scholarly journals Habitat Selection and the Evolutionary Aesthetics of Landscape Preference

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 494-507
Author(s):  
Marko Škorić ◽  
Aleksej Kišjuhas
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Neolithic Period ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Landscape Preference ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
Evolutionary Aesthetics ◽  
Human Landscape

This paper analyses the processes of habitat selection and human landscape preferences from an evolutionary perspective, with the aim of demonstrating how humans aesthetically choose, assess and aspire to live in an environment in which our species and our ancestors evolved in during the pre-Neolithic period. We present the basics of evolutionary aesthetics, then analyse the process of habitat selection and the most influential evolutionary theories of landscape preference. Finally, we refer to applied empirical research and point out that a comprehensive evolutionary theory must also take into account the psychological and cultural elements that affect human well-being.

Family Policy Indicators and Well-Being in Europe from an Evolutionary Perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almudena Moreno-Mínguez ◽  
Luis-Carlos Martínez-Fernández ◽  
Ángel Carrasco-Campos
Keyword(s):  
Family Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective

scholarly journals Evolutionary theory of bacterial quorum sensing: when is a signal not a signal?

2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1483) ◽  
pp. 1241-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen P Diggle ◽  
Andy Gardner ◽  
Stuart A West ◽  
Ashleigh S Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Population Response ◽  
Future Action ◽  
Bacterial Quorum Sensing ◽  
Bacterial Quorum

The term quorum sensing (QS) is used to describe the communication between bacterial cells, whereby a coordinated population response is controlled by diffusible molecules produced by individuals. QS has not only been described between cells of the same species (intraspecies), but also between species (interspecies) and between bacteria and higher organisms (inter-kingdom). The fact that QS-based communication appears to be widespread among microbes is strange, considering that explaining both cooperation and communication are two of the greatest problems in evolutionary biology. From an evolutionary perspective, intraspecies signalling can be explained using models such as kin selection, but when communication is described between species, it is more difficult to explain. It is probable that in many cases this involves QS molecules being used as ‘cues’ by other species as a guide to future action or as manipulating molecules whereby one species will ‘coerce’ a response from another. In these cases, the usage of QS molecules cannot be described as signalling. This review seeks to integrate the evolutionary literature on animal signalling with the microbiological literature on QS, and asks whether QS within bacteria is true signalling or whether these molecules are also used as cues or for the coercion of other cells.

scholarly journals An Evolutionary Perspective on the Importance of Community Relations for Quality of Life

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 588-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjørn Grinde
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Inherent Nature ◽  
The Brain

The evolutionary perspective is relevant for the study of quality of life in that the brain, including its capacity for positive and negative states of mind, has been shaped by the forces of evolution. The present text uses this perspective to discuss three questions related to the observation that human interactions are a particular important factor for well-being: (1) What is known about the inherent nature of our social propensities? (2) Is the present situation responsible for a suboptimal quality of life? (3) Are there alternatives to the organization of mainstream Western society? Based on this discussion, the question is raised as to whether it is possible to suggest improvements. Briefly, it seems possible to create conditions that enhance social relations and to the extent that happiness is considered an important objective, this is a relevant endeavor.

Sex differences in aggression: What does evolutionary theory predict?

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 273-274
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Cashdan
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sex Difference ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Spousal Abuse ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Target Article

AbstractThe target article claims that evolutionary theory predicts the emergence of sex differences in aggression in early childhood, and that there will be no sex difference in anger. It also finds an absence of sex differences in spousal abuse in Western societies. All three are puzzling from an evolutionary perspective and warrant further discussion.

scholarly journals PROMOTION OF CULTURAL GENERATIVITY TO SUPPORT SUCCESSFUL AGING IN ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S830-S830
Author(s):  
Steffi M Kim ◽  
Jordan P Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Alaska Native ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Meaningful Engagement ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The psychological construct of generativity encompasses a person’s motivation to leave a legacy for future generations by investing in acts that will outlive the self (Ericson, 1950). Lewis and Allen (2017) outlined the importance of generativity within AN cultures (caring for the future of our youth) and expanded Erikson’s western-based definition by adding the indigenous cultural generativity component to describe and incorporate Alaska Native specific cultural elements. These culturally based elements involve giving back to family and community including guidance and teaching of future generations (Lewis & Allen, 2017). Generativity within western societies accentuates independent achievements and successes more than the notion to care for future generations. This study is part of a larger community-based, exploratory, study between researchers and communities to explore successful aging that included 42 Alaska Native Elders in the Norton-Sound subregion, 21 Alaska Native Elders from the Aleutian Pribilof Islands, and 26 Elders from the Bristol Bay region. Qualitative interviews explored the participant’s life, influences on aging well, and their aging process. Thematic analysis was used to investigate the impact of generativity on successful aging was used to establish codes and main themes based on the three different cultural regions of Alaska. The findings suggest that generativity promotes successful aging. Elders who live in communities that promote community engagement, support family and school activities, and maintain and/or revitalize culture and traditions reported increased emotional well-being. Results can guide communities to incorporate or support cultural activities that promote generative activities and meaningful engagement which fosters successful aging.

scholarly journals Gender and evolutionary theory in workplace health promotion

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 893-905
Author(s):  
Erika Björklund ◽  
Jan Wright
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Workplace Health Promotion ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Health Promotion Interventions ◽  
Health Promotion Practice

Objective: Ideas from evolutionary theories are increasingly taken up in health promotion. This article seeks to demonstrate how such a trend has the potential to embed essentialist and limiting stereotypes of women and men in health promotion practice. Design: We draw on material gathered for a larger ethnographic study that examined how discourses of health were re-contextualised in four workplace health promotion interventions in Sweden. Method: This study provided the opportunity to investigate how ideas derived from evolutionary theories produced particular constructs of the healthy employee. A Foucauldian notion of governmentality was used to examine the rationalities, truths and techniques that informed what we have called a ‘Stone Age’ discourse as these contributed to shaping the desires, actions and beliefs of lecturers and participants in the interventions. Results: We focus on one intervention which used the Stone Age discourse as an organising idea to constitute differences in women’s and men’s health through references to women as gatherers and men as hunters, thereby positioning men as the physical, emotional and mental ideal and women as the problematic and lacking ‘other’. Conclusion: The paper concludes by discussing the implications of such ideas about health and gender for interventions aimed at changing behaviour and lifestyles.

scholarly journals THE EFFECTS OF FOOT BINDING CUSTOM IN LISA SEE’S NOVEL SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moh Gusnaldi Putra ◽  
M Manugeren
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Material Objects ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Foot Binding

This study constitutes an Analysis of The Effect of Foot Binding Custom from Lisa See’s novel Snow Flower and The Secret Fan published in 2006. The Positive and Negative effects are the topics to discuss. This analysis uses the data  taken from the novel applying descriptive qualitative research. One of the significant theories of the custom used in this study is that a person who claims that the essence of a culture having a custom in it is not its artifacts, tools, or other tangible cultural elements but how the members of the group interpret, use, and perceive them. It is the values, symbols, interpretations, and perspectives that distinguish one from another in modernized societies; it is not material objects and other tangible aspects of human societies. People within a culture usually interpret the meaning of symbols, artifacts, and behaviors in the same or in similar ways. The findings show that Foot Binding Custom gives women positive effects such as high statue in the society, and symbol of beauty. Besides the positive effects, there are also negative effects such as infection, and even death. The conclusions of the study are Foot binding, as the time goes by, is not persevered anymore as it gives more negative effects than the positive ones. However, health is the most important part of human life. Health is the pivot upon which a man's whole personality and its well-being depend. An ailing and aching body saps the enthusiasm for pursuit. Unwholesome feelings and sensations retard the pace of functional activity, economic development and spiritual uplift.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Evolutionary Theory Deduced from Thermodynamics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Ming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Sympatric Speciation ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Animal Group ◽  
Evolutionary Theories ◽  
Group Evolution

Studies on evolution have made significant progress in multiple disciplines, but evolutionary theories remain incomplete, controversial, and inadequate in explaining origin of life and macroevolution. Here we create the concept of carbon-based entities (CBEs) which include methane, amino acids, proteins, bacteria, animals, plants, and other entities containing carbon atoms. We then deduce the driving force, the progressive mechanisms, and the major steps of CBE evolution from thermodynamics. We hence establish a comprehensive evolutionary theory termed the CBE evolutionary theory (CBEET), which suggests that evolution is driven hierarchy-wise by thermodynamics and favors fitness and diversity. The CBEET provides novel explanations for origin of life (abiogenesis), macroevolution, natural selection, sympatric speciation, and animal group evolution in a comprehensive and comprehensible way. It elucidates that collaboration, altruism, obeying rules with properly increased freedom are important throughout the CBE evolution. It refutes thoroughly the notion that negative entropy (negentropy) leads to biological order which is distinct from thermodynamic order. It integrates with research advances in multiple disciplines and links up laws of physics, evolution in biology, and harmonious development of human society.

scholarly journals Measuring financial well-being in Europe using a fuzzy set approach

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonella D'Agostino ◽  
Monica Rosciano ◽  
Maria Grazia Starita
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Tailored Approach ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper aims to apply a multidimensional approach to assessing the financial well-being of European countries.Design/methodology/approachFinancial well-being is a very complex phenomenon to measure because it is composed of different dimensions. Therefore, this paper uses a multidimensional and fuzzy methodology to assess financial well-being in Europe. The financial well-being fuzzy indicator was calculated using European Quality of Life Survey data.FindingsFinancial well-being is heterogeneous across European countries. This evidence is confirmed both at the level of overall financial well-being and at the level of sub-indices. The degree of financial well-being is not directly related to wealth as traditionally measured (i.e. GDP), but shows some correspondence with socio-economic characteristics of the population and with governance and cultural elements of a country.Practical implicationsUnderstanding financial well-being could help financial institutions to transition from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more tailored approach when they provide financial services and could help policy makers to consider financial well-being when they decide how and where to allocate public spending.Originality/valueTo the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to employ a fuzzy methodology for the analysis of financial well-being in Europe.

The Cradle of Humankind

2021 ◽  
pp. 114-134
Author(s):  
Geoff Kushnick
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Behavioral Ecology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Dual Inheritance Theory ◽  
Cradle Of Humankind ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Dual Inheritance

This chapter explores the relationship between parenting and technology from an evolutionary perspective. The exploration is organized around the “three styles” framework for understanding and differentiating between the three major evolutionary approaches to the study of human behavior: evolutionary psychology, human behavioral ecology, and dual inheritance theory. For each of these evolutionary approaches, the chapter provides two examples of the relationship between parenting and technology, one related to childbearing and the other related to childrearing. Is the evolutionary approach a useful one to understand this relationship? First, although each has as its focus the application of evolutionary theory to the study of human behavior, each of the three styles brings a different set of assumptions and priorities. Second, an evolutionary perspective points to specific, and theoretically justified, behavioral concomitants of technological change.

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