Evolution Korea
The financial crisis that struck Asia required a major review of the old model of government-business alliances and public management of private risks. In Korea, that required a change in the development paradigm.
In a controversial decision the South Korean government has requested publishers of textbooks to ignore calls for removing examples of evolution from high school science texts. This includes the evidence for the evolution of horses and the avian an ancestor 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 decision was the result of a campaign run by the Society for Textbook Revise (STR) an independent offshoot of the Korea Association for Creation Research, which wants to rid textbooks on biology of "atheist materialism." The STR claims that such materialism paints an unhopeful picture for students and leads to their eventual loss of faith.
Scientists across the globe expressed concerns when the STR campaign made headlines. Jae Choe, evolutionary biologist at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, complained in an email to Nature's editor that South Korea had succumbed to religious prejudice. He was backed by colleagues around the country, who formed an organization called Evolution Korea to organize a petition to protest the changes to the textbooks.
Some scientists are worried that the STR will be spread to other regions of the world, where creationism is on the rise. The letter to Nature warned that the anti-evolution movement will push for textbook revisions in other countries, notably those with large Christian and Muslim populations.
South Korea has a particularly powerful cultural backdrop for the evolution debate. 26 percent of the country's citizens are members of an organized religion and the majority practice Christianity or Buddhism. In addition, many Koreans adhere to the philosophy of Ch'ondogyo. It is based on Confucian principles that emphasizes social harmony and individual self-cultivation. Ch'ondogyo teaches that human beings are one with Hanulnim, the God of the Sun, and that the heavenly blessings can be derived by doing good deeds.
All of this has made creationism a fertile ground. Numerous studies have found that students with a religious background to be more reluctant to learn about evolution than those who don't. The underlying reasons for this phenomenon are not clear. One reason is that students with religious backgrounds tend to be as well-versed in scientific concepts and theories, which makes them more susceptible to the influence of creationists. Another reason could be that students with religious backgrounds might view evolution as a belief system that is not a religion, which makes them feel less comfortable.
2. Evolution and Science
In recent years, anti-evolution campaigns in schools have caused concern among the scientific community. 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 fact that creationism has been a huge success in some states, a lot of scientists feel that the best method to counter this movement is not to engage it, but rather to educate people about the evidence for evolution.
Scientists have a duty to instruct their students in science including the theory of evolution. They also need to inform the general public about the scientific process, and how scientific knowledge is gathered and verified. They must also explain that theories of science are frequently challenged and re-examined. However, misperceptions regarding the nature of scientific research frequently cause people to believe that evolution is not real.
Some people interpret the term "theory" as a guess or a guess. In science, however theories are thoroughly tested and verified using evidence. A theory that is repeatedly tested and observed is then a scientific principle.
The debate about the theory of evolution is a wonderful occasion to discuss both the importance of the scientific method and its limitations. It is crucial to be aware that science is not able to answer questions about life's purpose or meaning, but instead allows living things to grow and adapt.
A well-rounded education must include exposure to all major scientific fields including evolutionary biology. This is especially important since the jobs that people hold and the decisions they make require a understanding of how science functions.
The majority of scientists around the world agree that humans have changed over time. In a recent study that predicted adults' views of the consensus around this issue those with higher levels of education and scientific knowledge were found to be more likely to believe that there is a broad consensus among scientists on the evolution of humans. Those with more religious faith but less science knowledge tend to be more divided. It is crucial that educators stress the importance of gaining an understanding of this consensus, to enable people to make informed choices about energy use, health care and other policy issues.
3. Evolution and Culture
A close relative to the popular evolutionary theory, the concept of cultural evolution studies the numerous ways that humans and other species learn from and interact with each other. Researchers in this field utilize explanatory models and investigative tools that are adapted from those employed by evolutionary theorists, and they go back to human prehistory to find out the genesis of our capacity to learn about culture.
This approach also recognizes the differences between cultural and biological traits. While biological traits are largely acquired at once (in sexual species, during fertilization), cultural traits can be acquired over a protracted period of time. The acquisition of a cultural characteristic can influence the growth and development of another.
In Korea the emergence of Western elements of style in the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was the result a complex sequence of events. One of the most important was the arrival of Japanese occupation forces, who introduced Western hairstyles and styles of clothing to Korean society.
When Japan left Korea in the 1930s some of these trends began to reverse. 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 에볼루션 게이밍 of recent Korea's economy has been growing steadily over the last decade. It is expected to keep this trend going in the coming years.
The current government is faced with a variety of challenges. One of the biggest is its inability to find a coherent policy to address the economic crisis. The crisis has exposed weaknesses of the country's policies, especially its over-reliance on exports and foreign investment that may not last.
The crisis has shaken confidence of investors. This means that the government has to reconsider its strategy and come up with other ways to increase domestic demand. To ensure a stable and stable financial environment the government will need to overhaul its incentive and monitoring systems, as well as discipline and monitoring. This chapter offers a variety of scenarios on how the Korean economy might develop post-crisis.
4. Evolution and Education
The challenge for evolution educators lies in how to teach evolutionary concepts that are appropriate for different ages and stages of development. For example, teachers must be aware of the religious diversity of their classrooms and create an environment 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. Teachers should also have quick access to the many resources available to teach evolution.
In this regard, the Thinking Evolutionarily Convocation played an important role in bringing together evolutionary researchers and educators from various sectors to discuss the best methods for teaching about Evolution. Participants included representatives from scientific societies, educational researchers, officials of government funding agencies, and curriculum developers. The convergence of these diverse stakeholders helped to identify a shared set of recommendations that will serve as the basis for future actions.
One of the most important recommendations is that the subject of evolution should be incorporated in all science curricula at any level. National Science Education Standards (NRC) that call for the integration of evolution across all life sciences with the developmentally appropriate, are one method to achieve this goal. Additionally, a new publication from the NRC offers guidelines to schools on how to integrate evolution into their life science curriculum.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that a more complete explanation of evolution can lead to greater student understanding and belief in the existence of evolution. It is difficult to quantify the causal effects of evolution in the classroom since school curricula do not change on a regular basis and are dependent on the timing of state boards of education and gubernatorial elections. To overcome this problem I utilize a longitudinal data set which allows me to account for state and year fixed effects as well as individual-level variations in teacher beliefs regarding the evolution of their curriculum.
Teachers who are more comfortable teaching evolution have less internal barriers. This is in line with the notion that faculty who are more confident are less likely to be hesitant about teaching about evolution in the classroom, and could be more inclined to employ strategies such as the reconciliatory method which is used to increase the acceptance of undergraduate students of evolution.