This paper examines the merit of two propositions at the center of the debate on gun control in the aftermath of mass shootings in the United States: (1) gun violence and mass shootings are a cultural artifact (gun enthusiast perspective); (2) gun violence and mass shootings are more prevalent due to lax regulations (pro-gun control perspective). To evaluate the value of each proposition, the s...

The acquisition of cultural beliefs and practices is fundamental to human societies. The psychological and neural mechanisms underlying cultural acquisition, however, are not well understood. Here we used brain imaging to investigate how others’ physical and sociocultural attributes may influence imitative learning, a critical component of cultural acquisition. While undergoing fMRI, 17 Europea...

The acquisition of cultural beliefs and practices is fundamental to human societies. The psychological and neural mechanisms underlying cultural acquisition, however, are not well understood. Here we used brain imaging to investigate how others’ physical and sociocultural attributes may influence imitative learning, a critical component of cultural acquisition. While undergoing fMRI, 17 Europea...

As a general phrase, “cultural competence” can often conjure for the unfamiliar reader a vision of a person who is fair, just, and open, a person who is nice, someone who is a good person at heart. Cultural competence, however, goes far beyond the everyday meanings that its component words invoke, and it is an active area of scholarship and professional development, especially in the training o...

HIV/AIDS prevention messages catered to Anglo homosexual/bisexual men are not effective in teaching preventative behaviors to Hispanic homosexual/bisexual men. Hispanic sociocultural traits associated with homosexuality and bisexuality prevent the effectiveness of these messages. The Hispanic family is also extremely important in influencing behaviors. Successful HIV prevention messages geared ...

Encouraged by the results of my own field research in the village of Donja Kupčina and the insight into the preserved ethnographic material in the Museum of Donja Kupčina founded in 1973, in this text I will in an analytical manner try to explore the presence of the feeling of cultural and regional identity among the inhabitants of Donja Kupčina. I will discuss the preservation of cultural and ...

The papers in this special issue of Human Biology, which derive from a conference sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Center for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, lay some of the foundations for an empirical macroevolutionary analysis of cultural dynamics. Our premise here is that cultural dynamics-including the stability of traditions and the rate of origination of ...

OBJECTIVE The Girls health Enrichment Multi-site Studies (GEMS), Phase 1, developed and pilot-tested interventions to prevent obesity in African-American preadolescent girls. This article describes the collaborative planning process undertaken to take full advantage of formative assessment activities for improving contextual relevance and cultural appropriateness. DESIGN Working group activit...

this paper reports on a behavioral study that explores the role of culture and gender in the recognition of emotional speech in an under investigated cultural context (a collectivist society: i.e., iran). participants were asked to recognize the emotional prosody of a set of validated emotional vocal portrayals (including the five basic emotions). findings of the experiment were then compared w...

the present paper aims for the most part to prove the fact that religious and spiritual places and above all, mosques play major roles within islamic urban areas. they are in fact the basis of civil infrastructures. a historical analysis focusing on where mosques stand in islamic urban areas reveals that mosques have always been the center of development and growth and that they must be studied...