This study examines the socialization and enculturation process by which one becomes a school board member, using adult socialization and small group theory to construct a model of the role personalization process. Thirteen new school board members in seven Arizona school districts were interviewed indepth, from the announcement of their candidacy…

Research findings have confirmed the view that if mental health practice is to be relevant and responsive to minorities, it must consciously and deliberately take into account their ethnic heritage and culture. The world views of ethnic minorities, or the ways in which they perceive their relationship to nature, institutions, other people, and…

The complex mosaic of cultural and racial heterogeneity in America throughout the twentieth century has given rise to various sociological perspectives to interpret the evolving interaction patterns and to give clues to the direction that policy decisions should take. The major theoretical frames of reference have been assimilation and cultural…

American expatriates, particularly those in business who are assigned abroad, often learn very little of the language and culture of the countries to which they are assigned. Some explanations of this phenomenon are offered based on observation of two U.S. communities in Tripoli, Libya, and Medan (Sumatra) from 1965 to 1973. First, the needs for…

Japanese Americans experience acculturative change while retaining some elements of cultural identity. Differences in the patterning of personality needs among Japanese American women over time illustrate the balance of these two elements. Japanese American female undergraduates completed the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) in 1971…

Since the Indochinese War ended in 1975, over one million Southeast Asians have entered the United States as refugees. School psychologists, counselors, and other professionals may utilize the ecological approach in order to more effectively serve this population. The ecological approach allows more accurate assessment of the student's…

This paper attempts a sociolinguistic analysis of word-borrowing as one evidence of interaction between cultures, with particular reference to English-Japanese interaction. The paper discusses circumstances under which word-borrowing takes place; agents, reasons, and methods relating to word-borrowing; what words are borrowed; and the extent to…

This volume contains 22 conference papers concerned with Algonquian languages and culture: (1) "Cheyenne Vowel Devoicing," by W. Leman and R. Rhodes; (2) "An Analysis of Upper Delawaren Land Sales in Northern New Jersey, 1630-1758," by R.S. Grumet; (3) "Ethnology in the Works of Rowland E. Robinson," by G.M. Day; (4)…

This study provides evidence of trends in Korean immigrants' communication patterns. Data were collected in a survey of 400 randomly selected Korean households in the Chicago area and were analyzed for interethnic communication (between immigrants and members of the host society), intraethnic communication (between immigrants and other members of…

This paper reports on Cuban women living in Miami (Florida) and their adaptation to life in exile. It includes an examination of health care practices, particularly the practice of self-diagnosis and self-prescription of minor tranquilizers as coping behaviors for dealing with acculturation and culture shock. Data were gathered from questionnaires…

Four papers address cultural issues related to the involvement of limited-English-proficient parents in public schools in the United States. "Cultural Issues in Indochinese Parent Involvement" (Bach-Tuyet (Pham) Tran) outlines the linguistic, social, and practical barriers to Indochinese immigrant parent involvement and makes suggestions for…

This paper discusses the processes of mutual adaptation by ethnic groups in modern multi-ethnic societies. It focuses on relations between minorities and the dominant group. Various theories regarding these relations, including a definition of ethnic groups, are reviewed and a synthesis is advanced. This theory is based on a conflict model of…

The basic language issues in Canada are two-fold: (1) French-Canadians are making serious attempts to maintain their native language and culture, and a move towards French unilingualism is apparent; (2) English-Canadians are showing increasing interest in becoming bilingual, mainly because they are not threatened by native language loss or by…

The objective of this research paper is to present evidence showing that sex differences in aggression are universal, but that within limits the differences are also highly susceptible to experiential modification. Aggression is defined as any behavior that intends to hurt a person or a thing, physically or verbally. Investigation was conducted…

A study examined the life-styles of South Florida upscale "yuppie/yucca" (young, up-and-coming Cuban-American) Hispanics by exploring their consumption habits and such demographic variables as recreational activity, credit card ownership, housing, investments, language preference, marital status, education level, and income. The…