Maldives Bibliography - linguistics

A bibliography of Maldives Linguistic publications:

Bell, H.C.P. 1919. “Appendices.” W. Geiger, Maldivian Linguistic Studies, Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 27 (extra number), edited by H.C.P Bell. Reprinted in 1986. Male, Maldives: National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research

Bell, H.C.P. 1922-35. “Excerpta Maldiviana.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Ceylon Branch, 29.75: 99-104, 29.76: 194-214, 29.77: 283-303, 30.78: 132-42, 30.79: 257-70, 30.80: 436-47, 31.81: 180-95, 31.82: 400-15, 31.83: 539-78, 32.84: 76-123, 32.85: 226-42, 32.86: 372-87, 33.87: 47-90. 33.88: 169-91. Reprinted as one volume in 1998. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. Page references are to reprint edition

Bell, H.C.P. 1940. The Maldive Islands: Monograph on the History, Archaeology, and Epigraphy. Colombo: Ceylon Government Press. Reprinted in 1985. Male, Maldives: National Centre
for Linguistic and Historical Research

Cain, Bruce. 1995. “Maldivian prototypical passives and related constructions.” Anthropological Linguistics 37: 524-40

Cain, Bruce. 1999. An OT Account of Coalescence and Compensatory Lengthening in Dhivehi (Maldivian). To appear in Working Papers of the Cornell Phonetics Lab

Cain, Bruce. 2000. Dhivehi (Maldivian): a synchronic and diachronic study. Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University

Cain, Bruce & J. Gair. 1995. Sinhala and Dhivehi comparative syntax: some questions about questions. Paper presented at South Asia Linguistics Association XVII

Cain, Bruce & J. Gair. 2000. Dhivehi (Maldivian). München: Lincom Europa (Languages of the World/Materials 63)

Chitty, S.C. 1830. “On the affinity between Maldivian and Sinhalese languages.” Ceylon Government Gazette, December 11, 1830

De Silva, M.W.S. 1969. “The phonological efficiency of the Maldivian writing system.” Anthropological Linguistics 11.7: 199-209

De Silva, M.W.S. 1970. “Some affinities between Sinhalese and Maldivian.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), n.s. 14: 20-27

De Silva, M.W.S. 1970. “Some observations on the history of Maldivian.” Transactions of the Philological Society of London

De Silva, M.W.S. 1979. Sinhalese and Other Island Languages in South Asia. (Ars Linguistica, 3).
Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag

Dhivehi Bahuge Gavaaidhu. (Grammar of the Dhivehi Language). 1984. Published in four volumes. Male, Maldives: National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research

Dhivehi Bas Foiy. (Dhivehi language book). 1985-1991. Male, Maldives: National Centre
for Linguistic and Historical Research

Disanayake, J.B. 1986. “Maldivian and Sinhala: some phonological observations.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Sri Lanka). 30: 81-100

Disanayake, J.B. & Hasan A. Maniku. 1986. “Isdhoo Loamaafaanu.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, 32

Disanayake, J.B. & G.W. Wijayawardhana. 1987. “Some observations on the Maldivian Loamaafaanu copper plates of the twelfth century.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, 31: 62-71

Fritz, Sonja. 1993. “Wilhelm Geigers Beitrag zur Erforschung des Dhivehi, der Staatssprache der
Malediven.” (Wilhelm Geiger's Contribution to Research on Dhivehi, the Official Language of the Maldives.) Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft 54: 15-32

Fuller, Simon. 1985. DhivehiEnglish Dictionary and EnglishDhivehi Dictionary. 2 vols. Ms

Gair, James W. & Bruce D. Cain. 1996. “Dhivehi writing.” Peter T. Daniels & william Bright (eds.). The World's Writing Systems. Oxford Press

Geiger, Wilhelm. 1900-1902. “Maldivische Studien IIII.” Sitzungsberichte der phil.hist. der Kgl. Bayer. 3 vols. Akademie der Wissenschaften. Munich

Geiger, Wilhelm. 1902. “Etymological vocabulary of the Maldivian language.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Great Britain and Ireland. 1902 (third series). 909-38

Geiger, Wilhelm. 1919. “Maldivian linguistic studies.” (trans. of Maldivian Studien by J.C. Willis), Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 27 (extra number), edited by H.C.P. Bell. Reprinted in 1986. Male, Maldives: National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research

Gray, Albert. 1878. “The Maldive Islands with a vocabulary taken from Farancois Pyrard de Laval, 16021607.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, new series, 10: 181-2

Gray, Albert. (ed. and tr.), assisted by H.C.P. Bell. 1889. The Voyage of Francois Pyrard of Laval . Vol. 12. London: Hakluyt Society

Institute for Teacher Education. 1991. Glossary: English-Dhivehi, Dhivehi-English. Male, Maldives: Institute for Teacher Education

Loamaafaanu: Transliteration, Translation and Notes on Paleography, Vol. 1. 1982. National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research

Maloney, Clarence. 1980. People of the Maldive Islands. Madras: Orient Longman

Maniku, Hassan Ahmed. 1995. “Minun.” (Measurement). Vanavaru, 5

Maniku, Hassan Ahmed & J.B. Disanayake. 1990. Say it in Maldivian (Dhivehi). Colombo: Lake House Publishers

Maniku, Hassan A. & G.D. Wijayawardhana. 1986. Isdhoo Loamaafaanu. Colombo: Royal
Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka

Reynolds, C.H.B. 1974. “Buddhism and the Maldivian language.” L. Cousins et al. (eds.). Buddhist Studies in Honour of I.B. Horner. Dordrecht-Holland: D. Reidel Publishing Co. 193-8

Reynolds, C.H.B. 1978. “Linguistic strands in the Maldives.” C. Maloney (ed.). Contributions to Asian Studies, Vol. II: Language and Civilization Change in South Asia. Leiden: E.J. Brill. 156-66

Reynolds, C.H.B. 1993. Maldives. (World Bibliographical Series, Volume 158). Oxford: Clio Press
Saeed, Bodufenvalhugey Seedhee. 1959. Dhivehi Akuru (Dhivehi Letters). Male, Maldives

Saudiq, Abdullah. 1993. Bahuge Hamaige Aiymatee Foiy (Handbook on Correct Language). Male, Maldives: National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research

Shishido, Masahiro. 1985. English Dhivehi Dictionary. Male, Maldives: Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV). Photocopied

Vitharana, V. 1997. Sri Lankan Maldivian Cultural Affinities. Mattegodagama, Polgasovita, Sri Lanka: Academy of Sri Lankan Culture

Wijayaratne, D.J. 1956. History of the Sinhalese Noun: A Morphological Study Based on Inscriptions. University of Ceylon

Wijesundera, S., G.D. Wiyayawardhana, J.B. Disayanaka, H.A. Manik & M. Luthfie. 1988. Historical and Linguistic Survey of Dhivehi: Final Report. University of Colombo. Photocopied

Wilson, J. 1841. “Vocabulary of the Maldivian language, compiled by Lieut. W. Christopher.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 6: 42-76

Source: http://www.southasiabibliography.de/Bibliography/Indo-European/Maldivian___Dhivehi/maldivian___dhivehi.html

Maldives Bibliography LOC

I just wanted to have a link to a list of all the Maldives publications. But I also want to keep a record of where I got the citations , so am adding this as a post.

I will have a seperate post where I will keep compiling all the citations I find.

Abeysinghe, Arilya. "Development, Underdevelopment and Dependent Development in Atoll Environments of Selected Indian Ocean and South Pacific Basin Countries," Scandinavian Journal of Development Alternatives [Stockholm], 6, December 1987, 125-42.

Adeney, M., and Carr, W.K. "The Maldives Republic." In John M. Ostheimer (ed.), The Politics of the Western Indian Ocean Islands. New York: Praeger, 1975.

Butany, W.T. Report on Agricultural Survey and Crop Production. Rome: United Nations Development Programme, 1974.

Chawla, Subash. The New Maldives. Colombo, Sri Lanka:Diana, 1986.

The Encyclopedia of Islam. Leiden, the Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1993.

The Far East and Australasia, 1993. (24th ed.) London: Europa, 1992.

The Far East and Australasia, 1994. (25th ed.) London: Europa, 1993.

Farmer, B.H. "Maldives: Physical and Social Geography." Pages 543-50 in The Far East and Australasia, 1993. (24th ed.) London: Europa, 1993.

Haaland, Gunnar. Evolution of Socio-economic Dualism in the Maldives. Bergen, Norway: Michelsen Institute, DERAP (Development Research and Action Program), 1987.

Heyerdahl, Thor. The Maldive Mystery. London: Allen and Unwin, 1986.

Lateef, K. An Introductory Economic Report. Washington: World Bank, 1980.

Luthfi, M., and Zubair, H. Innovation in Primary School Construction: Maldives Community Schools. Bangkok: UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific, 1987.

The Maldive Islands: Monograph on the History, Archaeology, andEpigraphy. Colombo: Government Printer, 1940.

Maldives. Department of Information and Broadcasting, The Constitution of the Republic of Maldives. (Unofficial translation; Trans., Ibrahim Hilmy Didi.) Male, 1975.

Maldives. Department of Information and Broadcasting. Maldives:Development Cooperation. Male: 1989.

Maldives. Department of Information and Broadcasting. Maldives: An Economic Brief. Male: 1985.

Maldives. Department of Information and Broadcasting. Maldives: A Historical Overview. Male: 1985.

Maldives. Department of Information and Broadcasting. Maldives: Social Development. Male: 1985.

Maldives. Department of Information and Broadcasting. Maldives: Year Book, 1988. Male: 1988.

Maloney, Clarence. People of the Maldive Islands. Bombay: Orient Longman, 1980.

Maniku, Hassan Ahmed. Changes in the Topography of the Maldives. Maldives: Forum of Writers on the Environment, 1990.

Maniku, Hassan Ahmed. The Maldives: A Profile. Male: Department of Information and Broadcasting, 1977.

Munch-Peterson, N.F. Background Paper for Population Needs Mission. Rome: United Nations Development Programme, 1981.

Phadnis, Urmila, and Ela Dutt Luithui. "The Maldives Enter World Politics," Asian Affairs, 8, January-February 1981, 166-79.

Phadnis, Urmila, and Ela Dutt Luithui. Maldives: Winds of Change in an Atoll State. New Delhi: South Asian, 1985.

Reynolds, C.H.B. Linguistic Strands in the Maldives. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1978.

Reynolds, C.H.B. The Maldive Islands. London: Royal Central Asian Society, 1974.

Smallwood, C.A. Visit to the Maldive Islands. London: Royal Central Asian Society, 1961.

UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Status of Women: Maldives. Bangkok: 1989.

Webb, Paul A. Maldives: People and Environment. Male: Department of Information and Broadcasting, 1989.

Williams, Freda Britt. Island World of Maldives. Male: Media Transasia (for Ministry of Tourism, Maldives), 1988.

Willox, Robert. Maldives and Islands of the East Indian Ocean: A Travel Survival Kit. Berkeley, California: Lonely Planet, 1990.

World Health Organization. Office of the WHO Representative to Maldives. Twenty-Four Monthly Report on Technical Aspects of Programme Implementation. Male: 1989.

Source: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/madagascar/mg_bibl.html

Maldives: "a terra incognita for European scholars"

This situation needs to be taken as a national priority. The MaldivesCulture.com is doing a superb job of bringing it together. However, for researchers in the west, accountability and authority of material from dot com domains remains questionable.

Maldives: Research perspectives by Leonard Kulikov

Despite the fact that the Maldives were mentioned as far back as before the christian era, they still remain a terra incognita for European scholars. Even in the last 150 years, although a few scientific expeditions have investigated the islands, the Maldives have mostly been the object of study of enthusiastic individual scholars.
...

No scientific grammar of Maldivian has so far been published in any European language. Only a few conversational guides and short dictionaries for tourists have been issued. A comprehensive report of a linguistic expedition to the Maldives compiled by Sri Lankans (S. Wijesundera, G.D. Wijayawardhana, J.B. Disanayaka) and Maldivians (H.A. Maniku, M. Luthfie) is still unpublished. This is an almost unique situation since this is also the only official language of an independent state, but it should change in the very near future: S. Gippert-Fritz (Germany) and B. Cain (USA) are going to publish grammatical descriptions; and C.H.B. Reynolds (London) has prepared a Maldivian-English dictionary still remains unpublished.The anthropological and ethnographical aspects of the Maldivian culture have been studied by C. Maloney (who published the monograph People of the Maldive Islands, Orient Longmann, in 1980 which is the most detailed description of the country), N.F. Munch-Petersen (Denmark) and B. Koechlin (France). Some problems of the Maldivian history are dealt with in a few papers by A. Forbes who, however, no longer seems to be working in this field.Some archaeological excavations have been carried out on the islands. J. Carswell (USA/Great Britain) discovered fragments of Chinese pottery on the islands; a few more short reports mention some single finds. In the eighties a Norwegian archaeological expedition (O. Johansen, E. Mikkelsen, A. Skjolsvold) under the guidance of T. Heyerdahl obtained rich additional evidence about the ancient character of the Maldivian history.Many sources related to the history of Maldives are still unpublished. The Tarikh, a chronicle of the sultans in Arabic, was published by the Japanese scholar Hikoichi Yajima, unfortunately without an English translation. Only some of the numerous Old Maldivian texts (mainly copperplate grants, the so-called lomafanu, the oldest of which date from the twelfth century) have been published by H.C.P. Bell and, recently, by H.A. Maniku, G.D. Wijayawardhana, and J.B. Disanayaka.For more detailed information about publications dealing with the Maldives, the reader is referred to the excellent recently published bibliography by C.H.B. Reynolds (Maldives, by Clio Press, 1993).
...

In my opinion, in this situation the best way of co-ordinating research and making the rich resources related to the Maldives available for all interested scholars would be probably to organize an international Journal of Maldivian studies, which would publish not only new papers and more extended works but also would permit unpublished materials, the interesting unpublished manuscripts of such eminent Maldivianists as H.C.P. Bell (Bell's collection still waits its researchers in the Colombo Archive!), and translations of papers written in Divehi and (old) Divehi to see the light of day
Source: http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/insouasi/kulikov.html

Broadband in the outer islands transforming education

Literacy level has historically been high in Maldives compared to other developing countries. However, this literacy does not accurately translate in to functional literacy (my opinion).

The following news brief (some text omitted – to read the full article please follow the link) touches on the basic difficulties of accessing education in outer islands.

Broadband revolutionizes education on remote Maldives atolls Posted on Thursday, August 16, 2007 (EST)

Literacy rates in this Indian Ocean archipelago exceed 90 percent, with nearly all children receiving some form of primary education, but the quality of teaching remains low, partly due to the low skills of the teachers themselves...The UN Children's Fund UNICEF estimates that more than 30 percent of Maldivian teachers are untrained with many islands having up to 100 pupils
per trained primary teacher. "It's down to basics. Transport is costly making it expensive for children to travel between islands to get a better education and for teachers to upgrade their skills," said UNICEF representative for the Maldives, Ken Maskall. Basic services are expensive, given the geographic nature of this nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 850 kilometres (550 miles) across the equator.

UNICEF estimates that islands with the lowest population still do not have access to secondary school and around 12 islands provide schooling only up to grade five.

"People are so scattered in different little islands that this type of teaching method helps schools and communities to develop," Maskall told AFP during a tour of the island. UNICEF has spent more than two million dollars to set up broadband-enabled learning centres which will link 20 atolls in the Maldives by the end of this year. Rashdoo, one of the Maldives' 200 inhabited islands, is among the 11 islands to be connected so far.

"The smart board has brought the world to children's feet," said Rashdoo Island chief Mohamed Shafi, a former teacher himself. "I can sense the frustration of learning is quietly reducing."
©AFP http://news.sawf.org/Lifestyle/41229.aspx

Maldives Leading in Second Life?!

At first i couldn't help but question the credibility of this news taken from Minivan News.
But further online search has proved this to be right.

Times Online says Tiny island nation opens the first real embassy in virtual world

The Maldives has become the first country to open an embassy in Second Life, an
internet-based three-dimensional virtual world inhabited by more than 6.6 ...

The Local Sweden News in English says Sweden trumped by Maldives in Second Life

The Maldives has pipped Sweden to the post by unveiling the world's first
virtual embassy in Second Life just days before the Scandinavian country's
planned launch.
Published: 22nd May 2007 15:59 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.se/7379/

Maldives Opens World’s First Virtual Embassy
By Will Jordan in Male' May 22, 2007 Source: Minivan News

The Maldives has become the first country in the world to open a Virtual Embassy in Second Life, the online virtual world.

Second Life (SL) is a fast-growing virtual community with more than six million “citizens.” It has its own currency, the Linden Dollar, which can be exchanged for US dollars. SL citizens own property, socialize, learn and interact in SL.

The Maldives Virtual Embassy is located in the Diplomatic Quarter of Diplomacy Island in Second Life, an on-line space designed to allow new avenues for diplomatic representation and negotiation, especially for small and developing countries that have limited diplomatic outreach in the “real” world.

The embassy building features a notice board with detail on “democratic and human rights reform” in the country. “The Maldives is a small country but that does not mean we do not have a valuable contribution to make in international affairs,” said Abdulla Shahid, Minister of
State for Foreign Affairs.

“The Virtual Embassy offers another channel for us to provide information on the country, to offer our viewpoint on issues of international concern, and to interact with our partners in the international community,” he said.

Diplomacy Island is the brainchild of Diplo Foundation, a nonprofit organisation which works to assist developing countries participate meaningfully in international affairs.

The official inauguration ceremony took place simultaneously in the real world (Geneva) and in the virtual world (Second Life), with participants in both “place” and “space” able to watch the speeches, interact with each other, and explore the Maldives Embassy and the rest of Diplomacy Island.

The Maldives Virtual Embassy will soon be followed by embassies representing Macedonia and the Philippines. Sweden has also announced plans to open a Virtual Embassy.

Maldives History?!??

I am still grappling with historical accounts of Maldives, trying to understand the origins of our culture of information. Trying to study if we have evolved over time in the ways we learn, deal with information, value information, and/or use information.

A very comprehensive historical background of Maldives history, of people, language, origins, and society is presented in an article on the International Institute for Asian Studies website. The article titled Where Did the Maldives People Come From? By Clarance Maloney writes that:

The Maldives people are a clear ethnic category, having a unique language derived from Sinhala but grafted on to an earlier Tamil base, and they have a homogeneous cultural tradition. In early medieval times they followed the Sri Lanka type of Buddhism, but in 1153 were converted to Islam by order of their ruler. There is another island located to the north of Maldives territory that belongs culturally to the Maldives, Minicoy (properly, Maliku), which because of events during the colonial period is now held by India as part of its Lakshadvip Island group. Most of the Maldives islands are tiny, less than a mile long, but Minicoy is the largest island populated by Divehi people. The Indian government does not allow foreigners to visit this island.
…

Early references to the Maldives are found in the Commentary on the Bharu Jataka and the Khuddapatha, early Buddhist texts, and the Dipavamsa, the earliest Sinhala epic (4th century BC), and the Mahavamsa (3rd century BC). The country was probably overrun from
Kerala in the Sangam Period of South India (1-3 century AD). It is mentioned in the Greek text Periplus (1st century AD), by Pappas of Alexandria (4th century), and several fifth century Greek authors. The islands are mentioned by the Chinese travellers Fa Hsien (5th century) and Hsuan-Tsang (7th century), and in a document of the Tang Dynasty (8th century). The country was conquered by Tamil Pallavas from neighbouring Madras (late 7th century).

Islamic records start with an account by Sulaiman the merchant (c. 900 AD), and Al-Mas'udi (916), Abul Hassan the Persian (1026), Al Biruni (1039), and Al-Idrisi (c. 1100). In the meantime, the country was reconquered by the Tamils, namely by Rajaraja Cola (1017). Europeans are on a more familiar territory when they read the account of Marco Polo (1279- 92). Ibn Battuta made two visits and spent a year and a half in the Maldives as an Islamic legal advisor (1343-46).

Portuguese accounts begin from about 1500. In the brutal competition for control of ocean routes they invaded the Maldives in 1588, killed the sultan, and established Portuguese rule, but that only lasted for fifteen years. Most interesting is a lengthy three-volume account by François Pyrard of Laval, who was held captive in the Maldives (1602-07) and learned Divehi. It is a gold-mine of original Divehi history, customs, and language.

British interest dates from the early 1600s. The Divehis had always managed to remain essentially independent, except for the brief Portuguese occupation, but in 1887 the sultan formally accepted British suzerainty. The only sustained historical work of the Maldives done in the British period was that by H.C.P. Bell, a British antiquarian who studied the Buddhist remains, texts, and coins. The British did not leave an administrative or cultural stamp as they did in India, except for their base in Gan in the south. The Maldives became independent in 1965 and joined the United Nations.
…

Education has expanded very rapidly, and the Divehis, who were so long isolated from the wider world, are quickly adapting to their expanded opportunities. These changes have brought population growth through a decline in infant mortality, and a population shift to Male. The main long-term worry however is the rising level of the ocean, which threatens to obliterate the country within one or two centuries.The Maldives is an exceedingly interesting country, and merits more attention from specialists on South Asia and the Indian Ocean area.

Read more with just a click: http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/insouasi/maloney.html

Francois Pyrard in Maldives

Well here I am again. In my search for historical documents, yet again I happened to come across a pot of gold!!!

In Simon’s blog the entry titled An important journal for us is the pot. Or is it Simon's blog itself that is the pot? The gold, definitely, is the historical accounts of Francois Pyrard.

The voyage of Francois Pyrard of Laval to the East Indies, the Maldives, the Moluccas and Brazil, v.1 / Payard, Francois. _ London : Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1887. _ 524 p.

Full text is online – how exciting! A little cumbersome to read as it has been scanned page by page.

Simon’s blog actually is quite interesting as it has given me a glimpse of the information culture of Maldivians. I can safely say that we are a reading public – the only thing missing was quality material to read.

Maldives History

Sitting here in Oz land, it really is difficult to get reading material on Maldives’ history. In fact, I was up last night trying to see if I can get my hands on any online documentation that talks about the reading, writing and learning habits of Maldives, today and yesterday.

And that is how I stumbled upon an article about a book called ‘Iyye’ (meaning Yesterday) about the history of some prominent political figures. Apparently, the book was considered defamatory to the national heroes and was banned from distribution by the government. Read more on ‘Banning scholarship in Maldives for 'peace and harmony' @ http://www.maldivesculture.com/maldives_censorship_history02.html

It apparently happened in 1997, which makes me wonder where I was, what I was doing, why I was not aware of it. ‘Cause I certainly was no longer a child then!!! Shows how ‘uninformed’ we are of the happenings in our own country (If anyone thinks I am the only ignorant soul – then I am just talking about myself)

“In many ways, the circumstances of this banning recall the events of 1997, when Abdul Hakeem's Iyye was confiscated within days of its release. Both Iyye and Dhandikoshi discussed in detail the twentieth century history of Malé with reference to earlier periods, and the rule of the country's first President Mohamed Ameen. Iyye included a lengthy section on President Ibrahim Nasir.”

In Iyye, Abdul Hakeem Hussein Manik writes:

“Young Maldivians under the age of thirty are being misinformed. I embark on this work to clear away a tangle of obfuscation.”

I don’t know the gravity of that statement, but it would nevertheless be interesting to read it. The preface and introduction of the book is available on: http://www.maldivesculture.com/history/iyye_yesterday_maldives_history_intro.htm

I also happened to be directed to the following page: http://www.maldivesculture.com/histor01.html They have a wealth of information and I think it really is a good place to start to get a grasp of Maldives culture. Also make a point of reading what is available on Dhivehi Bahaa Thaareekhah Khidhumaiykuraa Gaumee Marukaz’s website: http://www.qaumiyyath.gov.mv/history.php
I would simply love to have all the time in the world to sit and just read forever!!!

I just received this great article about information culture by Robert W. Bauchspies. Citation is given below.

Bauchspies, R. (1998). Considering information culture: Examining individual, organisational and societal forms. Svensk Biblioteksforskning/Swedish Library Research(3-4), 5-31.
Abstract:
Information culture is defined as information activity understood in cultural context. Chiefly, the creation, dissemination and dissolution of information and beliefs. Moreover, as a precursor to understanding information creation, transfer and valuation, it is asserted that the cultural context in which such activity is augmented , is central to understanding the motivations involved in individual and collective information behavior. A hierarchical scale from individual to global community is presented to demonstrate the multiplicity of cultural relevance in information studies. Revolutionary developments in information technology, while dramatically influential on our social structures and individual behaviors, are not seen as necessarily inherent departures from the primacy of cultural influences. Conceptual frameworks for identifying information culture in diverse environments and settings suggest areas of applied research which are still wanting in the literature and provide a means fr further inquiry. Case studies employing participant observation methodology are suggested as one means of extracting date for further analysis.

This is the most relevant article I have found so far which is similar to my area of research. However, it would be great to find something more recent.