Evolution Korea
The economic crisis which swept Asia prompted a major reappraisal the traditional system of government, business alliances, and public management of risks. In Korea, this meant a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial move, the South Korean government has asked textbooks publishers to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution in high school science texts. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the bird an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has convinced textbook publishers to remove evidence of evolution from high school science texts. The decision was the result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR), an independent affiliate of the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to get rid of biology books of "atheist materialism." The STR claims such materialism portrays an image of negativity for students, leading them to lose faith.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists across the globe expressed worry. In a letter to the editor of Nature evolutionary biologist Jae Choe of Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from all over the country who formed a group named Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Researchers are also concerned that the STR campaign could spread to other parts of the globe where the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will increase pressure for textbook revisions in other countries, particularly those with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the debate on evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religious community, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy based upon Confucian principles that is a strong advocate of social harmony, individual self-cultivation, and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches that the human being is one with Hanulnim, the God of Sun and that the heavenly blessings are possible through the good works of one's.
All of this has created a fertile ground. A number of studies have demonstrated that students with a religious background tend to be more uncomfortable about learning evolution than those who are not religious. However, the root reasons for this phenomenon are unclear. One explanation is that students who have religious beliefs tend to be as familiar with scientific theories and concepts which makes them more vulnerable to the influence of creationists. Another possible factor is that students with religious backgrounds are more likely to view evolution as a religious concept and therefore less at ease with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have raised concern in the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed that nearly 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie, and that a belief in it would conflict with their convictions about religion. Many scientists believe that, despite the success of creationism, the best way to stop this movement is to educate the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists are required to teach their students about science, including the theory of evolution. They must also inform people about the process of science and how knowledge is gathered and validated. They should also clarify that scientific theories are frequently challenged and re-examined. However, misconceptions regarding the nature of research conducted by scientists often fuel anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, some people confuse the term "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. In the realm of science, a theory is rigorously tested and verified with empirical evidence. A theory that is tested and observed repeatedly becomes a scientific principal.
The debate on evolution theory is a great chance to discuss the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is essential for people to understand that science is not able to answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life but only provides a mechanism that allows living things to develop and adapt.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education should cover all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is essential because a variety of jobs and decisions require that individuals understand how science operates.
The vast majority of scientists around world agree that humans have evolved over time. In a study that predicted adults' views of the consensus around this issue people with higher levels of education and science knowledge were found to be more likely to believe there is a wide agreement among scientists about the evolution of humans. People with a higher level of religious belief but less scientific knowledge tend to disagree more. It is critical that educators insist on understanding the general consensus on this issue, so that people are able to making informed decisions regarding their health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close cousin of mainstream evolutionary theory. 에볼루션 바카라사이트 explores how organisms like humans learn from one another. Researchers in this field employ explanatory tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and go back to human prehistory to find the earliest sources of culture.
This approach also recognizes the difference between biological and cultural traits. Cultural traits can be acquired gradually while biological traits are mostly inherited at the same time (in sexual species, at fertilization). This means that the emergence of one cultural trait can influence the development of another.
In Korea, for example the emergence of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th centuries was the result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western clothing styles and hairstyles to Korean society.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to reverse. At the close of World War II, Korea was once again united but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown consistently over the last decade and is set to continue its healthy growth in the near future.
The current government is faced by a myriad of problems. One of the biggest is its inability to find a consistent policy to tackle the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings in the policies of the country, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment that may not last.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors, the government must rethink its economic strategy and come up with alternative ways to boost domestic demand. It also needs to reform the incentive monitoring, control, and discipline systems in place to guarantee a stable financial environment. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow after the crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different stages of development and ages. Teachers, for instance, must be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a setting where students with religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Teachers should be able to recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have easy access to the various resources available to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from different sectors to discuss best methods for teaching Evolution. Attendees included representatives of scientific societies as well as educational researchers, government funding agency officials as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of different stakeholders led to the development of a set of shared recommendations which will serve as the basis for future actions.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula at every level. To accomplish this it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in an integrated manner across all sciences with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. Furthermore, a new publication from the NRC offers guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Several studies have found that a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of evolution can lead to higher levels of student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. However the estimation of the causal effect of evolution in the classroom is difficult because school curriculums are not assigned randomly and change over time because of the predetermined dates of gubernatorial election and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this issue I employ an ongoing dataset that gives me control for the fixed effects of state and years and individual-level variations in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Another significant finding is that teachers who feel more comfortable teaching about evolution report having fewer personal barriers to doing so. This is in line with the idea that more confident faculty are less likely to avoid teaching about evolution in the classroom, and could be more likely to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach which is used to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.