Explores problems concerning operation of Chinese libraries from 1949 to present, discussing library services in four periods--1949-57, 1958-65, 1966-76, and 1976-81--to illustrate how development of Chinese libraries has been affected by political, economic, and cultural conditions. A brief chronological context and 72 references are included.…

Discusses the problems of Sephardic Jews, before and after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Explains that, although some converted to Christianity, they remained targets of discrimination in Spain. Explores the Sephardic influence upon other Jewish communities across the Mediterranean. Describes the Sephardic role in Columbus' voyages. (SG)

Noting that in the Europe of 1500 few people could read and write but that by 1800 the era of mass literacy had arrived, this book documents that momentous critical change and its implications. Using as a base a wide-range analytical survey, the book explores the place of literacy and education in social structures and social change in Europe…

Judged by its results, the current system for educating African American students in mathematics is a distinct failure. For years, educators either ignored this problem or simply blamed the failure of the system on its victims. In 1984 the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education drew national attention to the problem by devoting an entire…

Despite exclusion from the mainstream of society in the late 1800s and the early part of this century, Chinese American youth in the Los Angeles (California) area adopted the sports of this country. Chinese American baseball and basketball teams competed with each other and with teams from the Japanese American community. Football was also played…

Napoleon Bonaparte had both a personal and national interest in books, and he exerted a tremendous influence on the country's libraries during his 16 years as leader of France. In addition to collecting books for his personal libraries (including a traveling library that he took with him on his campaigns), he instituted an accelerated program for…

Library development in colonial tropical Africa was closely tied with economic potentiality. Thus, in Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, libraries were established as agents of economic exploitation (agricultural, mineral), agents of political education, and instruments for cultural diffusion. "Public" libraries were also used…

Discusses the history of Blacks in the United States since their importation as slaves beginning in the fifteenth century. Underscores the great impact the Black presence has had, and continues to have, on the cultural, biological, political, and economic development of the United States. (MK)

Discusses the factors that led to the rise of the Arabic-Islamic libraries during the seventh through fourteenth centuries. The most famous libraries are identified, the management and organization of these libraries are described, and the factors behind the destruction of the Arabic-Islamic libraries are discussed. (30 references) (CLB)

Offers a critical reinterpretation of the development of Finnish popular adult education from 1890 to 1939, a period marked by great turbulence. Breaks with traditional analyses by presenting a sociohistorical contextualization of the conceptual relations expressed in ideological discourses and cultural practices associated with popular adult…

Icelanders are a highly literate people, their culture tied together by perhaps the most complete written tradition of any modern nation. No wonder, then, that the tiny island country seemed in no rush to develop a television broadcasting system. Indeed, it is questionable whether television would have been in demand at all if not for outside…

An overview of libraries in developing nations examines in general terms their historical development during their colonial and post-independence periods and discusses the more salient factors affecting development. These factors include language, distribution of population, topography, poor communication, level of formal education, illiteracy,…

The perception and organization of time are basic to the internal ordering of culture. This article demonstrates that the Akan observe precise time structures although these are largely unrecorded. Their time related institutions form a coherent system that orders life, but they are very different from those in Western perceptions. (Author/VM)

Traces Portuguese colonial influences on Nigerian adult education, linking them to the broader dimensions of Nigerian culture. (CH)

A historical view of changes in participation of women in mathematics education shows that more females are enrolled in mathematics and science courses now than 10 years ago. Cultural attitudes appear to be changing but still have influence. A current problem lies in computer education, which is now dominated by men. (DF)