Evolution Korea
The economic crisis that swept across Asia led to a major rethinking of the old system of government and business alliances, as well the public management of risks. In Korea this meant a shift in the model of development.
In a controversial decision, the South Korean government has requested textbook publishers to ignore requests for removing examples of evolution from high school science textbooks. This includes evidence for the evolution of horses as well as the Avian an ancestor Archaeopteryx.
1. Evolution and Religion
A creationist group from South Korea has successfully convinced textbook publishers to exclude evidence of evolution from science textbooks for high school students. The move was a result of a campaign led by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) which is an branch of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid biology books of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that this kind of materialistic views create a negative image for students, and could lead to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists across the globe expressed concerns when the STR campaign gained attention. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, complained in an open letter to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was supported by colleagues from all over the country who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize an anti-textbook petition.
Some researchers are concerned that the STR will spread to other parts around the globe, where 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 populations.
South Korea's cultural background is especially strong in the debate on evolution. 26 percent of South Koreans are members of a religion with the majority of them practicing Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, a lot of Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes harmony among people and personal self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo believes that humans are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that heaven-bound blessings are possible by doing good deeds.
All of this has made creationism fertile field. A number of studies have demonstrated that students with religion-based backgrounds are more hesitant about learning about evolution than students without religion. The underlying causes are not obvious. Students who have a religious background might be less familiar with scientific theories, making them more vulnerable to creationists' influence. Another possible factor is that students with religious beliefs are more likely to see evolution as an atheistic idea, which may make them less comfortable with it.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about anti-evolution initiatives in schools. A survey in 2009 revealed that 40% of Americans believed that biological evolution was not true and that it would conflict their religious beliefs. Despite the popularity of creationism in certain states, many scientists believe that the best way to counter this movement is not to be actively involved in it, but to inform the public about the evidence that supports evolution.
Scientists have a duty to teach their students about science and the theory of evolution. They should also inform the public about the process of scientific research and how knowledge is verified. They should also explain how scientific theories are often challenged and modified. However, misperceptions regarding the nature of scientific research often cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
For example, some people may confuse the word "theory" with the everyday meaning of the word, which is a hunch or a guess. However, in science theories are rigorously tested and verified with empirical evidence. A theory that is able to withstand repeated testing and observations becomes an established scientific principle.
The debate about evolutionary theory is an excellent opportunity to discuss the significance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is important to realize that science is unable to answer questions about the meaning or meaning of life, it only serves as a mechanism through which living organisms can develop and adapt.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major fields of science including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people have and the decisions they make require knowledge of how science works.
The vast majority of scientists across the world believe that humans have evolved over time. In a recent study that predicted the opinions of adults about the consensus around this issue people with higher levels of education and knowledge of science were found to be more likely to believe that there is a broad agreement among scientists regarding the evolution of humans. People with a higher level of religious belief but less knowledge of science tend to disagree more. It is crucial that educators emphasize the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus, so that people can make informed decisions regarding the use of energy, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
Cultural evolution is a close cousin of the popular evolutionary theory. It explores how humans and other organisms learn from each other. Researchers in this field employ elaborate tools and investigative models adapted from evolutionary theorists. They also go 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 at once (in sexual species, during fertilization) however, cultural traits can be acquired over a lengthy period of time. This means that the acquisition of one characteristic can affect the development of another.
In Korea the emergence of Western style elements in the late nineteenth and early 20th century was the result of an elaborate sequence of events. One of the most important was the appearance in Korea of Japanese occupation forces that introduced Western hairstyles and clothes.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s, some of those trends began to change. By the end World War II, Korea was united once more and again under the Choson dynasty rule.
Today, Korea is a vibrant economic and political power. Despite the financial crisis of recent, Korea's economy has been growing steadily over the past decade. It is expected to continue this growth in the near future.
The current government is confronted with many challenges. The government's inability to formulate a coherent strategy to deal with the current economic crisis is one of the biggest obstacles. The crisis has exposed the shortcomings of the country's economic policies, mainly its overreliance on exports and foreign investment that may not be sustainable over the long term.
The crisis has shaken the confidence of investors. This means that the government needs to reconsider its strategy and come up with ways to increase domestic demand. To ensure 에볼루션 게이밍 will need to overhaul its incentive system, monitoring and discipline. This chapter outlines several scenarios of how the Korean economy could grow in the post-crisis period.
4. Evolution and Education
The biggest 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. Teachers need to, for instance be mindful of the diversity of religions in their classrooms and create a learning environment where students of both secular and religious beliefs feel comfortable. Teachers must also be able to identify common misconceptions regarding evolution and be able to correct them in the classroom. Teachers must also have quick access to the various resources available to teach evolution.
In this context, Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played a significant role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best methods of teaching Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies and educational researchers, as well as government funding agency officials as well as curriculum developers. The convergence of various stakeholders led to the development of some common guidelines which will serve as the basis for any future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the teaching of evolution should be included in all science curricula at every level. To achieve 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. A new publication from the NRC offers guidance to schools about how to integrate evolution into the life science curriculum.
Multiple studies have proven that a more complete presentation of evolution leads to better understanding by students and belief in the concept of evolution. However the estimation of the causal impact of teaching in the classroom is a challenge because school curriculums are not randomly assigned and change over time because of the predetermined timing of gubernatorial elections and state board of education appointments. To overcome this issue I employ a longitudinal data set that gives me to control the effects of years and states fixed and individual-level variations 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 hypothesis that more confident faculty are less likely to avoid evolution-related topics in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies such as a reconciliatory approach which is used to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.