Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that hit Asia required a major review of the old model of government-business alliances and public management of private risks. In Korea, that meant a shift in the development model.
In a controversial move South Korea's government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests to eliminate examples of evolution from high school science books. These include the evidence for evolution of horses and of the Avian 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. The Society for Textbook Revise, an independent offshoot from the Korea Association for Creation Research which aims to rid biology textbooks of "atheist materialism," was behind the decision. The STR claims that such materialistic thinking creates a negative picture for students and can lead to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists across the globe expressed concern when the STR campaign gained attention. In a letter addressed 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 backed up by colleagues around the country, who formed a group called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Some researchers are worried about the possibility that the STR campaign will spread to other regions of the world, where the spread of creationism is increasing. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, particularly those with large Christian and Muslim population.
South Korea's culture is especially strong in the debate over evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are part of a religious group with the majority of them practicing Christianity or Buddhism. Many Koreans also adhere to Ch'ondogyo - an ideology based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony in the social, personal self-cultivation and self-respect. Ch'ondogyo is a belief system that teaches that humans are in a relationship with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be obtained by doing good deeds.
All of this has created an ideal environment for the spread of creationism. Several studies have shown that students who have religion-based backgrounds tend to feel more uncomfortable about learning about evolution than students who do not have a religious background. However, the underlying reasons for this phenomenon are not known. Students who have a religious background might be less knowledgeable about the theories of science, making them more vulnerable to creationists' influence. Another reason could be that students who have religious beliefs are more likely to see evolution as an atheistic concept, which may make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, campaigns against evolution in schools have raised concern among the scientific community. A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that more than 40% of Americans believe that biological evolution is a lie and that a belief in it could be in conflict with their faith-based beliefs. Despite 에볼루션카지노사이트 of creationism in certain states, many scientists feel that the best method to counter this movement is not to engage it, but to inform the public on the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists have a duty to teach their students about science, including the theory of evolution. They must also educate the public on the research process and how knowledge is confirmed. They should also explain how scientific theories are frequently challenged and changed. However, misconceptions about the nature and purpose of research can fuel anti-evolution views.
For instance, many people may confuse the word "theory" with the common meaning of the word - a hunch or a guess. In the field of science, however, an hypothesis is rigorously tested, and empirical data is used to verify it. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed is then a scientific principle.
Read Significantly more about the theory of evolution is a wonderful occasion to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limits. It is important to understand that science cannot answer questions about the purpose of life or meaning, but offers a way for living things to grow and evolve.
A well-rounded education should also include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is crucial because a lot of jobs and decisions require that individuals understand how science works.
The majority of scientists around world believe that humans have evolved over time. In a recent study that predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus on this topic people with higher levels of education and science knowledge were found to be more likely to believe there is a wide agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. The people with more religious beliefs and less science knowledge tend to be more skeptical. It is essential that educators insist on 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 cousin of the popular evolutionary theory. It explores how organisms like humans learn from one another. Researchers in this field use elaborate tools and investigative models that are adapted from evolutionary theorists and go back to human prehistory to find the origins of culture.
This method also acknowledges the distinction between cultural and biological traits. Cultural traits are acquired slowly while biological traits are typically acquired at the same time (in the case of sexual species after fertilization). The acquisition of one cultural characteristic may affect the development and growth of another.
In Korea For instance, the adoption of Western fashion elements in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century was a result of a complicated sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
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, this time under the rule of the Choson dynasty.
Today, Korea is an economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent Korea's economy has been growing consistently over the past decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the coming years.
The current administration is faced with many challenges. The inability of the government to come up with an effective strategy to address the current economic crisis is among the most significant challenges. The crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on foreign investment and exports that may not last.
Since the financial crisis has destroyed the confidence of investors, the government has to rethink its economic strategy and come up with alternatives to boost domestic demand. It will also have to reform the incentive monitoring, monitoring, and discipline systems that are in place to guarantee the stability of the financial system. This chapter provides a number of scenarios of how the Korean economy might grow in a post-crisis environment.
4. Evolution and Education
A fundamental challenge for educators of evolution is how to teach evolutionary concepts in a manner that is appropriate for students at various ages and developmental stages. For instance, teachers need to be sensitive to the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a setting that students who have religious and secular views are comfortable with learning about evolution. Teachers must be able to recognize common misconceptions about evolution and know how to correct them in the classroom. Teachers should also have quick access to the various resources available to teach evolution.
In this context, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation was a crucial step in bringing evolutionary scientists and educators from a range of fields to discuss most effective methods of teaching evolution. Attendees included representatives of scientific societies, educational researchers, government funding agency officials and curriculum designers. The convergence of these diverse groups led to the identification of a common set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future action.
It is crucial to include evolution in all science curricula at every level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) which require the integration of evolution across all life sciences with the developmentally appropriate, are a good way to achieve this goal. A new publication from NRC provides guidelines to schools about how to integrate evolution in the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more complete explanation of evolution can lead to greater student understanding and belief in evolution. It is difficult to determine causal effects in the classroom because school curricula don't change on a regular basis and are influenced by the timing of state boards of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem I employ a longitudinal dataset that allows me to control the fixed effects of state and years as well as individual-level differences in teacher beliefs about evolutionary theory.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have fewer internal barriers. This is in line with the idea that more experienced faculty are less likely to be hesitant about evolution-related topics in the classroom, and may be more inclined to use strategies like a reconciliatory method known to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.