From Unilineal Cultural Evolution To Functionalism Essays

From Unilineal Cultural Evolution To Functionalism Several anthropological theories emerged during the early twentieth century. Arguably, the most important of these was Functionalism. Bronislaw Malinowski was a prominent anthropologist in Britain during that time and had great influence on the development of this theory. Malinowski suggested that individuals have certain physiological needs and that cultures develop to meet those needs. Malinowski saw those needs as being nutrition, reproduction, shelter, and protection from enemies. He also proposed that there were other basic, culturally derived needs and he saw these as being economics, social control, education, and political organization Malinowski proposed that the culture of any people could be explained by the functions it performed. The functions of a culture were performed to meet the basic physiological and culturally derived needs of its individual constituents. A. R. Radcliff-Brown was a contemporary of Malinowski's in Britain who also belonged to the Functionalist school of thought. Radcliff-Brown differed from Malinowski quite markedly though, in his approach to Functionalism. Malinowski's emphasis was on the individuals within a culture and how their needs shaped that culture. Radcliff-Brown thought individuals unimportant, in anthropological study. He thought that the various aspects of a culture existed to keep that culture in a stable and constant state. Radcliff-Brown focused attention on social structure. He suggested that a society is a system of relationships maintaining itself through cybernetic feedback, while institutions are orderly sets of relationships whose function is to maintain the society as a system. Goldschmidt (1996): 510 At the same time as the theory of Functionalism was developing in Britain; the theory of Culture and Personality was being developed in America. The study of culture and personality seeks to understand the growth and development of personal or social identity as it relates to the surrounding social environment. Barnouw (1963): 5. In other words, the personality or psychology of individuals can be studied and conclusions can be drawn about the Culture of those individuals. This school of thought owes much to Freud for its emphasis on psychology (personality) and to an aversion to the racist theories that were popular within Anthropology and elsewhere at that time. American anthropologist Ruth Benedict helped develop the Culture and Personality school. She described cultures as being of four types Apollonian, Dionysian, Paranoid and Meglomaniac. Benedict used these types to characterize various cultures that she studied. The most famous exponent of the school of Culture and Personality is Margaret Mead. Margaret Mead was a student of Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict. Though in the course of her career she would eclipse the fame of her tutors, particularly the latter. Mead's first field study was on the Pacific Island of Samoa, where she studied the lives of the adolescent girls in that culture. From this field study, she produced her famous work Coming of Age in Samoa (1949). In this work, she investigated the relationship between culture and personality by comparing the lives of adolescents in Samoa to those of American youths. She concentrated particularly on the sexual experiences of the girls she studied in Samoan culture; drawing the conclusion that the sexually permissive atmosphere of Samoan culture produced healthier less ?stormy? adolescents than that of her own more repressed American culture. The theories of Culture and Personality and Functionalism addressed and rebutted many of the more quaint aspects of the Evolutionary and Diffusionist theories of the nineteenth century. The methodology developed by these pioneers is still in use by anthropologists today. That is, participant observation and a complete involvement in the culture and language of the people being studied. Eric Wolf counters the functionalist position by suggesting that a culture cannot be seen just in relationship to the psychology of the individuals within the culture and the conclusions that might be drawn from that. Wolf sees culture and society as a process of structuring and change. He contends that a society must be seen in its historical context. When Wolf says - The functionalists, in turn, rejected altogether the conjectural history of the diffusionists in favour of the analysis of internal functioning putatively isolated wholes Wolf (1982), he is taking issue with the exclusion of the historical context of a society and the putative isolation of societies. He

10 Fascinating Facts About Stick Insects

10 Fascinating Facts About Stick Insects Stick insects are part of the order Phasmatodea (also known as phasmids and walking sticks) and are most often found in subtropical tropical habitats- when you can find them, that is. These amazing bugs are hard to spot because they look so much like twigs- until those twigs get up and walk away, that is. 1. Stick Insects Can Regenerate Limbs Should a bird or other predator grab hold of its leg, a stick insect  can still make an easy escape. Using a special muscle to break it off at a weak joint, the imperiled insect simply sheds the leg in a defensive strategy is known as autotomy. Juvenile stick insects regenerate the missing limb the next time they molt. In some cases, adult stick insects can even force themselves to molt in order to regain a lost leg. 2. Stick Insects Can Reproduce Without Males Stick insects are a nation of Amazonians, able to reproduce almost entirely without males, using a process known as parthenogenesis. Unmated females produce eggs that when mature, become female stick insects. When a male does manage to mate with a female, theres only a 50/50 chance that the offspring of that union will be male. A captive female stick insect can produce hundreds of all-female offspring without ever mating. In fact, there are species of stick insects for which scientists have never found any males. 3. Stick Insects Even Act Like Sticks Stick insects are so named for their effective camouflage among the woody plants where they feed. Theyre typically brown, black, or green, with thin, stick-shaped bodies that help them blend in as they perch on twigs and branches. Some stick insects exhibit lichen-like markings to make their camouflage more authentic but to make the disguise complete, stick insects imitate twigs swaying in the wind by rocking back and forth as they move. 4. Their Eggs Resemble Seeds Stick insect mothers arent the most maternal. While some stick insects females actually make an effort to hide their eggs- sticking them to leaves or bark or placing them in the soil- they typically drop eggs randomly on the forest floor, leaving the youngsters to whatever fate befalls them. Dont be so quick to judge mama stick insect, though. By spreading her eggs out, she lessens the chance of predators finding and eating all of her offspring at once. Its also helpful that the  eggs resemble seeds, so carnivorous predators are less likely to take a closer look. 5. Nymphs Eat Their Molted Skin After a nymph has molted, its vulnerable to predators until its new cuticle darkens and hardens. The castoff skin nearby is a dead giveaway to enemies so the nymph quickly consumes the shriveled exoskeleton to get rid of the evidence, simultaneously recycling the protein it took to create the discarded layer at the same time. 6. Stick Insects Arent Defenseless Stick insects arent venomous but if threatened, one will use whatever means necessary to thwart its attacker. Some will regurgitate a nasty substance to put a bad taste in a hungry predators mouth. Others reflex bleed, oozing a foul-smelling hemolymph from joints in their body. Some of the large, tropical stick insects may use their leg spines, which help them climb, to inflict some pain on an enemy. Stick insects may even direct a chemical spray, much like tear gas, at the offender. 7. Their Eggs May Attract Ants Stick insect eggs that resemble hard seeds have a special, fatty capsule called a capitulum at one end. Ants enjoy the nutritional boost provided by the capitulum and carry the stick insect eggs back to their nests for a meal. After the ants feed on the fats and nutrients, they toss the eggs onto their garbage heap, where the eggs continue to incubate, safe from predators. As the nymphs hatch, they make their way out of the ant nest. 8. Not All Stick Insects Stay Brown Some stick insects can change color, like a chameleon, depending on the background where theyre at rest. Stick insects may also wear bright colors on their wings but keep these flamboyant features tucked away. When a bird or other predator approaches, the stick insect flashes its vibrant wings, then hides them again, leaving the predator confused and unable to relocate its target. 9. Stick Insects Can Play Dead When all else fails, play dead, right? A threatened stick insect will abruptly drop from wherever its perched, fall to the ground, and stay very still. This behavior, called thanatosis, can successfully discourage predators. A bird or mouse may be unable to find the immobile insect on the ground or prefer living prey and move on. 10. Stick Insects Are the Worlds Longest In 2008, a newly discovered stick insect species from Borneo broke the record for longest insect (which had previously been held by another stick insect, Pharnacia serratipes). The Chans Megastick, Phobaeticus chani, measures an incredible 22 inches with legs extended, with a body length of 14 inches. Sources Marshall, Stephen A. Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity. Firefly Books, 2006.Gullan, P.J., and Cranston, P.S. . The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Community Health Nursing- Transgender Children Assignment

Community Health Nursing- Transgender Children - Assignment Example It is imperative to note that such children face a lot of criticism in the community as they grow up. Most peers starts observing the physical changes that do not correlate to others. in such circumstances, these children get discriminated during play, and they tend to isolate themselves to avoid exposing their biological sexual organs. The ultimate result is depression that may lead to suicidal ideation among these individuals. There are some ethical dilemmas that the parents and the community face while dealing with these children. For example, as the child reaches school going age the parents get confused which type of clothes to wear to their children. Moreover, the name that the child wants to be identified with is different from the biological sexual organ. All these bring challenges in the psychological aspect of these individual because what they feel is not what is real to others. Parents may tend to give hormonal replacement therapy to help the child possess those characteristics he/she wants. However, the hormones pose a significant health risk since it can lead to permanent complications and may be death. Sexual and gender roles may be a challenge when these individuals grow up, and some cultures may reject them because of doing things that their gender should not do. The best remedy for these problems is early identity and counselling of the parents to give full support to the young children. Additionally, the parents should allow the children to grow on the gender they feel like. The community should be sensitised to understand these individual and offer them the supports they