Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia caused a significant rethinking of the old system of government-business alliances and the management by the public of private risks. In Korea this meant a shift in the development paradigm.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has asked textbook publishers not to comply with calls to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. These include the evidence of the evolution of horses and the Avian ancestral Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution in high school science textbooks. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research that wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR asserts that such materialism creates negative images to students, leading them to be skeptical.
When the STR's campaign hit the news, scientists from all over the globe expressed alarm. In a letter to the editor of Nature the evolutionary biologist Jae Choe of Ewha Womans University in Seoul complained that South Korea had given in to religious prejudice. sneak a peek at this web-site was supported by colleagues from across the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition against the changes to the textbooks.
Researchers are also worried that the STR campaign will spread to other parts of the globe where the belief in the prevalence of creationism is rising. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, especially those with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the debate about evolution. 26 percent of the nation's citizens are members of an organized religion and the majority practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, a lot of Koreans adhere to the Ch'ondogyo philosophy, which is that is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo is a way of teaching 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 an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Several studies have shown that students with religion-based backgrounds tend to be more uncomfortable when learning about evolution than those who do not have a religious background. However, the root causes of this phenomenon remain unclear. Students who are religious may not be as familiar with the theories of science, making them more susceptible to creationists and their influence. Another reason could be that those with religious backgrounds may see evolution as a concept that is atheistic, making them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years scientists have been concerned about the anti-evolution agenda in schools. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that over 40 percent of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that believing in it could be in conflict with their convictions about religion. Many scientists believe that, despite the popularity of creationism the best method to stop this movement is to educate the public on the evidence supporting evolution.
Scientists are accountable for teaching their students science including the theory of evolution. They must also inform the general public about the scientific process and how knowledge is gathered and validated. They must also explain that scientific theories are often challenged and reformulated. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of research can lead to anti-evolution beliefs.
Some people confuse the word "theory" as a guess or guess. In science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to verify it. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observations becomes a scientific principle.
The debate over evolutionary theory is a good opportunity to discuss the significance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is important that people understand that science is not able to provide answers to questions about life's purpose or meaning, but instead allows living things to grow and adapt.
A well-rounded education should include exposure to the vast majority of scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because a lot of jobs and choices require individuals understand how science works.
The vast majority of scientists around world agree that humans have evolved over time. In a recent study, which predicted the views of adults on the consensus around this issue those with higher levels of education and science knowledge were found to be more likely to believe that there is wide agreement among scientists about human evolution. Those with more religious faith but less knowledge of science tend to be more divided. It is crucial that educators stress the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus so that people can make informed choices about health care, energy usage and other issues of policy.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of the popular evolutionary theory. It focuses on the ways that humans and other species learn from each other. Researchers in this field employ elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go back to human prehistory to discover the origins of culture.
This method also acknowledges the differences between biological and cultural characteristics. While biological traits are largely inherited all at once (in sexual species, during fertilization) but cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of one characteristic may affect the growth and development of a different.
In Korea for instance the introduction of Western fashion elements in the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century was a result of a complex series of events. One of the most important was the arrival in Korea of Japanese occupation forces who introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
After that, when Japan left Korea in the 1930s, a few of those trends began to change. At the close of World War II, Korea was once more united but this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is a vibrant political and economic power. Despite the recent financial crisis Korea's economy has been growing consistently over the past decade. It is anticipated to continue to grow in the future.
However, the current administration has many challenges to face. The government's inability to formulate an effective strategy to tackle the current economic crisis is one the most significant challenges. The crisis has exposed weaknesses in the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment, which may not last.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government must rethink its economic strategy and come up with alternative ways to boost domestic demand. To ensure a stable and stable financial environment the government needs to reform its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter provides a variety of scenarios of how the Korean economy could develop in the post-crisis era.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for various levels of development and ages. For example, teachers must be aware of the religious diversity in their classrooms and create an environment that students who have religious and secular beliefs are comfortable with learning about evolution. Teachers must be able to recognize common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to address them in the classroom. Teachers must also have access to a variety of resources that are available for teaching evolution and be able locate them quickly.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing evolutionary researchers and educators from a variety of sectors to discuss best methods of teaching 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 stakeholders led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the foundation for future actions.
It is important to include evolution in all science curricula at every level. To achieve this the National Science Education Standards (NRC) call for evolution to be taught in a seamless manner across all sciences, with a progression of concepts that are developmental appropriate. A new publication from the NRC offers guidelines to schools on how to integrate evolution into the science curriculum.
Multiple studies have shown that a more thorough explanation of evolution can lead to a greater understanding of students and belief in evolution. However it is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom is a challenge due to the fact that school curriculums are not randomly assigned and evolve over time as a result of the predetermined dates of gubernatorial election and appointments to the state board of education. To overcome this problem, I use an ongoing data set that lets me control for year and state fixed effects and the individual-level variation in teacher beliefs about evolution.
Teachers who are more comfortable in teaching evolution report fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the hypothesis that more confident faculty are less likely to be hesitant about questions about evolution in the classroom, and may be more inclined to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach that is known to boost the students' understanding of evolution.