China has been undergoing great social change due to its new focus on urbanization and globalization. Such change has had a tremendous adverse impact on the living conditions of millions of young children, simultaneously generating new interest in children's creativity development. The intersection of these two issues has important implications…

One joy of studying history is discovering people living meaningful lives and behaving in unusual ways that are startling to the modern reader--young or old. Why did pre-modern people living hundreds or even thousands of years ago do things so differently than we do? Robert Whaples states that Economic historians conclude that the key difference…

In June and July 2004, the Institute for Comprehensive Social Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Russian Federation office of the F. Ebert Foundation, carried out a repeat survey on the topic of "Citizens of the New Russia: How Do They Feel about Themselves, and What Society Would They Like to Live…

We evaluate the effects of marital resources and early-life experiences on recent domestic violence and attitudes about wife abuse among 2,074 married Cambodian women. Household standard of living was negatively associated with physical domestic violence. Women with 8-13 fewer years of schooling than their husbands more often experienced physical…

Giving the history of the Indians of Quebec and the maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Prince Edward Island), this document covers the period from the arrival of European explorers in the New World to 1967. Reviewing the history of these Indians, sections are devoted to (1) colonization of Acadia, (2) colonization of Quebec, (3)…

This paper focuses on the situation of immigrant workers and their families in the Federal Republic of Germany. It discusses the social conditions in which they live and the social policies and programs instigated by the German government in response. (Author/AM)

The role of the Navajo in development of the Southwest and the effects of southwestern development on the life of the Navajo are depicted. Some 91 pages of facts are pieced together from archaeological and linguistic research, from chronicles of Spanish conquistadores and their successors (or historical writings based on these documents), and from…

A historical overview of events through which regional research has evolved among rural sociologists in the South is presented in this report. The report is divided into 3 sections. The first section, an introduction, contains 2 articles. The first discusses the general climate of rural sociology activity during the first half of the 20th century.…

Describes the United States as a growth-oriented, high-technology, high-consumption society where a growing sense of environmental responsibility and activism has usually taken an adversary relationship, often necessarily, towards such progress. Examines the historic roots that environmental protection and a consumer society have in common.…

THE HISTORY OF PUERTO RICO SHOWS THAT THE LAST 20 YEARS OF PLANNED PROGRESS UNDER ITS FREE POLITICAL STATUS HAVE PRODUCED INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL REFORMS WHICH HAVE BROUGHT A HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING TO THE RURAL AREAS. THESE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE CREATED A DESIRE FOR THE URBAN WAY OF LIFE WHICH HAS RESULTED IN AN EXODUS OF RURAL YOUTH. THIS…

The history of the settlement of the Cumberland Plateau region of Kentucky is presented by a resident of that area whose ancestors were among the early settlers. The disintegration caused by the Civil War and the mountain feuds started during the Reconstruction period is discussed. Mismanagement of natural resources, especially coal and timber,…

The history of the conquest and dispossession of the Nez Perce Indians of the American Northwest by invaders from the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805 to the present is related. Their general culture is described including religious practices, eating habits, methods of acquiring food, construction of homes, and music. Characteristics…

A comprehensive view of agriculture is presented in this volume written to aid critical re-examination of long-range agricultural policy. Farm people, rural institutions and services, rural towns, the spatial organization of agriculture, and its capital structure, in addition to the usual subjects of agricultural output, demand, trade, price, and…

This handbook is one of a series prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of The American University as a convenient compilation of basic fact for American military and other personnel overseas. It deals with the political, social, economic, and military developments since 1959, which have contributed to Afghanistan's continuing national stability…

This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about the social, economic, political and military institutions and practices of various countries. This particular handbook…