stories and then met in succeeding sessions to discuss their reactions and share their hopes for changing the situations. The researcher employed participatory research methods, strategies of group narrative, and individual interviews. She then recorded the discussions of all sessions, identifying major themes and analyzing data in categories titled voices of self, voices of distress, and voices of empowerment. She also recorded observable actions illustrating the students were empowered to change situations on campus. The author's self-reflection links her story with the co-researchers' stories and tells of the transformation that takes place in her. Her present reflection on her experience concludes that dealing with difference in higher education is a continuing struggle.

In this article, the author reflects on some of the difficulties encountered when conducting cross-cultural qualitative research. The article begins with a description of a focus group study that researched how feminist women define sexual liberation. The author then examines some of the issues inherent when including participants from different countries, races, ages, and sexual orientation. The findings point to insights about research issues including language, research methods, age, race, sexuality, traditional practices, and cultural norms. Lastly, the author encourages dialogue as a way to address issues of difference and increase collective consciousness.

IN THE WORKS OF William Blake, the word Japan appears, by my count, a total of six times. Each time it is used to refer to the land the farthest [...]

Buenos Aires, Argentina held its first international performing arts festival featuring music, theater, dance and art from around the world. The festival is examined as a means of transcultural exchange.

This global cross-national study seeks to build upon earlier studies that have tested the impact of constitutional provisions upon state human rights behavior. I examine across a twenty-year period the impact of constitutional provisions for six individual freedoms and four due process rights on state abuse of the right to personal integrity. Here I find statistical evidence that some constitutional provisions do matter, even when controlling for democracy and for other factors known to influence human rights behavior. While none of the constitutional provisions for individual freedoms is statistically significant, two of the due process provisions (provisions for fair and public trials) do decrease substantially the likelihood that states will abuse their own citizens' human rights. The other two due process provisions, which have become almost universal, the ban against torture, and the writ of habeas corpus, are quite disappointing in that they do not produce the expected impact. Over the long term, the trial provisions would lead to a decrease of about one level in the personal integrity abuse score, which is only somewhat less than the impact produced by other variables in the model, such as population size.

This article explores the changing nature and patterns of the `generational contract', with particular reference to the exchange of nursing care and housing assets between older parents and their adult children. Inheritance practices and attitudes are used to examine the ways in which socio-economic, demographic and policy changes have recently altered the conventional arrangements in Japanese society. The previously defined `generational contract' is now ambiguous, and the expectations and obligations of different family members are fragmented. This article also discusses whether such practices in Japan are unique and the ways in which they differ from the English situation. Family obligations and inheritance have been more explicitly connected in the Japanese social and legal systems, while in England there is neither legal obligation to support older parents nor any constraint on inheritance. This article elucidates the similarities and differences in the patterns of inheritance and thus the exchange models between care and inheritance in the two societies. KEY WORDS--inheritance, generational contract, family reciprocity, home ownership, nursing care, Japan.

This article examines cross-sectional measurements of height and weight collected from Taiwan's Ministry of Education since 1964 to test the hypothesis that in Taiwan the degree of change used in tracking changes in the height and weight of rural and urban boys and girls was a function of sex and age-related capacities to respond to environmental factors. Evidence is found to support this hypotheses, it also finds that children's growth was negatively affected by economic problems during an oil crisis, suggesting that secular changes in growth reflect the quality of the environment.

This article presents research on protein coding loci of the Mbanzele Pygmies of the Central African Republic and other African groups. Results find that the Mbenzele and Biaka Pygmies share an affinity at the protein level, but differences in the DNA loci suggest genetic differences among the two groups in the microsatellite loci were shaped by genetic drift.

While models of business ethics increasingly recognize that ethical behavior varies cross-culturally, scant attention has been given to understanding how culture affects the ethical reasoning process that predicates individuals' ethical actions. To address this gap, this paper illustrates how culture may affect the various components of individuals' ethical reasoning by integrating findings from the cross-cultural management literature with cognitive-developmental perspective. Implications for future research and transnational organizations are discussed. KEY WORDS: cognitive-developmental, cross-culture, decision-making, ethical reasoning, ethics

Abstract This article takes its data from one of two sets of communities studied as part of a British ESRC project into discursive constructions of identity. In this paper we [...]

This article documents, and seeks to explain, the geographical patterning in ethnic group distributions. Some areas, chiefly equatorial regions and areas of high habitat diversity, are crowded with a large number of named groups. Elsewhere, people over a large area consider themselves members of a single group. Using three new codes for the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (ethnic diversity, habitat diversity, and rainfall variation), I show that regions with relatively few ethnic groups (low ethnic diversity) have unpredictable and highly variable climates and low pathogen loads. In most areas there was no relationship between ethnic diversity and ecosystem productivity, and there was little or none with the chief determinants of productivity, mean annual rainfall and temperature. Habitat diversity was also associated with ethnic diversity, particularly among nonstratified societies. Habitat diversity is correlated with degree of topographic relief, but the effect of habitat diversity on ethnic diversity is larger than, and independent of, the effect of topography. [ethnic diversity, ecological anthropology, spatial organization, cross-cultural research]

This article provides a cross-cultural analysis of the role of women in Russia and United States based on surveys taken in both countries. The authors focus on stereotypes and gender roles in family and society, providing both male and female respondents with positive and negative connotations of 'typicl' women in the questionnaire; similarities and differences between Russian and American respondents are given, concluding that stereotypes are governed more by culture than by gender, but the differences are not significant and many common attitudes about 'right and wrong' are shared between the two countries.

This article explores the self-concept of children from three different cultural groups in relation to academics and non-academic subareas. The authors, investigating children from Asia, Africa, and Australia/United States, found that African children has the most positive self-concept, Asian children had the lowest self-concept in non-academic subareas, and children from Australia/United States had the lowest positive self-concept regarding academics.

This article reviews the essay 'Play and Exploration in Children and Animals,' by Tomas G. Power. Topics addressed include child development, neuroethological and sociocultural aspects of play, and play behavior across species and cultures.