Presents a study of the contrasting social attitudes toward older adults in three different social structures: the Caucasus region of the Soviet Union, a traditional society; Japan, transitional but retaining some traditional values; and the United States, with its obsolescence technology and youth-oriented culture. (MF)

A study examined the extent to which culture-specific traits persist or change in American and Japanese business people who interact in business. Data were drawn from 13 interviews with both Japanese and American employees of Japanese companies. Interviewees were asked about their perceptions or stereotypes of people from the other culture before…

This study investigated whether differences attributable to sociocultural factors existed in the eating-disorder behaviors and body image perception of Puerto Rican and U.S. college women. Participants (n=440) completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 and provided demographic information. Results indicated significant differences between the…

This workbook serves as a map to guide Peace Corps trainees through their cross-cultural experience and as a record of thoughts and feelings as they live and work in their host country. The workbook examines the behaviors and values of people in the host country in relation to those of the people in the trainees' native country; it does not intend…

Clash of cultures produces the defeatism erroneously called shyness in the Spanish-speaking child. (Author/ML)

Presents and contrasts a difference/cultural versus dominance/power-based approach to studying sex differences in language use. The first approach is critiqued and suggestions are provided for further research. (69 references) (LT)

Discusses gift-giving patterns in different cultures, particularly in relation to teacher-student interactions in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Situations in which gift-giving can raise ethical questions and how to teach culturally diverse students about this issue are highlighted. Script theory provides a theoretical basis for…

Reviews three prominent theories addressing social and cultural factors that can inhibit academic excellence among African American boys: Steele's stereotype threat model; Ogbu's cultural-ecological perspective; and Majors and Billson's "cool pose" theory. All three emphasize barriers preventing these boys from incorporating academics…

The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse of previous ethnographic studies,…

No greater challenge currently faces the schools than articulating what a literacy curriculum for sociocultural diversity might look like. And yet the literature on young school children's composing has dealt only peripherally with this issue. In this theoretical essay, it is argued that, even for young children, the composing of both oral and…

Preferences for 92 values were measured for 10 groups of black and white males and females of lower and middle class status in two geographically distinct settings in the United States. Factor analysis showed five shared value composites: (1) the good life, (2) pleasant working companions, (3) balance and adjustment; (4) artistic creativity, and…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the prevailing way of life of Americans of Mexican descent who lived in a small city in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas during the period from August, 1957, to August, 1959; (2) to discuss the manner in which these Mexican Americans coped with health problems; and (3) to explain the…

Stereotyping is associated with fixed, unchanging points of view based on generalizations and results from the fact that, in his life, a person encounters many different personalities and groups about which he has little information. A stereotype reaction is not based on first-hand information about an individual, but rather on perceived cultural…

Discusses the pattern formed by Germany's towns and cities, with some remarks on the changes in that pattern since 1945, and the major influences that have shaped the appearance and structure of the German city. The role of the motor car and the new low-density suburb are noted. (EJS)