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In this paper an attempt is made to show why initiation and/or puberty rites occur in so many societies and why they take the shape they do. To do this I have used concepts derived from social and physical anthropology and from psychoanalysis. The rites are seen as part of a general human concern with categorization and the attribution of power/danger to what is not classifiable. The particular problem lies in the metamorphosis from the sexual world of adulthood and the threatening nature of sex to all peoples. Sex is seen to be threatening because of the mental connection between it and death, knowledge of mortality being a unique human quality. The connection seems to be made as a result of (a) the cessation of oestrus in humans and (b) the adoption of an upright posture, necessitating anal cleansing. The nature of feces is associated with decomposition; it is also associated with the genitals. Fears about incest also encourage the idea that sex is dirty, and thus there is an association made between se...

The synchronic, antievolutionary approach to kinship has made it impossible to grasp its nature and define it adequately. Understanding of the phenomenon is tobe found in the implications of Morgan's distinction between the classificatory and descriptive systems of kinship. These systems are based respectively on the tribal and family organizations, each giving rise to a different notion of kinship: one as recognition of common identity in a material substance, the other as the relationships established by common descent. These notions are irreconcilable and hence unamentable to a single definition, although one develops dialectically out of the other. In the evolutionary process whereby the family develops within the tribal organization, the family notion of kinship, developing concomitantly, butts against the classificatory system stemming from the tribal organization and modifies it according to the specific conditions of each tribe, giving rise to the great variety of kinship systems observed. As the ...

Malaysia's social complexion tends to be obscured by the description "plural society"; in contrast, Malaysia is here viewed as a nation of new communities. Three cases, from both Malaysia and Singapore, are used as lessons illustrating the recent formation of novel social structures. State policies, in both Malaysia and Singapore, not only lead in changing social and economic patterns of present and former peasants, specifically Malays, but also control those patterns in ever-increasing degree.

Children often act as caretakers responsible for other children. Such child caretaking varies widely in its frequency, as well as in the degree of institutionalization, relationship to parental caretaking, degree of indulgence, and incidence at differing ages. Residence and household patterns, size of the family, and the subsistence economy, daily routines, and work load of the family are important in determining availability of child caretakers in the home. The United States appears to have fewer alternative caretakers available, and less child caretaking, than most societies. Child caretaking is related to a number of developmental areas during childhood; eight are suggestedin this review: (1) mother-child relationships and attachment; (2) conceptions and emergence of childhood stages; (3) formation and organization of play groups; (4) development of social responsibility; (5) sex differences; (6) development of individual diferences; (7) development of cognitive-style differences; and (8) motivation an...

The flexural disk transducer has been recognized for many years as a viable candidate for applications requiring low‐frequency sound sources. Since the establishment of the theory by Woollett [“Theory of the Piezoelectric Flexural Disk Transducer with Applications to Underwater Sound,” USL Report No. 490, December 1960], much of the development effort has been directed toward improved fabrication and mounting techniques which have resulted in high electroacoustic efficiencies, increased power handling capabilities and greater correlation between theory and measurements. Programs to provide greater depth capability and improved bandwidths are continuing. The combination of specific requirements impose certain limitations upon the design of the flexural disk and dictate tradeoffs where possible. These limitations and tradeoffs are described as they relate to transducer applications at low frequencies requiring high acoustic‐source levels, broadband widths, and deep submergence operation. Two transducers have been fabricated, one below 100 Hz to demonstrate potential VLF applications and limitations, and another at 250 Hz for evaluation of the power capabilities of large diameter (33 in.) mosaic disks. The designs, test results, and a summary of possible design trade‐offs are presented.

An exact distributed electromechanical equivalent circuit is derived for purely cylindrical waves in an axially polarized piezoceramic thick walled hollow cylinder. The analysis applies to either stress free or clamped in the axial direction, and the theory may be used to account for losses.