Social Information Transmission And Human Biology

Author : Jonathan CK Wells,Simon Strickland,Kevin Laland
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2006-05-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781420005837

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Social Information Transmission and Human Biology by Jonathan CK Wells,Simon Strickland,Kevin Laland Pdf

Recent research has emphasized that socially transmitted information may affect both the gene pool and the phenotypes of individuals and populations, and that an improved understanding of evolutionary issues is beneficial to those working towards the improvement of human health. Equally, an improved awareness of how human behavior influences health and reproductive fitness is starting to shed new light on the processes that shape the evolution of human behavior and the human mind. Focusing directly on these emerging trends, Social Information Transmission and Human Biology bridges the gap between primarily theoretical work undertaken by those with evolutionary interests and biomedical work undertaken by those dealing with practical issues in human health and demographics. Incorporating papers from a symposium organized under the auspices of the UK Society for the Study of Human Biology, this volume merges the perspectives of internationally renowned evolutionary and theoretical biologists, zoologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, psychologists, and medical researchers whose work is linked by common themes addressing how information is transmitted socially and how its transmission influences both immediate and evolutionary biological outcomes. Emphasizes the diverse ways in which socially transmitted information impacts on human biology To illustrate these themes, the chapters draw on models and data ranging from observations on chimpanzee populations in the wild and on the human archaeological record, to studies of contemporary humans in both developing and industrialized countries. Taking a broad approach, many of the chapters address areas of behavior that are familiar to scientists in particular fields, but do so using a variety of cross-disciplinary perspectives, which will prove stimulating for researchers in a range of academic subject areas, while helping to facilitate closer collaboration between biological and social scientists.

Author : Jonathan C. K. Wells,S. S. Strickland,Kevin N. Laland
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:756898985

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Social Information Transmission and Human Biology. Society for the Study of Human Biology Series by Jonathan C. K. Wells,S. S. Strickland,Kevin N. Laland Pdf

Author : Alan D. Dangour,Emily M. D. Grundy,Astrid E. Fletcher
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 192 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2007-03-12
Category : Medical
ISBN : 1420007564

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Ageing Well by Alan D. Dangour,Emily M. D. Grundy,Astrid E. Fletcher Pdf

Many current public health actions and policies aimed at older people revolve around the often prevailing view that failing health is a consequence of ageing. It is now clear that it is possible to postpone or even prevent much of the age-related decline in health that was once thought inevitable. Future policies must recognise this changing paradigm, and, using a multi-disciplinary approach, integrate fully the changing needs of older people into all areas of public policy including health, nutrition, social support, housing, and economic security. Derived from the 47th Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of Human Biology in November 2005, Ageing Well: Nutrition, Health, and Social Interventions highlights important health and social factors affecting quality of life in older age, and reviews possible interventions aimed at the prevention or amelioration of problems that reduce the potential for ageing well. Covering a wide range of topics, contributors address the nutritional vulnerability and specific nutritional needs of older adults and confirm the necessity of appropriate diet and exercise in order to maintain both physical and cognitive health. Reminiscence, social interaction and support are highlighted as crucial for the preservation of identity, health and emotional well-being. Other chapters are concerned with socio-economic differences in the extent of age-related changes in health, resulting particularly from poor quality housing and lack of family support networks. The book includes an examination of the economic consequences for health care systems and pension schemes of ageing populations, provides insight into the methodology of evaluating the cost-effectiveness of interventions, and outlines how the minimum cost of healthy living for the 65+ population can be estimated. Bringing together the very latest information on successful ageing, Ageing Well: Nutrition, Health, and Social Interventions presents an up-to-date synthesis of the current evidence of nutrition, public health and social interventions aiming to ensure health and good quality of life in older age.

Author : Peter David Jordan
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2014-11-24
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780520958333

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Technology as Human Social Tradition by Peter David Jordan Pdf

Technology as Human Social Tradition outlines a novel approach to studying variability and cumulative change in human technology—prominent research themes in both archaeology and anthropology. Peter Jordan argues that human material culture is best understood as an expression of social tradition. In this approach, each artifact stands as an output of a distinctive operational sequence with specific choices made at each stage in its production. Jordan also explores different material culture traditions that are propagated through social learning, factors that promote coherent lineages of tradition to form, and the extent to which these cultural lineages exhibit congruence with one another and with language history. Drawing on the application of cultural transmission theory to empirical research, Jordan develops a descent-with-modification perspective on the technology of Northern Hemisphere hunter-gatherers. Case studies from indigenous societies in Northwest Siberia, the Pacific Northwest Coast, and Northern California provide cross-cultural insights related to the evolution of material culture traditions at different social and spatial scales. This book promises new ways of exploring some of the primary factors that generate human cultural diversity in the deep past and through to the present.

Author : Jose M. Causadias,Eva H. Telzer,Nancy A. Gonzales
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 560 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2017-11-13
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781119181323

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The Handbook of Culture and Biology by Jose M. Causadias,Eva H. Telzer,Nancy A. Gonzales Pdf

A comprehensive guide to empirical and theoretical research advances in culture and biology interplay Culture and biology are considered as two domains of equal importance and constant coevolution, although they have traditionally been studied in isolation. The Handbook of Culture and Biology is a comprehensive resource that focuses on theory and research in culture and biology interplay. This emerging field centers on how these two processes have evolved together, how culture, biology, and environment influence each other, and how they shape behavior, cognition, and development among humans and animals across multiple levels, types, timeframes, and domains of analysis. The text provides an overview of current empirical and theoretical advances in culture and biology interplay research through the work of some of the most influential scholars in the field. Harnessing insights from a range of disciplines (e.g., biology, neuroscience, primatology, psychology) and research methods (experiments, genetic epidemiology, naturalistic observations, neuroimaging), it explores diverse topics including animal culture, cultural genomics, and neurobiology of cultural experiences. The authors also advance the field by discussing key challenges and limitations in current research. The Handbook of Culture and Biology is an important resource that: Gathers related research areas into the single, cohesive field of culture and biology interplay Offers a unique and comprehensive collection from leading and influential scholars Contains information from a wide range of disciplines and research methods Introduces well-validated and coherently articulated conceptual frameworks Written for scholars in the field, this handbook brings together related areas of research and theory that have traditionally been disjointed into the single, cohesive field of culture and biology interplay.

Author : C.G. Nicholas Mascie-Taylor,Akira Yasukouchi,Stanley Ulijaszek
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2010-03-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 1420084747

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Human Variation by C.G. Nicholas Mascie-Taylor,Akira Yasukouchi,Stanley Ulijaszek Pdf

The transition in anthropological and biomedical research methods over the past 50 years, from anthropometric and craniometric measurements to large-scale microarray genetic studies has resulted in continued revision of opinions and ideas relating to the factors and forces that drive human variation. Human Variation:From the Laboratory to the Field brings together the contributions of 22 scientists working in four continents to identify and address challenges imposed by variability. It reviews the way we examine and analyze human variation, paying specific attention to genetics, growth and development, and physiology. In presenting new evidence and findings, it also discusses current developments in methodology and analytical techniques, detailing both field and laboratory approaches, and looking at how the two perspectives complement each other. In bridging that gap between laboratory trials and studies of the human in context, this book covers a number of interesting research areas including — Human adaptation to natural and artificial light, including variations in circadian photosensitivity and effects of light on GI activity Cold tolerance and lifestyle in modern society Genetics of body weight and obesity Human adaptability to emotional and intellectual mental stresses Geography, migration, climate, and environmental plasticity as contributors to human variation Impact of natural environmental stressors including pollution on physiological and morphological processes This book is the latest volume in a series of works from the Society for the Study of Human Biology (SSHB), which for half a century has advanced and promoted research in the biology of human populations in all of its branches including human viability, genetics, human adaptability, and ecology, and evolution. It holds two scientific meetings a year. This volume represents work presented during its most recent gathering.

Author : Ethan Cochrane,Andrew Gardner
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2016-09-16
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781315428796

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Evolutionary and Interpretive Archaeologies by Ethan Cochrane,Andrew Gardner Pdf

This collection of original articles compares various key archaeological topics—agency, violence, social groups, diffusion—from evolutionary and interpretive perspectives. These two strands represent the major current theoretical poles in the discipline. By comparing and contrasting the insights they provide into major archaeological themes, this volume demonstrates the importance of theoretical frameworks in archaeological interpretations. Chapter authors discuss relevant Darwinian or interpretive theory with short archaeological and anthropological case studies to illustrate the substantive conclusions produced. The book will advance debate and contribute to a better understanding of the goals and research strategies that comprise these distinct research traditions.

Author : Vicki Cummings,Peter Jordan,Marek Zvelebil
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 1264 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2014-04-24
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780191025273

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The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers by Vicki Cummings,Peter Jordan,Marek Zvelebil Pdf

For more than a century, the study of hunting and gathering societies has been central to the development of both archaeology and anthropology as academic disciplines, and has also generated widespread public interest and debate. The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers provides a comprehensive review of hunter-gatherer studies to date, including critical engagements with older debates, new theoretical perspectives, and renewed obligations for greater engagement between researchers and indigenous communities. Chapters provide in-depth archaeological, historical, and anthropological case-studies, and examine far-reaching questions about human social relations, attitudes to technology, ecology, and management of resources and the environment, as well as issues of diet, health, and gender relations - all central topics in hunter-gatherer research, but also themes that have great relevance for modern global society and its future challenges. The Handbook also provides a strategic vision for how the integration of new methods, approaches, and study regions can ensure that future research into the archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers will continue to deliver penetrating insights into the factors that underlie all human diversity.

Author : Sarah Elton,Paul O'Higgins
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2008-06-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 1420051377

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Medicine and Evolution by Sarah Elton,Paul O'Higgins Pdf

Can an evolutionary perspective be integrated in day-to-day practice and is it of value in medical education and training? If so, when and how? Highlighting exciting areas of research into the evolutionary basis of health and disease, Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications and Future Prospects answers these questions and more. It draws on work from anthropologists, life scientists, and clinicians to provide a multidisciplinary perspective. Contributors emphasize practical applications and address how their work may inform clinical practice and medical education. They consider when evolutionary viewpoints might and might not be useful and conduct critical debates on controversial areas such as race-based pharmaceuticals. Presenting new data and weighing relevant evidence, the book introduces novel viewpoints on nutrition, diabetes, fertility, pediatrics, immune response, and psychiatry. The book brings anthropologically sophisticated, evidence-based discussions to common beliefs such as the role decreased parasite load plays in increasing vulnerability to certain diseases, variations in human environments and human adaptability, daily protein requirements, reasons for early pregnancy loss, and optimal mother-infant sleeping arrangements, as well as fresh ideas about syndromes as diverse as delusions and polycystic ovary syndrome. A critical assessment of evolutionary medicine and its potential to unlock the mysteries behind some of today’s most baffling chronic diseases, this book provides physicians with a more accurate view of the body and a better ability to assess health and disease.

Author : Kevin N. Laland,Gillian R. Brown
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 284 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2011-04-07
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780199586967

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Sense and Nonsense by Kevin N. Laland,Gillian R. Brown Pdf

This book asks whether evolution can help us to understand human behaviour and explores diverse evolutionary methods and arguments. It provides a short, readable introduction to the science behind the works of Dawkins, Dennett, Wilson and Pinker. It is widely used in undergraduate courses around the world.

Author : National Academy of Sciences
Publisher : Sackler Colloquium
Page : 388 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Science
ISBN : UOM:39015073872999

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In the Light of Evolution by National Academy of Sciences Pdf

The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences address scientific topics of broad and current interest, cutting across the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Each year, four or five such colloquia are scheduled, typically two days in length and international in scope. Colloquia are organized by a member of the Academy, often with the assistance of an organizing committee, and feature presentations by leading scientists in the field and discussions with a hundred or more researchers with an interest in the topic. Colloquia presentations are recorded and posted on the National Academy of Sciences Sackler colloquia website and published on CD-ROM. These Colloquia are made possible by a generous gift from Mrs. Jill Sackler, in memory of her husband, Arthur M. Sackler.

Author : Anna Marie Prentiss
Publisher : Springer
Page : 443 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2019-06-03
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9783030111175

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Handbook of Evolutionary Research in Archaeology by Anna Marie Prentiss Pdf

Evolutionary Research in Archaeology seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of contemporary evolutionary research in archaeology. The book will provide a single source for introduction and overview of basic and advanced evolutionary concepts and research programs in archaeology. Content will be organized around four areas of critical research including microevolutionary and macroevolutionary process, human ecology studies (evolutionary ecology, demography, and niche construction), and evolutionary cognitive archaeology. Authors of individual chapters will address theoretical foundations, history of research, contemporary contributions and debates, and implications for the future for their respective topics. As appropriate, authors present or discuss short empirical case studies to illustrate key arguments. ​

Author : Ina Wunn,Davina Grojnowski
Publisher : Springer
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2019-02-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9783030044350

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Religious Speciation by Ina Wunn,Davina Grojnowski Pdf

This book presents a consecutive story on the evolution of religions. It starts with an analysis of evolution in biology and ends with a discussion of what a proper theory of religious evolution should look like. It discusses such questions as whether it is humankind or religion that evolves, how religions evolve, and what adaptation of religions means. Topics examined include inheritance and heredity, religio-speciation, hybridization, ontogenetics and epigenetics, phylogenetics, and systematics. Calling attention to unsolved problems and relating the evolutionary subject matter to appropriate material, the book integrates and interprets existing data. Based on the belief that an unequivocal stand is more likely to produce constructive criticism than evasion of an issue, the book chooses that interpretation of a controversial matter which seems most consistent with the emerging picture of the evolutionary process. “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution,” the evolutionary biologist and co-founder of the so-called New Synthesis in Evolutionary Biology, Theodosius Dobszhansky (1900-1975), wrote in his famous essay of 1973, opposing creationism in American society. Today, Dobszhansky’s statement is not only fully accepted in biology, but has become the scientific paradigm in disciplines such as psychology, archaeology and the study of religions. Yet in spite of this growing interest in evolutionary processes in religion and culture, the term "evolution" and the capability of an evolutionary account have to date still not been properly understood by scholars of the Humanities. This book closes that gap.

Author : Andrew Whiten
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 472 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780199608966

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Culture Evolves by Andrew Whiten Pdf

Culture shapes vast swathes of our lives and has allowed the human species to dominate the planet in an evolutionarily unique way. This book is unique in focusing on the evolutionary continuities in culture, providing an interdisciplinary exploration of culture, written by leading authorities from the biological and cognitive sciences.

Author : Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar,Louise Barrett
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 722 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780198568308

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Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology by Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar,Louise Barrett Pdf

With contributions from over 50 experts in the field, this book provides an overview of the latest developments in evolutionary psychology. In addition to well studied areas of investigation, it also includes chapters on the philosophical underpinnings of evolutionary psychology, comparative perspectives from other species, and more.