Discusses the importance of matching informal learning projects to the cultural contexts of participants. One way to analyze and understand a culture is to examine how it distinguishes itself from others in terms of relationships with people, time, and nature. Presents relevant factors to consider within each of these dimensions. Introduces "Prime…

Four elements of the context of professional practice influence continuing professional education: professional allegiance, nature of professional work, narratives in organizational culture, and level of independence and autonomy. Individual agency and positionality (sociocultural background) should also be considered. (Contains 14 references.)…

The fourth in a series of articles on the relationships of European languages to their cultures looks at the role of the theater in Italian culture and the theatricality of the Italian language. (MSE)

Explores different attempts to specify the supraindividual unit of analysis in terms of which culture's contributions to human development are to be understood. Traces the history and current usage of terms such as practice, activity, situation, and context. (BAC)

Analyzes the issue of censorship in relation to how it has influenced anti-apartheid South African playwright/director Mbongeni Ngema's theatrical style and the evolution of his style from the socio-political context in which he works. Illuminates the playwright's strategies for overcoming censorship. Discusses his most well-known work,…

Discusses how American public relations practitioners and scholars can incorporate intercultural communication into their work with Arab clients in the United States. Explains how several frameworks were used to develop a chart on "cultural communication preference" for Americans and Arabs, and that in Arab culture, the emphasis is on…

Criticizes the practice in adventure education of using Native American rituals and practices without the proper cultural context. Suggests that western society uses rites and ceremonies initiated in its own culture for experiential education. (KS)

Suggests an approach to teaching American Indian literatures that focuses on origins and authorship of Indian (and by extension, non-Indian) works. Discusses the collaboration of numerous historical and personal voices in contemporary Indian works and the influence of an oral performance context. Contains a bibliography of 55 works. (SV)

Discussion of the role of librarians focuses on three more traditional aspects of librarianship that are still important in the midst of new technology: (1) the study of the book and its role in our culture; (2) reading and its role in the inner life; and (3) reading guidance. (Contains 16 references.) (LRW)

Argues that the torrid conflicts of the 1960s produced a profound change in American politics--nowhere more evident than in the clash between radicals and liberals of the New Left and the emerging "neoconservative" defenders of American culture and politics. Finds that the neoconservative "priestly voice" produced rhetorical…

Explores the social construction of the various computer hazards that households are encountering, such as computer addiction and children's access to on-line pornography. Discusses these issues in terms of constructivist counseling perspectives that are sensitive to cultural and environmental contexts. Outlines specific strategies for countering…

Examines difference and similarities among definitions of leadership in different cultures and how the cultures shape the definitions of leadership in their own cultural environments. Focuses on the concept of leadership in Australia, China, Russia, and the United States. (Contains 50 references.) (Author/LRW)

Israel Scheffler, one of the most important figures in the history of philosophy of education in the United States, has recently introduced an interesting idea in terms of the long-standing debate between constructivism and realism. Scheffler's idea has its roots in his debate with Nelson Goodman, his Harvard colleague, who defended thoroughgoing…

Children constantly encounter signs during cultural practices, although many theories do not fully acknowledge sociocultural aspects of semiotic development. The author examines research on cultural practices and contexts in which children learn to produce signs involving representational drawing and pretend play. This work is contrasted with more…

Considers whether rare books taken during times of war as trophies by the enemy should be restored to their original owners. Highlights include problems associated with restitution; legal and political considerations; individual books versus special collections; and the German book trade and libraries and their relations to the Soviet Union after…