Sociobiology Essays - Anthropology, Evolutionary Biology, Ethology

Sociobiology In the middle of this century, bot biological and cultural anthropology experiences a major change in theory. In biological anthropology, biological anthropologists adopted an approach which focused on the gene. They saw the human evolution as the process of genetic adaptation to the environment. In the mean time, there were also cultural analogies to evolution. Cultural evolution also followed a process of adaptation. In the field of anthropology, a very important theory is that of the sociobiologists. Sociobiologists focus on adaptation and reproductive success rather than progress toward perfection. Edward O. Wilson was one of the most important of them. He adopted an approach that focused on the level of the gene. He saw social behavior as controlled, in principle, by particular genes, and he saw evolution as occurring at this level because reproductive success amounted to increasing the frequency of certain genes in future generations. However, the insistence of sociobiologists on grounding at least some behavior in universal human genetic predisposition runs contrary to cultural anthropologists' emphasis on the primacy of culture itself as the determinant of human social life. Several distinct approaches can be identified in contemporary sociobiology. The first one is evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology is concerned primarily with the analysis of the mind as a device formed by natural selection. The second focus is human behavioral ecology. It emphasized populations rather than cultures, human population biology, as well as evolutionary ecology. The difference from evolutionary psychology is that it focuses on testing the hypotheses that culturally patterned traits actually enhance fitness rather than mind. The third approach involves the search for human universals. People advocating this kind of approach concentrate on discovering the characteristics found in all human societies. (McGee and Warms, 1996) However, this universal evolution point of view is rejected by other anthropologists such as Julian Steward. Steward developed an ecological approach that focused on the adaptation of individual cultures to specific environmental circumstances rather than trying to find out the universal law of human evolution and adaptation. He devoted most of his energy to the study of the environmental adaptation of specific societies. He did not believe that cultures followed a single universal sequence of development. Instead, he proposed that cultures could evolve in any number of distinct patterns depending on their environmental circumstances. He called his theory multilinear evolution. He also proposed that cultures in similar environments would tend to follow the same developmental sequences and formulate similar responses to their environmental challenges. (McGee and Warms, 1996) However, the multilinear point of view was not proposed by other anthropologists such as Leslie White. White concludes that unilineal evolutionary theory was fundamentally sound. He argued that evolutionary development from simple to complex, with increasing specialization of parts, was valid bot for cultures and for biology. He also proposed a grand, universal law of cultural evolution by means of the control of energy as the key factor in cultural evolution: culture advances as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per ear increases, or as the efficiency with which energy is utilized increases. (McGee and Warms, 1996) Still, there were other anthropologists who proposed both a multiliear and a universal law of evolution. For example, George Peter Murdock was interested in the statistical testing of cross-cultural hypotheses. His cross-cultural comparisons of cultural traits in many ways paralleled Steward's theory of multilinear evolution. In the meantime, he also believed that a universal set of principle governed the relationship between family structure, kinship, and marriage practices. In this sense, his attempts to statistically demonstrate universal principles of kin relation s resembled White's effort to formulate a universal theory of cultural evolution. (McGee and Warms, 1996) Besides, William C. Boyd also suggests that there is no doubt that some rectilinearity can often be observed in evolution. Nevertheless, rectilinear evolution is far from universal. (Boyd, 1952) Another key issue concerning human evolution is the issue of race. The definition of race, according to many anthropologists, is based on the frequency of certain genes. William C. Boyd defines race as that "A race is not an individual, and it is not a single genotype, but it is a group of individuals more or less from the same geographical area (a population), usually with a number of identical genes, but in which many different types may occur." His definition or race is a genetic one. (Boyd, 1952) Echoing Boyd, Dobzhansky also suggests that races arise chiefly as a result of the ordering of the genetic variability by natural selection in conformity with the environmental conditions in different territories. He said that "since human population often, in fact

Alexander The Great Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Alexander The Great Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Alexander The Great Alexander the Great and His Achievements Alexander the Great was the king of Macedon. Alexander of Macedon, or ancient Mecadonia, deserves to be called the Great. Alexander the Great was considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He was an excellent king, general, and conqueror. During his thirteen-year rule he conquered almost all the then known world and gave a new direction to history. He had established an empire after he died. His new empire helped many people live their lives. He improved the way of life in his empire in many ways. Conquering other lands spread the Greek traditions and language. Alexander the Great was born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedon (Martin 192). He was the son of Philip II and Olympias. Philip II was the king of Macedonia and Olympias was the princess of Epirus (Stewart 18). Alexander had many interests in military strategies (Stewart 20). Once when Alexander was about seven years old, a group of Persian diplomats came to Macedon to see Philip. Philip was with his army fighting neighboring tribes so the diplomats stayed and talked with Alexander. They didn't except Alexander to ask questions about the size of the Persian army and the length of the journey to Susa (an important city in Persia). This shows one of Alexander's early interests (Stewart 21). Philip decided to buy Alexander a racehorse when Alexander was ten or eleven years old. The horse was named Bucephalas. Bucephalas' behavior did not please Philip. Philip ordered the horse's owner to take the horse away but Alexander declared that he could tame the horse (Stewart 21). Everyone applauded when they saw Alexander ride the horse. The rest of the company broke into applause, writes Plutarch, while his father, we are told, wept for joy, and when Alexander had dismounted he kissed him and said, 'My boy, you must find a kingdom big enough for your ambitions. Macedon is too small for you' (Stewart 22). Alexander needed more than horsemanship and self-confidence to be a good king. He needed discipline. Philip worried that Olympias spoiled the boy too much. For Alexander to learn those things, Philip hires a stern and a tough tutor to teach Alexander. His name is Leonidas. He monitored Alexander's meals and exercises. Leonidas didn't trust Olympias. He suspected she tried to smuggle extra food in Alexander's marching gear. The man [Leonidas] himself used to come and look through my bedding boxes and clothes chests, Alexander wrote, to see my mother did not hide any luxuries (Stewart 22). Philip knew that Alexander needed more training. Philip sent for a teacher who was probably the wisest man in all of Greece. His name was Aristotle. Aristotle was born in a small township of Stagira in northern Greece (Barnes 3). Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist. He is considered the most famous ancient thinkers (Barnes 3). When Aristotle was seventeen years old he moved to Athens, where he became a member of Plato's school. He stayed at Plato's academy for twenty years. Aristotle left the Academy when Plato died. Aristotle founded his own informal philosophical school in Athens. Aristotle lectured on nearly every branch of learning: biology, medicine, anatomy, psychology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, music, metaphysics, rhetoric, political science, ethics, and literary criticism. Aristotle defined and classified various branches of knowledge. He sorted them into physics, psychology, rhetoric, poetry, and logic. He laid the foundation of the most of the sciences of today. He collected the first great library and established a museum (Martin 182). In 342 B.C. Philip invited Aristotle to teach his thirteen-year-old son Alexander. Aristotle's main love was philosophy. Alexander and Aristotle's discussion about philosophy laid the foundation for Alexander's ideas of what it meant to be a soldier and a king. Alexander learned from Aristotle the principles of zoology and botany. Alexander enjoyed literature most out of all the lessons Aristotle taught. Aristotle introduced the boy to the best poets and writers (Stewart 22-23). Alexander loved the work of Homer. The Illiad was Alexander's favorite. The tales of adventure, love, bravery, and loyalty excited Alexander. Aristotle gave Alexander a copy of the poem. Alexander carried the book everywhere and put it under his

A PESTEL analysis of Nokia Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A PESTEL analysis of Nokia Company - Essay Example The concluding section will make recommendations for the future based on the PESTEL analysis. Finland is a stable parliamentary democracy that has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 1995. It provides a remarkably stable home base for Nokia. A succinct overview of Finland as a politico-economic entity is provided by the Encyclopedia of Political Information: Finland has a highly industrialised, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK.... Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling almost one-third of GDP. According to the company website it had sales of EUR 10.3 billion and reported an operating profit of of EUR 403 million and earnings per share of EUR 0.14 in the third quarter of 2010.(Nokia, 2010) On the other hand Intomobile greeted this report by noting that while the overall mobile market is expected to grow by 10% Nokia sees its share of that market dropping slightly along with their value share. (Intomobile, 2010) Overall, Nokias economic position is strong but not perfect. Demand for a firms products and their ability to continue manufacturing them are the key elements in the social element of PESTEL analysis. Nokias core competency, mobile communications, is growing in terms of volume and coverage and, at the same time, innumerable new applications are being developed at an astronomical pace. In terms of its ability to thrive in a stable social environment Nokia is also ideally positioned. Its home country, Finland, is a stable democracy with a moderate gap between the wealthiest and the poorest citizens and a strong social support network. While not immune to the recent global economic meltdown Finland weathered it well. Additionally, Nokia

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Essay

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Growth of the Host Economies - Essay Example ects of FDI on economic growth in host countries greatly depend upon the local conditions and contexts of doing business there: for example, human capital enhances the positive effects of FDI on host economies, while the existing technology gaps make it possible to implement even the simplest foreign direct investment reforms (Wang, Gu, Tse & Yim, 2012). Added to this is the role which market size plays in attracting FDI to host countries, whereas technology-absorptive abilities predetermine host returns from FDI (Li & Liu 2005; Blalock & Gertner 2008). These results have far-reaching implications for policy development and implementation, although all risks and factors changing the nature of FDI inflows to host countries need to be thoroughly considered. Even more interesting are the results of another study conducted in the three major countries-recipients of FDI. These include Malaysia, Chile, and Thailand (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, the researchers confirm that the effects of FDI on economic growth are very heterogeneous and primarily depend upon the level of GDP in host countries (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). At least in Thailand and Malaysia, the relationship between GDP and FDI is very explicit (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, these findings have far-reaching implications for policymaking, since understanding causality between FDI and economic growth is crucial for the creation of policies that encourage the inflow of investments from abroad in the developing world. Both studies confirm the importance of the FDI-economic growth causality but also imply that the nature of this causality and its direction should be placed under professional scrutiny. As long as the effects of FDI on economic growth in host countries are characterized by considerable...This essay outlines the difficulties in establishing the functional relationships of FDI influence on economic growth in host countries. One of the greatest problems in this respect is the lack of suff icient empirical data. Another difficulty is the lack of organization and poor systematization of the existing knowledge. Theoretically, FDI promotes economic growth through an increase in investment volumes, leading to increased efficiency of all economic and financial operations. Another theory suggests that economic growth is a direct result of the technological diffusions caused by FDI. Objectively, there is no single explanation to the effects of FDI on economic growth: numerous variables moderate the relationship between FDI and economic growth in host countries, and the current knowledge of financial markets and macro/microeconomics does not allow producing a comprehensive theory of FDI and its impacts on host countries’ economies. In order to understand how and why FDI impacts host countries’ economic growth, the meaning of both terms needs to be clarified. For the goal of this paper, foreign direct investment is defined as â€Å"the process whereby residents of one country (the source country) acquire ownership of assets for the purpose of controlling the production, distribution, and other activities of a firm in another country. FDI impacts economic growth through structural effects, skill and technology, and size effects. TNC play a huge role in the transfer of capitals and skills from one country to another.

Data Storage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data Storage - Essay Example This means that even after 20 years old database with billions of records as long as it has been properly designed and maintained, it will still search rapidly and return results fast whereas doing it manually, each growing record slows down to end point of search; and finally, 4) with electronic database you can always build it up, redesign or customize database, etc. to meet your data requirements† (Husin, 2008). Presently, IT CEOs, CIOs and administrators deal with increasing explosion of data growth. Thanks to modern science that is keeping up with the rapid pace of development in the industry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). New enhanced features on data storage technology have been added to include backup, archiving and disaster recovery built-in mechanisms to protect stored data and these are milestone achievements. Another featured enhancement is, increasing data storage capacity to accommodate greater volume of data of any format. Second, if before only digitized data can be stored in a computer, today, all data formats from text messages, images, sound, voice, pictures, scanned data, music and movies, among others are now accepted for storage, retrieval, manipulation and sharing. More and more enhanced features will be introduced since the number of different types of computer users have increased immensely in keeping pace with service requirements and ICT developme nts. The different types of new computer users include data miners, explorers, departmental users, multidimensional users, power users, and executive users. This situation requires alternate storage mechanisms to respond to the needs of the industries. In response to the demands of these varied types of computer users, new hybrid storage systems are now introduced: direct attached storage (DAS), storage area network (SAN) and network attached storage (NAS) (â€Å"Enterprise Data Storage†, n. d.). Enterprise business storage is also one of the

Ben And Jerrys SWOT Factors

Ben And Jerrys SWOT Factors Ben and Jerrys is the ice cream company which is having the production facility in Vermont and marketing and selling the ice-cream most of the countries in the world. Ben Jerrys started making enquires about the Japanese market to start their operation in the world second largest ice cream market where the annual sales is approximately 4.5 billion USD. Even though the market is big and it is one of the toughest markets among the other. Here the language and the audience both seem unpredictable and understanding them without knowing their language is more difficult. But Haagen-Dazs have already entered into the market before 10 years. Ben and jerrys is the late entrant among those six leading players. It is the market where the consumers where demand high quality products and also with the more number of varieties and styles. Arguably this is the most affluent country in the world. Though Haagen-Dazss financial figures were not published, market intelligence suggested the ice cream maker had Japanese sales of about $300 million. Haagen-Dazs had managed to capture nearly half the super premium market in Japan. On the one hand, Haagen-Dazs would be a formidable competitor that would likely guard its market share. On the other hand, there would be no apparent need for Ben Jerrys to teach the local market about super premium ice cream. The market seemed to welcome the case information presents a situation report of Ben and Jerrys strengths, weakness, opportunity and threats (SWOT) factor report. Strengths Established successfully in the global markets in terms of USA and non USA Ben and Jerrys another part of their synonymous for social responsibility is Caring Capitalism. Ben and jerrys gave 7.5 percent of pre-tax profits to social causes like Healing Our Mother earth, which protected community members from local health risks, and Center for Better Living, which assisted the homeless Ben and Jerrys sell its ice cream with the chunky ingredients and catchy flavour names like Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey Weakness Ben and Jerrys unquestionably held the second largest market share (at 34 percent compared to Haagen-Dazs 44 percent) of the American super premium market, the company had started to lose market share. Hired Perry Odak at the recommendation of one of its member at a base salary of $300,000 with a start date in January 1997 Ben and Jerrys brand had the countrys fifth highest share of the ice cream market in terms of value, it still accounted for only a small 3.6 percent of the market Opportunities Seven- Eleven interested in bringing Ben and Jerry to Japan was that Seven-Elevens combined USA and Japan operation would become so important to Ben and Jerry Haagen-Dazs was being sold for 250 Yen per 120 ml and seven Eleven wanted to position Ben and Jerrys at a slightly lower price point Yamada would expect to add selected flavours of Ben and Jerrys ice cream cups to the Dominos delivery menu In todays health conscious societies the introduction of more fat-free and healthy alternative ice cream and frozen yogurt products Threats Ben and Jerrys was beginning to lose market share in both the total ice cream market and more importantly, the super premium market As the product would be exported from the United States, there would be a risk of negative exchange rate movement that could make exports to Japan no longer feasible Ice cream should be pack in personal cups and not in a 473 ml (one pint) size that Ben and Jerrys currently packed. The main fact is that small cups were the ice cream is seldom consumed as a family desert in Japan, but rather is consumed as a snack item. Customers mostly like to have that as an individual serving. Designing a small cups need the company to install new machines on the existing plants. The expense is more than $2 million for new equipments. Argument on General Terms Ben Jerrys began making inquiries about opportunities in Japan, the second largest ice cream market in the world, with annual sales of approximately $4.5 billion. Although, the market was big, it was also daunting. Japan was known to have a highly complex distribution system, its barriers to foreign products were high and the distance for shipping a frozen product from America was immense. Ben Jerrys would be a late entrant, more than 10 years behind Haagen-Dazs in gaining a foothold in the market. In addition, there were at least six Japanese ice cream manufacturers selling a super premium product. The company currently packing in a 473 ml (one pint) size but the market is for the personal cups. The main fact is the ice is the favourite snacks for the people in Japan. So the personal cups will pull the market towards the brand. Ben and Jerrys have not having the machinery to make the small cups. It would require around $2 million for new equipment and Ben and Jerrys are also ready to install the machineries in the existing plant itself. But in this period of time invest of $2 million for this purpose will affect the deal further. Japanese buyers basically expect the product on the perfect specification which they need. The Japanese customers are having the capacity to demand the company to offer the products on their specification. Merits and Demerits of entry modes: Ben Jerrys management was interested toward an entry into Japan it was not a good business plan. Entering into such a complicated market where the language and the audience everything is different. The entry will happen with the good financial background and the best management. The product is exporting from the Vermont so there is chance could be risk of negative exchange rate. It makes the company to face the unprofitable situation. This is the main risk factor on emerging the business in Japan for the Ben and Jerrys. The positive and negative factors are more in the entry of Japanese market for the company. There are lots of chances to get the distribution inside the country. On that entering with the help of Seven-Eleven is the safest way to the ban and jerrys. It reserves the freezer comaprtment for their product in the 7000 conventional immediately across the country. On the parallel side there is also a chance to lose the popularity among the audience. The Seven-Eleven planned to place the product within the conventional stores. Where the chances are like placing its product among the other existing market leaders. It will reduce the chance to be exploring the market like the Haagen-Dazs have done. Chances to become a store brands is too low. The deal between the Ben and Jerrys and Seven-Eleven will never affect the any existing product in the market. On the whole of business agreement there is a major drawback in signing the agreement and it is the ice cream package size. Ben and jerrys package size is 473 ml but the Seven-Eleven insisted Ben and Jerry are to be packaged only in 120 ml personal cups. The main factor is that Japanese market is mainly for the personal cups. They often consume ice cream in one of their snack instead of family desert. Yamada the company proposed to Ben and Jerrys to have the full control on the sales and marketing in Japan. By giving the full sales and marketing control to Yamada will helps the Ban and Jerrys in the positive way. Because dealing in an unfamiliar market like Japan will sure difficult for the company to operate. It also cares for the company to get the instant expertise in the unfamiliar market. Yamada is already known to the market in the frozen foods and building a chain for Dominos in Japanese market. By signing a legal agreement will make the Yamada to start the marketing process. It makes the Ben and Jerrys to be the leading brand in the market. And Yamada have already expected to add the different flavours to Ben and Jerrys ice creams and also planned to add some of its flavour to the dominos delivery menu. But so far no agreement has signed which makes there is no any specific plan. Seven Eleven can make the company to start the instant operation in Japan. But apart from that it cant make any more development in the branding. Because as Seven-Eleven committed it will sells six cups per day will never generate more popularity and revenue to the company. Ben Jerrys was the new product to the Japanese market and it is not having an enough budget to run a marketing campaign in the Japanese market. Seven-Eleven is the only hope for the company to handle the promotional efforts. But it never committed any specific plan with the company. Logistics Ben Jerrys had long been shipping ice cream to the West Coast and to Europe in freezer containers. Shipments to Japan were feasible in delivery reliability especially key, and, of course, costs would have to be minimised. Logistics research indicated it would likely take at least three weeks shipping time from the plant in Vermont to the warehouse in Japan. The product could not be shifted to another customer nor could another customers product be shifted to Japan.

Intrapsychic Omnipresence in Bodily Symptoms :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Intrapsychic Omnipresence in Bodily Symptoms Sometimes disease and illness just show up. For these medical conditions, a doctor usually tells us what is "wrong" physically. These scientific observations determining diseases or symptoms leave people wondering if there is something behind the cell that created the malfunction. Perhaps one's psyche; which is the mind functioning as the center of thought, conscious or unconscious, and interconnected with the physical environment, can effect the body positively and negatively. An indirect way of dealing with psychological conflict is to intuitively or unconsciously convert it into symptomatic illness. However, this does not get rid of the emotions or the symptoms, for this is not the root of the problem. It is only through recognition of the their intuition or repressed emotions that people may come to heal themselves. It is difficult although possible for some to assign every illness or symptom to some underlying psychic cause; but that is usually whimsically referred to as "new ag e" and "mystical". It is a person's own personal belief whether she created her diabetes, or whether he created his cancer as a result of psychological and emotional conflict and trauma. Therefore, we can only look at the facts to postulate the argument that a lack of psychological well being manifests itself somatically. The best way to examine the notion that psychological factors affect medical conditions is with the neurosis Hysteria. Hysteria is also known now as Conversion Disorder or Dissociation, in which unconscious or emotional psychological conflict converts into a bodily disturbance (2). An example of this is anxiety. Hysteria is diagnosed as psychological stress accompanied with physical symptoms. Interestingly, despite the multiple physical symptoms there is no anatomical or organic basis for any of them. Although conversion disorder is a physical manifestation, there is no physical cause. In the case of hysteria, the mind or the psyche is neglected by the person who represses emotional trauma, and these then divert themselves into the body as a means of expression or escape. These patients often times do not know what is wrong with themselves because the repression was unconscious and out of their control. Accordingly, the physical symptoms in hysteria are a result of the person's lack of psychological control, which is unconscious not voluntary. During the 19th century, French Neurologist J.M. Charcot and Psychologist P. Janet emphasized that "morbid ideas could produce physical manifestations" and that hysteria was caused by the psyche not the body (1).