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MARSHALL MCLUHAN DEFINES HIS OWN APPROACH AS 'SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT' INVOLVING A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS CONCERNED WITH THE INNER DYNAMICS OF THE FORM & CONFIGURATION. MCLUHAN'S GENERAL SCHEMA CONCERNS AN HISTORICAL PERIODICITY BUILT ON CULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS EFFECTED BY CHANGES IN COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDING TO SENSORY STRESS. THE PERIODIZATION YIELDS 4 STAGES: (1) A (PRIMITIVE) COOL AUDIBLE TRIBAL CULTURE WITH THE ORAL TECHNOLOGY OF SPEECH, (2) A (PRECAPITALIST) HOT VISUAL CULTURE WITH THE SCRIBAL TECHNOLOGY OF THE PHONETIC ALPHABET, (3) A (CAPITALIST) HOT VISUAL CULTURE WITH THE MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY OF PRINT, & (4) THE CURRENT (MONOPOLY CAPITALIST) COOL AUDIBLE-TACTILE CULTURE WITH THE ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY OF TV & COMPUTER. THE PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT IN MCLUHAN'S THOUGHT CAN BE DISCERNED AS I ('36-'51), II ('52-'58) & III ('59-PRESENT), IN WHICH HE EVOLVES FROM AN ABSTRACT NEGATIVITY TO A COMPLETELY UNCRITICAL POSITIVITY. MCLUHAN DOES NOT CONSIDER COMMUNICATION PRIMARILY AS SR AMONG PEOPLE, BUT AS RELATIONS BETWEEN HUMAN BEINGS & THINGS, & CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THINGS THEMSELVES. MCLUHAN'S TECHNOCRATIC IDEOLOGY TOTALLY EXCLUDES HISTORICAL MOVEMENTS & QUALITATIVE CHANGES WHEN IT EXAMINES FUTURE NEEDS, INTERESTS, VALUES, & GOALS. MCLUHAN FAILS TO RECOGNIZE THAT A PILLAR OF NEOCAPITALIST INTEGRATION IS THE PRODUCTION, MANIPULATION, & APPROPRIATION OF INFORMATION, & THAT THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION IN THE US ARE STRUCTURALLY & ORGANIZATIONALLY HIERARCHICAL CHANNELS FOR DOMINATION & CULTURAL IMPERIALISM. MCLUHAN'S WORK IS PERMEATED BY TECHNOLOGICAL FETISHISM, CYBERNETIC REIFICATION, IDEALIST MATERIALISM, & A TYPE OF SECULAR RELIGIOSITY. A. KARMEN.

The results of this study of the sharing of elements of culture concerned with family life among nuclear family members indicate that members of family statuses share no more with one another than they do with members of their society in general. The highest levels of sharing are found not within statuses but within families. In some family relationships it was found that high levels of sharing develop over time rather than being brought to the relationships from their outset, but this does not seem to be true of all family relationships. Differences in levels of sharing between families in the same society were found to be greater than differences between different societies. The status‐centered model of cultural sharing as currently formulated appears a weak basis for a broader cultural theory because of its failure to account for important elements in cultural distribution not attributable to status membership alone, [cultural differences, culture, family, status, theory]

This study presents the results of an intracultura I test of cross-cultural theory concerning the relationship between mothers' economic responsibilities, child rearing practices, and the development of socialized behavior. The relationship between these variables was examined through behavioral observations and self reports of 44 employed and 56 unemployed Western mothers of 7 and 10 year old girls and boys. Comparisons on the self-reported measures of attitudes toward child rearing showed employed mothers to be more discipline oriented and more generally satisfied with their employment status as assessed by their plans for the future and commitment to work than nonemployed mothers. Comparisons of measures of mothers' game playing behavior with their children showed that employed mothers gave, accepted, and sought information and gave and accepted evaluation in the course of playing the game significantly more frequently than did nonemployed mothers. Except for a significantly more pronounced alternating win-lose pattern in the nonemployed mother-child pairs, mothers' employment status was unrelated to game playing behavior in the children. However, helping behavior involving the experimenter revealed the children of employed mothers to be more helpful than children of the nonemployed mothers. Observed differences between the two groups are interpreted as supportive of an adaptive relationship between mothers' economic responsibilities and child socialization techniques, a finding in accordance with cross-cultural research on this topic.