The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning "to cultivate", generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity. Anthropologists most commonly use the term "culture" to refer to the universal human capacity to classify, codify and communicate their experiences symbolically. This capacity is long been taken as a defining feature of the genus Homo. However, primatologists such as Jane Goodall have identified aspects of culture among our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.Goodall, J. 1986. The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior.

Defining "culture"

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Sify.com News

Dutch doc pinpoints why Stradivarius sound so good
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:45:50 +0530
An innovative Dutch doctor has scanned the premium Stradivarius violins for wood density in a bid to find why they are so matchlessly melodious.
Tiny natural computer helps worms find food
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:40:12 +0530
Scientists have identified the mechanism by which animals are propelled toward food, and compare it to "a tiny, specialised computer."
Samajwadi Party to declare support tomorrow
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:18:05 +0530
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is scheduled to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi around tomorrow noon and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the day and is expected to offer his party's support to the embattled government, Congress sources said on Thursday.
UNPA keeps Congress waiting over N-deal
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:55:04 +0530
A coalition of regional parties including the Samajwadi Party on Thursday raised "doubts" on the India-US nuclear deal and sought a national debate on the issue, dealing a blow to the Congress-led government's bid to stay afloat in the wake of an imminent withdrawal of support by the Left.
The woman who wrote ‘Mamma Mia’
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:34:51 +0530
London: Ten years ago she was drowning under a big pile of unpaid bills, but as the Millennium drew towards a close, Catherine Johnson’s life took a U-turn, and she landed the job of putting together the story for the Abba musical Mamma Mia.
A K Antony is a bit of a miser: Book
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:38:22 +0530
He is widely known for his simplicity, but India's Defence Minister A K Antony is also a bit of a miser and a stickler for rules, suggests a book of funny anecdotes penned by a Kerala legislator.

India-The Times of India

Congress, SP to hold summit today
SP leaders Mulayam and Amar Singh will meet Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh today for a summit that is expected to help seal the "deal over the deal".
Govt, experts spar over water stats
The Central Water Commission estimates the utilizable water resource at 1,110 billion cubic metres (BCM) but the independent scientists claim it is only 668 BCM.
A month in office, development is all Yeddyurappa talks about
CM B S Yeddyurappa already sounds uncannily like his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, stressing on nothing other than development as his high priority agenda for the state.
Jet blast blows away shop roofs in Mumbai
Within a fortnight of a person dying at Jari-Mari slums after a wall caved in allegedly due to a jet blast from an aircraft, a similar incident occurred on Wednesday night.
India signs $210-million AWACS deal with Brazil
The deal signed on Thursday comes nine years after DRDO's technology demonstrator HS-748 Avro, a test platform with an airborne early warning system, crashed in Tamil Nadu.
Shillong gets country's seventh IIM
The ace business school of the country - Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management - will be formally inaugurated by Meghalaya Chief Minister Donkupar Roy.

Hindustan Times News Feeds 'India'

Chacha’s milk shake parlour, the lifeline of North Campus
It is not just another milk shake parlour, it's the soul of hostellers of North Campus. This outlet came up at a time when drinking a glass of milk was a luxury for them, reports Karan Choudhury.
For DU students, it’s all about roti, kapda and iPods
Most of them may not be earning yet, but the average DU student is certainly not content with just food, clothing and affordable lodging. Like the youth everywhere, they too share a taste for the good life, reports Harsha Baruah.
IP college in legal row over principal’s post
The appointment of a new candidate to the post, which has remained vacant since Aruna Sitesh's death in November 2007, has been stalled by an interim order issued by the High Court, reports Ritika Chopra.
G Noida locals ask students to furnish good conduct bonds
Residents of Greater Noida have asked students to get their verification done by colleges and furnish good conduct bonds if they want rented accommodation. Students feel the move is unjustified, reports Kapil Datta.
Faridabad good city to live in, says credit rating report
According to the latest draft credit ratings by the government, civic amenities in Faridabad are far better than some bigger cities like Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Amritsar, Haridwar and Shimla, reports Moushumi Das Gupta.
Act to regulate paramedics in city hospitals soon
In the run up to the Commonwealth Games, the city is set to get a council for accrediting paramedics and is in the process of evolving a Paramedical Council Act, reports Anuradha Mukherjee.

The Indian Express

Mentha mints no money in parched Bundelkhand
Uttar Pradesh Government's idea to introduce mentha (mint) -one of the most popular cash crops among farmers these...
SP deals Kalam trump card
To give its political decision of supporting the UPA the stamp of "national-interest" legitimacy, the Samajwadi Party today armed itself with a ringing endorsement of the Indo-US nuclear deal...
Hell hath no fury
Over the past few weeks, a group united under the banner of the 'Just Say No Deal' has been feted on American cable...
Shy and mighty: At 39, there's still no stopping Sanath
Sanath Jayasuriya is 39 and not yet doing all those things that cricketers look down upon while playing.
Left to ask Govt when it plans to go to IAEA
With the Government so far only giving "indications" about its intent to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal...
MTN deal: RIL redials RCOM on first right of refusal
With just five days left for Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications Ltd to strike a deal with South...

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