This paper contains the narrative for a slide presentation on the architecture of India. Through the narration, the geography and climate of the country and the social conditions of the Indian people are discussed. Roofs and windows are adapted for the hot, rainy climate, while the availability of building materials ranges from palm leaves to mud…

This paper is a study in language acculturation with special reference to the Indianization of the English language. It briefly traces the history of the diffusion of bilingualism in English on the culturally and linguistically pluralistic Indian subcontinent. The functional roles of English are discussed and the formal influences of Indian…

Investigates (1) the relationships between cognitive performance and cognitive styles and predictive possibilities and (2) performance differences by sex, school, grade, and income in 92 Indian adolescents. Assessment measures included Liquid Conservation, Islands, Goat-Lion, Hanoi-Tower, Rabbits (Piagetian); Block Design (WISC-R); Paper Cutting…

Explores sex differences and life span patterns in interpersonal relationships in people (N=62) from the United States and India. Found females, especially between ages 19 and 31, mentioned a higher number of relationships. American subjects mentioned parents and immediate family most often, while subjects from India mentioned extended kin.…

Observed Hindi-speaking Indian caregivers and their children to examine how caregivers use language to create diverse conceptions of personhood. Distributional analyses examined the proportion of person references and class-based patterns of co-occurrence between particular social acts and person references. Discussion explored ways in which…

Childcare practices such as feeding, toilet training, sleeping arrangement and discipline in three Asian countries (China, Japan, and India) are compared. These countries differ from each other in culture, religion, language and ethnic makeup from Euro-American culture. The differences in childcare practices are broadly related to the differences…

Two studies examined people's ideas about conflicts between the morality of friendship and the morality of individual autonomy. Study 1 included 144 subjects of 15, 18, and 21 years of age. In individual interviews, subjects were asked (1) what they would do in dilemmas in which friendship expectations conflicted with individual autonomy; (2) the…

A literacy project in the eastern hill ranges of India is reported, based on 20 years of involvement, at the beginning of which the tribal language, Adivasi Oriya, was not yet a written language. The literacy rate among tribals in the agricultural community is about 10%. Researchers studied the tribal language, gave it an alphabet, adapted the…

The five papers in this collection on art and music environments in developing countries were presented at the 1984 IFLA general conference. (1) In "Developing an Art for Life's Sake," Gavin Jantjes, a black South African artist currently living and working in the United Kingdom, offers personal viewpoints on issues relating to the art…

Students' alternative conceptions arise out of an interconnected system of beliefs: about the nature of science, of learning, of the natural and social world. Cross-cultural perspectives on these world views are therefore essential. This study probed middle school students' conceptions about plants. Tribal students were found to have a richer and…

This paper examines the cultural traditions of South Asia, especially India and Pakistan, regarding the education of children with special needs. This valuable cultural heritage has been largely ignored in the inflow of western educational ideas and the professionalization of special education, especially in the late 19th century. Improved…

This paper examines the role of the state in the context of globalization. Taking up the specific case of Indian software engineers and their migration to the USA, the authors show the involvement of the Indian state and the US at different levels. The growth of the IT labour sector was based on changes in the higher education policy of the Indian…

Immigrants from India are a growing population in the United States. According to Census Bureau data, nearly 1.7 million Asian Indians live in the United States, making them the third largest Asian population in the country (Reeves & Bennett 2004). Most Asian Indians who live in the United States hold a unique set of ideologies with respect to…

This essay on cultural change is intended to provide background reading material for teachers using "The Changing World Today" or "Cultural Change in Mexico and the United States," two textbooks from the Anthropology Curriculum Project. The essay can also be used, however, as a high school semester course in anthropology or as…

This article addresses the contextual background of India's Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and examines why the ICDS policy does not refer to individuals with special needs. It concludes that exclusion has been deeply rooted within the socio-political system. Policy shifts promoting sustainable strategies of inclusion are explored.…