Recent directions in ethnographic study of classroom interaction are surveyed for the help they can give to an analysis of classroom language and conversation. Many studies emphasize that children's responses to school tasks are directly influenced by values learned at home and that these factors add to the complexity of communication in the…

This paper considers a distinction frequently used in sociolinguistics and ethnography of speaking to describe speech events: their formality or informality. Three principle meanings of "formality" found in the literature concern whether the formality relates to properties of a communicative code, properties of the social setting in…

The problem of language in Quebec today is not unique. All over the world, the problem of language comes up as a result of the organization of life in society. It is useful, therefore, to examine the role language has played in the evolution of societies from tribes to nations. In this way, the similarities and differences between the situation in…

A comparative case study of education and work programs was conducted from an anthropological frame of reference to determine how each sets up a program culture for learners to achieve program goals. Three variables structured into the original research design of the project were (1) the length of the program; (2) the type of community served, and…

USING NEW MEXICO AS A BASIS TO TRACE THE SPANISH-AMERICAN AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE, THE AUTHOR STATES THAT ANY STIGMA PLACED ON THE LATTER GROUP IS ONE OF CLASS DISTINCTION. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT ACCULTURATION AND ASSIMILATION OF BOTH GROUPS INTO THE ANGLO-AMERICAN SOCIETY IS PROCEEDING STEADILY, AND THAT THE WORLD WARS AND THE KOREAN…

OVER THE ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF ITS HISTORY, THE YIDDISH LANGUAGE HAS BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE HISTORY, CULTURE, AND SOCIAL LIFE OF ASHKENAZIC JEWRY. DURING PERIODS OF ASCENDANCY IT WAS THE SPOKEN VERNACULAR, THE IDIOM OF ENTERTAINMENT LITERATURE, AND THE LANGUAGE OF POPULAR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. THE PERIOD 1861-1914 SAW THE DEVELOPMENT IN…

Beginning with an overview of the Spanish conquest and resulting rule, this handbook chronicles the history of Puerto Rico with specific attention devoted to the social and economic influences of contact with both Spain and the United States. Topics of particular relevance include a geographical overview of the land and its influence on the Puerto…

A study was conducted to compare the validity of two theories of interpersonal communication: (1) uncertainty reduction theory, based on the assumption that communication consists of attempts to reach a cognitive state of balance, and (2) coordinated management of meaning theory (CMM), based on the assumption that persons attempt to create a…

Reports are made of a meeting of ten Asian representatives to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at the Regional Office for Education in Asia and Oceania, in Bangkok in the fall of 1978. It was the responsibility of this group to explore the following topics: (1) To study and analyze the experiences of…

North America and Europe are being transformed into a society of elders primarily due to improvements in medical technology and the reduction in the birth rate. Traditional life constructs are no longer valid. The futurist must begin to explore new systems which provide a viable synergistic relationship among education, work, and leisure.…

The paper suggests that culturally determined patterns of perception should be related to Fritz Heider's attribution theory in order to understand differences of perception in male-female interaction. The first section explains Heider's theory as a complex process in which past experiences with the person or act may influence perceptions. For…

This report calls attention to those areas of research on aging in the behavioral and social sciences that have promise for both short-run and long-term. It looks at the societal context for aging, at processes of aging in the individual, and, finally, at the older person in the context of various social institutions. The societal context examines…

IT HAS BEEN HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE ADOPTION OF THE LINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUBCULTURE OTHER THAN A CHILD'S OWN IS A VALID INDICATION OF THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE CHILD HAS BECOME SOCIALIZED INTO THAT SUBCULTURE. TO EXAMINE THIS HYPOTHESIS, RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED (1) TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LINGUISTIC HABITS AND ATTITUDE…

The project was designed to follow up a specific population of young men from 11 rural counties in eastern Kentucky, who at the time of the study in 1960 had been out of the eighth grade for 10 years. The sample consisted of 307 men taken from eighth grade enrollment lists for the school year 1949-50. The purpose of the study was to investigate…

Any comic strip artist deals in stereotypes. The history of two black comic strips begun in the 1920s, "Bungleton Green" and "Sunny Boy Sam," both of which featured anti-heroes in the "fall guy" tradition, may be traced to show the way in which they portrayed black stereotypes. Black strips engaged in a degree of stereotyping of white characters…