A Reassessment of the Kung San
The !Kung San are a group of hunter-gathers that make their home in the northern Kalahari desert. Although many ecological and cultural changes have occurred within this group throughout the past thirty years, this article examines the gathering and subsistence patterns that characterize these people. Bentley examines the total fertility rate of the !Kung San and hypothesizes that the pattern of female energetics in their subsistence routine has a direct effect upon their fecundity (1984: 79). His perspective explores the topic of fertility in great depth, and represents a viewpoint that is absent from the text written by Richard Lee, The Dobe Ju’/hoansi. In fact, some of the hypotheses proposed by Bentley appear to contradict Lee’s own research, while others are supported by the findings of Lee.
One question that remains undecided regarding the low fertility rates of the !Kung is the degree to which this is a result of sociocultural means, or an effect of physiological and biological processes. Bentley examines the "intermediate variables" within Bongaarts’ reproductive equation, which is one means of illustrating and quantifying the mechanisms that may cause the low fertility rate, and demonstrates that this research seems insufficient in explaining fertility. Briefly, Bongaarts’ equation incorporates the following variables: total fertility rate, index of proportions married, index of contraception, index of induced abortion, index of lactational infecundability, and total fecundity (which includes fecundability, intra-uterine mortality, and permanent sterility).
In addition to showing that the intermediate variables of Bongaart’s equation are insufficient in explaining th...
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...estyle may consist of foods that are more malleable, therefore reducing the amount of time mothers spend nursing their young.
As the !Kung make cultural transitions into more sedentary lifestyles, fertility rates will presumably be affected. As Lee points out, in village life the men maintain the mobility while the women become housebound, with more of their time spent alone with the children. Thus, a more sedentary lifestyle may lead to an increase in fertility rates and a subsequent increase in population. In fact, the population of Dove has risen from 35 in 1964 to 165 at the time Lee wrote his book (1994: 154). Another result of such changes is that they may lead to the subordination of women. The new emergence of a sedentary lifestyle has implications for overall fertility, but also threatens to undermine the egalitarian values of this group of people.
In the book, “Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman,” written by Marjorie Shostak; is a culturally shocking and extremely touching book about a woman who had gone through many struggles and horrific tragedies in her life. This book also emphasizes the perspective of most of the women in the society. There are many striking issues in this book that the people of the !Kung tribe go through.
Although we have yet to discover complete equality among the sexes in any pre-existing or presently existing society, the !Kung people are among the closest to reach such equality. The !Kung are an egalitarian society, meaning everyone has access to the valued resources. While the amount of access does vary, just the fact that everyone is includedat least on some levelwhen it comes to meeting the essential needs of living is significant.
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The nature vs. nurture controversy is an age old question in the scientific and psychological world with both camps having evidence to support their theories. The controversy lies in which is more influential in the development of human beings. While there is no definitive answer for this, it is interesting to look at each of them separately.
“The term “nature versus nurture” is used to refer to a long-running scientific debate. The source of debate is the question of which has a greater influence on development: someone's innate characteristics provided by genetics, or someone's environment. In fact, the nature versus nurture debate has been largely termed obsolete by many researchers, because both innate characteristics and environment play a huge role in development, and they often intersect”. (Smith, 2010 p. 1)
In 1979, China decided to establish a one child policy which states that couples are only allowed to have one child, unless they meet certain exceptions[1].In order to understand what social impacts the one child policy has created in China it important to evaluate the history of this law. China’s decision to implement a Child policy has caused possible corruption, an abuse of women’s rights, has led to high rates of female feticide, has created a gender ratio problem for China, and has led to specific problems associated with both the elderly and younger generation. Finally, an assessment of why China’s one child policy is important to the United States allows for a full evaluation of the policy.
The nature vs. nurture debate: the nature side, are those such as biologists, psychologists and others in the natural sciences, argue that behavioral traits can be explained by genetics. Those taking the nurture side are sociologists and others in the social sciences, they argue that human behavior is learned and shaped through social interaction. This argument should be dismissed because you don’t have to look far to see that both genetics and our environment, plays a role in who we are and our behaviors. (Glass). The point is there is a complex relationship between nature and nurture, either one alone is insufficient to explain what makes us human. (Colt). Our heredity gives us a basic potential,...
...s may never agree on a conclusive degree to which both nature and nurture play roles in human development, but over the years, more improved studies have shown that both are crucial aspects. With all the knowledge we are gaining from these studies, it would be quite limiting to believe that a criminal and his actions are the sole result of heredity. Even in people who do not commit crimes, genes themselves are affected by the prenatal environment. Undoubtedly, the fetus experiences changes in environment, forcing possible changes in heredity and reactionary response. We are likely to never find the answer to how much or how little either, nature or nurture, impacts our lives, but at least we can agree that they both do, in fact, have major roles. Our development is not the culmination of heredity alone, but of a tangled web of experiences and genetics entwined.
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By 1980, although the birthrate in China has fallen to below 3 children per family, it was believed by a new regime of Chinese leaders which included Deng Xiao Ping, that forced and restricted population growth would lead to greater economic prosperity. This coercive policy influenced the family of the Chinese citize...
In 1874, Francis Galton said, “Nature is all that a man brings with him into the world; nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth”. The human body contains millions upon millions of cells and each of these cells contains hereditary information and DNA. However, there is no proof that the information carried in these genes predetermines the way in which we behave. I believe it is our life experiences and what we see and are told that shape the way in which we behave. Therefore, it appears to me that nurturing plays a far more governing and dominant role in a human being’s development rather than nature.
Singapore currently has a very low birth rate. Fertility began falling from the 1960s and 70s (Saw, 1980 and Chen, 1977) from a high Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 5.76 in 1960 to a low 1.29 in 2012 and the lowest recorded in 2010 at only 1.15 (Department of Statistics, 2013). This is much lower than the replacement rate of 2.1, which is a worrying concern for the nation. It is a pressing issue which has led to many changes in policies with respect to other issues related to it, such as immigration and ageing population.