The cultural context in which higher education takes place makes determining the basis for a core curriculum difficult, while economic realities make marketability an overriding consideration in devising a curriculum of studies. Nonetheless, institutions have an obligation to inform students about the qualities of mind proper to the exercise of…

Improvement of education will require looking at schools from the inside and collaboration not only among schools but also among the many other institutions that educate. (JM)

A type of acculturation occurs in developing countries that hinders English language learning because English is the linguistic vehicle of technological and sociological influences, and culture conflicts increase when the learners arrive in English-speaking environments different from their expectations. Suggestions are given for alleviating these…

Fifteen exploratory tasks are proposed to help the reader "invent" his or her solidarity with the environment. They are intended to make the person more aware of the influences of the environment on one's native and/or second language learning in order to take charge of them and increase one's independence. (AMH)

Discusses the relationship between the person learning a foreign language, the methodology employed, and the environment using the paradigms of T. Parsons. Notes that the functional method has adapted some of these functions and suggests ways to incorporate the others. (AMH)

Comparative research involving American minorities is examined in terms of external validity. It is proposed that an adequate approach to research would involve cultural, interpretive, population, ecological, and construct validity. (Author/MP)

Discusses how proverbs provide insight into the nature of socio-logic as a body of principles to guide practical reasoning. English language proverbs reflect many of the rational principles found in argumentation textbooks, including: 1) a typology of arguments, 2) rules of correct inference, and 3) cautions about potential fallacies. (JMF)

Patterns among human hunter-gatherers and non-human social animals suggest patterns of early hominid social development. (BB)

Children who travel abroad with their parents and attend many foreign schools face some problems in establishing friendships, but learn to adapt to different cultures and environments. (JD)

Questions addressed include: the sources of the desire for higher education among kibbutz members; the response of the kibbutz movement to this push; the current and likely future consequences of ever larger numbers of kibbutz members with advanced education: and what lessons can be learned about equalitarian societies generally from the kibbutz…

Contemporary Japanese higher education is reviewed, taking into account German influences especially. Three main objectives of post-war reforms are discussed along with the entrance examination system in Japan. Available from: Japan Cultural Society, 101018, Shirokane-dai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. (LBH)

Argues that social forces and social pathologies figure prominently in the dynamics of suicide. Gives several examples of "social suicide," including mass suicide, organizational self-destruction, social analogues to individual suicide, and military suicide. Claims that suicide prevention requires social, economic, and cultural transformations at…

Discusses Margaret Mead's insights on mental retardation. Her study of intelligence scores of Italian children, which analyzed correlations between test performance, language, immigration date, and social status, is used to indicate recognition of the multicultural complexities of mental retardation. Her belief in social integration is also…

This special issue is based on papers presented at an international conference held in 1996 in Belgium. Focus is on the convergence between telecommunications and broadcasting from a culturalistic perspective, by historically mapping developments in communication technology vis-a-vis cultural processes in the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian…

Considers why women have been absent from the history of technical communication. Discusses research from the history of technology suggesting that notions of "technology,""work," and "workplace" may be gendered terms. Concludes with several suggestions for defining technical communication so that significant works of…