Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia caused a significant rethinking of the old system of government-business alliances and the public management of private risks. In Korea, this meant a shift in the model of development.
In a controversial decision, South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers not to comply with calls to remove examples of evolution in science books for high school students. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and of the bird ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A group of creationists in South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution from high school science texts. This was the result of a campaign by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) which is an offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism creates a negative image for students, leading them to lose faith.
바카라 에볼루션 around the globe expressed concern when the STR campaign was featured in the news. Jae Choe, an evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, complained in a letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. His colleagues backed him from around the country who gathered into an organization called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR campaign will spread to other regions of the world where the belief in creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned of the anti-evolution campaign increasing pressure on textbook revisions, especially in countries with large Christian and Muslim population.
The South Korean culture is particularly strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of the country's citizens are members of an organized religion, and most practice Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - a philosophy based upon Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony, individual self-cultivation, and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings can be obtained through good works.
All of this has created fertile ground for the spread of creationism. Several studies have shown that students who have a religious background are more hesitant about learning about evolution than students who do not have a religious background. However, the root causes of this phenomenon remain not known. One reason is that students who have religious beliefs tend to be as familiar with scientific concepts and theories which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that those with religious backgrounds might view evolution as a belief system that is atheistic, making them less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have caused concern among the scientific community. A 2009 survey revealed nearly 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was a myth and that it could conflict with their religious beliefs. Despite the fact that creationism has been a huge success in some states, many scientists believe that the best way to stop this trend is not to be actively involved in it, but rather to inform the public about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a responsibility to educate their students about science, including the theory of evolution. They must also inform people about the science process, and how scientific knowledge is collected and verified. They must also clarify that scientific theories are frequently challenged and reformulated. However, misinformation about the nature and purpose of research can lead to anti-evolution beliefs.
For instance, many people may confuse the word "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word - a guess or guess. In the realm of science, a theory is thoroughly tested and verified using empirical data. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed becomes a scientific principal.
The debate on the theory of evolution is a wonderful occasion to discuss both the importance of scientific method and its limits. It is essential for people to understand that science cannot answer questions regarding the purpose or meaning of life it only serves as a mechanism by which living things can develop and adapt.
Furthermore, a comprehensive education must include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is important because many jobs and decisions require that individuals understand the way science works.
The majority of scientists around the world believe that humans have evolved through time. In a study that predicted adults' views of the consensus on this topic, those with higher levels education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely believe there is a wide consensus among scientists on the evolution of humans. People with a higher level of religious belief but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is crucial that educators insist on the importance of understanding this consensus, to enable people to make informed choices about health care, energy usage and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a cousin of the mainstream evolutionary theory. It explores the ways that humans and other species learn from one another. Researchers in this field employ explanation tools and models derived from evolutionary theorists and go back to the prehistoric human to determine the earliest sources of culture.
This method also acknowledges that there are some differences between biological and cultural characteristics. Cultural traits are acquired slowly while biological traits are usually acquired at the same time (in sexual species at fertilization). As a result, the acquisition of one characteristic can affect the development of another.
In Korea, the adoption of Western styles in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was the result of an intricate sequence of events. One of the most significant was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothing styles to Korean society.
When Japan quit Korea in the 1930s, some of these trends began to reverse. At the end of World War II, Korea was once again united, this time under Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the recent global financial crisis, the economy of Korea has grown steadily in the last decade and is expected to continue its healthy growth in the near future.
However, the current government has many challenges to face. One of the most significant is the inability to come up with an effective strategy to tackle the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed shortcomings of the country's economic policies, mainly its overreliance on foreign investment and exports that may not be sustainable in the long run.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. In the aftermath, the government needs to reconsider its approach and find other ways to increase domestic demand. It also needs to overhaul the incentive, monitoring, and disciplining systems currently in place to create the stability of the financial system. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios on how the Korean economy could develop post-crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest challenge for educators of evolution is how to present evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students of different age groups and developmental stages. For example, teachers must be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a space where students with both religious and secular beliefs feel comfortable in learning about evolution. Teachers must be able to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Additionally, teachers should be able to access a range of resources available to teach evolution and be able to find them quickly.
In this regard the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step in bringing together evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of sectors to discuss the best methods for teaching evolution. The participants included representatives from scientific societies as well as educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of diverse participants helped to identify the common recommendations that will serve as the basis for future actions.
It is essential to incorporate evolution in all science curricula at every level. To achieve this goal it is recommended that the National Science Education Standards (NRC) require that evolution be taught in a unified manner across all sciences, with a progression of ideas that are developmentally appropriate. A new publication from the NRC offers guidance for schools on how to integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more complete presentation of evolution is linked to a greater understanding of students and belief in the concept of evolution. It is difficult to determine the causality of teaching in the classroom, since the curriculum for schools do not change randomly and are dependent on the timing of the state board of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem, i use a longitudinal data set that gives me to control for state and years fixed effects as well as 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 teaching it. This is in line with the idea that more confident faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and may be more inclined to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method known to increase undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution.