The research project on which this volume reports was conceived with two main aims in mind. The first and most immediate aim was to extend our knowledge of the social stratification of cultural consumption, and to do so in a cross-national perspective. In this regard, we obviously looked to build on previous research in this area, which has in fact been steadily growing in volume over recent de...

Maternal placentophagy, the consumption of the placenta or "afterbirth" by the mother following parturition, is an ubiquitous behavior among eutherian mammals, including non-human primates. Here we report on a cross-cultural survey of 179 human societies regarding the consumption, treatment, and disposal of human placenta, in addition to accompanying cultural beliefs and perceptions about the o...

This paper describes a research project that we have recently completed on the social stratification of cultural consumption, and then aims to present our main findings and to bring out their implications for certain aspects of public policy in relation to the arts. Our research is relevant in particular to policy issues that arise in regard to access to, and participation in, cultural activiti...

This paper describes how one research team uses a variety of qualitative, cultural anthropological research techniques and qualitative survey research techniques to better understand the characteristics of young people who drink and do not drink alcohol. The team used qualitative methods of cultural anthropology for initial small-group studies of three mental constructs known to predict behavio...

BACKGROUND The key mechanisms underlying socioeconomic inequalities in dietary intake are still poorly understood, hampering the development of interventions. An important, but sparsely mentioned mechanism is that of 'social distinction', whereby those in a higher socioeconomic position adopt dietary patterns by which they can distinguish themselves from lower socioeconomic groups. We investiga...

Consumption is very important in the modern society and cultural consumption is based on industrial societies. Mass media and propogation has a significant role in modern society. In the research, the variables such as family, independent, physical and psychological health are among the cultural capital. The survey method was used here for the study. 400 female students were chosen randomly and...

life style has three dimensions: behavioral, attitudinal, and motivational. the current study aims to investigate life style of young in mashhad from behavioral aspect based on eight factors including cultural consumption, body management, political behavior, derivative behavior, make up tendency, cloths consumption, food consumption, and religiosity. the sample of the current study includes 40...