Cross-cultural Discussions Research Articles

<p>Learning patterns and social-emotional learning of balkan students in secondary education: a cross-cultural discussion</p>

Introduction. In the present study, components related to learning patterns and socio-emotional learning are measured in a sample of adolescents from the Balkan Peninsula in order to understand the relationship between these two constructs. Method. High school students from Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo (N = 240) completed surveys designed to measure learning patterns and social-emotional competencies. Participants responded to a modified version of Vermunt's Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) and the Panorama’s SEL Measures survey. Results. The results show that the responses of high school students in the Balkan peninsula are organized in a three-pattern structure: the first factor is a saturation of the components of the MD and AD patterns; the second factor groups the components of the RD and UD patterns. The third factor is the so-called passive pattern and the result of the combination of several beliefs (conceptions and learning orientations). Moreover, the results suggest that there is an overt connection between learning patterns and social and emotional learning and its interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies. Discussion and Conclusion. The connection between learning patterns and social-emotional learning seems to be relevant for improving future learning strategies and the development of healthier relationships. Moreover, the results suggest that Educational Psychology researchers and educators must understand and work together in the design of learning and teaching models that go beyond the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the General Self-Efficacy Scale in Ugandan Community Health Workers.

Self-efficacy is central to community health workers' capacity and motivation to deliver evidence-based care; thus, validated measures of self-efficacy are needed to assess the effectiveness of community health worker programs. In this study, we culturally adapted and evaluated the General Self-Efficacy Scale among community health workers in Uganda using multiple methods. We adapted the ten-item General Self-Efficacy Scale through cross-cultural discussions within our multidisciplinary research team, translation from English into Luganda and back-translation into English, and six cognitive interviews with community health workers. We administered the adapted scale in a staged, two-part cross-sectional study, including a total of 147 community health workers. Exploratory factor analysis yielded three factors, which we labeled problem-solving, persistence, and resourcefulness. This three-factor solution had good model fit (standardized root mean square residual = 0.07) and explained 53.4% of the variance. We found evidence of convergent validity, as scores for the total scale were positively correlated with years of experience (r = 0.48; p < .001) and perceived social support (r = 0.39, p < .001). Scores were also higher among those with higher educational attainment in one-way analysis of variance and Bonferroni-corrected post hoc tests [F (2,72) = 9.16, p < .001]. We also found evidence of discriminant validity, as scores for the total scale were not correlated with age (r = - 0.07, p = .55), in agreement with literature showing that general self-efficacy is an age-independent construct. The internal consistency of the adapted scale was within the acceptable range for a pilot study (Cronbach's α = 0.61). This evaluation of a Uganda-adapted General Self-Efficacy Scale demonstrated promising psychometric properties; however, larger studies with repeated measures are warranted to further assess the adapted scale's factor structure, validity, reliability, and stability over time.

Emotional labor and employee well-being in cross-cultural contexts: A Disney frontline staff's autoethnography

Current tourism and hospitality research on the topic of the influence mechanism of emotional labor and employee well-being lacks both detailed depiction and cross-cultural discussion. Therefore, based on the first author's overseas working experience at Orlando Walt Disney World, this study applied autoethnography as the research method with longitudinal autoethnographic data over six months recorded. An in-depth analysis of three autoethnography sections in cross-cultural contexts was constructed. Findings suggest that the influence mechanism of emotional labor and employee well-being in cross-cultural contexts is a closed loop with mutual entanglement and triggers continuous changes of each other through the permeation of cultural interactions of the individual in a cross-cultural work scenario. Practical implications are then followed.

The Need for More than Role Relations

This article argues for the necessity of a social group ontology in Confucian ethics. The heart of Confucian ethics is self-cultivation begun in familial relations. Social group categories can disrupt family structures in ways that can only be ignored at a high cost to the well-being of biological family members who do not share the dominant group identities. To make this disruption clear, I will articulate the challenge queer lives pose for classical Confucian self-cultivation. This discussion will give rise to an account of queer chosen kin and its compatibility with the existing Confucian role-relational ontology. The incorporation of social group identities and an account of the sociopolitical constitution of persons is necessary not only for the development of Confucian social and political philosophy, but also for illustrating the significant ways in which Confucianism can shape cross-cultural discussions of ethical self-cultivation.

Formation of Ukrainian-language competence of foreign medical students in the cultural and educational space of a higher education institution

The purpose of teaching Ukrainian to English-speaking medical students is to promote their ability to have professional communication in the Ukrainian language in the cultural and educational space of higher education, as well as during their medical practice. To a large extent, the effectiveness of such communication is stimulated by interdepartmental projects. Based on the analysis, generalization of scientific sources, and educational practice, the article outlines the peculiarities of the formation of Ukrainian-language competence of foreign medical students through involvement in an interdepartmental project on academic culture and information literacy. Terminological analysis, generalization of research, and educational practice gave grounds to clarify the essence of Ukrainian-language competence of a foreign medical student as a professionally important integrative quality of a foreign student’s personality, which allows the applicant to effectively communicate in Ukrainian in the educational and socio-cultural environment. We consider the formation of Ukrainian-language competence of foreign medical students in the cultural and educational space of higher education as a competence-oriented educational process that takes into account, in particular, personality-oriented, communicative, competence approaches and principles of student-centered learning, multifunctionality of the Ukrainian language education, training, and development, as well as intercultural peculiarities, connection with a native language, intercultural dialogue, and personal orientation. The process of effective communicative and pedagogical interaction of foreign students and teachers-mentors in the cultural and educational environment of an institution is stimulated by interdepartmental projects on the formation of the basis of academic culture, integrity, and information literacy. The involvement of English-speaking students of Sumy State University Medical Faculty in research projects provided an opportunity to give practical assistance to the students in developing skills to use good quality information about Ukraine, history, culture, traditions of the city, university, to encourage practical skills of tolerant communication in cross-cultural discussion classes, round tables, during scientific and practical conferences, to promote awareness of moral and ethical values of the medical profession.

Embodied dispositions towards learning: reading students’ embodied practice

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a cross-cultural discussion of three episodes where students’ embodied dispositions serve as indicators of, and barriers to, learning. These episodes are drawn from a longitudinal study into school reform in Asia. Framed around a shared understanding of embodiment within practice approaches, and employing a unique method of translation, each author shares their understandings of embodied practices. In the broader field of practice, where practice is always embodied, the authors draw attention to what students do, and how they employ learned capacities and competences. Each author highlights the importance of observing students’ embodied dispositions as complimentary to contemporary understandings of student learning as solely cognitive. The implication for teachers as keen observers of students’ embodied dispositions is discussed.

LINKING ETHNIC MINORITY ELDERS TO PROGRAMS AND SERVICES: CHALLENGES TO BUILDING NETWORKS

Building networks that are effective in linking older adults to supportive programs and services often involves challenges related to access, eligibility requirements, the elder's ability to understand enrollment processes, and lack of trust in service providers. For ethnic minority elders these challenges are often greater due to additional linguistic and cultural barriers. The four presentations on this panel address challenges to building effective service networks for ethnic minority elders using data derived from focus groups with members of these communities and those tasked with providing their care. The first presentation (Graham and Tseng) examines the Village model, a model designed to empower older adults, and asks why more Latino, African American and Asian elders do not participate. The second paper (Ågård) looks at communication difficulties as a source for understanding the nature of cross-cultural discussions around end of life issues with ethnic minority patients. The third paper (Ajrouch, Janevic, and Antonucci) explores how caregiving programs for Alzheimer’s Disease patients can be modified to better serve Arabic speaking caregivers. The final paper (Ring, Liebman, Glicksman and Rodriguez) uses data collected among Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin) speaking elders to design a conceptual model which describes how ethnic minority and other elderly navigate the Long Term Care Services and Supports network. Our respondent will place these papers within the growing theoretical work on diversity and care support.

Implementasi Toleransi Beragama di Pondok Pesantren (Studi Kasus di Pondok Pesantren Universal Bandung)

The symptoms of religious intolerance in Indonesia began to undermine diversity in Indonesia. The most influential factor in encouraging the occurrence of these symptoms is education. In this case, education that is Islamic in mind is a pesantren. Pesantren is an educational institution that has its own perspective and style of thinking about tolerance. This study aims to determine the constructs of thought and the implementation of religious tolerance implemented in education and activities carried out at Universal Islamic Boarding Schools. This study uses descriptive qualitative research methods using observation, interview, and documentation techniques. The results of the study show that: The construction of thoughts built on religious tolerance is categorized as inclusive thoughts and attitudes in religion, namely thoughts that believe in the existence of truth in other religious beliefs. The foundation of the thought construction is tasamuh, which is a moderate style of Islamic understanding. The concept of religious tolerance is implemented in the policies of Universal Islamic boarding schools through a curriculum of educational activities that reflects education with a multiculturalism-pluralism pattern. This education includes conflict resolution education, Human Rights (HAM), pesantren education for peace. Regarding activities that reflect multiculturalism-pluralism education, namely muhadlarah, pesantren for peace seminars, and cross-cultural discussions with various universities without favoritism.

Kinship and Social Archaeology

Kinship is a most significant organizing principle of human grouping, the basic matter of social categories in archaeological and ethnographic societies, and an important concept universally. However, its significance has rarely been adequately incorporated within archaeology’s theoretical and interpretative practice. This article aims to not only show the potential of bringing kinship into social archaeology, but also argue that archaeology can make important contributions to wider social research. Grounded on prehistoric data, spanning from the 8th to the 4th millennium bc, and drawing on cross-cultural discussions, it explores how understandings and practices of kinship might have been constructed and enacted in the first farming communities through architecture, time, material products, burials, and rituals. In doing so, the article addresses key issues of common interest in archaeology and anthropology, inviting interdisciplinary dialogue.

Supporting cross-cultural online discussion with formal and informal platforms: a case between Hong Kong and Taiwan

The paper reports on a collaborative project on fostering cross-cultural online discussion between two universities with one in Hong Kong and the other in Taiwan. Two online platforms—Moodle as a formal channel for course-related discussion and Facebook as an informal channel for social-oriented interaction—were employed. The study pays special attention to instructional design based on research-derived strategies and reflects on the effects of various strategies as well as students’ experiences and perceptions. The results show that the students perceived the online discussion as valuable for exchanging perspectives and enhancing cross-cultural understanding. However, they were less motivated to use Facebook as the informal channel for socialization. The challenges encountered especially those concerning using Facebook in formal learning environments will be discussed. At the end, the recommendations for better utilizing and bringing together formal and informal online platforms will be suggested.

Cultural hegemony? Educators’ perspectives on facilitating cross-cultural dialogue

BackgroundWe live in an age when education is being internationalized. This can confront students with ‘cultural hegemony’ that can result from the unequal distribution of power and privilege in global society. The name that is given to awareness of social inequality is ‘critical consciousness’. Cross-cultural dialogue provides an opportunity for learners to develop critical consciousness to counter cultural hegemony. The purpose of this research was to understand how learners engage with cross-cultural dialogue, so we can help them do so more effectively in the future.MethodThe setting for this research was an online discussion in an international health professions educator fellowship program. We introduced scenarios with cultural references to study the reaction of participants to cultural conversation cues. We used an inductive thematic analysis to explore power and hegemony issues.ResultsParticipants reflected that personally they were more likely to take part in cross-cultural discussions if they recognized the context discussed or had prior exposure to educational settings with cultural diversity. They identified barriers as lack of skills in facilitating cross-cultural discussions and fear of offending others. They suggested deliberately introducing cultural issues throughout the curriculum.ConclusionOur results indicate that developing critical consciousness and cross-cultural competency will require instructional design to identify longitudinal opportunities to bring up cross-cultural issues, and training facilitators to foster cross-cultural discussions by asking clarifying questions and navigating crucial/sensitive conversations.

Gender, religion, and sociopolitical issues in cross-cultural online education.

Cross-cultural education is thought to develop critical consciousness of how unequal distributions of power and privilege affect people's health. Learners in different sociopolitical settings can join together in developing critical consciousness-awareness of power and privilege dynamics in society-by means of communication technology. The aim of this research was to define strengths and limitations of existing cross-cultural discussions in generating critical consciousness. The setting was the FAIMER international fellowship program for mid-career interdisciplinary health faculty, whose goal is to foster global advancement of health professions education. Fellows take part in participant-led, online, written, task-focused discussions on topics like professionalism, community health, and leadership. We reflexively identified text that brought sociopolitical topics into the online environment during the years 2011 and 2012 and used a discourse analysis toolset to make our content analysis relevant to critical consciousness. While references to participants' cultures and backgrounds were infrequent, narratives of political-, gender-, religion-, and other culture-related topics did emerge. When participants gave accounts of their experiences and exchanged cross-cultural stories, they were more likely to develop ad hoc networks to support one another in facing those issues than explore issues relating to the development of critical consciousness. We suggest that cross-cultural discussions need to be facilitated actively to transform learners' frames of reference, create critical consciousness, and develop cultural competence. Further research is needed into how to provide a safe environment for such learning and provide faculty development for the skills needed to facilitate these exchanges.

Ethics: universal or global? The trends in studies of ethics in the context of globalization

The article discusses how theory and practice in global ethics affect each other. First, the author explores how the study of ethics has changed in the era of globalization and ponders what the role of the field of study of global ethics is in this context. Second, she wants to show how the logical fallacies in widening study field of ethics produce false polarizations between facts and value judgements in social ethics made in various cultural contexts. She further elaborates how these false polarizations prevent constructive cross-cultural and transnational discussions on ethical guidelines and principles that are needed to produce joint action (plans) to deal with serious ethical issues globally and nationally. Finally, the paper argues that in order to find a way to solve our shared complex ethical problems in global context, we need to get back to basics by focusing on the method of ethics, that is, self-critical and logical analysis of sound argumentation and justification of our values and moral principles.

Prague: The Czech Republic's “Dear Little Mother”

photos: logan webb notebook Prague City Profile Cities are like oceans: their ebbs and flows offer glimpses of their depths, providing contrasts between what we know and what they’ve yet to reveal. Similarly, Prague’s staccato bursts of modernism are juxtaposed against its wonderfully intact feudal atmosphere, creating a delicious sense of fluidity between medieval and modern. Often referred to as the city of a thousand spires, Prague’s simultaneously idyllic and austere landscape hosts the Prague Writers’ Festival (www.pwf.cz) each spring. Since its inception in 1991, the festival has sought to bring together the minds of great authors—often Nobel, Pulitzer , and Booker Prize recipients—and readers to encourage cross-cultural discussion. Proposed in the late 1970s, the festival began as a rather small poetry reading in London before relocating to Prague’s Valdštejnský Palác (Wallenstein Palace ), the home of the Czech Senate. How could the Czech Republic’s Golden City not be the perfect location for thousands of literature lovers to convene? From housing numerous royals, to hosting the world premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, to what would have been Adolf Hitler’s home had his efforts been successful, Prague’s rich history is ubiquitous. Prague’s connection to the literary world doesn’t end with the writers’ festival. The city is peppered with literary cafés and antikvariats (used bookstores) stacked high with decades-old volumes. These locales are sure to satisfy even the most insatiable hunger for Czech literature, including, of course, the works of Prague’s most famous son, Franz Kafka, whose influence haunts every obscure alleyway, from cobbled street below to ascetic spire above. One of the most popular you-gotta-be-lost-to-find-it literary haunts is the Tynska Literary Café just beyond Old Town. Concealed in a meandering alley, Tynska’s walled courtyard sits just beneath the twin spires of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn, providing a hidden nook for reading, writing, and drinking. A city of contradiction, Prague is simultaneously warm and stern, soft and severe, no doubt leading Kafka to write, “Prague never lets you go . . . this dear little mother has sharp claws.” Logan Webb is an art student at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. The Czech Republic’s “Dear Little Mother” What to Read at Tynska Caleb Crain, Necessary Errors Myla Goldberg, Time’s Magpie Franz Kafka, The Trial, tr. Breon Mitchell (Schocken Books, 1998) Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, tr. Michael Henry Heim (HarperCollins, 2004) Gustav Meyrink, The Golem, tr. Mike Mitchell (Dedalus, 2011) Jáchym Topol, City Sister Silver, tr. Alex Zucker (Catbird Press, 2000) Logan Webb November–December 2014 • 5 ...

Prague: The Czech Republic's “Dear Little Mother”

photos: logan webb notebook Prague City Profile Cities are like oceans: their ebbs and flows offer glimpses of their depths, providing contrasts between what we know and what they’ve yet to reveal. Similarly, Prague’s staccato bursts of modernism are juxtaposed against its wonderfully intact feudal atmosphere, creating a delicious sense of fluidity between medieval and modern. Often referred to as the city of a thousand spires, Prague’s simultaneously idyllic and austere landscape hosts the Prague Writers’ Festival (www.pwf.cz) each spring. Since its inception in 1991, the festival has sought to bring together the minds of great authors—often Nobel, Pulitzer , and Booker Prize recipients—and readers to encourage cross-cultural discussion. Proposed in the late 1970s, the festival began as a rather small poetry reading in London before relocating to Prague’s Valdštejnský Palác (Wallenstein Palace ), the home of the Czech Senate. How could the Czech Republic’s Golden City not be the perfect location for thousands of literature lovers to convene? From housing numerous royals, to hosting the world premiere of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, to what would have been Adolf Hitler’s home had his efforts been successful, Prague’s rich history is ubiquitous. Prague’s connection to the literary world doesn’t end with the writers’ festival. The city is peppered with literary cafés and antikvariats (used bookstores) stacked high with decades-old volumes. These locales are sure to satisfy even the most insatiable hunger for Czech literature, including, of course, the works of Prague’s most famous son, Franz Kafka, whose influence haunts every obscure alleyway, from cobbled street below to ascetic spire above. One of the most popular you-gotta-be-lost-to-find-it literary haunts is the Tynska Literary Café just beyond Old Town. Concealed in a meandering alley, Tynska’s walled courtyard sits just beneath the twin spires of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn, providing a hidden nook for reading, writing, and drinking. A city of contradiction, Prague is simultaneously warm and stern, soft and severe, no doubt leading Kafka to write, “Prague never lets you go . . . this dear little mother has sharp claws.” Logan Webb is an art student at the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma. The Czech Republic’s “Dear Little Mother” What to Read at Tynska Caleb Crain, Necessary Errors Myla Goldberg, Time’s Magpie Franz Kafka, The Trial, tr. Breon Mitchell (Schocken Books, 1998) Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, tr. Michael Henry Heim (HarperCollins, 2004) Gustav Meyrink, The Golem, tr. Mike Mitchell (Dedalus, 2011) Jáchym Topol, City Sister Silver, tr. Alex Zucker (Catbird Press, 2000) Logan Webb November–December 2014 • 5 ...

Who Blogs? Understanding the Correlation of Personality and Blogging in Cross-Cultural Discussions.

Second language teaching strategies have long evolved with changes in educational technology. In today’s Web 2.0 environment, we strive to ensure students richly participate in computer-mediated communicative (CMC) activities so as to expand students’ target language and/or target culture knowledge. One key element lacking in the literature is the importance of knowing who our students are in relation to what they do in the CMC environment. The Big Five personality inventory has previously helped researchers to identify the association of openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness with social Internet use, particularly highlighting that those who choose to blog are high in extraversion and high in neuroticism. This present study of cross-cultural blogging in a L2 teaching methods course tracked students’ blogging habits and commentary in conjunction with an analysis of their personality types. This mixed-methods study revealed that openness and conscientiousness were the strongest predictors of interaction in CMC cross-cultural discussions. As we engage students in blogging, unveiling the role of personality will help educators to enhance interaction and learning within CMC cultural discussions. Knowing how personality types can impact participation can allow for improved course and activity design and enhance active and engaged conversation to the benefit of all.

Interpersonal and Social Reconciliation: Finding Congruence in African Theological Anthropology

ABSTRACTWestern scholars studying post-conflict truth and reconciliation commissions often presuppose a sharp divide between interpersonal and social forgiveness and reconciliation. This leads some to question and critique commissions that seek to promote forgiveness and reconciliation at both the interpersonal and the social levels. This project contends that the problem these scholars perceive may be based upon a dichotomy between the individual and the community that is absent in communitarian cultures. African theological anthropologies based on the notions of palaver and ubuntu illustrate that the human person is profoundly formed and preserved by the community, which sustains the individual through the promotion of certain ethical standards. In this context, expressions of interpersonal forgiveness and reconciliation have social ramifications. Cross-cultural discussion with African theologians thus re-situates this debate. African theological anthropology demonstrates the congruence among interpersonal and social expressions of forgiveness and reconciliation based in the community's commitment to the common good.

Redistribution in Aegean Palatial Societies. Introduction: Why Redistribution?

This collection of papers explores the role of redistribution in Minoan and Mycenaean economies. The term “redistribution” was coined to describe a particular mode of economic exchange employed in ancient economies, particularly Near Eastern temple economies, and later applied to the Aegean. Recently, the redistributive model has been revised substantially, but these revisions largely have been ignored by Aegean prehistorians. We hope that this Forum will contribute to the ongoing debate about the nature and extent of control exercised by Aegean palatial authorities and to the larger study of ancient economic exchange in archaeology and anthropology.1 The articles in this Forum address the concept of redistribution—as a mode of transaction and as a social institution—in the Aegean. They were presented originally at the 110th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (Philadelphia, 2009) in a colloquium titled “Redistribution in Aegean Palatial Societies.” Nakassis et al. describe and discuss the historical and theoretical origins and implications of the concept of redistribution. Pullen takes a diachronic approach and traces the deeper origins of redistributive practices in the Aegean Bronze Age. Minoan and Mycenaean redistributive practices are explored by Christakis, Lupack, and Schon. We also solicited two additional papers: from Halstead, who has addressed questions of redistribution in the prehistoric Aegean specifically, and from Earle, whose ideas about redistribution have had a major impact both in general and in the Aegean. Their papers critique our ideas and those of the other contributors and suggest avenues for future research and analysis. Both of them note the Aegean’s great potential to contribute to the ongoing study of ancient economies. The states of the Bronze Age Aegean are excellent case studies for building and testing more general anthropological and archaeological models. The rich archaeological record of the Aegean, combined with our detailed understanding of regional variability and chronology, make it an ideal place not only to test existing models—such as redistribution—that have been developed and applied elsewhere, but also to engineer new, more nuanced versions of those models. This Forum is meant to encourage Aegean archaeologists to frame their research more generally, so that it will contribute more widely to cross-cultural discussions of ancient political economies, but to do so requires the application of contemporary economic-anthropological theory. As reviewed in Nakassis et al., the evaluation and application of the idea of redistribution did not begin with Polanyi in 1957 or end with Earle in 1977. Anthropological archaeologists have been busy over the last few decades expanding and refining our understanding of how budding elites may have deployed various redistributive types in their efforts to create and control nascent political economies. Likewise, during the same period, Aegean archaeologists, such as Halstead, and philologists, such as Killen, operating within the framework of redistribution, have worked out with a great degree of clarity how Aegean political economies functioned. By drawing out the more general theoretical strands from specific Aegean data sets, we will be in a position to weave fresh analytical models. The articles by Pullen, Christakis, Lupack, and Schon show the fruits of such an effort. The articles included in this Forum approach the issue of redistribution within the Aegean Bronze Age from several different perspectives and deal with different temporal and geographic contexts. In inviting Pullen to participate, we sought to address the possible Early Bronze Age origins of later Bronze Age palatial systems of redistribution. Pullen concludes that there

Brid Feathersone. CONTEMPORARY FATHERING: THEORY, POLICY, AND PRACTICE

Brid Feathersone. CONTEMPORARY FATHERING: THEORY, POLICY, AND PRACTICE. Portland, OR: The Policy Press, 2009, 224 pp. ISBN 978-1-86134-987-3, $34.95 paperback.In her book Contemporary Fathering: Theory, Policy, and Practice, Brid Featherstone attempts the ambitious task of bringing together literature from multiple disciplines, multiple cultures/countries, and multiple theoretical perspectives to create a comprehensive picture of fathering knowledge, policies, and practice. The book highlights numerous important issues, trends, strengths, and weaknesses in the field of fathering; however, the organization of the book is difficult to follow at times and cross-cultural discussions are brief, both of which unfortunately detract from the book's overall readability and utility.The first few chapters set the stage with a comprehensive discussion of fathering; current and historical contexts of fathering research, practice, and policy are introduced. The author provides a useful summary of current and historical policies and practice and the evolution of our knowledge regarding various aspects of fathers, fatherhood, and fathering (aptly distinguished as being separate entities). Also introduced are the conflicts and similarities among men and masculinities scholars, feminists, fathering scholars, and fathers' rights groups, and the challenges these produce when attempting to understand and best serve fathers. Featherstone first discusses the contemporary context and then historical perspectives regarding fathering, which feels a bit out of order and starts a trend found throughout the rest of the book-namely, extensively cross-referencing of earlier and later chapters. Although this is understandable in the first chapter (and perhaps the other two initial foundational chapters), this practice continues throughout the book and makes the overall storyline difficult to follow.Chapters four, five, and six focus on three key theoretical/disciplinary approaches to the study of fathers: psychoanalysis, psychology, and sociology. These chapters present important historical and disciplinary trends in the study and societal/political views of fathers. However, significant overlap between the fields themselves and between these chapters and discussion in later chapters of policies and programs relating to fathers make the discussions difficult to follow at times.Chapter seven returns to a political discussion of contemporary views of fathering, focusing heavily Qn fathers' rights groups and fathering organizations (primarily in the UK, but there are brief mentions of organizations and groups in other countries). The book would have benefited from a more culturally diverse discussion, as the current brief references to other countries leave the reader with more questions than answers. …

Integrating Aging into Anthropology Curricula

No matter their subfield or specialization, anthropologists are well prepared to help students understand human aging. Many demur that they don’t know enough about aging to teach about it, but the disciplinary foundation is already securely in place. Ethnographers have long relied on oral histories and cultural knowledge shared with them by older people, regardless of whether or not aging is the focus of a particular study. In research and in teaching, anthropologists are careful to highlight shifts in kinship, residence, employment patterns and perceptions of mental and physical well-being. Positioning elders in these dynamic processes is important because changes in the lives of older people can be bellwether indicators of larger, intergenerational shifts in cultural and economic circumstances. Consider, for example, a New York Times frontpage feature on social isolation among older immigrants, identified as “America’s fastest-growing immigrant group” (“Invisible Immigrants, Old and Left with ‘Nobody to Talk to’” October 31, 2009). Whether one’s course is a graduate seminar in linguistics, a class in biological anthropology, or a four-field undergraduate survey, this article is replete with examples for discussion and analysis. The web version offers links to the Muslim Support Network, Center for Health Policy Research, Migration Policy Center and a number of research scholars. These electronic contacts that can help students to contextualize the small, California-based “100 Years Living Club” that Patricia Leigh Brown reports on in this article within larger regional, national and global frames. Anthropological approaches to aging reveal rich sources of ethnographic data and also enhance students’ preparation for conducting field research, writing ethnographies and contributing to the development of anthropological theory. Until now, however, the anthropology of aging has been largely overlooked as a source for illustrating and theorizing about the full range of human cultural and biological experience. Often restricted to special-topic courses, emphasis on aging and the life course has been segregated from core curricula the way full attention to constructions of race and gender once was, and with similar distorting consequences. Aging can be an uncomfortable subject, and one solution is to relegate it to elective status where it can be passively supported but safely left to the “experts.” The curricular impact is that a majority of students are denied the opportunity to explore the meanings of a universal but culturally variable biological experience within an anthropological paradigm. One might assume that traditional college-age students would be resistant to course material on aging, finding little of interest in, say, changing relations among Japanese mothers and daughters-in-law or explanations for dementia among people with very different worldviews. I have found instead that young adults can be particularly open and receptive to cross-cultural discussions of family life in old age, widowhood, frailty and practices surrounding death and bereavement. Students have many unanswered questions—some painfully personal and familial— born of silences around most aspects of social and biological aging in US society at-large. Just as knowledge of racialized, gendered and class identities is now recognized as vital for developing critical theoretical approaches to understanding structured inequality, awareness of how aging is culturally constructed promotes a more fully situated understanding of opportunities, exclusions and agency at all stages of the life course. Tracking new expectations about the roles of elders as workers, consumers, care-