Human Body

Human body From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the human body in total. For the article about anatomical point of view or reductionistic point of view, see human anatomy. Human body features The human body is the entire physical and mental structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs. By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 10 trillion cells, the basic unit of life. Groups of cells combine and work in tandem to form tissue, which combines to form organs, which work together to form organ systems.

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1 Size, type and proportion 2 Systems o 2.1 Musculoskeletal system o 2.2 Cardiovascular system o 2.3 Reproductive system 3 Bones 4 References 5 External links

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[edit] Size, type and proportion Main article: Body proportion The average height of an adult male human is about 1.8 m (6 feet) tall and the adult female about 1.6 to 1.7m (5 to 5.5 feet) tall. This size is firstly determined by diet and secondly by genes. Body type and body composition are influenced by postnatal factors such as diet and exercise. The proportions of the human body are different from those of other animals.[1] In art, these ratios are used in veristic depictions of the figure.

[edit] Systems

The organ systems of the body include the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, endocrine system, integumentary system, urinary system, lymphatic system, immune system, respiratory system, nervous system and reproductive system.

[edit] Musculoskeletal system Main articles: Musculoskeletal system, muscular system, and skeletal system The human musculoskeletal system consists of the human skeleton, made by bones attached to other bones with joints, and skeletal muscle attached to the skeleton by tendons.

Anterior (frontal) view of the opened heart. White arrows indicate normal blood flow.

[edit] Cardiovascular system Main article: Cardiovascular system The cardiovascular system comprises the heart, veins, arteries and capillaries. The primary function of the heart is to circulate the blood, and through the blood, oxygen and vital minerals, to the tissues and organs that comprise the body. The main organ of the cardiovascular system, the heart, is generally located in the middle of the thorax. The left side (the left ventricle and left atrium) is responsible for pumping blood to all parts of the body, while the right side (right ventricle and right atrium pumps only to the lungs.[2][3]The heart itself is divided into three layers called the endocardium, myocardium and epicardium, which vary in thickness and function.[4]

[edit] Reproductive system Main article: Reproductive system Human reproduction takes place as internal fertilization by sexual intercourse. During this process, the erect penis of the male is inserted into the female's vagina until the male ejaculates semen, which contains sperm, into the female's vagina. The sperm then travels through the vagina and cervix into the uterus or fallopian tubes for fertilization of the ovum. pelvic region of a male that contribute towards the reproductive process. The primary direct function of the male reproductive system is to provide the male gamete or spermatozoa for fertilization of the ovum. The major reproductive organs of the male can be grouped into three categories. The first category is sperm production and storage. Production takes place in the testes which are housed in the temperature regulating scrotum, immature sperm then travel to the epididymis for development and storage. The second category are the ejaculatory fluid producing glands which include the seminal vesicles, prostate, and the vas deferens. The final category are those used for copulation, and deposition of the spermatozoa (sperm) within the female, these include the penis, urethra, vas deferens and Cowper's gland. pelvic region of a female that contribute towards the reproductive process. The human female reproductive system contains three main parts: the vagina, which acts as the receptacle for the male's sperm, the uterus, which holds the developing fetus, and the ovaries, which produce the female's ova. The breasts are also an important reproductive organ during the parenting stage of reproduction.

The vagina meets the outside at the vulva, which also includes the labia, clitoris and urethra; during intercourse this area is lubricated by mucus secreted by the Bartholin's glands. The vagina is attached to the uterus through the cervix, while the uterus is attached to the ovaries via the fallopian tubes. At certain intervals, typically approximately every 28 days, the ovaries release an ovum, which passes through the fallopian tube into the uterus. The lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, and unfertilized ova are shed each cycle through a process known as menstruation.

[edit] Bones An adult skeleton consists of approximately 200 distinct bones: Spine and vertebral column (26) Cranium (8) Face (14) Hyoid bone, sternum and ribs (26) Upper extremities (64) Lower extremities (62)

[edit] References

Medicine From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search For chemical substances, see Medication. For other uses, see Medicine (disambiguation).

The ancient Greek symbol today associated with medicine the world over: the rod of Asclepius with its encoiled serpent. The World Health Organization, the Royal Society of Medicine, the American Medical and Osteopathic Associations, the British and the Australian Medical Associations are some of the bodies that incorporate it in their insignia Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies health science, biomedical research, and medical technology to diagnose and treat injury and disease, typically through medication, surgery, or some other form of therapy. The word medicine is derived from the Latin ars medicina, meaning the art of healing.[1][2] Though medical technology and clinical expertise are pivotal to contemporary medicine, successful faceto-face relief of actual suffering continues to require the application of ordinary human feeling and compassion, known in English as bedside manner. [3] This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

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1 History 2 Practice o 2.1 Structures o 2.2 Delivery o 2.3 The patient-physician relationship o 2.4 Clinical skills 3 Branches o 3.1 Basic sciences o 3.2 Specialties  3.2.1 Surgery  3.2.2 Medicine  3.2.3 Diagnostic specialties

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 3.2.4 Other 3.3 Interdisciplinary fields 4 Education 5 Legal controls 6 Controversy 7 See also 8 References

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[edit] History Main article: History of medicine

The ancient Sumerian god Ningishzida, the patron of medicine, accompanied by two gryphons. It is the oldest known image of a caduceus, the symbol of medicine in the form of two snakes coiled around an axial rod. It dates from more than 4000 years ago Prehistoric medicine incorporated plants (herbalism), animal parts and minerals. In many cases these materials were used ritually as magical substances by priests, shamans, or medicine men. Well-known spiritual systems include animism (the notion of inanimate objects having spirits), spiritualism (an appeal to gods or communion with ancestor spirits); shamanism (the vesting of an individual with mystic powers); and divination (magically obtaining the truth). The field of medical anthropology studies the various prehistoric medical systems and their interaction with society. Early records on medicine have been discovered from early Ayurvedic medicine in the Indian subcontinent, ancient Egyptian medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, the Americas, and ancient Greek medicine. Early Grecian doctors Hippocrates, who is also called the Father of Medicine,[4][5] and Galen laid a foundation for later developments in a rational approach to medicine. After the fall of Rome and the onset of the Dark Ages, Islamic physicians made major medical breakthroughs, supported by the translation of Hippocrates' and Galen's works into Arabic. Notable Islamic medical pioneers include polymath Avicenna, who is also called the Father of Modern Medicine,[6][7] Abulcasis, the father of surgery, Avenzoar, the father of experimental surgery, Ibn al-Nafis, the father of circulatory physiology, and Averroes.[8] Rhazes, who is called the father of pediatrics, first disproved the Grecian theory of humorism, which nevertheless remained influential in Western medieval medicine. While major developments in medicine were occurring in the Islamic world during the medieval period, the Western world remained dependent upon the Greco-Roman theory of humorism, which led to questionable treatments such as bloodletting. Islamic medicine and medieval medicine collided during the crusades, with Islamic doctors receiving mixed impressions.[9] As the medieval ages ended, important early figures in medicine emerged in Europe, including Gabriele Falloppio and William Harvey.

An ancient Greek patient gets medical treatment: this aryballos (circa 480-470 BCE, now in Paris's Louvre Museum, probably contained healing oil The major shift in medical thinking was the gradual rejection, especially during the Black Death in the 14th and 15th centuries, of what may be called the 'traditional authority' approach to science and medicine. This was the notion that because some prominent person in the past said something must be so, then that was the way it was, and anything one observed to the contrary was an anomaly (which was paralleled by a similar shift in European society in general - see Copernicus's rejection of Ptolemy's theories on astronomy). Physicians like Ibn al-Nafis and Vesalius led the way in improving upon or indeed rejecting the theories of great authorities from the past (such as Hippocrates, and Galen), many of whose theories were in time discredited. Modern scientific biomedical research (where results are testable and reproducible) began to replace early Western traditions based on herbalism, the Greek "four humours" and other such pre-modern notions. The modern era really began with Robert Koch's discoveries around 1880 of the transmission of disease by bacteria, and then the discovery of antibiotics around 1900. The post-18th century modernity period brought more groundbreaking researchers from Europe. From Germany and Austrian doctors such as Rudolf Virchow, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, Karl Landsteiner, and Otto Loewi) made contributions. In the United Kingdom Alexander Fleming, Joseph Lister, Francis Crick, and Florence Nightingale are considered important. From New Zealand and Australia came Maurice Wilkins, Howard Floery, and Frank Macfarlane Burnet). In the United States William Williams Keen, Harvey Cushing, William Coley, James D. Watson, Italy (Salvador Luria), Switzerland (Alexandre Yersin), Japan (Kitasato Shibasaburo), and France (Jean-Martin Charcot, Claude Bernard, Paul Broca and others did significant work. Russian (Nikolai Korotkov also did significant work, as did Sir William Osler and Harvey Cushing.

The Persian philosopher Avicenna, dubbed centuries later the Father of Modern Medicine. His Canon of Medicine, written during the Islamic Golden Age, probed the nature of contagious disease, identified anaesthetics and medicinal drugs, introduced quarantine and experimental medicine, and even the idea of clinical trials As science and technology developed, medicine became more reliant upon medications. Pharmacology developed from herbalism and many drugs are still derived from plants (atropine, ephedrine, warfarin, aspirin, digoxin, vinca alkaloids, taxol, hyoscine, etc). The first of these was arsphenamine / Salvarsan discovered by Paul Ehrlich in 1908 after he observed that bacteria took up toxic dyes that human cells did not. Vaccines were discovered by Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur. The first major class of antibiotics was the sulfa drugs, derived by French chemists originally from azo dyes. This has become increasingly sophisticated; modern biotechnology allows drugs targeted towards specific physiological processes to be developed, sometimes designed for compatibility with the body to reduce side-effects. Genomics and knowledge of human genetics is having some influence on medicine, as the causative genes of most monogenic genetic disorders have now been identified, and the development of techniques in molecular biology and genetics are influencing medical technology, practice and decision-making. Evidence-based medicine is a contemporary movement to establish the most effective algorithms of practice (ways of doing things) through the use of systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The movement is facilitated by the modern global information science, which allows all evidence to be collected and analyzed according to standard protocols which are then disseminated to healthcare providers. One problem with this 'best practice' approach is that it could be seen to stifle novel approaches to treatment. The Cochrane Collaboration leads this movement. A 2001 review of 160 Cochrane systematic reviews revealed that, according to two readers, 21.3% of the reviews concluded insufficient evidence, 20% concluded evidence of no effect, and 22.5% concluded positive effect.[10]

[edit] Practice The practice of modern medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the application of this medical knowledge in combination with intuition and clinical judgment to determine the treatment plan for each individual patient.

Central to medicine is the patient-physician relationship established when a person with a health concern seeks a physician's help; the 'medical encounter'. Other health professionals similarly establish a relationship with a patient and may perform various interventions, e.g. nurses, radiographers, and therapists. As part of the medical encounter, the healthcare provider needs to: • • • • • •

develop a relationship with the patient gather data (medical history, systems inquiry, and physical examination, combined with laboratory or imaging studies (investigations)) analyze and synthesize that data (assessment and/or differential diagnoses), and then: develop a treatment plan (further testing, therapy, watchful observation, referral and follow-up) treat the patient accordingly assess the progress of treatment and alter the plan as necessary (management).

The medical encounter is documented in a medical record, which is a legal document in many jurisdictions.[11]

[edit] Structures Contemporary medicine is in general conducted within health care systems. Legal, credentialing and financing frameworks are established by individual governments, augmented on occasion by international organizations. The characteristics of any given health care system have significant impact on the way medical care is provided. Advanced industrial countries (with the exception of the United States) [12][13] and many developing countries provide medical services though a system of universal health care which aims to guarantee care for all through a single-payer health care system, or compulsory private or co-operative health insurance. This is intended to ensure that the entire population has access to medical care on the basis of need rather than ability to pay. Delivery may be via private medical practices or by state-owned hospitals and clinics, or by charities; most commonly by a combination of all three. Most tribal societies, but also some communist countries (e.g. China) and one wealthy, industrialized capitalist country (the United States),[12][13] provide no guarantee of health care for the population as a whole. In such societies, health care is available to those that can afford to pay for it or have self insured it (either directly or as part of an employment contract) or who may be covered by care financed by the government or tribe directly.

Modern drug ampoules Transparency of information is another factor defining a delivery system. Access to information on conditions, treatments, quality and pricing greatly affects the choice by patients / consumers and therefore the incentives of medical professionals. While the US health care system has come under fire for lack of openness [14], new legislation may encourage greater openness. There is a perceived tension between the need for transparency on the one hand and such issues as patient confidentiality and the possible exploitation of information for commercial gain on the other.

[edit] Delivery See also: clinic, hospital, and hospice Provision of medical care is classified into primary, secondary and tertiary care categories. Primary care medical services are provided by physicians or other health professionals who have first contact with a patient seeking medical treatment or care. These occur in physician offices, clinics, nursing homes, schools, home visits and other places close to patients. About 90% of medical visits can be treated by the primary care provider. These include treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. Secondary care medical services are provided by medical specialists in their offices or clinics or at local community hospitals for a patient referred by a primary care provider who first diagnosed or treated the patient. Referrals are made for those patients who required the expertise or procedures performed by specialists. These include both ambulatory care and inpatient services, emergency rooms, intensive care medicine, surgery services, physical therapy, labor and delivery, endoscopy units, diagnostic laboratory and medical imaging services, hospice centers, etc. Some primary care providers may also take care of hospitalized patients and deliver babies in a secondary care setting. Tertiary care medical services are provided by specialist hospitals or regional centers equipped with diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. These include trauma centers, burn treatment centers, advanced neonatology unit services, organ transplants, high-risk pregnancy, radiation oncology, etc.

Modern medical care also depends on information - still delivered in many health care settings on paper records, but increasingly nowadays by electronic means. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

[edit] The patient-physician relationship

Girl having her head bandaged, as depicted by the portraitist Henriette Browne (1829-1901) The relationship between patient and carer, be they physician or nurse, is a pivotal aspect of medical practice. The ideal taught in medical school sees the core aspect as the physician learning the patient's symptoms, concerns and values. The physician examines the patient, interprets the symptoms, and formulates a diagnosis to explain the symptoms and their cause to the patient and then proposes a treatment. The job of a physician is similar to a human biologist: that is, to know the human frame and situation in terms of normality. Once the physician knows what is normal and can measure the patient against those norms, he or she can then determine the particular departure from the normal and the degree of departure. This is called the diagnosis. The four great corner stones of diagnostic medicine are anatomy (structure: what is there), physiology (how the structure/s work), pathology (what goes wrong with the anatomy and physiology) and psychology (mind and behavior). In addition, the physician should consider the patient in their 'well' context rather than simply as a walking medical condition. This means the socio-political context of the patient (family, work, stress, beliefs) should be assessed as it often offers vital clues to the patient's condition and further management. A patient typically presents a set of complaints (the symptoms) to the physician, who then obtains further information about the patient's symptoms, previous state of health, living conditions, and so forth. The physician then makes a review of systems (ROS) or systems inquiry, which is a set of ordered questions about each major body system in order: general (such as weight loss), endocrine, cardio-respiratory, etc.

Next comes the actual physical examination and often laboratory tests; the findings are recorded, leading to a list of possible diagnoses. These will be investigated in order of probability. The next task is to enlist the patient's agreement to a management plan, which will include treatment as well as plans for follow-up. Importantly, during this process the healthcare provider educates the patient about the causes, progression, outcomes, and possible treatments of his ailments, as well as often providing advice for maintaining health. This teaching relationship is the basis of calling the physician doctor, which originally meant "teacher" in Latin. The patient-physician relationship is additionally complicated by the patient's suffering (patient derives from the Latin patior, "suffer") and limited ability to relieve it on his/her own. The physician's expertise comes from his knowledge of what is healthy and normal contrasted with knowledge and experience of other people who have suffered similar symptoms (unhealthy and abnormal), and the proven ability to relieve it with medicines (pharmacology) or other therapies about which the patient may initially have little knowledge. The physician-patient relationship can be analyzed from the perspective of ethical concerns, in terms of how well the goals of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice are achieved. Many other values and ethical issues can be added to these. In different societies, periods, and cultures, different values may be assigned different priorities. For example, in the last 30 years medical care in the Western World has increasingly emphasized patient autonomy in decision making. The relationship and process can also be analyzed in terms of social power relationships (e.g., by Michel Foucault), or economic transactions. Physicians have been accorded gradually higher status and respect over the last century, and they have been entrusted with control of access to prescription medicines as a public health measure. This represents a concentration of power and carries both advantages and disadvantages to particular kinds of patients with particular kinds of conditions. A further twist has occurred in the last 25 years as costs of medical care have risen, and a third party (an insurance company or government agency) now often insists upon a share of decision-making power for a variety of reasons, reducing freedom of choice of healthcare providers and patients in many ways. The quality of the patient-physician relationship is important to both parties. The better the relationship in terms of mutual respect, knowledge, trust, shared values and perspectives about disease and life, and time available, the better will be the amount and quality of information about the patient's disease transferred in both directions, enhancing accuracy of diagnosis and increasing the patient's knowledge about the disease. Where such a relationship is poor the physician's ability to make a full assessment is compromised and the patient is more likely to distrust the diagnosis and proposed treatment. In these circumstances and also in cases where there is genuine divergence of medical opinions, a second opinion from another physician may be sought or the patient may choose to go to another doctor. In some settings, e.g. the hospital ward, the patient-physician relationship is much more complex, and many other people are involved when somebody is ill: relatives, neighbors, rescue specialists, nurses, technical personnel, social workers and others. In non-Western societies, the physician/patient relationship may be couched in different terms. The illness may be seen as a violation of the spiritual realm and the cure will be seen likewise as having to take place in the spiritual realm. Violation of some spiritual rule can result in illness; persons distant to the patient may have caused illness by manoeuvres in the spiritual realm, by cursing or causing another practitioner / shaman / healer to place the curse. Powerful faith in these factors can result in serious illness or cure. Spirits can be part of a culture's usual pantheon, ancestor spirits or arbitrary new spirit forces arising independently or as derived from an existing object in the real world: such as an animist spirit coming from a totem animal, mountain or other thing. As in the scientific West, the practitioner is assumed to have special knowledge or power, and is paid by the patient in some form.

[edit] Clinical skills Main articles: Medical history and Physical examination A complete medical evaluation includes a medical history, a systems enquiry, a physical examination, appropriate laboratory or imaging studies, analysis of data and medical decision making to obtain diagnoses, and a treatment plan.[15] The components of the medical history are: •

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Chief complaint (cc): the reason for the current medical visit. These are the 'symptoms.' They are in the patient's own words and are recorded along with the duration of each one. Also called 'presenting complaint.' History of present illness / complaint (HPI): the chronological order of events of symptoms and further clarification of each symptom. Current activity: occupation, hobbies, what the patient actually does. Medications (Rx): what drugs the patient takes including prescribed, over-the-counter, and home remedies, as well as alternative and herbal medicines/herbal remedies. Allergies are also recorded. Past medical history (PMH/PMHx): concurrent medical problems, past hospitalizations and operations, injuries, past infectious diseases and/or vaccinations, history of known allergies. Social history (SH): birthplace, residences, marital history, social and economic status, habits (including diet, medications, tobacco, alcohol). Family history (FH): listing of diseases in the family that may impact the patient. A family tree is sometimes used. Review of systems (ROS) or systems inquiry: a set of additional questions to ask which may be missed on HPI: a general enquiry (have you noticed any weight loss, change in sleep quality, fevers, lumps and bumps? etc), followed by questions on the body's main organ systems (heart, lungs, digestive tract, urinary tract, etc).

The physical examination is the examination of the patient looking for signs of disease ('Symptoms' are what the patient volunteers, 'Signs' are what the healthcare provider detects by examination). The healthcare provider uses the senses of sight, hearing, touch, and sometimes smell (taste has been made redundant by the availability of modern lab tests). Four chief methods are used: inspection, palpation (feel), percussion (tap to determine resonance characteristics), and auscultation (listen); smelling may be useful (e.g. infection, uremia, diabetic ketoacidosis). The clinical examination involves study of: • • • • • • • • • • •

Vital signs including height, weight, body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate, hemoglobin oxygen saturation General appearance of the patient and specific indicators of disease (nutritional status, presence of jaundice, pallor or clubbing) Skin Head, eye, ear, nose, and throat (HEENT) Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) Respiratory (large airways and lungs) Abdomen and rectum Genitalia (and pregnancy if the patient is or could be pregnant) Musculoskeletal (including spine and extremities) Neurological (consciousness, awareness, brain, vision, cranial nerves, spinal cord and peripheral nerves) Psychiatric (orientation, mental state, evidence of abnormal perception or thought)

Laboratory and imaging studies results may be obtained, if necessary. The medical decision-making (MDM) process involves analysis and synthesis of all the above data to come up with a list of possible diagnoses (the differential diagnoses), along with an idea of what needs to be done to obtain a definitive diagnosis that would explain the patient's problem. The treatment plan may include ordering additional laboratory tests and studies, starting therapy, referral to a specialist, or watchful observation. Follow-up may be advised. This process is used by primary care providers as well as specialists. It may take only a few minutes if the problem is simple and straightforward. On the other hand, it may take weeks in a patient who has been hospitalized with bizarre symptoms or multi-system problems, with involvement by several specialists. On subsequent visits, the process may be repeated in an abbreviated manner to obtain any new history, symptoms, physical findings, and lab or imaging results or specialist consultations.

[edit] Branches Working together as an interdisciplinary team, many highly-trained health professionals besides medical practitioners are involved in the delivery of modern health care. Examples include: nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, laboratory scientists, (pharmacy, pharmacists), (physiotherapy,physiotherapists), respiratory therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, dietitians and bioengineers. The scope and sciences underpinning human medicine overlap many other fields. Dentistry, while a separate discipline from medicine, is considered a medical field. A patient admitted to hospital is usually under the care of a specific team based on their main presenting problem, e.g. the Cardiology team, who then may interact with other specialties, e.g. surgical, radiology, to help diagnose or treat the main problem or any subsequent complications / developments. Physicians have many specializations and subspecializations into certain branches of medicine, which are listed below. There are variations from country to country regarding which specialties certain subspecialties are in. The main branches of medicine used in Wikipedia are: • • •

Basic sciences of medicine; this is what every physician is educated in, and some return to in biomedical research. Medical specialties interdisciplinary fields, where different medical specialties are mixed to function in certain occasions.

[edit] Basic sciences • •

Anatomy is the study of the physical structure of organisms. In contrast to macroscopic or gross anatomy, cytology and histology are concerned with microscopic structures. Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry taking place in living organisms, especially the structure and function of their chemical components.

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Biostatistics is the application of statistics to biological fields in the broadest sense. A knowledge of biostatistics is essential in the planning, evaluation, and interpretation of medical research. It is also fundamental to epidemiology and evidence-based medicine. Cytology is the microscopic study of individual cells. Embryology is the study of the early development of organisms. Epidemiology is the study of the demographics of disease processes, and includes, but is not limited to, the study of epidemics. Genetics is the study of genes, and their role in biological inheritance. Histology is the study of the structures of biological tissues by light microscopy, electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Immunology is the study of the immune system, which includes the innate and adaptive immune system in humans, for example. Medical physics is the study of the applications of physics principles in medicine. Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, including protozoa, bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Neuroscience includes those disciplines of science that are related to the study of the nervous system. A main focus of neuroscience is the biology and physiology of the human brain and spinal cord. Nutrition science (theoretical focus) and dietetics (practical focus) is the study of the relationship of food and drink to health and disease, especially in determining an optimal diet. Medical nutrition therapy is done by dietitians and is prescribed for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, weight and eating disorders, allergies, malnutrition, and neoplastic diseases. Pathology as a science is the study of disease—the causes, course, progression and resolution thereof. Pharmacology is the study of drugs and their actions. Physiology is the study of the normal functioning of the body and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Toxicology is the study of hazardous effects of drugs and poisons.

[edit] Specialties Main article: Medical specialty In the broadest meaning of "medicine", there are many different specialties. However, within medical circles, there are two broad categories: "Medicine" and "Surgery." "Medicine" refers to the practice of non-operative medicine, and most subspecialties in this area require preliminary training in "Internal Medicine". "Surgery" refers to the practice of operative medicine, and most subspecialties in this area require preliminary training in "General Surgery." There are some specialties of medicine that do not fit into either of these categories, such as radiology, pathology, or anesthesia, and those are also discussed further below. [edit] Surgery Surgical specialties employ operative treatment. In addition, surgeons must decide when an operation is necessary, and also treat many non-surgical issues, particularly in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), where a variety of critical issues arise. Surgery has many subspecialties, e.g. general surgery, trauma surgery, cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, oncologic surgery, vascular surgery, and pediatric surgery. In some centers, anesthesiology is part of the division of surgery (for logistical and planning purposes), although it is not a surgical discipline.

Surgical training in the U.S. requires a minimum of five years of residency after medical school. Subspecialties of surgery often require seven or more years. In addition, fellowships can last an additional one to three years. Because post-residency fellowships can be competitive, many trainees devote two additional years to research. Thus in some cases surgical training will not finish until more than a decade after medical school. Furthermore, surgical training can be very difficult and time consuming. A surgical resident's average work week is approximately 75 hours. Some subspecialties of surgery, such as neurosurgery, require even longer hours, and utilize an extension to the 80 hour regulated work week, allowing up to 88 hours per week. Many surgical programs still exceed this work hour limit. Attempts to limit the amount of hours worked has been difficult because of the large volume of patients who require surgical care, the limited amount of resources (including a shortage of people willing to enter into surgery as a career)[16], the need to perform long operations and still provide care to all pre- and post-operative patients, and the need to provide constant coverage in the OR, ICU, and ER. [edit] Medicine •

Internal medicine is concerned with systemic diseases of adults, i.e. those diseases that affect the body as a whole (restrictive, current meaning), or with all adult non-operative somatic medicine (traditional, inclusive meaning), thus excluding pediatrics, surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, and psychiatry. Practitioners of such specialties are referred to as physicians. There are several subdisciplines of internal medicine: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Cardiology Critical care medicine Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics Hematology Hepatology Infectious diseases Nephrology Oncology Proctology Pulmonology Rheumatology Sleep disorder Neurology

Generally, Pediatrics and Family Practice are also considered to fall under the category of "Medicine". Medical training, as opposed to surgical training, requires three years of residency training after medical school. This can then be followed by a one to two year fellowship in the subspecialties listed above. In general, resident work hours in medicine are less than those in surgery, averaging about 60 hours per week in the USA. [edit] Diagnostic specialties •

Clinical laboratory sciences are the clinical diagnostic services which apply laboratory techniques to diagnosis and management of patients. In the United States these services are supervised by a pathologist. The personnel that work in these medical laboratory departments are technically trained staff who do not hold medical degrees, but who usually hold an undergraduate medical technology degree, who actually perform the tests, assays, and procedures needed for providing the specific services. Subspecialties include Transfusion medicine, Cellular pathology, Clinical chemistry, Hematology, Clinical microbiology and Clinical immunology.

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Pathology as a medical specialty is the branch of medicine that deals with the study of diseases and the morphologic, physiologic changes produced by them. As a diagnostic specialty, pathology can be considered the basis of modern scientific medical knowledge and plays a large role in evidence-based medicine. Many modern molecular tests such as flow cytometry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry, cytogenetics, gene rearrangements studies and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) fall within the territory of pathology. Radiology is concerned with imaging of the human body, e.g. by x-rays, x-ray computed tomography, ultrasonography, and nuclear magnetic resonance tomography. Clinical neurophysiology is concerned with testing the physiology or function of the central and peripheral aspects of the nervous system. These kinds of tests can be divided into recordings of: (1) spontaneous or continuously running electrical activity, or (2) stimulus evoked responses. Subspecialties include Electroencephalography, Electromyography, Evoked potential, Nerve conduction study and Polysomnography. Sometimes these tests are performed by techs without a medical degree, but the interpretation of these tests is done by a medical professional.

[edit] Other Following are some selected fields of medical specialties that don't directly fit into any of the above mentioned groups. • • • •

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Ophthalmology exclusively concerned with the eye and ocular adnexa. Combines conservative and surgical therapy, and has its own College. Dermatology is concerned with the skin and its diseases. In the UK, dermatology is a subspecialty of general medicine. Emergency medicine is concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of acute or life-threatening conditions, including trauma, surgical, medical, pediatric, and psychiatric emergencies. Obstetrics and gynecology (often abbreviated as OB/GYN) are concerned respectively with childbirth and the female reproductive and associated organs. Reproductive medicine and fertility medicine are generally practiced by gynecological specialists. Palliative care is a relatively modern branch of clinical medicine that deals with pain and symptom relief and emotional support in patients with terminal illnesses including cancer and heart failure. Pediatrics (AE) or paediatrics (BE) is devoted to the care of infants, children, and adolescents. Like internal medicine, there are many pediatric subspecialties for specific age ranges, organ systems, disease classes, and sites of care delivery. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (or physiatry) is concerned with functional improvement after injury, illness, or congenital disorders. Psychiatry is the branch of medicine concerned with the bio-psycho-social study of the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cognitive, perceptual, emotional and behavioral disorders. Related non-medical fields include psychotherapy and clinical psychology.

[edit] Interdisciplinary fields Interdisciplinary sub-specialties of medicine are: • • •

General practice, family practice, family medicine or primary care is, in many countries, the first port-of-call for patients with non-emergency medical problems. Many other health science fields, e.g. dietetics Bioethics is a field of study which concerns the relationship between biology, science, medicine and ethics, philosophy and theology.

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Biomedical Engineering is a field dealing with the application of engineering principles to medical practice. Clinical pharmacology is concerned with how systems of therapeutics interact with patients. Conservation medicine studies the relationship between human and animal health, and environmental conditions. Also known as ecological medicine, environmental medicine, or medical geology. Disaster medicine deals with medical aspects of emergency preparedness, disaster mitigation and management. Diving medicine (or hyperbaric medicine) is the prevention and treatment of diving-related problems. Evolutionary medicine is a perspective on medicine derived through applying evolutionary theory. Forensic medicine deals with medical questions in legal context, such as determination of the time and cause of death. Gender-based medicine studies the biological and physiological differences between the human sexes and how that affects differences in disease. Hospital medicine is the general medical care of hospitalized patients. Physicians whose primary professional focus is hospital medicine are called hospitalists in the USA. Medical humanities includes the humanities (literature, philosophy, ethics, history and religion), social science (anthropology, cultural studies, psychology, sociology), and the arts (literature, theater, film, and visual arts) and their application to medical education and practice. Medical informatics, medical computer science, medical information and eHealth are relatively recent fields that deal with the application of computers and information technology to medicine. Nosology is the classification of diseases for various purposes. Nosokinetics is the science/subject of measuring and modelling the process of care in health and social care systems. Pain management (also called pain medicine) is the medical discipline concerned with the relief of pain. Preventive medicine is the branch of medicine concerned with preventing disease. o Community health or public health is an aspect of health services concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. o Occupational medicine's principal role is the provision of health advice to organizations and individuals to ensure that the highest standards of health and safety at work can be achieved and maintained. o Aerospace medicine deals with medical problems related to flying and space travel. Osteopathic medicine, a branch of the U.S. medical profession. Pharmacogenomics is a form of individualized medicine. Sports medicine deals with the treatment and preventive care of athletes, amateur and professional. The team includes specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, other personnel, and, of course, the athlete. Therapeutics is the field, more commonly referenced in earlier periods of history, of the various remedies that can be used to treat disease and promote health [1]. Travel medicine or emporiatrics deals with health problems of international travelers or travelers across highly different environments. Urgent care focuses on delivery of unscheduled, walk-in care outside of the hospital emergency department for injuries and illnesses that are not severe enough to require care in an emergency department. In some jurisdictions this function is combined with the emergency room. Veterinary medicine; veterinarians apply similar techniques as physicians to the care of animals.

[edit] Education Main articles: Medical education and Medical school

Painted by Toulouse-Lautrec in the year of his own death: an examination in the Paris faculty of medicine, 1901 Medical education and training varies around the world. It typically involves entry level education at a university medical school, followed by a period of supervised practice or internship, and/or residency. This can be followed by postgraduate vocational training. A variety of teaching methods have been employed in medical education, still itself an focus of active research. Many regulatory authorities require continuing medical education, since knowledge, techniques and medical technology continue to evolve at a rapid rate.

[edit] Legal controls In most countries, it is a legal requirement for a medical doctor to be licensed or registered. In general, this entails a medical degree from a university and accreditation by a medical board or an equivalent national organization, which may ask the applicant to pass exams. This restricts the considerable legal authority of the medical profession to physicians that are trained and qualified by national standards. It is also intended as an assurance to patients and as a safeguard against charlatans that practice inadequate medicine for personal gain. While the laws generally require medical doctors to be trained in "evidence based", Western, or Hippocratic Medicine, they are not intended to discourage different paradigms of health. Doctors who are negligent in their care of patients can face charges of medical malpractice and subject to legal or professional sanctions.

[edit] Controversy The Catholic social theorist Ivan Illich subjected contemporary western medicine to detailed attack in his Medical Nemesis, first published in 1975. He argued that the medicalization in recent decades of so many of life's vicissitudes — birth and death, for example — frequently caused more harm than good and rendered many people in effect lifelong patients. He marshalled a body of statistics to show what he considered the shocking extent of post-operative side-effects and drug-induced illness in advanced industrial society. He was the first to introduce to a wider public the notion of iatrogenic disease. [17] Others have since voiced similar views, but none so trenchantly, perhaps, as Illich. [18]

Through the course of the twentieth century, healthcare providers focused increasingly on the technology that was enabling them to make dramatic improvements in patients' health. The ensuing development of a more mechanistic, detached practice, with the perception of an attendant loss of patient-focused care, known as the medical model of health, led to criticisms that medicine was neglecting a holistic model. [citation needed] The inability of modern medicine to properly address some common complaints continues to prompt many people to seek support from alternative medicine. Although most alternative approaches lack scientific validation, some, notably acupuncture for some conditions and certain herbs, are backed by evidence.[19] Medical errors and overmedication are also the focus of complaints and negative coverage. Practitioners of human factors engineering believe that there is much that medicine may usefully gain by emulating concepts in aviation safety, where it was long ago realized that it is dangerous to place too much responsibility on one "superhuman" individual and expect him or her not to make errors. Reporting systems and checking mechanisms are becoming more common in identifying sources of error and improving practice.

[edit] See also • • • • • • • • • • •

Alternative medicine Health care Iatrogenesis List of causes of death by rate List of diseases List of disorders Important publications in medicine Medical equipment Medical literature Pharmacognosy Timeline of medicine and medical technology

[edit] References

Habit (psychology) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search Habits are habituated routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, tend to occur subconsciously, without directly thinking consciously about them.[1][2][3] Habitual behavior sometimes goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting them, because it is often unnecessary to engage in self-analysis when undertaking in routine tasks. Habituation is an extremely simple form of learning, in which an organism, after a period of exposure to a stimulus, stops responding to that stimulus in varied manners.[3][4][unreliable source?]

Contents [hide] • • •

1 Pragmatism and functional psychology 2 Comparative research 3 See also

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4 References

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5 External links

[edit] Pragmatism and functional psychology Habit loomed large in the psychological writing of the Pragmatism, William James and John Dewey, and the functional psychologists, the early advocates of which were students of Dewey. Chapter IV of James's Principles of Psychology puts habit as a fundamental building block of human behavior and mentions habit as applicable in thought as well. Habit is a very central theme in Dewey's research and writing. Habits develop by doing an action enough times that the neurons in the brain create a pathway that enable them to move quickly from a trigger point, i.e. watching television, to performing the habit, eating. Habitual behaviours can take days or years to develop, depending on the complexity of the habit, and how often they are performed. However, evidence is showing, that once neurons have created the pathway it stays remarkably fixed and therefore difficult to break.[unreliable source?]

[edit] Comparative research Ellen Langer in her books, especially Mindfulness, has portrayed mindfulness as good and habit, mindlessness, as bad. "A mindful approach to any activity has three characteristics: the continuous creation of new categories; openness to new information; and an implicit awareness of more than one perspective." "Mindlessness, in contrast, is characterized by an entrapment in old categories; by automatic behavior that precludes attending to new signals; and by action that operates from a single perspective." In contrast, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow seems to portray habitual behavior as indispensable for and almost indistinguishable from flow, which he clearly views as a good thing. Social psychology Daniel Wegner has theorized that all of our behavior is automatic in the sense of being beyond our conscious control and that the experience of conscious control is an illusion.

[edit] See also • • • • • •

Automaticity Bad habit Habitus Quirk Self-management Self-regulation

Tetris effect Behaviors with habitual elements

Habit modification approaches Physiological habits • • •

Behavior modification Cognitive behavior therapy Habit reversal training

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Habit cough Parafunctional habit (Dentistry)

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Paradoxical intention

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Childhood obesity Nail-biting Neurodermatitis Nose-picking Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Procrastination Thumbsucking

Factors Influencing Choice • • • • • • • • • •

Preference Values Habit Tradition Values Social pressure Emotional Comfort Economy Image Medical Conditions

[edit] References

Industry From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (January 2007) This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2006)

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (December 2006) For other uses of this term, see Industry (disambiguation) GDP composition of sector and labour force by occupation. The green, red, and blue components of the colours of the countries represent the percentages for the agriculture, industry, and services sectors, respectively. An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent, industrious") is the manufacturing of a good or service within a category.[1] Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products.[1] There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction, and manufacturing; the tertiary sector, which deals with services (such as law and medicine) and distribution of manufactured goods; and the quaternary sector, a relatively new type of knowledge industry focusing on technological research, design and development such as computer programming, and biochemistry. A fifth quinary sector has been proposed encompassing nonprofit activities. The economy is also broadly separated into public sector and private sector, with industry generally categorized as private.

Industry in the sense of manufacturing became a key sector of production in European and North American countries during the Industrial Revolution, which upset previous mercantile and feudal economies through many successive rapid advances in technology, such as the steel and coal production. It is aided by technological advances, and has continued to develop into new types and sectors to this day. Industrial countries then assumed a capitalist economic policy. Railroads and steam-powered ships began speedily establishing links with previously unreachable world markets, enabling private companies to develop to then-unheard of size and wealth. Following the Industrial Revolution, perhaps a third of the world's economic output is derived from manufacturing industries—more than agriculture's share. Many developed countries (for example the UK, the U.S., and Canada) and many developing/semideveloped countries (People's Republic of China, India etc.) depend significantly on industry. Industries, the countries they reside in, and the economies of those countries are interlinked in a complex web of interdependence.

Clark's Sector Model (1950)

Contents [hide]

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1 History o 1.1 Proto-industry o 1.2 Industrial development o 1.3 Declining industries 2 Industrial technology 3 Industry and society o 3.1 Industrial labor o 3.2 Industry and war 4 Industry and the environment 5 Organization, management and economics 6 Economic views of industry 7 Industry sectors and classification 8 See also

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9 Footnotes

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[edit] History Main article: Industrial history See also: List of countries by industrial production growth rate

[edit] Proto-industry Main article: Proto-industrialisation Early industries involved manufacturing goods for trade, including weapons, clothing, pottery. In medieval Europe, industry became dominated by the guilds in cities and towns, who mutual support for the member's interests, and maintained standards of workmanship and ethical conduct.

[edit] Industrial development Main article: Industrialisation The industrial revolution led to the development of factories for large-scale production, with consequent changes in society. Originally the factories were steam-powered, but later transitioned to electricity once an electrical grid was developed. The mechanized assembly line was introduced to assemble parts in a repeatable fashion, with individual workers performing specific steps during the process. This led to significant increases in efficiency, lowering the cost of the end process. Later automation was increasingly used to replace human operators. This process has accelerated with the development of the computer and the robot.

[edit] Declining industries Main article: Deindustrialisation Historically certain manufacturing industries have gone into a decline due to various economic factors, including the development of replacement technology or the loss of competitive advantage. An example of the former is the decline in carriage manufacturing when the automobile was massproduced. A recent trend has been the migration of prosperous, industrialized nations toward a post-industrial society. This is manifested by an increase in the service sector at the expense of manufacturing, and the development of an information-based economy, the so-called informational revolution. In a postindustrial society, manufacturing is relocated to more economically-favorable locations through a process of offshoring.

[edit] Industrial technology Main article: Industrial technology There are several branches of technology and engineering specialised for industrial application. This includes mathematical models, patented inventions and craft skills. See automation, industrial architecture, industrial design, industrial process, industrial arts and industrial applicability.

[edit] Industry and society Main article: Industrial society

An industrial society can be defined in many ways. Today, industry is an important part of most societies and nations. A government must have some kind of industrial policy, regulating industrial placement, industrial pollution, financing and industrial labor.

[edit] Industrial labor Main article: Industrial labor Further information: industrial sociology, industrial and organizational psychology, industrial district, and industrial park In an industrial society, industry employs a major part of the population. This occurs typically in the manufacturing sector. A labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages, hours, and working conditions, forming a cartel of labor. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members (rank and file members) and negotiates labor contracts with employers. This movement first rose among industrial workers.

[edit] Industry and war Main article: Industrial warfare The industrial revolution changed warfare, with mass-produced weaponry and supplies, machinepowered transportation, mobilization, the total war concept and weapons of mass destruction. Early instances of industrial warfare were the Crimean War and the American Civil War, but its full potential showed during the world wars. See also militaryindustrial complex, arms industry, military industry and modern warfare.

[edit] Industry and the environment Further information: Pollution and Industrial ecology

[edit] Organization, management and economics Main article: Industrial organization Further information: Industrial loan company

[edit] Economic views of industry Philosophers and economists have developed many different views of industry. See physiocrats, Adam Smith, capitalism, Marxism and Colin Clark's Sector model.

[edit] Industry sectors and classification Main article: Industrial sector There are many other different kinds of industries, and they are usually divided into different classes or sectors. The primary sector of industry is agriculture, mining and raw material extraction. The secondary sector of industry is manufacturing - which is what is colloquially meant by the word "industry". The tertiary sector of industry is service production. Sometimes one talks about a quaternary sector of industry, consisting of intellectual services such as R&D. • • •

light industry - heavy industry labor-intensive industry - capital-intensive industry By product: chemical industry, petroleum industry, meatpacking industry, hospitality industry, food industry, fish industry, software industry, paper industry, entertainment industry, semiconductor industry, cultural industry, poverty industry

ISIC ISIC(rev.4) stands for International Standard Industrial Classification of ALL economic activities, the most complete and systematic industrial classification made by United Nations Statistics Division. ISIC Rev.4 is a standard classification of economic activities arranged so that entities can be classified according to the activity they carry out. The categories of ISIC at the most detailed level (classes) are delineated according to what is, in most countries, the customary combination of activities described in statistical units and considers the relative importance of the activities included in these classes. While ISIC Rev.4 continues to use criteria such as input, output and use of the products produced, more emphasis has been given to the character of the production process in defining and delineating ISIC classes. Yahoo!Finance Industry Center by Yahoo!Finance is also very useful (shows Trends of all industrial sectors).

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North American Industry Classification System North American Product Classification System Standard Industrial Classification Porter 5 forces analysis

[edit] Footnotes

Globalization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Night view of Shanghai, China

The construction of continental hotels is a major consequence of globalization process in affiliation with tourism and travel industry, Dariush Grand Hotel, Kish, Iran Globalization (globalisation) in its literal sense is the process of transformation of local phenomena into global ones. It can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces.[1] Globalization is often used to refer to economic globalization, that is, integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology.[2] Tom G. Palmer of the Cato Institute defines globalization as "the diminution or elimination of stateenforced restrictions on exchanges across borders and the increasingly integrated and complex global system of production and exchange that has emerged as a result."[3]

Thomas L. Friedman "examines the impact of the 'flattening' of the globe", and argues that globalized trade, outsourcing, supply-chaining, and political forces have changed the world permanently, for both better and worse. He also argues that the pace of globalization is quickening and will continue to have a growing impact on business organization and practice.[4] Noam Chomsky argues that the word globalization is also used, in a doctrinal sense, to describe the neoliberal form of economic globalization.[5] Herman E. Daly argues that sometimes the terms internationalization and globalization are used interchangeably but there is a slight formal difference. The term "internationalization" refers to the importance of international trade, relations, treaties etc. International means between or among nations.

Contents [hide] • • • • • • • • • •

1 History 2 Modern globalization 3 Measuring globalization 4 Effects of globalization 5 Pro-globalization (globalism) 6 Anti-globalization o 6.1 International Social Forums 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links o

10.1 Multimedia

[edit] History The term "globalization" has been used by economists since the 1980s although it was used in social sciences in the 1960s; however, its concepts did not become popular until the latter half of the 1980s and 1990s. The earliest written theoretical concepts of globalization were penned by an American entrepreneur-turned-minister Charles Taze Russell who coined the term 'corporate giants' in 1897.[6] Globalization is viewed as a centuries long process, tracking the expansion of human population and the growth of civilization, that has accelerated dramatically in the past 50 years. Early forms of globalization existed during the Roman Empire, the Parthian empire, and the Han Dynasty, when the Silk Road started in China, reached the boundaries of the Parthian empire, and continued onwards towards Rome. The Islamic Golden Age is also an example, when Muslim traders and explorers established an early global economy across the Old World resulting in a globalization of crops, trade, knowledge and technology; and later during the Mongol Empire, when there was greater integration along the Silk Road. Globalization in a wider context began shortly before the turn of the 16th century, with two Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula - the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Castile. Portugal's global explorations in the 16th century, especially, linked continents, economies and cultures to a massive extent. Portugal's exploration and trade with most of the coast of Africa, Eastern South America, and Southern and Eastern Asia, was the first major trade based form of globalization. A wave of global trade, colonization, and enculturation reached all corners of the world. Global integration continued through the expansion of European trade in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Portuguese and Spanish Empires

colonized the Americas, followed eventually by France and Britain. Globalization has had a tremendous impact on cultures, particularly indigenous cultures, around the world. In the 15th century, Portugal's Company of Guinea was one of the first chartered commercial companies established by Europeans in other continent during the Age of Discovery, whose task was to deal with the spices and to fix the prices of the goods. In the 17th century, globalization became a business phenomenon when the British East India Company (founded in 1600), which is often described as the first multinational corporation, was established, as well as the Dutch East India Company (founded in 1602) and the Portuguese East India Company (founded in 1628). Because of the high risks involved with international trade, the British East India Company became the first company in the world to share risk and enable joint ownership of companies through the issuance of shares of stock: an important driver for globalization. Globalization was achieved by the British Empire (the largest empire in history) due to its sheer size and power. British ideals and culture were imposed on other nations during this period. The 19th century is sometimes called "The First Era of Globalization." It was a period characterized by rapid growth in international trade and investment between the European imperial powers, their colonies, and, later, the United States. It was in this period that areas of sub-saharan Africa and the Island Pacific were incorporated into the world system. The "First Era of Globalization" began to break down at the beginning of the 20th century with the first World War. Said John Maynard Keynes[7], The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea, the various products of the whole earth, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep. Militarism and imperialism of racial and cultural rivalries were little more than the amusements of his daily newspaper. What an extraordinary episode in the economic progress of man was that age which came to an end in August 1914.

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The "First Era of Globalization" later collapsed during the gold standard crisis in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

[edit] Modern globalization Globalization, since World War II, is largely the result of planning by economists, business interests, and politicians who recognized the costs associated with protectionism and declining international economic integration. Their work led to the Bretton Woods conference and the founding of several international institutions intended to oversee the renewed processes of globalization, promoting growth and managing adverse consequences. These institutions include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), and the International Monetary Fund. Globalization has been facilitated by advances in technology which have reduced the costs of trade, and trade negotiation rounds, originally under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which led to a series of agreements to remove restrictions on free trade. Since World War II, barriers to international trade have been considerably lowered through international agreements - GATT. Particular initiatives carried out as a result of GATT and the World Trade Organization (WTO), for which GATT is the foundation, have included: •

Promotion of free trade: o Reduction or elimination of tariffs; creation of free trade zones with small or no tariffs o Reduced transportation costs, especially resulting from development of containerization for ocean shipping.

Reduction or elimination of capital controls Reduction, elimination, or harmonization of subsidies for local businesses Restriction of free trade: o Harmonization of intellectual property laws across the majority of states, with more restrictions. o Supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions (e.g. patents granted by China would be recognized in the United States) o o

•

Cultural globalization, driven by communication technology and the worldwide marketing of Western cultural industries, was understood at first as a process of homogenization, as the global domination of American culture at the expense of traditional diversity. However, a contrasting trend soon became evident in the emergence of movements protesting against globalization and giving new momentum to the defense of local uniqueness, individuality, and identity. These movements used the same new technologies to pursue their own goals more efficiently and to appeal for support from world opinion.[8] The Uruguay Round (1984 to 1995) led to a treaty to create the WTO to mediate trade disputes and set up a uniform platform of trading. Other bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, including sections of Europe's Maastricht Treaty and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have also been signed in pursuit of the goal of reducing tariffs and barriers to trade. Global conflicts, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States of America, is interrelated with globalization because it was primary source of the "war on terror", which had started the steady increase of the prices of oil and gas, due to the fact that most OPEC member countries were in the Arabian Peninsula.[9] World exports rose from 8.5% of gross world product in 1970 to 16.1% of gross world product in 2001. [6]

[edit] Measuring globalization

Globalization has had an impact on different cultures around the world.

Japanese McDonald's fast food as an evidence of international integration. Looking specifically at economic globalization, demonstrates that it can be measured in different ways. These center around the four main economic flows that characterize globalization:

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Goods and services, e.g. exports plus imports as a proportion of national income or per capita of population Labor/people, e.g. net migration rates; inward or outward migration flows, weighted by population Capital, e.g. inward or outward direct investment as a proportion of national income or per head of population Technology, e.g. international research & development flows; proportion of populations (and rates of change thereof) using particular inventions (especially 'factor-neutral' technological advances such as the telephone, motorcar, broadband)

As globalization is not only an economic phenomenon, a multivariate approach to measuring globalization is the recent index calculated by the Swiss think tank KOF. The index measures the three main dimensions of globalization: economic, social, and political. In addition to three indices measuring these dimensions, an overall index of globalization and sub-indices referring to actual economic flows, economic restrictions, data on personal contact, data on information flows, and data on cultural proximity is calculated. Data is available on a yearly basis for 122 countries, as detailed in Dreher, Gaston and Martens (2008).[10] According to the index, the world's most globalized country is Belgium, followed by Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The least globalized countries according to the KOF-index are Haiti, Myanmar the Central African Republic and Burundi.[11] A.T. Kearney and Foreign Policy Magazine jointly publish another Globalization Index. According to the 2006 index, Singapore, Ireland, Switzerland, the U.S., the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark are the most globalized, while Indonesia, India and Iran are the least globalized among countries listed.

[edit] Effects of globalization Globalization has various aspects which affect the world in several different ways such as: •

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Industrial - emergence of worldwide production markets and broader access to a range of foreign products for consumers and companies. Particularly movement of material and goods between and within national boundaries. Financial - emergence of worldwide financial markets and better access to external financing for borrowers. Simultaneous though not necessarily purely globalist is the emergence of under or unregulated foreign exchange and speculative markets. Economic - realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital. Political - some use "globalization" to mean the creation of a world government, or cartels of governments (e.g. WTO, World Bank, and IMF) which regulate the relationships among governments and guarantees the rights arising from social and economic globalization. [12] Politically, the United States has enjoyed a position of power among the world powers; in part because of its strong and wealthy economy. With the influence of globalization and with the help of The United States’ own economy, the People's Republic of China has experienced some tremendous growth within the past decade. If China continues to grow at the rate projected by the trends, then it is very likely that in the next twenty years, there will be a major reallocation of power among the world leaders. China will have enough wealth, industry, and technology to rival the United States for the position of leading world power. [13]. Informational - increase in information flows between geographically remote locations. Arguably this is a technological change with the advent of fibre optic communications, satellites, and increased availability of telephone and Internet. Language - the most popular language is English[14]. o About 75% of the world's mail, telexes, and cables are in English. o Approximately 60% of the world's radio programs are in English.

About 90% of all Internet traffic uses English. Competition - Survival in the new global business market calls for improved productivity and increased competition. Due to the market becoming worldwide, companies in various industries have to upgrade their products and use technology skillfully in order to face increased competition.[15] Cultural - growth of cross-cultural contacts; advent of new categories of consciousness and identities which embodies cultural diffusion, the desire to increase one's standard of living and enjoy foreign products and ideas, adopt new technology and practices, and participate in a "world culture". Some bemoan the resulting consumerism and loss of languages. Also see Transformation of culture. Ecological- the advent of global environmental challenges that might be solved with international cooperation, such as climate change, cross-boundary water and air pollution, over-fishing of the ocean, and the spread of invasive species. Since many factories are built in developing countries with less environmental regulation, globalism and free trade may increase pollution. On the other hand, economic development historically required a "dirty" industrial stage, and it is argued that developing countries should not, via regulation, be prohibited from increasing their standard of living. Social(International cultural exchange) - increased circulation by people of all nations with fewer restrictions. o Spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity (e.g. through the export of Hollywood and Bollywood movies). Some consider such "imported" culture a danger, since it may supplant the local culture, causing reduction in diversity or even assimilation. Others consider multiculturalism to promote peace and understanding between peoples. o Greater international travel and tourism o Greater immigration, including illegal immigration o Spread of local consumer products (e.g. food) to other countries (often adapted to their culture). o Worldwide fads and pop culture such as Pokémon, Sudoku, Numa Numa, Origami, Idol series, YouTube, Orkut, Facebook, and MySpace. Accessible to those who have Internet or Television, leaving out a substantial segment of the Earth's population. o Worldwide sporting events such as FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. o Incorporation of multinational corporations in to new media. As the sponsors of the AllBlacks rugby team, Adidas had created a parallel website with a downloadable interactive rugby game for its fans to play and compete. [16] o

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Technical o Development of a global telecommunications infrastructure and greater transborder data flow, using such technologies as the Internet, communication satellites, submarine fiber optic cable, and wireless telephones o Increase in the number of standards applied globally; e.g. copyright laws, patents and world trade agreements. Legal/Ethical o The creation of the international criminal court and international justice movements. o Crime importation and raising awareness of global crime-fighting efforts and cooperation.

Whilst it is all too easy to look at the positive aspects of Globalization and the great benefits that are apparent everywhere, there are also several negative occurrences that can only be the result of or major motivating factors that inspire some corporations to globalize.

Globalization – the growing integration of economies and societies around the world – has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in international economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in China, India, and other countries that were poor 20 years ago, has been a positive aspect of globalization. But globalization has also generated significant international opposition over concerns that it has increased inequality and environmental degradation [17] Business Globalization has had extensive impact on the world of business. In a business environment marked by globalization, the world seems to shrink, and other businesses halfway around the world can exert as great an impact on a business as one right down the street. Internet access and e-commerce have brought smallscale coops in Third World nations into the same arena as thriving businesses in the industrialized world, and visions of low-income workers handweaving rugs on primitive looms that compete with rug dealers in major cities are not totally far-fetched. Globalization has affected workforce demographics, as well. Today's workforces are characterized by greater diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnic and racial background, and a variety of other demographic factors. In fact, management of diversity has become one of the primary issues of 21st-century business. Trends such as outsourcing and offshoring are a direct offshoot of globalization and have created a work environment in which cultural diversity can be problematic. A U.S. company where punctuality is important and meetings always start on time faces adjustments if it opens an office in South America or France, where being 10 to 15 minutes late to a meeting is considered acceptable: being on time is called 'British Time'[18] Sweatshops It can be said that globalization is the door that opens up an otherwise resource poor country to the international market. Where a country or nation has little material or physical product harvested or mined from its own soil, an opportunity is seen by large corporations to take advantage of the “export poverty” of such a nation. Where the majority of the earliest occurrences of economic globalization are recorded as being the expansion of businesses and corporate growth, in many poorer nations globalization is actually the result of the foreign businesses investing in the country to take advantage of the lower wage rate: even though investing, by increasing the Capital Stock of the country, increases their wage rate. One example used by anti-globalization protestors is the use of “Sweatshops” by manufacturers. According to Global Exchange these “Sweat Shops” are widely used by sports shoe manufacturers and mentions one company in particular – Nike.[19] There are factories set up in the poor countries where employees agree to work for low wages. Then if labour laws alter in those countries and stricter rules govern the manufacturing process the factories are closed down and relocated to other nations with more liberal economic policies.[citation needed] There are several agencies that have been set up worldwide specifically designed to focus on antisweatshop campaigns and education of such. “The Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act” is a legislation passed by the National Labor Committee in the USA.[citation needed] The legislation now suggests that companies are legally obligated to respect human and worker rights by prohibiting the import, sale, or export of sweatshop goods .[citation needed]There are very strict standards set out by the International Labor Organization and any violations shall be banned from the US market.[citation needed] Specifically, these core standards include no child labor, no forced labor, freedom of association, right to organize and bargain collectively, as well as the right to decent working conditions. [20]

Tiziana Terranova has stated that globalization has brought a culture of "free labour". In a digital sense, it is where the individuals (contributing capital) exploits and eventually "exhausts the means through which labour can sustain itself". For example, in the area of digital media (animations, hosting chat rooms, designing games), where it is often less glamourous than it may sound. In the gaming industry, a Chinese Gold Market has been established. [21] Culture One powerful source has blown down cultural boundaries around the entire world. What is this influential tool? It is the Internet and its endless margin of discovery. With the Internet people can easily access someone half way across the world. They could converse with someone living a completely different lifestyle yet still have something in common, the Internet. If language is a barrier then a website like Flickr, a photo sharing site, lets people from Singapore and Germany alike communicate without words. The Internet in essence makes the world a smaller place. Someone in America can be eating Japanese noodles for lunch while someone in Sydney Australia is eating classic Italian meatballs. One classic culture aspect is food. India is known for their curry and exotic spices. Paris is known for its smelly cheeses. America is known for its burgers and fries. McDonalds was once an American favorite with its cheery mascot, Ronald, red and yellow theme, and greasy fast food. Now it is a global enterprise with 31,000 locations worldwide with locations in Kuwait, Egypt, and Malta. This restaurant is just one example of food going big on the global scale. Meditation has been a sacred practice for centuries in Indian culture. It calms the body and helps one connect to their inner being while shying away from their conditioned self. Before globalization Americans did not meditate or crunch their bodies into knots on a yoga mat. After globalization this is a common practice, it is even considered a chic way to keep your body in shape. Some people are even traveling to India to get the full experience themselves. Another common practice brought about by globalization would be Chinese symbol tattoos. These specific tattoos are a huge hit with today’s younger generation and are quickly becoming the norm. With the melding of cultures using another countries language in ones body art is now considered normal. Culture is defined as patterns of human activity and the symbols that give these activities significance. Culture is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold, and activities they practice. Globalization has joined different cultures and made it into something different. As Erla Zwingle, from the National Geographic article titled “Globalization” states, “When cultures receive outside influences, they ignore some and adopt others, and then almost immediately start to transform them.”

[edit] Pro-globalization (globalism) Globalization advocates such as Jeffrey Sachs point to the above average drop in poverty rates in countries, such as China, where globalization has taken a strong foothold, compared to areas less affected by globalization, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty rates have remained stagnant.[22] Supporters of free trade claim that it increases economic prosperity as well as opportunity, especially among developing nations, enhances civil liberties and leads to a more efficient allocation of resources. Economic theories of comparative advantage suggest that free trade leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, with all countries involved in the trade benefiting. In general, this leads to lower prices, more employment, higher output and a higher standard of living for those in developing countries.[22][23] One of the ironies of the recent success of India and China is the fear that... success in these two countries comes at the expense of the United States. These fears are fundamentally wrong and, even worse, dangerous. They are wrong because the world is not a zero-sum struggle... but rather is a positive-sum opportunity in which improving technologies and skills can raise living standards around the world.

—Jeffrey D. Sachs, The End of Poverty, 2005

Proponents of laissez-faire capitalism, and some Libertarians, say that higher degrees of political and economic freedom in the form of democracy and capitalism in the developed world are ends in themselves and also produce higher levels of material wealth. They see globalization as the beneficial spread of liberty and capitalism. [22] Supporters of democratic globalization are sometimes called pro-globalists. They believe that the first phase of globalization, which was market-oriented, should be followed by a phase of building global political institutions representing the will of world citizens. The difference from other globalists is that they do not define in advance any ideology to orient this will, but would leave it to the free choice of those citizens via a democratic process[citation needed]. Some, such as former Canadian Senator Douglas Roche, O.C., simply view globalization as inevitable and advocate creating institutions such as a directly-elected United Nations Parliamentary Assembly to exercise oversight over unelected international bodies. Supporters of globalization argue that the anti-globalization movement uses anecdotal evidence[citation needed] to support their protectionist view, whereas worldwide statistics strongly support globalization: •

•

From 1981 to 2001, according to World Bank figures, the number of people living on $1 a day or less declined from 1.5 billion to 1.1 billion in absolute terms. At the same time, the world population increased, so in percentage terms the number of such people in developing nations declined from 40% to 20% of the population.[24] with the greatest improvements occurring in economies rapidly reducing barriers to trade and investment; yet, some critics argue that more detailed variables measuring poverty should be studied instead [25]. The percentage of people living on less than $2 a day has decreased greatly in areas affected by globalization, whereas poverty rates in other areas have remained largely stagnant. In East-Asia, including China, the percentage has decreased by 50.1% compared to a 2.2% increase in SubSaharan Africa.[23]

Area

Demographic 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002

Percentage Change 19812002

Less than $1 a 57.7% 38.9% 28.0% 29.6% 24.9% 16.6% 15.7% 11.1% day

-80.76%

Less than $2 a 84.8% 76.6% 67.7% 69.9% 64.8% 53.3% 50.3% 40.7% day

-52.00%

East Asia and Pacific

Latin America

Less than $1 a 9.7% 11.8% 10.9% 11.3% 11.3% 10.7% 10.5% 8.9% day

-8.25%

SubSaharan Africa

Less than $2 a 29.6% 30.4% 27.8% 28.4% 29.5% 24.1% 25.1% 23.4% day

-29.94%

Less than $1 a 41.6% 46.3% 46.8% 44.6% 44.0% 45.6% 45.7% 44.0% day

+5.77%

Less than $2 a 73.3% 76.1% 76.1% 75.0% 74.6% 75.1% 76.1% 74.9% day

+2.18%

'SOURCE: World Bank, Poverty Estimates, 2002[23] •

•

• • •

•

• • •

Income inequality for the world as a whole is diminishing.[26] Due to definitional issues and data availability, there is disagreement with regards to the pace of the decline in extreme poverty. As noted below, there are others disputing this. The economist Xavier Sala-i-Martin in a 2007 analysis argues that this is incorrect, income inequality for the world as a whole has diminished. [7]. Regardless of who is right about the past trend in income inequality, it has been argued that improving absolute poverty is more important than relative inequality. [8] Life expectancy has almost doubled in the developing world since World War II and is starting to close the gap between itself and the developed world where the improvement has been smaller. Even in Sub-Saharan Africa, the least developed region, life expectancy increased from 30 years before World War II to about a peak of about 50 years before the AIDS pandemic and other diseases started to force it down to the current level of 47 years. Infant mortality has decreased in every developing region of the world.[27] Democracy has increased dramatically from there being almost no nations with universal suffrage in 1900 to 62.5% of all nations having it in 2000.[28] Feminism has made advances in areas such as Bangladesh through providing women with jobs and economic safety.[22] The proportion of the world's population living in countries where per-capita food supplies are less than 2,200 calories (9,200 kilojoules) per day decreased from 56% in the mid-1960s to below 10% by the 1990s.[29] Between 1950 and 1999, global literacy increased from 52% to 81% of the world. Women made up much of the gap: female literacy as a percentage of male literacy has increased from 59% in 1970 to 80% in 2000.[30] The percentage of children in the labor force has fallen from 24% in 1960 to 10% in 2000.[31] There are increasing trends in the use of electric power, cars, radios, and telephones per capita, as well as a growing proportion of the population with access to clean water.[32] The book The Improving State of the World also finds evidence for that these, and other, measures of human well-being has improved and that globalization is part of the explanation. It also responds to arguments that environmental impact will limit the progress.

Although critics of globalization complain of Westernization, a 2005 UNESCO report[33] showed that cultural exchange is becoming mutual. In 2002, China was the third largest exporter of cultural goods, after the UK and US. Between 1994 and 2002, both North America's and the European Union's shares of cultural exports declined, while Asia's cultural exports grew to surpass North America.

[edit] Anti-globalization

Main article: Anti-globalization Anti-globalization is a term used to describe the political stance of people and groups who oppose the neoliberal version of globalization. "Anti-globalization" may also involve the process or actions taken by a state in order to demonstrate its sovereignty and practice democratic decision-making. Anti-globalization may occur in order to maintain barriers to the international transfer of people, goods and beliefs, particularly free market degregulation, encouraged by organizations such as the IMF or the WTO. Moreover, as Naomi Klein argues in her book No Logo anti-globalism can denote either a single social movement or an umbrella term that encompasses a number of separate social movements [34] such as Nationalists and socialists. In either case, participants stand in opposition to the unregulated political power of large, multi-national corporations, as the corporations exercise power through leveraging trade agreements which in some instances damage the democratic rights of citizens[citation needed], the environment particularly air quality index and rain forests[citation needed] , as well as national government's sovereignty to determine labor rights,[citation needed] including the right to form a union, and health and safety legislation, or laws as they may otherwise infringe on cultural practices and traditions of developing countries.[citation needed] Some people who are labeled "anti-globalist" or "sceptics" (Hirst and Thompson)[35]consider the term to be too vague and inaccurate [36][37]. Podobnik states that "the vast majority of groups that participate in these protests draw on international networks of support, and they generally call for forms of globalization that enhance democratic representation, human rights, and egalitarianism." Joseph Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton write[38]:

“

The anti-globalization movement developed in opposition to the perceived negative aspects of globalization. The term 'anti-globalization' is in many ways a misnomer, since the group represents a wide range of interests and issues and many of the people involved in the antiglobalization movement do support closer ties between the various peoples and cultures of the world through, for example, aid, assistance for refugees, and global environmental issues.

”

Some members aligned with this viewpoint prefer instead to describe themselves as the Global Justice Movement, the Anti-Corporate-Globalization Movement, the Movement of Movements (a popular term in Italy), the "Alter-globalization" movement (popular in France), the "Counter-Globalization" movement, and a number of other terms. Critiques of the current wave of economic globalization typically look at both the damage to the planet, in terms of the perceived unsustainable harm done to the biosphere, as well as the perceived human costs, such as poverty, inequality, miscegenation, injustice and the erosion of traditional culture which, the critics contend, all occur as a result of the economic transformations related to globalization. They challenge directly the metrics, such as GDP, used to measure progress promulgated by institutions such as the World Bank, and look to other measures, such as the Happy Planet Index,[39] created by the New Economics Foundation[40]. They point to a "multitude of interconnected fatal consequences--social disintegration, a breakdown of democracy, more rapid and extensive deterioration of the environment, the spread of new diseases, increasing poverty and alienation"[41] which they claim are the unintended but very real consequences of globalization. The terms globalization and anti-globalization are used in various ways. Noam Chomsky believes that[42] [43]

“

“

The term "globalization" has been appropriated by the powerful to refer to a specific form of international economic integration, one based on investor rights, with the interests of people incidental. That is why the business press, in its more honest moments, refers to the "free trade agreements" as "free investment agreements" (Wall St. Journal). Accordingly, advocates of other forms of globalization are described as "anti-globalization"; and some, unfortunately, even accept this term, though it is a term of propaganda that should be dismissed with ridicule. No sane person is opposed to globalization, that is, international integration. Surely not the left and the workers movements, which were founded on the principle of international solidarity - that is, globalization in a form that attends to the rights of people, not private power systems.

”

"The dominant propaganda systems have appropriated the term "globalization" to refer to the specific version of international economic integration that they favor, which privileges the rights of investors and lenders, those of people being incidental. In accord with this usage, those who favor a different form of international integration, which privileges the rights of human beings, become "anti-globalist." This is simply vulgar propaganda, like the term "antiSoviet" used by the most disgusting commissars to refer to dissidents. It is not only vulgar, but idiotic. Take the World Social Forum, called "anti-globalization" in the propaganda system -which happens to include the media, the educated classes, etc., with rare exceptions. The WSF is a paradigm example of globalization. It is a gathering of huge numbers of people from all over the world, from just about every corner of life one can think of, apart from the extremely narrow highly privileged elites who meet at the competing World Economic Forum, and are called "pro-globalization" by the propaganda system. An observer watching this farce from Mars would collapse in hysterical laughter at the antics of the educated classes."

”

Critics argue that: •

Poorer countries are sometimes at disadvantage: While it is true that globalization encourages free trade among countries, there are also negative consequences because some countries try to save their national markets. The main export of poorer countries is usually agricultural goods. Larger countries often subsidise their farmers (like the EU Common Agricultural Policy, which lowers the market price for the poor farmer's crops compared to what it would be under free trade. [44]

•

•

Exploitation of foreign impoverished workers: The deterioration of protections for weaker nations by stronger industrialized powers has resulted in the exploitation of the people in those nations to become cheap labor. Due to the lack of protections, companies from powerful industrialized nations are able to offer workers enough salary to entice them to endure extremely long hours and unsafe working conditions, though economists question if consenting workers in a competitive employers' market can be decried as "exploitated". The abundance of cheap labor is giving the countries in power incentive not to rectify the inequality between nations. If these nations developed into industrialized nations, the army of cheap labor would slowly disappear alongside development. It is true that the workers are free to leave their jobs, but in many poorer countries, this would mean starvation for the worker, and possible even his/her family if their previous jobs were unavailable.[45] The shift to outsourcing: The low cost of offshore workers have enticed corporations to move production to foreign countries. The laid off unskilled workers are forced into the service sector where wages and benefits are low, but turnover is high .[citation needed] This has contributed to the widening economic gap between skilled and unskilled workers. The loss of these jobs has also contributed greatly to the slow decline of the middle class[citation needed] which is a major factor in the increasing economic inequality in the United States .[citation needed] Families that were once part of the

•

middle class are forced into lower positions by massive layoffs and outsourcing to another country. This also means that people in the lower class have a much harder time climbing out of poverty because of the absence of the middle class as a stepping stone. [46] Weak labor unions: The surplus in cheap labor coupled with an ever growing number of companies in transition has caused a weakening of labor unions in the United States. Unions lose their effectiveness when their membership begins to decline. As a result unions hold less power over corporations that are able to easily replace workers, often for lower wages, and have the option to not offer unionized jobs anymore. [44]

In December 2007, World Bank economist Branko Milanovic has called much previous empirical research on global poverty and inequality into question because, according to him, improved estimates of purchasing power parity indicate that developing countries are worse off than previously believed. Milanovic remarks that "literally hundreds of scholarly papers on convergence or divergence of countries’ incomes have been published in the last decade based on what we know now were faulty numbers." With the new data, possibly economists will revise calculations, and he also believed that there are considerable implications estimates of global inequality and poverty levels. Global inequality was estimated at around 65 Gini points, whereas the new numbers indicate global inequality to be at 70 on the Gini scale. [47] It is unsurprising that the level of international inequality is so high, as larger sample spaces almost always give a higher level of inequality. The critics of globalization typically emphasize that globalization is a process that is mediated according to corporate interests, and typically raise the possibility of alternative global institutions and policies, which they believe address the moral claims of poor and working classes throughout the globe, as well as environmental concerns in a more equitable way.[48] The movement is very broad[citation needed], including church groups, national liberation factions, peasant unionists, intellectuals, artists, protectionists, anarchists, those in support of relocalization and others. Some are reformist, (arguing for a more moderate form of capitalism) while others are more revolutionary (arguing for what they believe is a more humane system than capitalism) and others are reactionary, believing globalization destroys national industry and jobs. One of the key points made by critics of recent economic globalization is that income inequality, both between and within nations, is increasing as a result of these processes. One article from 2001 found that significantly, in 7 out of 8 metrics, income inequality has increased in the twenty years ending 2001. Also, "incomes in the lower deciles of world income distribution have probably fallen absolutely since the 1980s". Furthermore, the World Bank's figures on absolute poverty were challenged. The article was skeptical of the World Bank's claim that the number of people living on less than $1 a day has held steady at 1.2 billion from 1987 to 1998, because of biased methodology.[49] A chart that gave the inequality a very visible and comprehensible form, the so-called 'champagne glass' effect,[50] was contained in the 1992 United Nations Development Program Report, which showed the distribution of global income to be very uneven, with the richest 20% of the world's population controlling 82.7% of the world's income.[51] + Distribution of world GDP, 1989 Quintile of Population

Income

Richest 20%

82.7%

Second 20%

11.7%

Third 20%

2.3%

Fourth 20%

1.4%

Poorest 20%

1.2%

Source: United Nations Development Program. 1992 Human Development Report[52] Economic arguments by fair trade theorists claim that unrestricted free trade benefits those with more financial leverage (i.e. the rich) at the expense of the poor.[53] Americanization related to a period of high political American clout and of significant growth of America's shops, markets and object being brought into other countries. So globalization, a much more diversified phenomenon, relates to a multilateral political world and to the increase of objects, markets and so on into each others countries. Some opponents of globalization see the phenomenon as the promotion of corporatist interests.[54] They also claim that the increasing autonomy and strength of corporate entities shapes the political policy of countries.[55] [56]

[edit] International Social Forums See main articles: European Social Forum, the Asian Social Forum, World Social Forum (WSF). The first WSF in 2001 was an initiative of the administration of Porto Alegre in Brazil. The slogan of the World Social Forum was "Another World Is Possible". It was here that the WSF's Charter of Principles was adopted to provide a framework for the forums. The WSF became a periodic meeting: in 2002 and 2003 it was held again in Porto Alegre and became a rallying point for worldwide protest against the American invasion of Iraq. In 2004 it was moved to Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay, in India), to make it more accessible to the populations of Asia and Africa. This last appointment saw the participation of 75,000 delegates. In the meantime, regional forums took place following the example of the WSF, adopting its Charter of Principles. The first European Social Forum (ESF) was held in November 2002 in Florence. The slogan was "Against the war, against racism and against neo-liberalism". It saw the participation of 60,000 delegates and ended with a huge demonstration against the war (1,000,000 people according to the organizers). The other two ESFs took place in Paris and London, in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Recently there has been some discussion behind the movement about the role of the social forums. Some see them as a "popular university", an occasion to make many people aware of the problems of

globalization. Others would prefer that delegates concentrate their efforts on the coordination and organization of the movement and on the planning of new campaigns. However it has often been argued that in the dominated countries (most of the world) the WSF is little more than an 'NGO fair' driven by Northern NGOs and donors most of which are hostile to popular movements of the poor.[57]

[edit] See also • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Columbian Exchange Cosmopolitan Deglobalization Development criticism Free Trade Global Global citizens movement Global justice Global Policy Institute Globality Globalization and disease Globalization and Health Globalization Index Globally Integrated Enterprise Great Transition Offshoring Outsourcing The Global Economy Transnationality Index World economy World Trade Organization World-systems theory

[edit] References

Postmodernism preceded by Modernism

Postmodernity Postchristianity Postmodern philosophy Postmodern architecture Postmodern art Postmodernist film Postmodern literature Postmodern music Postmodern theater Critical theory Globalization Consumerism

Trade From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Modern traders instead generally negotiate through a medium of exchange, such as money. As a result, buying can be separated from selling, or earning. The invention of money (and later credit, paper money and non-physical money) greatly simplified and promoted trade. Trade between two traders is called bilateral trade, while trade between more than two traders is called multilateral trade. Trade exists for many reasons. Due to specialization and division of labor, most people concentrate on a small aspect of production, trading for other products. Trade exists between regions because different regions have a comparative advantage in the production of some tradable commodity, or because different regions' size allows for the benefits of mass production. As such, trade at market prices between locations benefits both locations. Trading can also refer to the action performed by traders and other market agents in the financial markets.

Contents [hide]

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1 History of trade o 1.1 Development of money o 1.2 Current trends  1.2.1 Doha rounds  1.2.2 China 2 International trade 3 Organization of trade o 3.1 International organizations  3.1.1 Free trade areas 4 References

•

5 External links

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• •

[edit] History of trade Part of a series on Trade routes Amber Road · Hærvejen . Incense Route Kamboja-Dvaravati Route . King's Highway Roman-India routes . Royal Road Silk Road · Spice Route . Tea route Varangians to the Greeks · Via Maris Triangular trade .Volga trade route

Trans-Saharan trade . Salt Route Hanseatic League . Grand Trunk Road

manish said: Trade originated with the start of communication in prehistoric times. Trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other before the innovation of the modern day currency. Peter Watson dates the history of long-distance commerce from circa 150,000 years ago.[1] Trade is believed to have taken place throughout much of recorded human history. There is evidence of the exchange of obsidian and flint during the stone age. Materials used for creating jewelry were traded with Egypt since 3000 BC. Long-range trade routes first appeared in the 3rd millennium BC, when Sumerians in Mesopotamia traded with the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley. The Phoenicians were noted sea traders, traveling across the Mediterranean Sea, and as far north as Britain for sources of tin to manufacture bronze. For this purpose they established trade colonies the Greeks called emporia. From the beginning of Greek civilization until the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th century, a financially lucrative trade brought valuable spice to Europe from the far east, including China. Roman commerce allowed its empire to flourish and endure. The Roman empire produced a stable and secure transportation network that enabled the shipment of trade goods without fear of significant piracy. The fall of the Roman empire, and the succeeding Dark Ages brought instability to Western Europe and a near collapse of the trade network. Nevertheless some trade did occur. For instance, Radhanites were a medieval guild or group (the precise meaning of the word is lost to history) of Jewish merchants who traded between the Christians in Europe and the Muslims of the Near East. The Sogdians dominated the East-West trade route known as the Silk Road after the 4th century AD up to the 8th century AD, with Suyab and Talas ranking among their main centeres in the north. They were the main caravan merchants of Central Asia. From the 8th to the 11th century, the Vikings and Varangians traded as they sailed from and to Scandinavia. Vikings sailed to Western Europe, while Varangians to Russia. The Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities that maintained a trade monopoly over most of Northern Europe and the Baltic, between the 13th and 17th centuries. Vasco da Gama restarted the European Spice trade in 1498. Prior to his sailing around Africa, the flow of spice into Europe was controlled by Islamic powers, especially Egypt. The spice trade was of major economic importance and helped spur the Age of Exploration. Spices brought to Europe from distant lands were some of the most valuable commodities for their weight, sometimes rivaling gold. In the 16th century, Holland was the centre of free trade, imposing no exchange controls, and advocating the free movement of goods. Trade in the East Indies was dominated by Portugal in the 16th century, the Netherlands in the 17th century, and the British in the 18th century. The Spanish Empire developed regular trade links across both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. In 1776, Adam Smith published the paper An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It criticised Mercantilism, and argued that economic specialisation could benefit nations just as much as firms. Since the division of labour was restricted by the size of the market, he said that countries having access to larger markets would be able to divide labour more efficiently and thereby become more productive. Smith said that he considered all rationalisations of import and export controls "dupery", which hurt the trading nation at the expense of specific industries.

In 1799, the Dutch East India Company, formerly the world's largest company, became bankrupt, partly due to the rise of competitive free trade. In 1817, David Ricardo, James Mill and Robert Torrens showed that free trade would benefit the industrially weak as well as the strong, in the famous theory of comparative advantage. In Principles of Political Economy and Taxation Ricardo advanced the doctrine still considered the most counterintuitive in economics: When an inefficient producer sends the merchandise it produces best to a country able to produce it more efficiently, both countries benefit. The ascendancy of free trade was primarily based on national advantage in the mid 19th century. That is, the calculation made was whether it was in any particular country's self-interest to open its borders to imports. John Stuart Mill proved that a country with monopoly pricing power on the international market could manipulate the terms of trade through maintaining tariffs, and that the response to this might be reciprocity in trade policy. Ricardo and others had suggested this earlier. This was taken as evidence against the universal doctrine of free trade, as it was believed that more of the economic surplus of trade would accrue to a country following reciprocal, rather than completely free, trade policies. This was followed within a few years by the infant industry scenario developed by Mill promoting the theory that government had the "duty" to protect young industries, although only for a time necessary for them to develop full capacity. This became the policy in many countries attempting to industrialise and outcompete English exporters. Milton Friedman later continued this vein of thought, showing that in a few circumstances tariffs might be beneficial to the host country; but never for the world at large.[2] The Great Depression was a major economic recession that ran from 1929 to the late 1930s. During this period, there was a great drop in trade and other economic indicators. The lack of free trade was considered by many as a principal cause of the depression. Only during the World War II the recession ended in United States. Also during the war, in 1944, 44 countries signed the Bretton Woods Agreement, intended to prevent national trade barriers, to avoid depressions. It set up rules and institutions to regulate the international political economy: the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (later divided into the World Bank and Bank for International Settlements). These organisations became operational in 1946 after enough countries ratified the agreement. In 1947, 23 countries agreed to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to promote free trade. Free trade advanced further in the late 20th century and early 2000s: • • • • •

•

1992 European Union lifted barriers to internal trade in goods and labour. January 1, 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) took effect 1994 The GATT Marrakech Agreement specified formation of the WTO. January 1, 1995 World Trade Organization was created to facilitate free trade, by mandating mutual most favoured nation trading status between all signatories. EC was transformed into the European Union, which accomplished the Economic and Monnetary Union (EMU) in 2002, through introducing the Euro , and creating this way a real single market between 13 member states as of January 1, 2007. 2005, the Central American Free Trade Agreement was signed; It includes the United States and the Dominican Republic.

[edit] Development of money Main article: History of money The first instances of money were objects with intrinsic value. This is called commodity money and includes any commonly-available commodity that has intrinsic value; historical examples include pigs, rare seashells, whale's teeth, and (often) cattle. In medieval Iraq, bread was used as an early form of money. In Mexico under Montezuma cocoa beans were money. [1]

Roman denarius Currency was introduced as a standardised money to facilitate a wider exchange of goods and services. This first stage of currency, where metals were used to represent stored value, and symbols to represent commodities, formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Numismatists have examples of coins from the earliest large-scale societies, although these were initially unmarked lumps of precious metal.[3] Ancient Sparta minted coins from iron to discourage its citizens from engaging in foreign trade. The system of commodity money in many instances evolved into a system of representative money. In this system, the material that constitutes the money itself had very little intrinsic value, but nonetheless such money achieves significant market value through scarcity or controlled supply.

[edit] Current trends [edit] Doha rounds Main article: Doha round The Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations aims to lower barriers to trade around the world, with a focus on making trade fairer for developing countries. Talks have been hung over a divide between the rich, developed countries, and the major developing countries (represented by the G20). Agricultural subsidies are the most significant issue upon which agreement has been hardest to negotiate. By contrast, there was much agreement on trade facilitation and capacity building. The Doha round began in Doha, Qatar, and negotiations have subsequently continued in: Cancún, Mexico; Geneva, Switzerland; and Paris, France and Hong Kong. [edit] China

Beginning around 1978, the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) began an experiment in economic reform. Previously the Communist nation had employed the Soviet-style centrally planned economy, with limited results. They would now utilise a more market-oriented economy, particularly in the so-called Special Economic Zones located in the Guangdong, Fujian, and Hainan. This reform has been spectacularly successful. By 2004, the GDP of the nation has quadrupled since 2008 and foreign trade exceeded USD 1 trillion. As of 2005, China had become the 3rd largest exporter behind Germany and the United States. This occurred in spite of the backlash from the shootings following Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. In 2007, China's two-way trade totaled US$2,173.8 billion, and was $262.2 billion in surplus. Foreign exchange reserves, the largest in the world, topped $1.8 trillion in mid2008. In 1991 the PRC joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group, a trade-promotion forum. More recently, in 2001 they also joined the World Trade Organization. See also: Economy of the People's Republic of China

[edit] International trade Main article: International trade International Trade Series v•d•e

International trade History of international trade Political views Fair trade Trade justice Free trade Protectionism Economic integration

Preferential trading area Free trade area Customs union Common market

Economic and monetary union Other Trade pact Trade bloc Trade creation Trade diversion

International trade is the exchange of goods and services across national borders. In most countries, it represents a significant part of GDP. While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, Amber Road), its economic, social, and political importance have increased in recent centuries, mainly because of Industrialisation, advanced transportation, globalisation, multinational corporations, and outsourcing. In fact, it is probably the increasing prevalence of international trade that is usually meant by the term "globalisation". Empirical evidence for the success of trade can be seen in the contrast between countries such as South Korea, which adopted a policy of export-oriented industrialisation, and India, which historically had a more closed policy (although it has begun to open its economy, as of 2005). South Korea has done much better by economic criteria than India over the past fifty years, though its success also has to do with effective state institutions. Trade sanctions against a specific country are sometimes imposed, in order to punish that country for some action. An embargo, a severe form of externally imposed isolation, is a blockade of all trade by one country on another. For example, the United States has had an embargo against Cuba for over 40 years. Although there are usually few trade restrictions within countries, international trade is usually regulated by governmental quotas and restrictions, and often taxed by tariffs. Tariffs are usually on imports, but sometimes countries may impose export tariffs or subsidies. All of these are called trade barriers. If a government removes all trade barriers, a condition of free trade exists. A government that implements a protectionist policy establishes trade barriers. The fair trade movement, also known as the trade justice movement, promotes the use of labour, environmental and social standards for the production of commodities, particularly those exported from the Third and Second Worlds to the First World. Such ideas have also sparked a debate on whether trade itself should be codified as a human right.[4] Standards may be voluntarily adhered to by importing firms, or enforced by governments through a combination of employment and commercial law. Proposed and practiced fair trade policies vary widely, ranging from the commonly adhered to prohibition of goods made using slave labour to minimum price support schemes such as those for coffee in the 1980s. Non-governmental organizations also play a role in promoting fair trade standards by serving as independent monitors of compliance with fairtrade labelling requirements.

[edit] Organization of trade Patterns of organizing and administering trade include: •

•

•

• •

State control - trade centrally controlled by government planning. o Laws regulating Trade and establishing a framework such as trade law, tariffs, support for intellectual property, opposition to dumping. Guild control - trade controlled by private business associations holding either de facto or government-granted power to exclude new entrants. o In contemporary times, the language has evolved to business and professional organizations, often controlled by academia. For example in many states, a person may not practice the professions of engineering, law, law enforcement, medicine, and teaching unless they have a college degree and, in some cases, a license. Free enterprise - trade without significant central controls; market participants engage in trade based on their own individual assessments of risk and reward, and may enter or exit a given market relatively unimpeded. Infrastructure in support of trade, such as banking, stock market, Technology in support of trade such as electronic commerce, vending machines.

[edit] International organizations • • • • •

European Common Market G8 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), World Trade Organization (WTO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) OPEC = Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

[edit] Free trade areas •

Free trade organizations or free trade areas o European Free Trade Association o Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) o North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) o Union of South American Nations

[edit] References • • • • •

Center for Trade Policy Studies The Food Revolution Trading Up: How Expanding Trade has Delivered Better Jobs and Higher Living Standards for American Workers Weisbrot, Mark (2005). Trade - What Are the Gains and Who Gets Them, Center for Economic and Policy Research Economics Seminar Series. Working Paper Vienna University of Business and Economics: Trade and Productivity

[edit] External links

Agriculture

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Agriculture refers to the production of food and fiber and other goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was a key development that led to the rise in civilization raising of domesticated animals. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. The related practice of gardening is studied in horticulture. Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties. Cultivation of crops on arable land and the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland remain at the foundation of agriculture. In the past century a distinction has been made between sustainable agriculture and intensive farming. Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming (and similar practices applied to the chicken) have similarly increased the output of meat. The more exotic varieties of agriculture include aquaculture and tree farming. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, raw materials, pharmaceuticals and illegal drugs, and an assortment of ornamental or exotic products. In the 2000s, plants have been used to grow biofuels, biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics,[1] and pharmaceuticals.[2] Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo. Drugs include tobacco, alcohol, opium, cocaine,and digitalis. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins. Biofuels include methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel. Cut flowers, nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade are some of the ornamental products. In 2007, about one third of the world's workers were employed in agriculture. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of industrialization, and in 2003 – for the first time in history – the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide.[3] Despite the fact that agriculture employs over onethird of the world's population, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the gross world product (an aggregate of all gross domestic products).[4]

[edit] Etymology

Contents • • •

• • • •

• •

• • • •

1 Etymology 2 Overview 3 History o 3.1 Ancient origins o 3.2 Middle Ages o 3.3 Modern era 4 Crop Production Systems o 4.1 Crop statistics 5 Livestock Production Systems 6 Production Practices 7 Crop alteration and Biotechnology o 7.1 Genetic Engineering o 7.2 Herbicide-tolerant GMO Crops o 7.3 Insect-Resistant GMO Crops o 7.4 Costs and Benefits of GMOs 8 Food Safety and Food Labeling Issues 9 Environmental impact o 9.1 Land Transformation and Degradation o 9.2 Eutrophication o 9.3 Pesticides o 9.4 Livestock o 9.5 Climate Change 10 Agriculture and petroleum o 10.1 Mitigation of effects of petroleum shortages 11 Policy 12 Agriculture safety and health o 12.1 United States 13 Additional information o 13.1 See also o 13.2 Lists o 13.3 Notes o 13.4 References o

13.5 External links

human population working in agriculture has decreased over

The word agriculture is the English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, "a field",[5] and cultūra, "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil".[6] Thus, a literal reading of the word yields "tillage of a field / of fields".

[edit] Overview Agriculture has played a key role in the development of human civilization. Until the Industrial Revolution, the vast majority of the human population labored in agriculture. Development of agricultural techniques has steadily increased agricultural productivity, and the widespread diffusion of these techniques during a time period is often called an agricultural revolution. A remarkable shift in agricultural practices has occurred over the past century in response to new technologies. In particular, the HaberBosch method for synthesizing ammonium nitrate made the traditional practice of recycling nutrients with crop rotation and animal manure less necessary.

The percent of the time.

Synthetic nitrogen, along with mined rock phosphate, pesticides and mechanization, have greatly increased crop yields in the early 20th century. Increased supply of grains has led to cheaper livestock as well. Further, global yield increases were experienced later in the 20th century when high-yield varieties of common staple grains such as rice, wheat, and corn (maize) were introduced as a part of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution exported the technologies (including pesticides and synthetic nitrogen) of the developed world out to the developing world. Thomas Malthus famously predicted that the Earth would not be able to support its growing population, but technologies such as the Green Revolution have allowed the world to produce a surplus of food.[7]

Agricultural output in 2005.

Many governments have subsidized agriculture to ensure an adequate food supply. These agricultural subsidies are often linked to the production of certain commodities such as wheat, corn (maize), rice, soybeans, and milk. These subsidies, especially when done by developed countries have been noted as protectionist, inefficient, and environmentally damaging.[8] In the past century agriculture has been characterized by enhanced productivity, the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, selective breeding, mechanization, water contamination, and farm subsidies. Proponents of organic farming such as Sir Albert Howard argued in the early 1900s that the overuse of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers damages the long-term fertility of the soil. While this feeling lay dormant for decades, as environmental awareness has increased in the 2000s there has been a movement towards sustainable agriculture by some farmers, consumers, and policymakers. In recent years there has been a backlash against perceived external environmental effects of mainstream agriculture, particularly regarding water pollution[9], resulting in the organic movement. One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union, which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies[10], also known as decoupling. The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as integrated pest management and selective breeding. Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food. As of late 2007, several factors have pushed up the price of grain used to feed poultry and dairy cows and other cattle, causing higher prices of wheat (up 58%), soybean (up 32%), and maize (up 11%) over the year.[11][12] Food riots have recently taken place in many countries across the world.[13][14][15] An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race Ug99 is currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concern.[16][17][18] Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[19] In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.[20]

[edit] History Main article: History of agriculture A Sumerian harvester's sickle made from baked clay (ca. 3000 BC). Since its development roughly 10,000 years ago, agriculture has expanded vastly in geographical coverage and yields. Throughout this expansion, new technologies and new crops were integrated. Agricultural practices such as irrigation, crop rotation, fertilizers, and pesticides were developed long ago, but have made great strides in the past century. The history of agriculture has played a major role in human history, as agricultural progress has been a crucial factor in worldwide socio-economic change. Wealth-building and militaristic specializations rarely seen in hunter-gatherer cultures are commonplace in societies which practice agriculture. So, too, are arts such as epic literature and monumental architecture, as well as codified legal systems. When farmers became capable of producing food beyond the needs of their own families, others in their society were freed to devote themselves to projects other than food acquisition. Historians and anthropologists have long argued that the development of agriculture made civilization possible.

[edit] Ancient origins Further information: Neolithic Revolution An ancient Egyptian farmer

Source: http://www.kingtutone.com

The Fertile Crescent of the Middle East was the site of the earliest planned sowing and harvesting of plants that had previously been gathered in the wild. Independent development of agriculture occurred in northern and southern China, Africa's Sahel, New Guinea and several regions of the Americas. The earliest documented grains of domesticated emmer wheat were found at Abu Hurerya in Turkey and dated to 13,500 BP.[citation needed] Barley has been found in archeological sites in Levant, and East of the Zagros mountains in Iran.[citation needed] The eight so-called Neolithic founder crops of agriculture appear: first emmer wheat and einkorn wheat, then hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax. Bitter vetch and lentils along with almonds and pistachios appear in Franchthi Cave Greece simultaneously, about 9,000 BC.[citation needed] Neither are native to Greece, and they appear 2,000 years prior to domesticated wheat in the same location. This suggests that the cultivation of legumes and nuts preceded that of grain in some Neolithic cultures. By 7000 BC, small-scale agriculture reached Egypt. From at least 7000 BC the Indian subcontinent saw farming of wheat and barley, as attested by archaeological excavation at Mehrgarh in Balochistan. By 6000 BC, mid-scale farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, with rice, rather than wheat, as the primary crop. Chinese and Indonesian farmers went on to domesticate taro and beans including mung, soy and azuki. To complement these new sources of carbohydrates, highly organized net fishing of rivers, lakes and ocean shores in these areas brought in great volumes of essential protein. Collectively, these new methods of farming and fishing inaugurated a human population boom dwarfing all previous expansions, and is one that continues today. By 5000 BC, the Sumerians had developed core agricultural techniques including large scale intensive cultivation of land, mono-cropping, organized irrigation, and use of a specialized labour force, particularly along the waterway now known as the Shatt al-Arab, from its Persian Gulf delta to the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. Domestication of wild aurochs and mouflon into cattle and sheep, respectively, ushered in the large-scale use of animals for food/fiber and as beasts of burden. The shepherd joined the farmer as an essential provider for sedentary and semi-nomadic societies. Maize, manioc, and arrowroot were first domesticated in the Americas as far back as 5200 BC. [21] The potato, tomato, pepper, squash, several varieties of bean, tobacco, and several other plants were also developed in the New World, as was extensive terracing of steep hillsides in much of Andean South America. The Greeks and Romans built on techniques pioneered by the Sumerians but made few fundamentally new advances. Southern Greeks struggled with very poor soils, yet managed to become a dominant society for years. The Romans were noted for an emphasis on the cultivation of crops for trade.

A water-raising machine invented by al-Jazari (1136-1206), an Arab inventor and engineer.

[edit] Middle Ages During the Middle Ages, Muslim farmers in North Africa and the Near East developed and disseminated agricultural technologies including irrigation systems based on hydraulic and hydrostatic principles, the use of machines such as norias, and the use of water raising machines, dams, and reservoirs. They also wrote location-specific farming manuals, and were instrumental in the wider adoption of crops including sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, and saffron. Muslims also brought lemons, oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical crops such as bananas to Spain. The invention of a three field system of crop rotation during the Middle Ages, and the importation of the Chinese-invented moldboard plow, vastly improved agricultural efficiency. Another

important development towards the end of this period was the discovery and subsequent cultivation of fodder crops which allowed over-wintering of livestock.[citation needed]

[edit] Modern era Further information: British Agricultural Revolution and Green Revolution This photo from a 1921 encyclopedia shows a tractor ploughing an alfalfa field. After 1492, a global exchange of previously local crops and livestock breeds occurred. Key crops involved in this exchange included the tomato, maize, potato, cocoa and tobacco going from the New World to the Old, and several varieties of wheat, spices, coffee, and sugar cane going from the Old World to the New. The most important animal exportations from the Old World to the New were those of the horse and dog (dogs were already present in the pre-Columbian Americas but not in the numbers and breeds suited to farm work). Although not usually food animals, the horse (including donkeys and ponies) and dog quickly filled essential production roles on western hemisphere farms. By the early 1800s, agricultural techniques, implements, seed stocks and cultivated plants selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen in the Middle Ages. With the rapid rise of mechanization in the late 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the form of the tractor, farming tasks could be done with a speed and on a scale previously impossible. These advances have led to efficiencies enabling certain modern farms in the United States, Argentina, Israel, Germany, and a few other nations to output volumes of high quality produce per land unit at what may be the practical limit. The Haber-Bosch method for synthesizing ammonium nitrate represented a major breakthrough and allowed crop yields to overcome previous constraints. In the past century agriculture has been characterized by enhanced productivity, the substitution of labor for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, selective breeding, mechanization, water pollution, and farm subsidies. In recent years there has been a backlash against the external environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic movement. Agricultural exploration expeditions, since the late nineteenth century, have been mounted to find new species and new agricultural practices in different areas of the world. Two early examples of expeditions include Frank N. Meyer's fruit and nut collecting trip to China and Japan from 1916-1918 [22] and the Dorsett-Morse Oriental Agricultural Exploration Expedition to China, Japan, and Korea from 1929-1931 to collect soybean germplasm to support the rise in soybean agriculture in the United States. [23] In 2005, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, accounting for almost one-sixth world share followed by the EU, India and the USA, according to the International Monetary Fund.[citation needed] Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture and by this measure agriculture in the United States is roughly 2.6 times more productive than it was in 1948.[24]

[edit] Crop Production Systems Farmers work inside a rice field in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Cropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and the philosophy and culture of the farmer.[25][26] Shifting cultivation (or slash and burn) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years. Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10-20). This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring the input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure) and some manual pest control. Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period. This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs. Further industrialization lead to the use of monocultures, when one cultivar is planted on a large acreage. Due to the low biodiversity, nutrient use is uniform, and pests tend to build up, necessitating the greater use of pesticides and fertilizers.[26] Multiple cropping, in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and intercropping, when several crops are grown at the same time are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as polycultures.[27] In tropical environments, all of these cropping systems are practiced. In subtropical and arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in a year, or requiring irrigation. In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry. In temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly grassland or prairie, highly productive annual cropping is the dominant farming system.[27] The last century has seen the intensification, concentration and specialization of agriculture, relying upon new technologies of agricultural chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides), mechanization, and plant breeding (hybrids and GMO's). In the past few decades, a move towards sustainability in agriculture has also developed, integrating ideas of socio-economic justice and conservation of resources and the environment within a farming system.[28][29] This has led to the development of many responses to the conventional agriculture approach, including organic agriculture, urban agriculture, community supported agriculture, ecological or biological agriculture, integrated farming, and holistic management.

[edit] Crop statistics Important categories of crops include grains and pseudograins, pulses (legumes), forage, and fruits and vegetables. Specific crops are cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout the world. In millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimates. Top agricultural products, by crop types (million metric tons) 2004 data Cereals

2,263

Top agricultural products, by individual crops (million metric tons) 2004 data

Vegetables and melons

866

Sugar Cane

1,324

Roots and Tubers

715

Maize

721

Milk

619

Wheat

627

Fruit

503

Rice

605

Meat

259

Potatoes

328

Oilcrops

133

Sugar Beet

249

Fish (2001 estimate)

130

Soybean

204

Eggs

63

Oil Palm Fruit

162

Pulses

60

Barley

154

Vegetable Fiber

30

Tomato

120

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)[30]

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)[30]

[edit] Livestock Production Systems Main article: Livestock Ploughing rice paddies with water buffalo, in Indonesia. Animals, including horses, mules, oxen, camels, llamas, alpacas, and dogs, are often used to help cultivate fields, harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers. Animal husbandry not only refers to the breeding and raising of animals for meat or to harvest animal products (like milk, eggs, or wool) on a continual basis, but also to the breeding and care of species for work and companionship. Livestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland - based, mixed, and landless.[31] Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland, rangeland, and pastures for feeding ruminant animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible due to climate or soil, representing 30-40 million pastoralists.[27] Mixed production systems use grassland, fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastic (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock. Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as a fertilizer for crops. Approximately 68% of all agricultural land is permanent pastures used in the production of livestock.[32] Landless systems rely upon feed from outside the farm, representing the delinking of crop and livestock production found more prevalently OECD member countries. In the U.S., 70% of the grain grown is fed to animals on feedlots.[27] Synthetic fertilizers are more heavily relied upon for crop production and manure utilization becomes a challenge as well as a source for pollution.

[edit] Production Practices Tillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare for planting or for nutrient incorporation or for pest control. Tillage varies in intensity from conventional to no-till. It may improve productivity by warming the soil, incorporating fertilizer and controlling weeds, but also renders soil more prone to erosion, triggers the decomposition of organic matter releasing CO2, and reduces the abundance and diversity of soil organisms.[33][34] Pest control includes the management of weeds, insects/mites, and diseases. Chemical (pesticides), biological (biocontrol), mechanical (tillage), and cultural practices are used. Cultural practices include crop rotation, culling, cover crops, intercropping, compost, avoidance, and resistance. Integrated pest management attempts to use all of these methods to keep pest populations below the number which would cause economic loss, and reccommends pesticides as a last resort.[35] Nutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of utilization of manure produced by livestock. Nutrient inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure, green manure, compost and mined minerals.[36] Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as crop rotation or a fallow period.[37] [38]Manure is utilized either by holding livestock where the feed crop is growing such as in Managed intensive rotational grazing, or by spreading either dry or liquid formulations of manure on cropland or pastures. Water management is where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world.[27] Some farmers use irrigation to supplement rainfall. In other areas such as the Great Plains in the U.S., farmers use a fallow year to conserve soil moisture to use for growing a crop in the following year.[39] Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide.[40]

[edit] Crop alteration and Biotechnology Main article: Plant breeding Tractor and chaser bin. Crop alteration has been practiced by humankind for thousands of years, since the beginning of civilization. Altering crops through breeding practices changes the genetic make-up of a plant to develop crops with more beneficial characteristics for humans, for example, larger fruits or seeds, drought-tolerance, or resistance to pests. Significant advances in plant breeding ensued after the work of geneticist Gregor Mendel. His work on dominant and recessive alleles gave plant breeders a better understanding of genetics and brought great insights to the techniques utilized by plant breeders . Crop breeding includes techniques such as plant selection with desirable traits, self-pollination and crosspollination, and molecular techniques that genetically modify the organism [41]. Domestication of plants has, over the centuries increased yield, improved disease resistance and drought tolerance, eased harvest and improved the taste and nutritional value of crop plants. Careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and 1930s improved pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive X-ray an ultraviolet induced mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn (maize) and barley .[42][43]. The green revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to increase yield many folds by creating "high-yielding varieties". For example, average yields of corn (maize) in the USA have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (t/ha) (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001. Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990. South American average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha, African under 1 t/ha, Egypt and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation. In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as France is over 8 t/ha. Variations in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the level of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical pest control, growth control to avoid lodging)).[44][45][46].

[edit] Genetic Engineering Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are organisms whose genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Genetic engineering has expanded the genes available to breeders to utilize in creating desired germlines for new crops. After mechanical tomato-harvesters were developed in the early 1960s, agricultural scientists genetically modified tomatoes to be more resistant to mechanical handling. More recently, genetic engineering is being employed in various parts of the world, to create crops with other beneficial traits.

[edit] Herbicide-tolerant GMO Crops Roundup-Ready seed has a herbicide resistance gene implanted into its genome that allows the plants to tolerate exposure to glyphosate. Roundup is a trade name for a glyphosate based product, which is a systemic, non-selective herbicide used to kill weeds. Roundup-Ready seeds allow the farmer to grow a crop that can be sprayed with glyphosate to controle weeds without harming the resistant crop. Herbicidetolerant crops are used by farmers worldwide. Today, 92% of soybean acreage in the US is planted with genetically-modified herbicide-tolerant plants[47]. With the increasing use of herbicide-tolerant crops, comes an increase in the use of glyphosate based herbicide sprays. In some areas glyphosate resistant

weeds have developed, causing farmers to switch to other herbicides.[48][49] Some studies also link widespread glyphosate usage to iron deficiencies in some crops, which is both a crop production and a nutritional quality concern, with potential economic and health implications.[50]

[edit] Insect-Resistant GMO Crops Other GMO crops utilized by growers include insect-resistant crops, which have a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which produces a toxin specific to insects; insect-resistant crops protect plants from damage by insects, one such crop is Starlink. Another is Bt cotton, which accounts for 63% of US cotton acreage[51] Some believe that similar or better pest-resistance traits can be acquired through traditional breeding practices, and resistance to various pests can be gained through hybridization or cross-pollination with wild species. In some cases, wild species are the primary source of resistance traits; some Tomato cultivars that have gained resistance to at least nineteen diseases, did so, through crossing with wild populations of tomatoes.[52]

[edit] Costs and Benefits of GMOs Genetic engineers may someday develop transgenic plants which would allow for irrigation, drainage, conservation, sanitary engineering, and maintaining or increasing yields while requiring fewer fossil fuel derived inputs than conventional crops.[22] Such developments would be particularly important in areas which are normally arid and rely upon constant irrigation, and on large scale farms. However, genetic engineering of plants has proven to be controversial. Many issues surrounding food security and environmental impacts have risen regarding GMO practices. For example, GMOs are questioned by some ecologists and economists concerned with GMO practices such as terminator seeds,[53][54], which is a genetic modification that creates sterile seeds. Terminator seeds are currently under strong international opposition and face continual efforts of global bans[55]. Another controversial issue is the patent protection given to companies that develop new types of seed using genetic engineering. Since companies have intellectual ownership of their seeds, they have the power to dictate terms and conditions of their patented product. Currently, ten seed companies control over two-thirds of the global seed sales[56]. Vandana Shiva argues that these companies are guilty of biopiracy by patenting life and exploiting organisms for profit[57] Farmers using patented seed are restricted from saving seed for subsequent plantings, which forces farmers to buy new seed every year. Since seed saving is a traditional practice for many farmers in both developing and developed countries, GMO seeds legally bind farmers to change their seed saving practices to buying new seed every year[58][59]. Locally adapted seeds are an essential hertitage that has the potential to be lost with current hybridized crops and GMOs. Locally adapted seeds, also called land races or crop eco-types, are important because they have adapted over time to the specific microclimates, soils, other environmental conditions, field designs, and ethnic preference indigenous to the exact area of cultivation[60] Introducing GMOs and hybridized commercial seed to an area brings the risk of cross-pollination with local land races Therefore, GMOs pose a threat to the sustainability of land races and the ethnic heritage of cultures. Once seed contains transgenic material, it becomes subject to the conditions of the seed company that owns the patent of the transgenic material[61] There is also concern that GMOs will cross-pollinate with wild species and permanently alter native populations’ genetic integrity; there are already identified populations of wild plants with transgenic genes. GMO gene flow to related weed species is a concern, as well as cross-pollination with nontransgenic crops. Since many GMO crops are harvested for their seed, such as rapeseed, seed spillage in is problematic for volunteer plants in rotated fields, as well as seed-spillage during transportation[62].

[edit] Food Safety and Food Labeling Issues Food security issues also coincide with food safety and food labeling concerns. Currently a global treaty, the BioSafety Protocol, regulates the trade of GMOs. The EU currently requires all GMO foods to be labeled, whereas the US does not require transparent labeling of GMO foods. Since there are still questions regarding the safety and risks associated with GMO foods, some believe the public should have the freedom to choose and know what they are eating and require all GMO products to be labeled[63].

[edit] Environmental impact [edit] Land Transformation and Degradation Land transformation, the use of land to yield goods and services, is the most substantial way humans alter the Earth's ecosystems, and is considered the driving force in the loss of biodiversity. Estimates of the amount of land transformed by humans vary from 39-50%.[64] Land degradation, the long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, is estimated to be occurring on 24% of land worldwide, with cropland overrepresented.[65] The UN-FAO report cites land management as the driving factor behind degradation and reports that 1.5 billion people rely upon the degrading land. Degradation can be deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, mineral depletion, or chemical degradation (acidification and salinization).[27]

[edit] Eutrophication Eutrophication, excessive nutrients in aquatic ecosystems resulting in algal blooms and anoxia, leads to fish kills, loss of biodiversity, and renders water unfit for drinking and other industrial uses. Excessive fertilization and manure application to cropland, as well as high livestock stocking densities cause nutrient (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) runoff and leaching from agricultural land. These nutrients are major nonpoint pollutants contributing to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.[66]

[edit] Pesticides Pesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5 million tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss due to pests has remained relatively constant.[67] The World Health Organization estimated in 1992 that 3 million pesticide poisonings occur annually, causing 220,000 deaths.[68] Pesticides select for pesticide resistance in the pest population, leading to a condition termed the 'pesticide treadmill' in which pest resistance warrants the development of a new pesticide.[69] An alternative argument is that the way to 'save the environment' and prevent famine is by using pesticdes and intensive high yield farming, a view exemplified by a quote heading the Center for Global Food Issues website: 'Growing more per acre leaves more land for nature'.[70][71] However critics argue that a tradeoff between the environment and a need for food is not inevitable,[72] and that pesticides simply replace good agronomic practices such as crop rotation.[69]

[edit] Livestock A recent UN report indicates livestock generate more greenhouse gases on a global scale than vehicles. [73] . A senior UN official and co-author of the report Henning Steinfeld said "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems."[74]. President of the National Academy of Sciences Ralph Cicerone (an atmospheric scientist), has indicated the contribution of methane by livestock flatulence and eructation to global warming is a “serious topic.” Cicerone states “Methane is the second-most-important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere now. The population of beef

cattle and dairy cattle has grown so much that methane from cows now is big. This is not a trivial issue."[75]. Approximately 5% of the methane is released via the flatus, whereas the other 95% is released via eructation. Vaccines are under development to reduce the amount introduced through eructation.[76] Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet.[77] It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases, responsible for 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2. It produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2,) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2). It also generates 64% of the ammonia, which contributes to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems. Livestock expansion is cited as a key factor driving deforestation, in the Amazon basin 70% of previously forested area is now occupied by pastures and the remainder used for feedcrops.[77] Through deforestation and land degradation, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity.

[edit] Climate Change Climate change has the potential to affect agriculture through changes in temperature and moisture regimes.[27] Agriculture can both mitigate or worsen global warming. Some of the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere comes from the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, and much of the methane emitted into the atmosphere is due to the decomposition of organic matter in wet soils such as rice paddies.[78] Further, wet or anaerobic soils also lose nitrogen through denitrification, releasing the greenhouse gas nitric oxide.[79] Changes in management can reduce the release of these greenhouse gases, and soil can further be used to sequester some of the CO2 in the atmosphere.[78]

[edit] Agriculture and petroleum Since the 1940s, agriculture has dramatically increased its productivity, due largely to the use of petrochemical derived pesticides, fertilizers, and increased mechanization (the so-called Green Revolution). Between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%.[80][81] This has allowed world population to grow more than double over the last 50 years. However, every energy unit delivered in food grown using modern techniques requires over ten energy units to produce and deliver, [82] although this statistic is contested by proponents of petroleum-based agriculture.[83] The vast majority of this energy input comes from fossil fuel sources. Because of modern agriculture's current heavy reliance on petrochemicals and mechanization, there are warnings that the ever decreasing supply of oil (the dramatic nature of which is known as peak oil[84][85][86][87][88]) will inflict major damage on the modern industrial agriculture system, and could cause large food shortages.[89] Modern or industrialized agriculture is dependent on petroleum in two fundamental ways: 1) cultivation-to get the crop from seed to harvest and 2) transport--to get the harvest from the farm to the consumer's refrigerator. It takes approximately 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen to fuel the tractors, combines and other equipment used on farms for cultivation or 17 percent of the nation's total energy use.[90] Oil and natural gas are also the building blocks of the fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used on farms. Petroleum is also providing the energy required to process food before it reaches the market. It takes the energy equivalent of a half-gallon of gasoline to produce a two-pound bag of breakfast cereal.[91] And that still does not count the energy needed to transport that cereal to market; it is the transport of processed foods and crops that consumes the most oil. The kiwi from New Zealand, the asparagus from Argentina, the melons and broccoli from Guatemala, the organic lettuce from California, the twinkie from Twinkieville--most food items on the consumer's plate travel average of 1,500 miles just to get there.[92] Oil shortages could interrupt this food supply. The consumer's growing awareness of this vulnerability is one of several factors fueling current interest in organic agriculture and other sustainable farming

methods. Some farmers using modern organic-farming methods have reported yields as high as those available from conventional farming (but without the use of fossil-fuel-intensive artificial fertilizers or pesticides. However, the reconditioning of soil to restore nutrients lost during the use of monoculture agriculture techniques made possible by petroleum-based technology will take time.[93][94][95][96] The dependence on oil and vulnerability of the U.S. food supply has also led to the creation of a conscious consumption movement in which consumers count the "food miles" a food product has traveled. The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture defines a food mile as: "...the distance food travels from where it is grown or raised to where it is ultimately purchased by the consumer or end-user." In a comparison of locally-grown food and long-distance food, researchers at the Leopold Center found that local food traveled an average of 44.6 miles to reach its destination compared with 1,546 miles for conventionally-grown and shipped food.[97] Consumers in the new local food movement who count food miles call themselves "locavores" LINK; they advocate a return to a locally-based food system where food comes from as close as possible, whether or not it is organic. Locavores argue that an organically-grown lettuce from California that is shipped to New York is still an unsustainable food source because of dependence on fossil fuels to ship it. In addition to the "locavore" movement, concern over dependence on oil-based agriculture has also dramatically increased interest in home and community gardening.LINK Editors are currently in dispute concerning points of view expressed in this section. Please help to discuss and resolve the dispute before removing this message. (December 2008) Further information: Effect of biofuels on food prices Farmers have also begun raising crops such as corn (maize) for non-food use in an effort to help mitigate peak oil. This has contributed to a 60% rise in wheat prices recently, and has been indicated as a possible precursor to "serious social unrest in developing countries."[98] Such situations would be exacerbated in the event of future rises in food and fuel costs, factors which have already impacted the ability of charitable donors to send food aid to starving populations.[99] One example of the chain reactions which could possibly be caused by peak oil issues involves the problems caused by farmers raising crops such as corn (maize) for non-food use in an effort to help mitigate peak oil. This has already lowered food production.[100] This food vs fuel issue will be exacerbated as demand for ethanol fuel rises. Rising food and fuel costs has already limited the abilities of some charitable donors to send food aid to starving populations.[99] In the UN, some warn that the recent 60% rise in wheat prices could cause "serious social unrest in developing countries."[100][101] In 2007, higher incentives for farmers to grow non-food biofuel crops[102] combined with other factors (such as over-development of former farm lands, rising transportation costs, climate change, growing consumer demand in China and India, and population growth)[103] to cause food shortages in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico, as well as rising food prices around the globe.[104][105] As of December 2007, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. Some of these shortages resulted in food riots and even deadly stampedes.[106][107][108] Another major petroleum issue in agriculture is the effect of petroleum supplies will have on fertilizer production. By far the biggest fossil fuel input to agriculture is the use of natural gas as a hydrogen source for the Haber-Bosch fertilizer-creation process.[109] Natural gas is used because it is the cheapest currently available source of hydrogen.[110][111] When oil production becomes so scarce that natural gas is used as a partial stopgap replacement, and hydrogen use in transportation increases, natural gas will become much more expensive. If other sources of hydrogen are not available to replace the Haber process, in amounts sufficient to supply transportation and agricultural needs, this major source of fertilizer would either

become extremely expensive or unavailable. This would either cause food shortages or dramatic rises in food prices. [edit] Mitigation of effects of petroleum shortages

One effect oil shortages could have on agriculture is a full return to organic agriculture. In light of peak oil concerns, organic methods are much more sustainable than contemporary practices because they use no petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Some farmers using modern organic-farming methods have reported yields as high as those available from conventional farming.[112][113][114][115] Organic farming may however be more labor-intensive and would require a shift of work force from urban to rural areas.[116] It has been suggested that rural communities might obtain fuel from the biochar and synfuel process, which uses agricultural waste to provide charcoal fertilizer, some fuel and food, instead of the normal food vs fuel debate. As the synfuel would be used on site, the process would be more efficient and may just provide enough fuel for a new organic-agriculture fusion.[117][118] It has been suggested that some transgenic plants may some day be developed which would allow for maintaining or increasing yields while requiring fewer fossil fuel derived inputs than conventional crops. [119] The possibility of success of these programs is questioned by ecologists and economists concerned with unsustainable GMO practices such as terminator seeds,[120][121] and a January 2008 report shows that GMO practices "fail to deliver environmental, social and economic benefits."[122] While there has been some research on sustainability using GMO crops, at least one hyped and prominent multi-year attempt by Monsanto has been unsuccessful, though during the same period traditional breeding techniques yielded a more sustainable variety of the same crop.[123] Additionally, a survey by the bio-tech industry of subsistence farmers in Africa to discover what GMO research would most benefit sustainable agriculture only identified non-transgenic issues as areas needing to be addressed.[124] Nonetheless, some governments in Africa continue to view investments in new transgenic technologies as an essential component of efforts to improve sustainability.[125]

[edit] Policy Main article: Agricultural policy Agricultural policy focuses on the goals and methods of agricultural production. At the policy level, common goals of agriculture include: • • • • • • •

Food safety: Ensuring that the food supply is free of contamination. Food security: Ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs.[99][98] Food quality: Ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality. Poverty Reduction Conservation Environmental impact Economic stability

[edit] Agriculture safety and health

Satellite image of circular crop fields characteristic of center pivot irrigation in Kansas. Healthy, growing crops are green; wheat fields are gold-coloured; and fallow fields are brown.

[edit] United States Agriculture ranks among the most hazardous industries.[126] Farmers are at high risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries, work-related lung diseases, noise-induced hearing loss, skin diseases, and certain cancers associated with chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. Farming is one of the few industries in which the families (who often share the work and live on the premises) are also at risk for injuries, illness, and death. In an average year, 516 workers die doing farm work in the U.S. (1992-2005). Of these deaths, 101 are caused by tractor overturns. Every day, about 243 agricultural workers suffer lost-work-time injuries, and about 5% of these result in permanent impairment.[127] Agriculture is the most dangerous industry for young workers, accounting for 42% of all work-related fatalities of young workers in the U.S. between 1992 and 2000. Unlike other industries, half the young victims in agriculture were under age 15. [128] For young agricultural workers aged 15–17, the risk of fatal injury is four times the risk for young workers in other workplaces [129] Agricultural work exposes young workers to safety hazards such as machinery, confined spaces, work at elevations, and work around livestock. An estimated 1.26 million children and adolescents under 20 years of age resided on farms in 2004, with about 699,000 of these youth performing work on the farms. In addition to the youth who live on farms, an additional 337,000 children and adolescents were hired to work on U.S. farms in 2004. On average, 103 children are killed annually on farms (1990-1996). Approximately 40 percent of these deaths were work-related. In 2004, an estimated 27,600 children and adolescents were injured on farms; 8,100 of these injuries were due to farm work.[127]

[edit] Additional information Part of a series on

Horticulture and Gardening

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Gardening • Garden • Botanical garden • Arboretum • Botany • Plant Horticulture Horticulture • Agriculture • Urban agriculture • City farm • Organic farming • Organic horticulture • Herb farm • Hobby farm • Intercropping • Farm Customs Harvest festival • Thanksgiving • History of agriculture Plant protection Phytopathology • Pesticide • Weed control This box: view • talk • edit

[edit] See also Main lists: List of basic agriculture topics and List of agriculture topics • • • • • • • • • • •

Agricultural effects of peak oil Agricultural economics Agroecology Climate change and agriculture Green Revolution Industrial agriculture Organic farming Rural economics Smallholder agriculture Timeline of agriculture and food technology Fort Hays State University

[edit] Lists • • • • •

List of countries by GDP sector composition - a breakdown that includes Agricultural sector information List of domesticated animals List of subsistence techniques List of sustainable agriculture topics No-till farming

[edit] Notes

Stupidity From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Foolishness) Jump to: navigation, search This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (February 2008)

For the ska album, see Stupidity (Bad Manners album). For the rock album, see Stupidity (Dr. Feelgood album). Stupidity (also called fatuity) is the property a person, action or belief instantiates by virtue of having or being indicative of low intelligence or poor learning abilities. Stupidity is distinct from irrationality because stupidity denotes an incapability or unwillingness to properly consider the relevant information. It is frequently used as a pejorative, and consequently has a negative connotation. The term has fallen out of favor in medical journals as it is seen as a generic term used to describe a wide variety of conditions.[citation needed]

Contents [hide] • • • • • •

1 In politics 2 In comedy 3 Group stupidity 4 Quotes Pertaining to the Nature of Stupidity 5 See also 6 References

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7 External links

In politics Robert J. Sternberg notes that many politicians have acted in ways that were stupid despite indications of general intelligence[1] He argues that there is an inherent psychological drive causing some acts of stupidity.

In comedy The fool or buffoon has been a central character in much comedy. Alford and Alford found that humor based on stupidity was prevalent in "more complex" societies as compared to some other forms of humor. [2] Some analysis of Shakespeare's comedy has found that his characters tend to hold mutually contradictory positions; because this implies a lack of careful analysis it indicates stupidity on their part.[3] Today there is a wide array of television shows that showcase stupidity such as The Simpsons.[4]. Famous fictional characters whose comedy is based on stupidity are Homer Simpson, Chief Wiggum, Dumb & Dumber, Peter Griffin, the characters in Laurel & Hardy, Stimpy, Beavis & Butt-head, Officer Barbrady, Patrick (SpongeBob SquarePants), Baldrick (Blackadder), Cody in Step by Step (TV series), Rantanplan (Lucky Luke),...

Group stupidity

In psychology, group stupidity is known as deindividuation in crowds, and can lead to behaviors usually not displayed outside the specific social situation. The behaviors are attributed to a variety of causes, including loss of self-identity, incentives to conform to group behavior, and other dynamics.[5]

Quotes Pertaining to the Nature of Stupidity "Deficiency in judgement is properly that which is called stupidity; and for such a failing we know no remedy. A dull or narrow-minded person, to whom nothing is wanting but a proper degree of understanding, may be improved by tuition, even so far as to deserve the epithet of learned. But as such persons frequently labour under a deficiency in the faculty of judgement, it is not uncommon to find men extremely learned who in the application of their science betray a lamentable degree this irremediable want." Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason, pg A133/B172; tr. J.M.D. Meiklejohn; Paul Guyer (1998) translation: "The lack of the power of judgment is that which is properly called stupidity, and such a failing is not to be helped. A dull or limited head, which is lacking nothing but the appropriate degre of understanding and its proper concepts, may well be trained through instruction, even to the point of becoming learned. But since it would usually still lack the power of judgment (the secunda Petri), it is not at all uncommon to encounter very learned men who in the use of their science frequently give glimpses of that lack, which is never to be ameliorated."

See also • • • • • •

Bounded rationality Darwin Awards Genius Ignorance Irrationality World Stupidity Awards

References

Research From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) For the suburb of Melbourne, Australia, see Research, Victoria. For the Wikipedia policy, see Wikipedia:Original research. For information on how to use Wikipedia in your own research, see Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia.

Olin Levi Warner, Research holding the torch of knowledge (1896). Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. Look up research in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Research is scientific or critical investigation aimed at discovering and interpreting facts. Research may use the scientific method, but need not do so. Scientific research relies on the application of the scientific method, a harnessing of curiosity. This research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties of the world around us. It makes practical applications possible. Scientific research is funded by public authorities, by charitable organisations and by private groups, including many companies. Scientific research can be subdivided into different classifications according to their academic and application disciplines. Historical research uses the historical method. The term research is also used to describe an entire collection of information about a particular subject.

Contents [hide] • •

1 Basic research 2 Research processes o 2.1 Scientific research o 2.2 Historical

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3 Research methods 4 Publishing 5 Research funding 6 Etymology 7 See also 8 References

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9 External links

[edit] Basic research Basic research (also called fundamental or pure research) has as its primary objective the advancement of knowledge and the theoretical understanding of the relations among variables (see statistics). It is exploratory and often driven by the researcher’s curiosity, interest, and intuition. Therefore, it is sometimes conducted without any practical end in mind, although it may have unexpected results pointing to practical applications. The terms “basic” or “fundamental” indicate that, through theory generation, basic research provides the foundation for further, sometimes applied research. As there is no guarantee of short-term practical gain, researchers may find it difficult to obtain funding for basic research. Examples of questions asked in basic research: • • •

Does string theory provide physics with a grand unification theory? Which aspects of genomes explain organismal complexity? Is it possible to prove or disprove Goldbach's conjecture? (i.e., that every even integer greater than 2 can be written as the sum of two, not necessarily distinct primes)

Traditionally, basic research was considered as an activity that preceded applied research, which in turn preceded development into practical applications. Recently, these distinctions have become much less clear-cut, and it is sometimes the case that all stages will intermix. This is particularly the case in fields such as biotechnology and electronics, where fundamental discoveries may be made alongside work intended to develop new products, and in areas where public and private sector partners collaborate in order to develop greater insight into key areas of interest. For this reason, some now prefer the term frontier research. ...

[edit] Research processes [edit] Scientific research Main article: Scientific method Generally, research is understood to follow a certain structural process. Though step order may vary depending on the subject matter and researcher, the following steps are usually part of most formal research, both basic and applied: • • • • • •

Formation of the topic Hypothesis Conceptual definitions Operational definitions Gathering of data Analysis of data

• •

Test, revising of hypothesis Conclusion, iteration if necessary

A common misunderstanding is that by this method a hypothesis can be proven or tested. Generally a hypothesis is used to make predictions that can be tested by observing the outcome of an experiment. If the outcome is inconsistent with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is rejected. However, if the outcome is consistent with the hypothesis, the experiment is said to support the hypothesis. This careful language is used because researchers recognize that alternative hypotheses may also be consistent with the observations. In this sense, a hypothesis can never be proven, but rather only supported by surviving rounds of scientific testing and, eventually, becoming widely thought of as true (or better, predictive), but this is not the same as it having been proven. A useful hypothesis allows prediction and within the accuracy of observation of the time, the prediction will be verified. As the accuracy of observation improves with time, the hypothesis may no longer provide an accurate prediction. In this case a new hypothesis will arise to challenge the old, and to the extent that the new hypothesis makes more accurate predictions than the old, the new will supplant it.

[edit] Historical Main article: Historical method The historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use historical sources and other evidence to research and then to write history. There are various history guidelines commonly used by historians in their work, under the headings of external criticism, internal criticism, and synthesis. This includes higher criticism and textual criticism. Though items may vary depending on the subject matter and researcher, the following concepts are usually part of most formal historical research: • • • • • •

Identification of origin date Evidence of localization Recognition of authorship Analysis of data Identification of integrity Attribution of credibility

[edit] Research methods The goal of the research process is to produce new knowledge, which takes three main forms (although, as previously discussed, the boundaries between them may be fuzzy): • • •

Exploratory research, which structures and identifies new problems Constructive research, which develops solutions to a problem Empirical research, which tests the feasibility of a solution using empirical evidence

Research can also fall into two distinct types: • •

Primary research Secondary research

Research methods used by scholars include: • •

Action research Cartography

• •

Googling Grounded Theory

• • • • • • • •

Case study Classification Citation Analysis Consumer ethnocentrism and CETSCALE Content or Textual Analysis Delphi method Ethnography Experience and intuition

• • • • • • • •

Interviews Mathematical models Participant observation Phenomenology Q methodology Questionnaires Simulation Statistical analysis

•

Experiments

•

Statistical surveys

Research is often conducted using the hourglass model.[1] The hourglass model starts with a broad spectrum for research, focusing in on the required information through the methodology of the project (like the neck of the hourglass), then expands the research in the form of discussion and results.

[edit] Publishing Academic publishing describes a system that is necessary in order for academic scholars to peer review the work and make it available for a wider audience. The 'system', which is probably disorganised enough not to merit the title, varies widely by field, and is also always changing, if often slowly. Most academic work is published in journal article or book form. In publishing, STM publishing is an abbreviation for academic publications in science, technology, and medicine. Most established academic fields have their own journals and other outlets for publication, though many academic journals are somewhat interdisciplinary, and publish work from several distinct fields or subfields. The kinds of publications that are accepted as contributions of knowledge or research vary greatly between fields. Academic publishing is undergoing major changes, emerging from the transition from the print to the electronic format. Business models are different in the electronic environment. Since about the early 1990s, licensing of electronic resources, particularly journals, has been very common. Presently, a major trend, particularly with respect to scholarly journals, is open access. There are two main forms of open access: open access publishing, in which the articles or the whole journal is freely available from the time of publication, and self-archiving, where the author makes a copy of their own work freely available on the web.

[edit] Research funding Main article: Research funding Most funding for scientific research comes from two major sources, corporations (through research and development departments) and government (primarily through universities and in some cases through military contractors). Many senior researchers (such as group leaders) spend more than a trivial amount of their time applying for grants for research funds. These grants are necessary not only for researchers to carry out their research, but also as a source of merit. Some faculty positions require that the holder has received grants from certain institutions, such as the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Governmentsponsored grants (e.g. from the NIH, the National Health Service in Britain or any of the European research councils) generally have a high status.

[edit] Etymology

The word research derives from the French recherche, from rechercher, to search closely where "chercher" means "to search"; its literal meaning is 'to investigate thoroughly'.

[edit] See also • • • • • • • • • •

Academic conference Advertising Research Conceptual framework Creativity techniques Demonstrative evidence Due Diligence Empirical evidence Empirical research European Charter for Researchers Internet research

•

Innovation

At Wikiversity, you can learn about: Research • • • • • • • • •

Lab notebook List of fields of doctoral studies Marketing research Open research Operations research Original research Participatory action research Psychological research methods Research and development

•

Social research

[edit] References

Genius From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2007) For other uses, see Genius (disambiguation). A genius is a person who successfully applies a previously unknown technique in the production of a work of art, science or calculation, or who masters and personalizes a known technique. A genius typically possesses great intelligence or remarkable abilities in a specific subject, or shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and/or ability, especially in the production of creative and original work, something that has never been seen or evaluated previously. Traits often associated with genius include strong individuality, imagination, uniqueness, and innovative drive. The term may be applied to someone who is considered gifted in many subjects[1] or in one subject. Although the term "genius" is sometimes used to denote the possession of a superior talent in any field, e.g. a particular sport or statesmanship, it has traditionally been understood to denote an exceptional natural capacity of intellect and creative originality in areas of art, literature, philosophy, music, language, science and mathematics.

Contents [hide]

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1 Overview 2 Etymology 3 Limitations 4 Philosophy 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading

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8 External links

[edit] Overview Genius may come in a variety of forms, such as mathematical genius, literary genius, or poetic genius, philosophical (visionary) genius amongst others. Genius may show itself in early childhood as a prodigy or later in life; either way, geniuses eventually differentiate themselves from the others through great originality. Intellectual geniuses often have crisp, clear-eyed visions of given situations, in which interpretation is unnecessary, and they build or act on the basis of those facts, usually with tremendous energy. Accomplished geniuses in intellectual fields start out in many cases as child prodigies, gifted with superior memory or understanding. The multiple intelligences hypothesis put forth by Harvard University professor Howard Gardner in his 1983 book Frames of Mind states there are at least seven types of intelligences, each with its own type of genius. To be classed as a genius in music, you must be within the top 3% of your country's population. The most popular way of determining one's intelligence[2][3] is with an Intelligence Quotient (better known as I.Q.) test. Two among the most influential psychologists studying intelligence, Lewis M. Terman and Leta Hollingworth, suggested two different numbers when considering the cut-off for genius in psychometric terms. Dr. Terman considered it to be an IQ of 140, while Dr. Hollingworth put it at an IQ of 180.[4][5] Moreover, both these numbers are ratio IQs, which in deviation values used currently put the genius IQ cut-off at 136 (98.77th percentile) and 162 (99.994th percentile) respectively.[6] There are also several examples of people with IQ levels in the genius range who have a disability or very low level in one of the subcategories, such as music. In addition to the fundamental criticism that intelligence measured in this way is an example of reification and ranking fallacies,[7] the IQ test has also been criticized as having a "cultural bias" in its interpretation despite claims that these tests are designed to eliminate race/gender for example by predicting numerical sequences, etc. Accordingly, the definition of genius embraces those who do not necessarily have an IQ test score of this stature, or who have not even taken such a test. A vast intelligence is needed, but the mental state of possessing genius is based primarily upon an incredible understanding of complex issues and problems, and a profound creativity and imagination; i.e. not based too strongly on IQ tests.

[edit] Etymology

Marble head of a roman genius, 2nd century CE, found by Vindobona In Ancient Rome, the genius was the guiding or "tutelary" spirit of a person, or even of an entire gens, the plural of which was 'genii'[8]. A related term is genius loci, the spirit of a specific locale. A specific spirit, or dæmon, may inhabit an image or icon, giving it supernatural powers. A comparable term from Arabic lore is a djinn, often Anglicized as "genie". Note, however, that this term is considered a false friend, not a cognate by most Anglo-American anthropologists. Recent work by Russian, Romanian, Italian and a few American linguists may return the word to cognate status.[citation needed] For more information on these etymological roots, see Genius (mythology).

[edit] Limitations This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008) Geniuses are often accused of lacking common sense, or emotional sensitivity.[citation needed] Stories of a genius in a given field being unable to grasp "everyday" concepts are abundant and of ancient vintage: in his dialog Theætetus, Plato offers a picturesque anecdote of the absentmindedness of Thales. Some individuals in this arena of "absent-minded professors" and persons lacking normal social skills fall in the autism spectrum (such as Asperger syndrome).[citation needed] A genius's intense focus on a given subject might appear obsessive-compulsive in nature (e.g., Howard Hughes and aviation),[citation needed] but it might also simply be a choice made by the individual. If one is performing groundbreaking work in one's field, maintaining other elements of life might logically be relegated to insignificance. While the absent-minded professor notion is not without merit, a genius is just as likely to encounter emotional problems as anyone else. Note the peculiarities of figures like Glenn Gould. Eccentricities such as the ones conveyed by Gould are most likely because of the vast brainpower which normally comes with genius.[citation needed] Einstein was also known for his quirky behavior. Some geniuses' works are also unappreciated during their lifetimes due to their tendency to be ahead of their time. Socio-emotional problems are more prevalent in geniuses with an IQ above 145 (on the Wechsler Scale). [citation needed] Asynchronous development is the primary cause of this.[citation needed] As most children do not share gifted children's interests, vocabulary, or desire to organize activities, the genius child may withdraw from society.

Some research shows that reasons other than maladjustment make companionship difficult to find for geniuses.[citation needed] As intelligence of a person increases, the number of those whom he or she considers peers tends to decrease. For example, at an IQ of 135 (on the Wechsler Scale) only every hundredth person would be of equal or greater IQ.[citation needed] This number shrinks exponentially as IQ goes up. Dr. Leta Hollingworth introduced the idea of an essential "communication limit" based on IQ. According to her theory, to be a good leader of one's contemporaries, he/she must be more intelligent but not too much more intelligent than the people who are being led. This implies that geniuses may not make good leaders of those substantially less gifted and that they could have disdain for authority. The theory also states that children and adults become intellectually ostracized from their contemporaries when an IQ difference of 30 points or more exists.[citation needed]

[edit] Philosophy Various philosophers have proposed definitions of what genius is and what that implies in the context of their philosophical theories. In the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer, a genius is a person in whom intellect predominates over "will" much more than within the average person. In Schopenhauer's aesthetics, this predominance of the intellect over the will allows the genius to create artistic or academic works that are objects of pure, disinterested contemplation, the chief criterion of the aesthetic experience for Schopenhauer. Their remoteness from mundane concerns means that Schopenhauer's geniuses often display maladaptive traits in more mundane concerns; in Schopenhauer's words, they fall into the mire while gazing at the stars. In the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, genius is the ability to independently arrive at and understand concepts that would normally have to be taught by another person. In the Kant Dictionary (ISBN 0-63117535-0), Howard Caygill talks of the essential character of "genius" for Kant being originality. This genius is a talent for producing ideas which can be described as non-imitative. Kant's discussion of the characteristics of genius is largely contained within the Critique of Judgement and was well received by the romantics of the early 19th century. In the philosophy of David Hume, the way society perceives genius is similar to the way society perceives the ignorant. Hume states that a person with the characteristics of a genius is looked at as a person disconnected from society. As well as a person who works remotely, at a distance, away from the rest of the world. "On the other hand, the mere ignorant is still more despised; nor is any thing deemed a surer sign of an illiberal genius in an age and nation where the sciences flourish, than to be entirely destitute of all relish for those noble entertainments. The most perfect character is supposed to lie between those extremes; retaining an equal ability and taste for books, company, and business; preserving in conversation that discernment and delicacy which arise from polite letters; and in business, that probity and accuracy which are the natural result of a just philosophy."

[edit] See also Leonardo da Vinci is acknowledged as having been a genius and a polymath • •

Child prodigy Flash of genius

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High IQ society Intelligence quotient (IQ) List of Nobel laureates MacArthur Fellows Program Mega Society Nobel Prize Polymath Psychometrics o Personality test o Psychological testing The heroic theory of invention and scientific development

[edit] References

Intelligence From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Intelligence (disambiguation). "Intellect" redirects here. For other uses, see Intellect (disambiguation). "Human intelligence" redirects here. For human intelligence (HUMINT) in military and espionage contexts, see HUMINT.

Contents [hide]

• • • • •

1 Definitions 2 Theories of intelligence o 2.1 Psychometric approach  2.1.1 Controversies o 2.2 Multiple intelligences o 2.3 Triarchic theory of intelligence o 2.4 Emotional intelligence o 2.5 Empirical evidence 3 Evolution of intelligence 4 Factors affecting intelligence o 4.1 Biological o 4.2 Environmental o 4.3 Ethical issues 5 Other species 6 Artificial intelligence 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading

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10 External links

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Intelligence (also called intellect) is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. In some cases, intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge, or wisdom. However, most psychologists prefer not to include these traits in the definition of intelligence. Theories of intelligence can be divided into those based on a unilinear construct of general intelligence and those based on multiple intelligences. Francis Galton, influenced by Charles Darwin, was first to advance a theory of general intelligence. For Galton, intelligence was a real faculty with a biological basis that could be studied by measuring reaction times to certain cognitive tasks.[1] Alfred Binet and the French school of intelligence believed that intelligence quotient (IQ) was an average of numerous dissimilar abilities, rather than a real thing with specific identifiable properties. The Stanford-Binet intelligence test has been used by both theorists of general intelligence and multiple intelligence. It is, however, the basis for the development of various theories of multiple intelligence.[1]

[edit] Definitions Intelligence comes from the Latin verb "intellegere", which means "to understand". By this rationale, intelligence (as understanding) is arguably different from being "smart" (able to adapt to one's environment), or being "clever" (able to creatively adapt). At least two major "consensus" definitions of intelligence have been proposed. First, from Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns, a report of a task force convened by the American Psychological Association in 1995: Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought. Although these individual differences can be substantial, they are never entirely consistent: a given person’s intellectual performance will vary on different occasions, in different domains, as judged by different criteria. Concepts of "intelligence" are attempts to clarify and organize this complex set of phenomena. Although considerable clarity has been achieved in some areas, no such conceptualization has yet answered all the important questions and none commands universal assent. Indeed, when two dozen prominent theorists were recently asked to define intelligence, they gave two dozen somewhat different definitions.[2][3]

A second definition of intelligence comes from "Mainstream Science on Intelligence", which was signed by 52 intelligence researchers in 1994: A very general mental capability that, among other things, involves the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. It is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather, it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings—"catching on", "making sense" of things, or "figuring out" what to do.[4]

Another simple and efficient definition is : the ability to apply knowledge in order to perform better in an environment Researchers in the fields of psychology and learning have also defined human intelligence: Researcher

Quotation

Alfred Binet

[J]udgment, otherwise called good sense, practical sense, initiative, the faculty of adapting one's self to circumstances...auto-critique.[5]

David Wechsler

[T]he aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment.[6]

Cyril Burt

[I]nnate general cognitive ability[7]

Howard Gardner

To my mind, a human intellectual competence must entail a set of skills of problem solving—enabling the individual to resolve genuine problems or difficulties that he or she encounters and, when appropriate, to create an effective product—and must also entail the potential for finding or creating problems—and thereby laying the groundwork for the acquisition of new knowledge.[8]

Linda Gottfredson

[T]he ability to deal with cognitive complexity[9]

Sternberg & Salter

[G]oal-directed adaptive behavior[10]

[edit] Theories of intelligence The most widely accepted theory of intelligence is based on psychometrics testing or intelligence quotient (IQ) tests[citation needed]. However, dissatisfaction with traditional IQ tests has led to the development of a number of alternative theories, all of which suggest that intelligence is the result of a number of independent abilities that uniquely contribute to human performance.

[edit] Psychometric approach Main articles: Intelligence quotient, General intelligence factor, and Psychometrics Despite the variety of concepts of intelligence, the approach to understanding intelligence with the most supporters and published research over the longest period of time is based on psychometrics testing. Such intelligence quotient (IQ) tests include the Stanford-Binet, Raven's Progressive Matrices, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. All forms of IQ tests correlate highly with one another. The traditional view is that these tests measure g or "general intelligence factor". However, this is by no means universally accepted. Charles Spearman is credited with having developed the concept of g. g can be derived as the principal factor using the mathematical method of factor analysis. One common view is that these abilities are hierarchically arranged with g at the vertex (or top, overlaying all other cognitive abilities). G itself is sometimes considered to be a two part construct, gF and gC, which stand for fluid and crystallized intelligence.[11][12]

Carroll expanded this hierarchy into a Three-Stratum theory, also known as the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of cognitive abilities (or simply CHC Theory).[13] Intelligence, as measured by IQ and other aptitude tests, is widely used in educational, business, and military settings due to its efficacy in predicting behavior. G is highly correlated with many important social outcomes - individuals with low IQs are more likely to be divorced, have a child out of marriage, be incarcerated, and need long term welfare support, while individuals with high IQs are associated with more years of education, higher status jobs and higher income.[14] Intelligence is significantly correlated with successful training and performance outcomes, and g is the single best predictor of successful job performance.[15] [edit] Controversies This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

IQ tests were originally devised specifically to predict educational achievement.[citation needed] The inventors of the IQ did not believe they were measuring fixed intelligence.[citation needed] Despite this, critics argue that intelligence tests have been used to support nativistic theories in which intelligence is viewed as a qualitatively unique faculty with a relatively fixed quantity.[16] Critics of the psychometric approach point out that people in the general population have a somewhat different and broader conception of intelligence than what is measured in IQ tests. In turn, they argue that the psychometric approach measures only a part of what is commonly understood as intelligence. Furthermore, skeptics argue that even though tests of mental abilities are correlated, people still have unique strengths and weaknesses in specific areas. Consequently they argue that psychometric theorists over-emphasize g. Researchers in the field of human intelligence have encountered a considerable amount of public concern and criticism-- much more than scientists in other areas normally receive. A number of critics have challenged the relevance of psychometric intelligence in the context of everyday life. There have also been controversies over genetic factors in intelligence, particularly questions regarding the relationship between race and intelligence and sex and intelligence. Another controversy in the field is how to interpret the increases in test scores that have occurred over time, the so-called Flynn effect. Stephen Jay Gould was one of the most vocal critics of intelligence testing. In his book, The Mismeasure of Man, Gould argued that intelligence is not truly measurable, and also challenged the hereditarian viewpoint on intelligence. Many of Gould's criticisms were aimed at Arthur Jensen, who responded that his work had been misrepresented,[17] also stating that making conclusions about modern IQ tests by criticizing the flaws of early intelligence research is like condemning the auto industry by criticizing the performance of the Model T.

[edit] Multiple intelligences Main article: Theory of multiple intelligences Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is based on studies not only on normal children and adults but also by studies of gifted individuals (including so-called "savants"), of persons who have suffered brain damage, of experts and virtuosos, and of individuals from diverse cultures. This led Gardner to break intelligence down into at least eight different components: logical, linguistic, spatial,

musical, kinesthetic, naturalist, intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences. He argues that psychometric tests address only linguistic and logical plus some aspects of spatial intelligence; other forms have been entirely ignored. Moreover, the paper and-pencil format of most tests rules out many kinds of intelligent performance that matter in everyday life, as social intelligence.[18] Most of theories of multiple intelligences are relatively recent in origin, though Louis Thurstone proposed a theory of multiple "primary abilities" in the early 20th Century.

[edit] Triarchic theory of intelligence Main article: triarchic theory of intelligence Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence proposes three fundamental aspects of intelligenceanalytic, creative, and practical--of which only the first is measured to any significant extent by mainstream tests. His investigations suggest the need for a balance between analytic intelligence, on the one hand, and creative and especially practical intelligence on the other.

[edit] Emotional intelligence Main article: emotional intelligence Daniel Goleman and several other researchers have developed the concept of emotional intelligence and claim it is at least as "important" as more traditional sorts of intelligence. These theories grew from observations of human development and of brain injury victims who demonstrate an acute loss of a particular cognitive function -- e.g. the ability to think numerically, or the ability to understand written language -- without showing any loss in other cognitive areas.

[edit] Empirical evidence IQ proponents have pointed out that IQ's predictive validity has been repeatedly demonstrated, for example in predicting important non-academic outcomes such as job performance (see IQ), whereas the various multiple intelligence theories have little or no such support. Meanwhile, the relevance and even the existence of multiple intelligences have not been borne out when actually tested. A set of ability tests that do not correlate together would support the claim that multiple intelligences are independent of each other. However, thus far no one has developed such a set of tests.[citation needed]

[edit] Evolution of intelligence Main article: Hominid intelligence Our hominid and human ancestors evolved large and complex brains exhibiting an ever-increasing intelligence through a long and mostly unknown evolutionary process. This process was either driven by the direct adaptive benefits of intelligence[19], or − alternatively − driven by its indirect benefits within the context of sexual selection as a reliable signal of genetic resistance against pathogens.[20]

[edit] Factors affecting intelligence Intelligence is an ill-defined, difficult to quantify concept. Accordingly, the IQ tests used to measure intelligence provide only approximations of the posited 'real' intelligence. In addition, a number of theoretically unrelated properties are known to correlate with IQ such as race, gender and height but since

correlation does not imply causation the true relationship between these factors is uncertain. Factors affecting IQ may be divided into biological and environmental.

[edit] Biological Main article: Heritability of IQ Evidence suggests that genetic variation has a significant impact on IQ, accounting for three fourths in adults. Despite the high heritability of IQ, few genes have been found to have a substantial effect on IQ, suggesting that IQ is the product of interaction between multiple genes. Other biological factors correlating with IQ include ratio of brain weight to body weight and the volume and location of gray matter tissue in the brain. Because intelligence appears to be at least partly dependent on brain structure and the genes shaping brain development, it has been proposed that genetic engineering could be used to enhance the intelligence of animals, a process sometimes called biological uplift in science fiction. Experiments on mice have demonstrated superior ability in learning and memory in various behavioural tasks.[21]

[edit] Environmental Main article: Environment and intelligence Evidence suggests that family environmental factors may have an effect upon childhood IQ, accounting for up to a quarter of the variance. On the other hand, by late adolescence this correlation disappears, such that adoptive siblings are no more similar in IQ than strangers.[22] Moreover, adoption studies indicate that, by adulthood, adoptive siblings are no more similar in IQ than strangers, while twins and full siblings show an IQ correlation. Consequently, in the context of the nature versus nurture debate, the "nature" component appears to be much more important than the "nurture" component in explaining IQ variance in the general population. Cultural factors also play a role in intelligence. For example, on a sorting task to measure intelligence, Westerners tend to take a taxonomic approach while the Kpelle people take a more functional approach. For example, instead of grouping food and tools into separate categories, a Kpelle participant stated "the knife goes with the orange because it cuts it"[23]

[edit] Ethical issues Main articles: Transhumanism, Eugenics, Neuroethics, and Intelligence and public policy Since intelligence is susceptible to modification through the manipulation of environment, the ability to influence intelligence raises ethical issues. Transhumanist theorists study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using techniques to enhance human abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition; eugenics is a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention.[24] The perception of eugenics has varied throughout history, from a social responsibility required of society, to an immoral, racist stance. Neuroethics considers the ethical, legal and social implications of neuroscience, and deals with issues such as difference between treating a human neurological disease and enhancing the human brain, and

how wealth impacts access to neurotechnology. Neuroethical issues interact with the ethics of human genetic engineering.

[edit] Other species Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (May 2008) Main article: Animal cognition Although humans have been the primary focus of intelligence researchers, scientists have also attempted to investigate animal intelligence, or more broadly, animal cognition. These researchers are interested in studying both mental ability in a particular species, and comparing abilities between species. They study various measures of problem solving, as well as mathematical and language abilities. Some challenges in this area are defining intelligence so that it means the same thing across species (eg. comparing intelligence between literate humans and illiterate animals), and then operationalizing a measure that accurately compares mental ability across different species and contexts. Wolfgang Köhler's pioneering research on the intelligence of apes is a classic example of research in this area. Stanley Coren's book, The Intelligence of Dogs[unreliable source?] is a notable popular book on the topic.[25] Nonhuman animals particularly noted and studied for their intelligence include chimpanzees, bonobos (notably the language-using Kanzi) and other great apes, dolphins, elephants and to some extent parrots and ravens. Controversy exists over the extent to which these judgments of intelligence are accurate.[citation needed]

[edit] Artificial intelligence Main article: Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (or AI) is both the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it, through "the study and design of intelligent agents"[26] or "rational agents", where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions which maximize its chances of success.[27] General intelligence or strong AI has not yet been achieved and is a long-term goal of AI research. Among the traits that researchers hope machines will exhibit are reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, communication, perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects.[27][26]

[edit] See also • • •

Active intellect Educational psychology Individual differences psychology

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Systems intelligence Fertility and intelligence Race and intelligence

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Passive intellect

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Intelligence quotient

[edit] References

Tool

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search For the band, see Tool (band). For other uses, see Tool (disambiguation). A broader definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other. The most basic tools are simple machines. For example, a crowbar simply functions as a lever. The further out from the pivot point, the more force is transmitted along the lever. A hammer typically interfaces between the operator's hand and the nail the operator wishes to strike. A telephone is a communication tool that interfaces between two people engaged in conversation at one level. And between each user and the communication network at another. It is in the domain of media and communications technology that a counterintuitive aspect of our relationships with our tools first began to gain popular recognition. Marshall McLuhan famously said "We shape our tools. And then our tools shape us." McLuhan was referring to the fact that our social practices co-evolve with our use of new tools and the refinements we make to existing tools. Tools that have evolved for use in particular domains can be given different assignations. For example, tools designed for domestic use are often called utensils. Observation has confirmed that that multiple species can use tools, including monkeys, apes, several birds, sea otters, and others. Philosophers originally thought that only humans had the ability to make tools, until zoologists observed birds[1] and monkeys[2][3][4] making tools. Now humans' unique relationship to tools is considered to be that we are the only species that uses tools to make other tools.[citation needed] Most anthropologists believe that the use of tools was an important step in the evolution of mankind.[5] Humans evolved an opposable thumb - useful in holding tools - and increased dramatically in intelligence, which aided in the use of tools.[6]

Contents [hide]

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1 Functions o 1.1 Tool substitution  1.1.1 Multi-use tools 2 History 3 See also

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4 References

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Functions •

Cutting tools, such as the knife, scythe or sickle, are wedge-shaped implements that produce a shearing force along a narrow face. Ideally, the edge of the tool needs to be harder than the material being cut or else the blade will become dulled with repeated use. But even resilient tools will require periodic sharpening, which is the process of removing deformation wear from the edge. Also gouges and drill bits.

•

• • • •

Moving tools move huge and tiny things, e.g. concentrating force tools like the hammer moves a nail, the maul moves a stake, or a whip moves flesh on a horse. These operate by applying physical compression to a surface. In the case of the screwdriver, the force is sideways and called torque. Writing implements deliver a fluid to a surface via compression to activate the ink cartridge. Also grabbing and twisting nuts and blots with pliers, a glove, a wrench, etc...) All these tools move items by some kind of force. Also Trucks, Rockets and Planes move larger items. Tools which enact chemical changes, including temperature and ignition, such as lighters, blowtorches and solvent sprays. Guiding and measuring tools include the ruler, set square, straightedge and theodolite. Shaping tools, such as moulds, jigs, trowels, concrete formwork, caulk, concrete. Fastening tools, such as welders, rivet guns, nail guns, glue guns, glue.

Protective gear items are not considered tools, because they do not directly help perform work, just protect the worker like ordinary clothing. Personal protective equipment includes such items as gloves, safety glasses, ear defenders and biohazard suits.

Tool substitution Often, by design or coincidence, a tool may share key functional attributes with one or more other tools. In this case, some tools can substitute for other tools, either as a make-shift solution or as a matter of practical efficiency. "One tool does it all" is a motto of some importance for workers who cannot practically carry every specialized tool to the location of every work task. Tool substitution may be divided broadly into two classes: substitution "by-design", or "multi-purpose" use, and substitution as make-shift. In many cases, the designed secondary functions of tools are not widely known. As an example of the former, many wood-cutting hand saws integrate a carpenter's square by incorporating a specially shaped handle which allows 90° and 45° angles to be marked by aligning the appropriate part of the handle with an edge and scribing along the back edge of the saw. The latter is illustrated by the saying "All tools can be used as hammers." Nearly all tools can be re purposed to function as a hammer, even though very few tools are intentionally designed for it. Multi-use tools • • •

A Multitool is a hand tool that incorporates several tools into a single, portable device. Lineman's pliers incorporate a gripper and cutter, and are often used secondarily as a hammer. Hand saws often incorporate the functionality of the carpenter's square in the right-angle between the blade's dull edge and the saw's handle.

History Main article: History of technology Evidence of stone tool manufacture and use dates from the start of the Stone Age, though it is possible that earlier tools of less durable material have not survived. Stone tools found in China magnetostratigraphically date back to approximately 1.36 million years ago. The transition from stone to metal tools roughly coincided with the development of agriculture around the 4th millennium BC. Mechanical devices experienced a major expansion in their use in the Middle Ages with the systematic employment of new energy sources: water (waterwheels) and wind (windmills). Machine tools occasioned a surge in producing new tools in the industrial revolution. Advocates of nanotechnology expect a similar surge as tools become microscopic in size.[7][8]

See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tools Device paradigm Toolmaker List of tool-lending libraries Toolbank Category:Tool-using species

• • • • •

References 1. ^ Selection of tool diameter by New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides, Jackie Chappell and Alex Kacelnik November 29, 2003 ^ The Throwing Madonna: Essays on the Brain, William H. Calvin ^ Scientific American Frontiers, Program#1504 "Chimp Minds" transcript PBS.org Airdate Feb 9, 2005 ^ "Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure: Chimpanzee". ^ Sam Lilley, Men, Machines and History: The Story of Tools and Machines in Relation to Social Progress, 1948 Cobbett Press. 6. ^ Primates and Their Adaptations, 2001, M.J. Farabee. Retrieved on November 6, 2006. 7. ^ Nanotechnology: Big Potential In Tiny Particles, David Whelan. Retrieved on November 6, 2006 8. ^ Will this Tiny Science Usher in the Next Industrial Revolution?, Katrina C. Arabe. Retrieved on November 6, 2006

2. 3. 4. 5.

[hide] v•d•e

Types of tools Adze · Axe · Billhook · Blade · Bolt cutter · Broach · Ceramic tile cutter · Countersink · Diamond blade · Diamond tool · Drill bit · Endmill · Froe · Knife · Machete · Milling Cutting tools cutter · Razor · Reamer · Saw · Scalpel · Scissors · Splitting maul · Switchblade · Tool bit · Utility knife · Water jet cutter Cultivator · Garden fork · Hedge trimmer · Hoe · Hori hori · Irrigation sprinkler · Lawn aerator · Lawn mower · Lawn sweeper · Leaf blower · Loppers · Mattock · McLeod · Garden tools Pitchfork · Plough (plow) · Pruning shears (Secateurs) · Pulaski · Rake · Rotary tiller · Spade · String trimmer Block plane · BNC inserter/remover · Brace · Card scraper · Chisel · Clamp · Coping saw · Fretsaw · Glass cutter · Hacksaw · Hammer · Hand saw · Locking pliers · Mallet · Hand tools Pickaxe · Pipe wrench · Plane · Pliers · Punch · Screwdriver · Spirit level · Sponge · Torque wrench · Wrench Band saw · Belt sander · Chainsaw · Circular saw · Concrete saw · Crusher · Drill · Grinding machine · Heat gun · Impact wrench · Jigsaw · Jointer · Lathe · Planer · Radial Power tools arm saw · Random orbital sander · Reciprocating saw · Rotary tool · Sander · Scroll saw · Table saw · Thickness planer · Wood router Other Antique tools · Ladder · Thau claw · Toolbox Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool"

Categories: Manufacturing | Tools

Education From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (February 2008) For the stained-glass window, see Education (Chittenden Memorial Window). "Educate" redirects here. For the journal published by the Institute of Education, see Educate~.

A kindergarten classroom in Afghanistan. Education portal University portal Schools portal

Formal education consists of systematic instruction, teaching and training by teachers. This consists of the application of pedagogy and the development of curricula. In a liberal education tradition, teachers draw on many different disciplines for their lessons, including psychology, philosophy, linguistics, biology, and sociology. Teachers in specialized professions such as astrophysics, law, or zoology may teach only in a narrow area, usually as professors at institutions of higher learning. There is much specialist instruction in fields of trade for those who want specific skills, such as required to be a pilot, for example. Finally, there is an array of educational opportunity in the informal sphere- such as with museums and libraries.

Informal education also includes knowledge and skills learned and refined during the course of life, including education that comes from experience in practicing a profession. The right to education has been described as a fundamental human right: since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. At world level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under its Article 13.

Contents [hide]

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1 Systems of formal education o 1.1 Primary education o 1.2 Secondary education o 1.3 Higher education o 1.4 Adult education o 1.5 Alternative education o 1.6 Indigenous education o 1.7 Emotional/Human education 2 Process o 2.1 Curriculum o 2.2 Learning modalities o 2.3 Teaching o 2.4 Learning is a process you do, not a process that is done to you o 2.5 Technology 3 History 4 Philosophy 5 Psychology 6 Economic implications of education 7 Sociology of education o 7.1 Education in developing countries o 7.2 Internationalisation 8 See also 9 References

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10 External links

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[edit] Systems of formal education Education is a broad concept, referring to all the experiences in which students can learn something: • • •

Instruction refers to the intentional facilitating of learning toward identified goals, delivered either by an instructor or other forms. Teaching refers to the actions of a real live instructor designed to impart learning to the student. Training refers to learning with a view toward preparing learners with specific knowledge, skills, or abilities that can be applied immediately upon completion.

[edit] Primary education

Main article: Primary education

Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or seven years of schooling starting at the age of 5 or 6, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 70% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[1] Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.

[edit] Secondary education Main article: Secondary education In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education consists of the second years of formal education that occur during adolescence.[citation needed] It is characterised by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university, vocational school) for adults.[citation needed] Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1-13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.

[edit] Higher education Main article: Higher education

The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning.

Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education includes teaching, research and social services activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Higher education in that country generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.[citation needed]

[edit] Adult education Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning.There are more than 800 million adults that cannot read or write.

[edit] Alternative education Main article: Alternative education Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods. Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education[citation needed]. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, and homebased learning vary widely, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community[citation needed].

[edit] Indigenous education Increasingly, the inclusion of indigenous models of education (methods and content) as an alternative within the scope of formal and non-formal education systems, has come to represent a significant factor contributing to the success of those members of indigenous communities who choose to access these systems, both as students/learners and as teachers/instructors. As an educational method, the inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing, learning, instructing, teaching and training, has been viewed by many critical and postmodern scholars as important for ensuring that students/learners and teachers/instructors (whether indigenous or non-indigenous) are able to benefit from

education in a culturally sensitive manner that draws upon, utilizes, promotes and enhances awareness of indigenous traditions.[2] For indigenous students/learners and teachers/instructors, the inclusion of these methods often enhances educational effectiveness, success and learning outcomes by providing education that adheres to their own inherent perspectives, experiences and worldview. For non-indigenous students/learners and teachers/instructors, education using such methods often has the effect of raising awareness of the individual traditions and collective experience of surrounding indigenous communities and peoples, thereby promoting greater respect for and appreciation of the cultural realities of these communities and peoples. In terms of educational content, the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, traditions, perspectives, worldviews and conceptions within curricula, instructional materials and textbooks/coursebooks has been shown to have largely the same effects as the inclusion of indigenous methods in education. Indigenous students/learners and teachers/instructors benefit from enhanced academic effectiveness, success and learning outcomes, while non-indigenous students/learners and teachers/instructors often have greater awareness, respect, and appreciation for indigenous communities and peoples in consequence of the content that is shared during the course of educational pursuits.[3] A prime example of how indigenous methods and content can be used to promote the above outcomes is demonstrated within higher education in Canada. Due to certain jurisdictions' focus on enhancing academic success for Aboriginal learners and promoting the values of multiculturalism in society, the inclusion of indigenous methods and content in education is often seen as an important obligation and duty of both governmental and educational authorities.[4]

[edit] Emotional/Human education As academic education is more and more the norm and standard, companies and individuals are looking less at normal education as to what is deemed a good solid educated person/worker. Most well-educated and successful entrepreneurs have high communication skills with humanistic and warm "emotional intelligence". In certain places, especially in the United States, the term alternative may largely refer to forms of education catering to "at risk" students, as it is, for example, in this definition drafted by the Massachusetts Department of Education. [5]

[edit] Process [edit] Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum and List of academic disciplines An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university, or via some other such method. Functionally, disciplines are usually defined and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and by the learned societies to which their practitioners belong. [citation needed] Professors say schooling is 80% psychological, 20% physical effort.[citation needed] Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[6]

[edit] Learning modalities There has been a great deal of work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[7] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[8] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[9] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[10] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[11] follows a similar but more simplified approach. It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[12] are probably the most common:[13] • • •

Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities. Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned. Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information.

It is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness.[14] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[15]

[edit] Teaching Teachers need the ability to understand a subject well enough to convey its essence to a new generation of students. The goal is to establish a sound knowledge base on which students will be able to build as they are exposed to different life experiences. The passing of knowledge from generation to generation allows students to grow into useful members of society. Good teachers can translate information, good judgment, experience and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible. [16]

[edit] Learning is a process you do, not a process that is done to you Main article: Sudbury model Some critics of today's schools, of the concept of learning disabilities, of special education, and of response to intervention, take the position that every child has a different learning style and pace and that each child is unique, not only capable of learning but also capable of succeeding. Sudbury model of democratic education schools assert that there are many ways to study and learn. They argue that learning is a process you do, not a process that is done to you. [17] The experience of Sudbury model democratic schools shows that there are many ways to learn without the intervention of teaching, to say, without the intervention of a teacher being imperative. In the case of reading for instance in the Sudbury model democratic schools some children learn from being read to, memorizing the stories and then ultimately reading them. Others learn from cereal boxes, others from games instructions, others from street signs. Some teach themselves letter sounds, others syllables, others whole words. Sudbury model democratic schools adduce that in their schools no one child has ever been forced, pushed, urged, cajoled, or bribed into learning how to read or write, and they have had no dyslexia. None of their graduates are

real or functional illiterates, and no one who meets their older students could ever guess the age at which they first learned to read or write.[18] In a similar form students learn all the subjects, techniques and skills in these schools. Describing current instructional methods as homogenization and lockstep standardization, alternative approaches are proposed, such as the Sudbury model of democratic education schools, an alternative approach in which children, by enjoying personal freedom thus encouraged to exercise personal responsibility for their actions, learn at their own pace and style rather than following a compulsory and chronologically-based curriculum.[19][20][21][22] Proponents of unschooling have also claimed that children raised in this method learn at their own pace and style, and do not suffer from learning disabilities.

[edit] Technology Main article: Educational technology Technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are being widely used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments. Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a “diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information.”[23] These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings.[24] Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries.[25] The use of computers and the Internet is still in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.[26] The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming.[27] Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies.[28] The term "computer-assisted learning" (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching.

[edit] History

Main article: History of education

A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universität Berlin 1994 "began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on.[citation needed] The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge.[citation needed] In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially.[citation needed] When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually followed.[citation needed] Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.[citation needed]

[edit] Philosophy Main articles: Philosophy of education and Epistemology

John Locke's work Some Thoughts Concerning Education was written in 1693 and still reflects traditional education priorities in the Western world

The philosophy of education is the study of the purpose, nature and ideal content of education. Related topics include knowledge itself, the nature of the knowing mind and the human subject, problems of authority, and the relationship between education and society.[citation needed] At least since Locke's time, the philosophy of education has been linked to theories of developmental psychology and human development.[citation needed] Fundamental purposes that have been proposed for education include: •

•

•

The enterprise of civil society depends on educating people to become responsible, thoughtful and enterprising citizens. This is an intricate, challenging task requiring deep understanding of ethical principles, moral values, political theory, aesthetics, and economics, not to mention an understanding of who children are, in themselves and in society.[citation needed] Progress in every practical field depends on having capacities that schooling can develop. Education is thus a means to foster the individual's, society's, and even humanity's future development and prosperity. Emphasis is often put on economic success in this regard.[citation needed] One's individual development and the capacity to fulfill one's own purposes can depend on an adequate preparation in childhood. Education can thus attempt to give a firm foundation for the achievement of personal fulfillment. The better the foundation that is built, the more successful the child will be. Simple basics in education can carry a child far.[citation needed]

A central tenet of education typically includes “the imparting of knowledge.” At a very basic level, this purpose ultimately deals with the nature, origin and scope of knowledge.[citation needed] The branch of philosophy that addresses these and related issues is known as epistemology. This area of study often focuses on analyzing the nature and variety of knowledge and how it relates to similar notions such as truth and belief. While the term, knowledge, is often used to convey this general purpose of education, it can also be viewed as part of a continuum of knowing that ranges from very specific data to the highest levels. Seen in this light, the continuum may be thought to consist of a general hierarchy of overlapping levels of knowing.[citation needed] Students must be able to connect new information to a piece of old information to be better able to learn, understand, and retain information.[citation needed] This continuum may include notions such as data, information, knowledge, wisdom, and realization. The ideal or holistic education [Cf: Conceptual Stress-Understanding and Management: Dr. Shriniwas Kashalikar] is conscious evolutionary transformation that aims at holistic health i.e. simultaneous welfare of one and all. This requires conscious development of fitness of one's body, refinements of instincts, broadening and profoundness of emotions, blossoming of intelligence and liberating perspective of universal oneness. Besides, cognitive, affective and psychomotor the productive domain also must be nurtured for this.

[edit] Psychology Main article: Educational psychology A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation of students from low income families.[29] Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used

interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists.[citation needed] Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities.[citation needed] Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology.[citation needed] Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management.[citation needed] Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. [citation needed] In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006).

[edit] Economic implications of education Main article: Economics of education It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth. [30] In theory poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries.[citation needed] But economists argue that if the gap in education between a rich and a poor nation is too large, as is the case between the poorest and the richest nations in the world, the transfer of these technologies that drive economic growth becomes difficult, thus the economies of the world's poorest nations stagnate.[citation needed]

[edit] Sociology of education Main article: Sociology of education

Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe. The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and forces affect educational processes and outcomes, and vice versa. By many, education is understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners may be motivated by aspirations for progress and betterment. Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities.[31] The purpose of education can be to develop every individual to their full potential.[citation needed] The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes differs according to the sociological paradigm used.

[edit] Education in developing countries

World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report)

In some developing countries, the number and seriousness of the problems faced are naturally greater. [citation needed] People in more remote or agrarian areas are sometimes unaware of the importance of education. However, many countries have an active Ministry of Education, and in many subjects, such as foreign language learning, the degree of education is actually much higher than in industrialized countries; for example, it is not at all uncommon for students in many developing countries to be reasonably fluent in multiple foreign languages, whereas this is much more of a rarity in the supposedly "more educated" countries where much of the population is in fact monolingual. There is also economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children making money in the short term over any long-term benefits of education.[citation needed] Recent studies on child labor and poverty have suggested that when poor families reach a certain economic threshold where families are able to provide for their basic needs, parents return their children to school.[citation needed] This has been found to be true, once the threshold has been breached, even if the potential economic value of the children's work has increased since their return to school.[citation needed] Teachers are often paid less than other similar professions.[citation needed] A lack of good universities, and a low acceptance rate for good universities, is evident in countries with a relatively high population density.[citation needed] In some countries, there are uniform, over structured, inflexible centralized programs from a central agency that regulates all aspects of education. • •

Due to globalization, increased pressure on students in curricular activities Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practised in schools, after 10th grade)

India is now developing technologies that will skip land based phone and internet lines. Instead, India launched EDUSAT, an education satellite that can reach more of the country at a greatly reduced cost. There is also an initiative started by a group out of MIT and supported by several major corporations to develop a $100 laptop. The laptops should be available by late 2006 or 2007. The laptops, sold at cost, will enable developing countries to give their children a digital education, and to close the digital divide across the world. In Africa, NEPAD has launched an "e-school programme" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years. Private groups, like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are working to give more individuals opportunities to receive education in developing countries through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund. An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com, started with the support of American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development.

[edit] Internationalisation Education is becoming increasingly international. Not only are the materials becoming more influenced by the rich international environment, but exchanges among students at all levels are also playing an increasingly important role. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Programme stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.[32]

[edit] See also

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Main articles: Glossary of education-related terms, List of basic education topics, List of education articles by country, and List of education topics Academic Dishonesty • Educational technology • Online learning community Adult education • Educational software • Over-education Alternative education • Efficient learning method • Pedagogy Behavior modification • Experiential education • Philosophy of education Classical education • Gifted education • Public education Classroom of the future • Glossary of education• Remedial Education Collaborative learning related terms • School Comparative education • Graduate education • School of the Future Curriculum studies • History of education • Single-sex education Curriculum • Indoctrination • Socialization Developmental • Instructional technology • Sociology of education Education • Language education • Special education Distance education • Learning • Special Educational Needs Home schooling • Learning 2.0 • Taxonomy of Educational e-learning • Learning by teaching (LdL) Objectives Educational animation • Learning community • Teacher Entrepreneurship • Learning sciences • Tertiary education education • Legal education • Tutoring Educational psychology • Lifelong education • University • List of educators • Virtual education Educational research • Medical education • Vocational education

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Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [show] General principles [show] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [show] International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [show] Context, limitations and duties

[edit] References 1. ^ UNESCO, Education For All Monitoring Report 2008, Net Enrollment Rate in primary education 2. ^ See Merriam et al. Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide (San Francisco: JosseyBass, 2007). Sharan Merriam, Rosemary Caffarella and Lisa Baumgartner write that “we need only look more closely inside our own borders, to Native Americans, for example… to find major systems of thought and beliefs embedded in entirely different cultural values and epistemological systems that can be drawn upon to enlarge our understanding of adult learning” (p. 218). Merriam et al. then go on to explain that another purpose in becoming familiar with other knowledge systems is the benefit this knowledge will have in affecting our practice with learners having other than Western worldviews. Antone and Gamlin (2004) for example, argue that to be effective, literacy programs with Aboriginal people (a term they use to refer to First Nations, Inuit, and Metis persons and collectivities) must be more than ‘reading, numeracy and writing which is typically geared towards gaining access to mainstream employment’ (p. 26). Rather Aboriginal literacy is about sustaining a particular worldview and about the survival of a distinct and vital culture. Being literate is about resymbolizing and reinterpreting past experience, while at the same time honouring traditional values. Being literate is about living these values in contemporary times. Being literate is about visioning a future in which an Aboriginal way of being will continue to thrive. Meaningful Aboriginal literacy will develop and find expression in everything that is done. Consequently, Aboriginal literacy programs must reflect a broad approach that recognizes the unique ways that Aboriginal people represent their experience and knowledge. [p. 26; italics in original] Frequently, Merriam et al. also return to this need “to enlarge our understanding of adult learning” through the lens of cultural sensitivity by focusing on theories related to the intimate connection between learning and social context– often framed in terms of inclusiveness and respect for differing values, beliefs, experiences, perspectives and environments as strongly correlated with the traditional ways and methods inherent in both individual and collective notions of culture. For instance, in their discussion of experiential learning, the authors comment that “in acknowledging cognition and learning from experience as a cultural phenomenon, the perspectives of critical… and postmodern thinkers become crucial. Among the major results of thinking about cognition from a cultural frame are the critiques that have been fostered about traditional educational theory and practice… Foremost among these critiques is a challenge to the fundamental notion that learning is something that occurs within the individual. Rather, learning encompasses the interaction of learners and the social environments in which they function” (p. 180). 3. ^ See generally R. A. Malatest et al. Best Practices in Increasing Aboriginal Postsecondary Enrolment Rates (Canada: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2002)[1]and Dr. Pamela Toulouse, Supporting Aboriginal Student Success: Self-Esteem and Identity, A Living Teachings Approach (Presentation delivered at the 2007 Ontario Education Research Symposium)[2] 4. ^ In the Canadian province of Manitoba for instance, collaborative efforts between the government and post-secondary institutions (both universities and colleges) has resulted in the implementation of 13 Access Programs (spanning several disciplines and program focus areas). These Access programs often place emphasis on indigenous methods and content in the delivery of post-secondary education and training, while also providing students with a variety of other culturally sensitive supports (such as elders and mentors) in order to enhance their success in higher education. Advocates of such programs will often highlight the fact that, between 2001/02 and 2005/06 (most recent available data) a total of 800 students successfully graduated from these programs with postsecondary credentials, while an average of 70.8 per cent of all students enrolled during these same years were Aboriginal. Statistics cited according to pp. 141-143 of the Manitoba Council on Post-Secondary Education Statistical Compendium For the Academic Years Ending in 2006[3] According to these advocates, the inclusion of indigenous models of education

in those Access Programs that are intended for Aboriginal learners, is an important factor contributing to the completion of postsecondary education for the estimated 566 Aboriginal students who would not otherwise have been likely to achieve this same level of success.