Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that hit Asia led to a major rethinking of the old system of government and business alliances, as well as public management of risk. In Korea this meant a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests for the removal of examples of evolution in science texts for high school students. These include the evidence of the evolution of horses as well as the avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A South Korean creationist group has pushed textbook publishers to eliminate evidence of evolution from high-school science texts. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research that aims to cleanse biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims that such materialism creates negative images to students, leading them to be skeptical.
Scientists from all over the world expressed concerns when the STR campaign gained attention. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul wrote in an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues across the country, who set up an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the textbook changes.
Some scientists are worried that the STR could spread to other parts around the world, where the belief in creationism has been growing. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, specifically in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea has a particularly strong cultural background for the evolution debate. 26 percent of South Koreans are members of a religious community, with the majority practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Additionally, a large portion of Koreans adhere to Ch'ondogyo, a philosophy based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is a belief system that teaches that humans are one with Hanulnim the God of the Sun, and that heavenly blessings can be obtained through the good deeds of a person.
All of this has provided fertile ground for the spread of creationism. A number of studies have demonstrated that students who have religious backgrounds tend to feel more uncomfortable when learning about evolution than those who are not religious. The underlying causes are not evident. One explanation is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as well-versed in scientific theories and concepts which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another factor could be that students with a religious background may view evolution as an idea that is agnostic, making them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concern within the scientific community. A survey in 2009 revealed that 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was wrong and that it could conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the popularity of creationism in some states, a lot of scientists feel that the best strategy to stop this trend is not to be actively involved in with it, but rather educate people about the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are required to teach their students about science and the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the process of science, and how scientific knowledge is gathered and confirmed. They should also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and re-examined. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of research can fuel anti-evolution views.
For instance, some people confuse the term "theory" with the normal meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. However, in go to the website is thoroughly tested and verified using empirical data. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observation is a scientific concept.
The debate over the theory of evolution is a wonderful opportunity to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is crucial to understand that science is not able to answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but provides a mechanism for living things to evolve and change.
Moreover, a well-rounded education should include exposure to the vast majority of scientific fields that include evolutionary biology. This is particularly important because the jobs people are employed in and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science works.
The vast majority scientists in the world agree that humans have changed through time. A recent study predicting adults' opinions of the consensus around this issue found that those with higher education levels and scientific knowledge were more likely to believe there is a broad agreement among scientists on the subject of human evolution. The people who have more religious beliefs but less science knowledge tend to disagree more. It is essential that educators emphasize the importance of understanding the general consensus on this issue to ensure that people are able to making informed choices about their health care, energy usage and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close cousin of the popular evolutionary theory. It explores the ways that humans and other species learn from one another. Researchers in this field use elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and reach back to prehistoric times to determine the earliest sources of culture.
This approach also acknowledges the difference between traits that are cultural and biological. While biological traits are typically acquired in one go (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. In the end, the acquisition of one trait may affect the development of another.
In Korea the introduction of Western style elements in the latter part of the nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of an intricate 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 change. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united and was again under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the current global financial crisis, the country's economy has grown consistently over the last decade and is poised to maintain its steady growth in the coming years.
The current administration is faced by a myriad of problems. The government's inability to formulate an effective strategy to address the current economic crisis is among the biggest obstacles. The crisis has revealed the weaknesses of the country's economy policies, mainly its overreliance on exports and foreign investment which might not be sustainable in the long run.
As the crisis has shattered the confidence of investors, the government has to review its economic strategy and come up with alternatives to increase domestic demand. It also needs to overhaul the incentive, monitoring, and disciplining systems in place to guarantee a stable financial environment. This chapter presents several scenarios on how the Korean economy might develop in a post-crisis world.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators is to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various stages of development and ages. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the diversity of religions within their classrooms and create a welcoming environment where students with both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions about evolution and know how to address them in the classroom. Teachers must also have quick access to the various resources available to teach evolution.
In this context the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was an important step in bringing together evolutionary scientists and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss the best methods for teaching about evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational research organizations, as well as officials from government funding agencies and curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse groups resulted in a consensus set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future actions.
A key recommendation is that the study of evolution should be included in every science curriculum at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences with an educational progression that is developmental appropriate, are one way to achieve this goal. A new publication from NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
A number of studies have demonstrated that a more comprehensive teaching of evolution is linked to greater student knowledge and belief in the concept of evolution. It is difficult to quantify causal effects in the classroom since the curriculum for schools do not change on a regular basis and are influenced by the timing of state boards of education and the gubernatorial election. To overcome 에볼루션 사이트 use a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control for the fixed effects of state and years as well as individual-level differences in the beliefs of teachers about evolutionary theory.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the notion that more experienced faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and could be more inclined to use strategies such as a reconciliatory approach that is known to boost undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.