In recent years, far from arguing that evolutionary approaches to our own species permit us to describe the fundamental character of human nature, a prominent group of cultural evolutionary theorists has instead argued that the very idea of 'human nature' is one we should reject. It makes no sense, they argue, to speak of human nature in opposition to human culture. The very same sceptical argu...

The past inflexibility of international banks in granting concessions (like elimination of surcharges, partial debt cancellations, lower interest rates, etc.) is linked by Ortiz to case-by-case strategy adopted in debt renegotiations. Within this context, the fear of setting precedents is seen as a major explanation in the banks' negotiating stance. To renew political commitment to the improvem...

Crosscultural studies of cognitive development preceded studies of cultural leaming. The former studies made an implicit assumption that culture is external whereas development is internal. Bruner’s cultural psychology (1990) and Tomasello, Kruger, and Ratner’s cultural learning (1993) assume, by contrast, that culture is inside the individual, that human beings are intrinsically social and pri...

The purpose of this study was to determine the constitution of the development model for cultural centers studied in Mazandaran Province. The basic elements of the eight developmental patterns for youth cultural centers in Mazandaran province which include religion, employment, national education, research, health, technology and communication show that the fundamental components of eight devel...

Increasing localisation represents one of the most spectacular processes of the economies that develop and transform as a result of globalisation processes: while the (relative) importance of national economies is decreasing, the economic role of regions and cities seems to grow. Global competition has intensified also in space, especially with the growing importance of the knowledge-based econ...

Rural communities face significant challenges regarding the adequate availability of diagnostic-, treatment-, and support-services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Specifically, a variety of factors, including geographic distance between families and service providers, low reliance on health care professionals, and cultural characteristics, contribute to the diminished avail...

Despite constant post-war efforts to decipher the development process, it appears that little practical progress has been made. Many theories have been proposed (some leading directly to policy), but very few developing countries have succeeded in breaking the bonds of underdevelopment. Social theorists from Karl Marx to Daniel Bell have argued that economic development brings pervasive cultura...

In this paper we intend to show how the challenges of managing a Business Process Reengineering (BPR) project are consistent with the ones of a Systems Development project. As traditional management techniques were no longer appropriate in the changing business environment, companies employed BPR to achieve elevated business performance. Similarly, as traditional systems development approaches ...