The Middle East encompasses five ecological domains: (1) the humid highlands and their intermontane valleys, where rainfed farming was begun and permanent settlements were first established; (2) the semi-arid steppes, where the lesser amount and instability of rainfall made rainfed farming marginal but still provided vegetative resources that could be utilized by semi-nomadic pastoralists; (3) ...

"Smoking is a powerful re-inforcement for the trance-inducing rituals associated with gambling."

The Latino population is the fastest-growing population in the United States. This rapid growth has resulted in an increased need for culturally sensitive health and education services, especially at end of life. Terminal illness experiences, beliefs, and expectations are linked to cultural values. Latino culture values end of life and is rich in beliefs, traditions, and rituals related to this...

By the early twentieth century, Britain and all of its Atlantic colonies prohibited the “pretended” use of supernatural powers or rituals such as fortunetelling, obeah, sorcery, and witchcraft. Legislators and others policymakers throughout the Anglophone Atlantic justified these proscriptions using similar narratives; they described occult practitioners as charlatans and vagabonds. Metropolita...

BACKGROUND Quality end-of-life care depends on understanding patients' end-of-life choices. Individuals and cultures may hold end-of-life priorities at different hierarchy. Forced ranking rather than independent rating, and by-person factor analysis rather than averaging may reveal otherwise masked typologies. METHODS We explored Saudi males' forced-ranked, end-of-life priorities and dis-prio...