How humanity has lost its diversity

Posted on 16. Oct, 2009 by admin in Social

Human beings are very similar, at least genetically, compared with all other primates. Scientists have shown that humanity had lost its variability genetics during its migration. He was leaving for Africa, there are 50 to 60,000 years. Until recently, few researchers had looked at this event. This is no longer the case. Since the 1990s, there is evidence that African people have a gene pool is much richer than those outside the African continent. These genetic resources are an asset to adapt to environmental changes: climate, diseases, diets … Leaving the African human populations, migrants have faced two bottlenecks that reduced genetic variability. (more…)

B. SOCIAL-CULTURAL.

Posted on 14. Oct, 2009 by admin in Culture

The human being is an eminently social lives and develops in a specific society, which creates a culture. The social culture is defined by Newstrom and Davis (1993) as “the social environment of belief created by human beings, customs, knowledge, and practices that define conventional behavior in a society. This behavior commonly accepted in a society influences all conscious and subconscious levels of thought that influence the actions an individual performs in accordance with the expectations of other members of that society.
A good example of the above what are the myths and stereotypes that societies construct and express their values, traditions, customs, etc.. at a certain time. Gonzalez Torres (1996) clarifies the need to build a society of myths and stereotypes for their own consumption, saying that this happens “sometimes as a statement of which are run from the authorities, sometimes as a compensatory mechanism, sometimes as underground subversion, or all of these together. Here the mythic imagination is generous and democratic: almost any object or person is susceptible to becoming myth and become part of the body of fetishes and remarks that put the individual in the world and society .

The sociability of a culture have an impact on the forms of social organization and therefore its economic and political development. An article by Fukuyama (1996), entitled “Social capital and the global economy,” emphasizes culture as the promoter of economic development when it facilitates the spontaneous forms of socialization that is trusted among strangers, to “work together in new ways and flexible organization. ” These forms of spontaneous sociability is weakened in those cultures that make stress upon family relations, giving rise to more serious when education and work are also weaknesses of culture.

Confucian and Judaic cultures underlie the development of their processes of socialization in familism it weakens its organization, but offset this effect with the strength they derive from their education and work. Fukuyama (1996) exemplifies the original argument of Max Weber’s strong Chinese cultural orientation toward the family, is an obstacle to the modernization of its development, affirming the importance attached to ties of kinship and “the centrality of the family in that culture” in the Chinese organizations for recruitment and selection of managers, supporting this argument as “the reason for the relatively small scale of Chinese businesses,” which affects the existence of relatively “few large corporations, hierarchical, professionally managed,” characteristics of the Japanese organizations.

The researcher concludes that currently emerging economic cultures of China and Japan as two rival economic cultures “with their own guidelines and features that characterize it:” Each of these cultures are united in the literal sense for large organizations typically based network in generalized social trust in the Japanese case and the family and kinship in the Chinese case. These networks obviously interact with each other on many points, but their internal wiring diagrams come along very different avenues. ”

The contrasts between the two cultures, Japanese and Chinese, whose common denominator is the “Asian model” show that there are, according to Fukuyama (1996) “cultural aspects common to virtually all societies of East Asia. The contrasts between the two Asian cultures have serious implications for every one in particular. Among these common features to the model affected by Confucian culture, the researcher states:
a. – the respect for education, and
b. – a strong work ethic.
But despite these features common to both Asian cultures, “… in terms of industrial structure is a long way … and will be difficult for Chinese companies to adopt Japanese practices.”

Another good example is quoted by Fukuyama (1996) analysis by Banfield in a village with an Italian peasant culture “whose families were nuclear, small and weak. The family business continued to be marginal and employers failed to build because they believed it obligation of the State do it for them. ” The conclusion drawn by Banfield’s analysis can be validated in a culture like ours which has many similar traits and Italian.

Fukuyama’s study are the similarities of family and cultural characteristics of different countries which make them look regardless of the economic bloc to which they belong and which are also its significance for economic development, thus rests on the thesis Weber postulated that the economic development of countries is based on values and religious beliefs, which also overlap with the political, social and cultural rights. Zabludowsky (1996), interpreting the work of Fukuyama and Weber, sustains that “the causes of our economic underdevelopment can be explained by the differences between a” fighting tradition “feature of Anglo-Saxon Protestant and a” contemplative tradition “of the Iberian Catholicism. The terms “fighting tradition” and “tradition contemplate” are terms originally used by Basanez (1986).

However, even Fukuyama (1996) not sure that “the inability of low-trust societies to create large-scale organizations, constitutes a particular constraint to economic growth rates set …”. and with the benefit of the doubt, argues the rapid growth in the decade of the eighties experienced economies “Italy and other Latin and Catholic Familists companies in the U.S.”, “discarding therefore Mexican society -. With this argument, Fukuyama (1996), corrected to Max Weber who argued that the strong cultural orientation of Chinese society family privilege to be the main obstacle to their “economic modernization”. Do not forget the various cultural reasons that explain the differences in family relations in different countries and appears not taken seriously by Fukuyama although intended as an argument to prove otherwise to explain the economic development of countries.

Despite this analysis, Fukuyama (1996) concludes: “But clearly both the need for an industrial policy as the ability to implement it depends on cultural factors such as social capital.” Although questions about the importance of culture, and the orientation of the securities have been a constant concern in sociological theory, says Zabludowsky (1996), by referring to the fact that it is a controversial author who again put this issue in the forefront. However, it strongly criticized for its lack of scientific rigor. One of these criticisms are straightened to the simplistic presentation that Fukuyama makes “family trust-trust parity extrafamilial a zero sum game where the increase in one necessarily leads to a decrease of the other” in a narrative that recalls the use of “double standard” of Mexican conceptualize it as “a being masked,” said Peace (1972) or the weight of the “colonial servitude described by Ramos.

Buy Green, a safe-conduct for a less moral?

Posted on 11. Oct, 2009 by admin in Culture, Experiments & Research

Consumer choices reflect their taste or budget, but also reflect social and moral values. Witness the remarkable growth of the global market for organic products and environmentally friendly. According to a new study, being surrounded by green products make us more altruistic. But would buy the opposite effect .Researchers have discovered that buying green would make people less altruistic and even steal and lie more easily! In the minds of consumers buy products that claim to have a low impact on the environment would, somehow, the “moral credentials” eligible for selfish behavior or questionable.

N. Mazar, a professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and buying green products, and coauthor Chen-Bo Zhong, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Rotman School, have conducted three experiments. The first, conducted with the participation of 59 student volunteers (including 32 women), showed that people perceive eco-consumers as being more cooperative, altruistic and ethical than others.

For the second experiment, 156 students (95 women) were divided into 2 groups: people visiting an online store and other eco surf shop in a conventional line. In both groups, some could make purchases online, others not. During a game simply subjects exposed to organic products have shared more money than those who visited the shop treaty. In contrast, those who had shopped in the store less organic than the others shared.

More lies and theft among buyers green
In the final experiment, 90 participants (56 women) have all sailed on an online shop organic but, again, some might buy while others could not. When a new game, buyers were more liars and stole more cash than others. “This is not to point fingers at people who buy green products. The message is more important, said Nina Mazar, do a selfless act does not mean that all our actions will be. ”

But the people have awareness of this green-washing going mental when they buy green products? And, more importantly, would they feel entitled to break moral rules more important? Teachers and Mazar Zhong does not yet know the answer and are eager to explore these new tracks .

The coral threatened by famine

Posted on 11. Oct, 2009 by admin in Social

Man rejects more and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. By contributing to global warming, CO 2 already threatened coral bleaching by promoting them, but in future it will also starving them. Researchers at the University of Queensland have shown that high CO 2 and water acidification could destroy algae symbiotic corals. (more…)

Anti-abortion law in Nicaragua rises maternal deaths

Posted on 06. Oct, 2009 by admin in Culture

An Amnesty International report notes that total abortion ban in Nicaragua that governed since July 2008 is contributing to an increase in maternal mortality in that country. As reported in the journal The Lancet (29 August), the law – that applies even in cases of rape, incest and pregnancies at risk of death – “denies women access to life-saving treatments and prevents the professional practice effective medical-health, “said Kate Gilmore, deputy general secretary of Amnesty International. (more…)

Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief: 10-23 September 2009

Posted on 06. Oct, 2009 by admin in Glossary, Social

Below is a round up of news from or about Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 10-23 September 2009. Clinical Research in South Africa waning
A report in The Lancet has Outlined the decline in clinical research in South Africa Because of reduced funding from the government. The report says this has left researchers to turn to pharmaceutical companies and international research institutions to fund clinical trials. Such organizations often work within short-term frameworks and prioritize profitable areas such as HIV and tuberculosis over other, equally important, diseases, says the report.

THE recognizable women scientists
A group of female scientists has been awarded the first ever African Union Regional Women Scientists Awards, a new initiative Recognizing the best women scientists in the five regions of Africa. The U.S. $ 20,000 prizes given this month (September 9) went to researchers working in various scientific fields with an aim of integrating local knowledge with modern scientific advancementSouth Africa agrees to U.S. nuclear research deal
South Africa and the United States have signed a cooperation agreement for joint nuclear research. The two countries will collaborate on advanced energy systems and nuclear reactor technology as well as efforts to expand and Maintain Their nuclear science and engineering infrastructure.

Rwandan research fails to connect parasitic worms and anemia
A Study to Determine the burden of parasitic infections on Rwandese population has shown that people infected with more than one species of parasitic worm Are More Likely Than Those with one or no infection to be underweight. But the researchers, from the Rwanda Access Project, Imperial College London, and US-based Columbia University, found no link between infection and anemia or stunting, unlike past research.
Experts review models of circumcision impact on HIV / AIDS
Experts drawn from private research institutes and UN agencies have reviewed the accuracy of different mathematical models of the relationship between HIV / AIDS and male circumcision at the population level in Africa. Although they say that the models can lead to conflicting results, does Circumcision Reduce HIV in men in areas where circumcision would not generally be performed. They conclude the models can be useful decision-making tools.

Grant to tackle malnutrition in Malawi and Tanzania
A four-year, U.S. $ 673,000 research grant has been awarded to help scientists and plant breeders Develop crops that address malnutrition in Malawi and Tanzania. The grant from the McKnight Foundation has been awarded to Compatible Technology International (CTI), the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

UK and Nigeria agree on bednets program
A new UK-backed campaign, managed by Malaria Consortium, to rid Nigeria of malaria and distribute over 63 million lifesaving bednets has launched its second phase. A £ 50 million (around U.S. $ 82 million) grant aid UK Will Provide two insecticide-treated bed net to every Nigerian household by December 2010, reaching more than 30 million homes.
Kenyan nurses to get e-learning
The African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) is retraining nurses in Kenya through its Virtual Nursing School (AVNS). Kenya is served by just 1.500 doctors, assisted by 16.000 nurses and 700 public health officers. Nguku Angela, AVNS coordinator, says that the initiative will equip nurses with skills to deal with emerging health challenges. The Foundation will use 105 centers equipped with computers across the country.

Zambia to invest on an online library
Zambia has announced a plan to invest five one billion Zambian kwacha (around U.S. $ 1.1 million) in the development of an online science and technology library. The library will focus on the collection and housing of rare and important scientific works in various subject areas

Science Festival: Meet the researchers!

Posted on 06. Oct, 2009 by admin in Social

How far does one shape the Earth? Can be devoured by a carnivorous sponge? What is the risk of earthquake in major France? The threat of Caulerpa is it behind us? These are the kinds of questions that researchers meet in our forum, whose themes are echoed in our files, developed by scientists themselves. On the menu of the day: “What makes the earth shake?” And “Biodiversity in the Mediterranean.” (more…)

8 landmark psychological experiments

Posted on 05. Oct, 2009 by admin in Culture

There are many experiences major in psychology but scored some minds more than others. They also often sparked controversy as they seemed indicative of human actions and reactions and / or animals. The psychology is considered a ” science soft “as opposed to hard sciences like physics or mathematics because it is not based on formalisms pushed. (more…)

Caribbean Festival is finished in Santiago de Cuba

Posted on 04. Oct, 2009 by admin in Social

The “parade of fire” and the “burning hell” ended at the 28th Caribbean Festival in Santiago de Cuba, an event which took place from 3 to 9 July, 2008 hosting more than 600 guests from 18 countries and hundreds of Cuban arts groups and foreigners.
The closing ceremony of the festival, also known as “Festival of Fire”, was dedicated this year to the popular culture of states of the Mexican Caribbean. She began the afternoon of July 9 at the Parque Cespedes, a place downtown. The parade route ended at the coast, where artists, guests and residents partied all night

Message from the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports

Posted on 03. Oct, 2009 by admin in Culture

Carifesta is the most remarkable event in the Caribbean, only to bring together governments and peoples of the region and their synergies for a common effort. And is that Carifesta is inclusive, diverse and also very complex.
During the festival, which will run for ten days, will take place over 16 different events, often simultaneously throughout Guyana. This is an ambitious project for which we are ready. (more…)