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Alan Patten's Equal Recognition offers a new and powerful argument to support the 'strong cultural rights thesis'. Unlike other culturalist arguments, his argument is not based on a problematic and essentialist conception of culture but on a particular understanding of liberal neutrality as fair treatment and equal recognition. What justifies the existence of such rights is not culture itself but what culture means for people and the negative consequences it can have for them when they form a cultural minority. Patten's argument, however, faces another challenge: I argue that culture and neutrality cannot be fully reconciled, and that, ultimately, the concept of culture might not be playing any significant role in his argument for minority rights.

The conceptualization of strategic culture, as a relatively new field of
study, is a challenge for contemporary scientific thought. The complexity of
strategic culture factors and their complex interdependence make the process
of its understanding and definition extremely hard and almost elusive.
However, the fact that the concept of strategic culture is accepted and used
in practice indicates the necessity of its study, regardless of
methodological problems and shortcomings connected with the accessibility to
relevant data related to the national security issues. This is precisely the
aim of this paper ? to analyze the main aspects of strategic culture which
affect the national security system. On the one hand, strategic culture has
a long-term impact on the organization and functioning of the national
security system. On the other, it is also an analytical instrument that
anticipates the behavior of international policy actors. It is certain that
state-level decision makers, top management of the security system,
intelligence and security intelligence analysts, and senior military leaders
deal with the strategic culture, consciously or not. These are more than
enough arguments to draw attention of the scientific and professional
audience to strategic culture studies.

"One of Gozo's major assets is its culture. Gozo has its own distinct identity, its special character, its special development potential, and its special interests." I could not think of more appropriate words to close this seminar than this succinct, significant excerpt from the Acting President's address delivered on the 9 July 1987 outlining the Government's policy and programme, when he was inaugurating the sixth Legislature of independent Malta. The history of Gozo goes back thousands of years. Its prehistoric sequence is in line not only with that of Malta, but also with those of Sicily and other areas of Europe and North Africa. Then again with the advent of history, Gozo shared practically the same vicissitudes which the main island of Malta went through. ; N/A

"Edited by Kris Rutten, Stefaan Blancke, and Ronald Soetaert, Perspectives on Science and Culture explores the intersection between scientific understanding and cultural representation from an interdisciplinary perspective. Contributors to the volume analyze representations of science and scientific discourse from the perspectives of rhetorical criticism, comparative cultural studies, narratology, educational studies, discourse analysis, naturalized epistemology, and the cognitive sciences. The main objective of the volume is to explore how particular cognitive predispositions and cultural representations both shape and distort the public debate about scientific controversies, the teaching and learning of science, and the development of science itself

The rise of a youth culture, youth movement and, more recently, a counter‐culture, may be traced to the reaction of student youth in particular against what they consider to be useless academic processing in our societies. Such characteristics as a belief in mutual aid, a spirit of community, and authenticity in interpersonal relationships are advanced to indicate the actual form and style this youthful reaction has assumed. After presenting some reservations concerning the overall worth and effectiveness of such movements within existing societies, the writer optimistically argues that these movements may well result in the rise of a new social order, dramatically different from the present one.

Introduction : critical comparisons / John R. Bowen and Roger Petersen -- National revivals and violence / David D. Laitin -- Mechanisms and structures in comparisons / Roger Petersen -- Comparative methodologies in the analysis of anthropological data / Fredrik Barth -- The role of comparison in the light of the theory of culture / Greg Urban -- Case studies of contemporary job loss / Miriam A. Golden -- Defining the contours of an Islamic reform movement : an essay in successive contrasts / John R. Bowen -- Producing an analytic narrative / Margaret Levi -- Political consciousness on Boa Ventura : 1967 and 1989 compared / Allen Johnson -- Comparisons in the context of a game theoretic argument / Barbara Geddes -- The role of microhistories in comparative studies / John R. Bowen

How does culture articulate, frame, organise and produce stories about social class and class difference? What do these stories tell us about contemporary models of success, failure, struggle and aspiration? How have class-based labels been revived or newly-minted to categorise the insiders and outsiders of the new 'age of austerity'? Drawing on examples from the 1980s to the present day this book investigates the changing landscape of class and reveals how it has become populated by a host of classed figures including Essex Man and Essex Girl, the 'squeezed middle', the 'sharp-elbowed middle class', the 'feral underclass', the 'white working class', the 'undeserving poor', 'selfish baby boomers' and others. Overall, the book argues that social class, although complicated and highly contested, remains a valid and fruitful route into understanding how contemporary British culture articulates social distinction and social difference and the significant costs and investments at stake for all involved.