Human Ecology
At the beginning of this course, I offered that my stance on the human ecological situation was generally pessimistic. That stance has not changed, because I do not see how any thinking human could be optimistic about the present state of human ecology. However, I would like to note that pessimism is not the same thing as quietism -- this course has inspired me to change my thinking about certain subjects, and caused me to resolve to change my own behavior as well.

The one reading that most deeply affected me, and that did the most to confirm my overall pessimism, was Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. That is because Diamond's approach is to take the very long view of human civilization and cultural evolution -- and in the long-term, things do not look very good for societies that are capable of outstripping their resources. Diamond's basic insight is…...

Human Ecology - Climate Change
Human Ecology -- Climate Change

The article selected for this paper is a book review. The article, "Evert Van de Vliert: Climate, Affluence, and Culture" is a review of the book "Climate, Affluence, and Culture" by Evert Van de Vliert.

Climate has a great effect on the behaviors, social linkages, and sociocultural factors of the societies. This fact is being asserted by the author as he reviews the book.

Global climate is changing in a drastic manner. Global warming or global cooling, all has its effects on the behaviors and living styles of the societies. This is not an old issue. The importance of this fact has been realized since many years. Many studies have been conducted on the topic that deals with the question of how climates and environments can change the behaviors of the people in societies. Many studies have mentioned that negative effects of climate change…...

mla

References

Hetherington, R., and Reid, G.B.R. (2010). The Climate Connection: Climate Change and Modern Human Evolution. Cambridge University Press.

Hsu, E., and Low, C. (2008). Wind, life, health: anthropological and historical perspectives, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute Special Issue Book Series. Blackwell/Royal Anthropological Institute.

Huntington, E. (2001). Civilization and Climate. The Minerva Group, Inc.

York, R. (2009). "Evert Van de Vliert: Climate, Affluence, and Culture." Hum Ecol, 37:795 -- 796.

Human Evolution and Ecology
Meadowcroft ockshelter is an excavated archaeological site for human remains located near the Avella in the Washington County at Jefferson Township in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania in the United States. The site is a rock shelter that is overlooking the bluff Cross Greek of the Ohio iver. Typically, the site is located 27 miles of the west-southwest of Pittsburg within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The site was created by the Monongahela Culture in 1570, which was operated within the Heinz History Center. Moreover, the artifacts of the site reveal that the site may be inhabited for over 19,000 years ago, which was since the times of Paleo-Indian.

Objective of this paper is to apply the scientific method to investigate the impact of humans on ecosystems and biodiversity of the paleontological data of the Meadowcroft ockshelter excavated archaeological site in the United States. The paper also evaluates the…...

mla

Reference

Adovasio, J.M., J. Donahue, D.R.P. Stuckenrath, R. (1998). Two decades of debate on Meadowcroft Rockshelter. North American Archaeologist, 19(4):317-341.

Goebel, T. et al. (2008). The Late Pleistocene Dispersal of Modern Humans in the Americas. Science, 319, 1497-1501.

Goodyear, A.C. (2007). Evidence for Pre-Clovis Sites in the Eastern United States. Paleoamerican Prehistory.

James, A. & Jake, P. (2003).The First Americans: In Pursuit of Archaeology's Greatest Mystery.

running the daily operations for a family household. Consider a typical household and family -- two adults and two children. The task at hand needs as much planning and utilization of resources as any organization; except, in this case, on a smaller scale and with a lower-risk.
The paper will look in depth at the resources and requirements of the household and the optimum and their optimum utilization. These factors will be deemed necessary for this (test) family to grow and prosper in the long-term.

The test case scenario for this paper is a household and its members. This essay presents the household as an organization where certain facets need to be addressed: efficiency of operation within the family, its financial goals and aims at betterment. It should be borne in mind that emotional considerations, key for a family, fall out of the purview of this work.

Resource requirement and resource consumption

Productivity…...

mla

Bibliography

Fox, R.E. (1999) The Theory of Constraints --Fad or Future? January 5, 2003 at http://www.tocc.com/Theory%20of%20Constraints-Fad%20or%20Future.htm

Mandell, M.P. (2002) Networks to Network structures Collaborative Strategies., Marcel Drekker, Inc., New York.

Morgan, G. (1997) Images of Organization.

Mukherjee, A. And Mukherjee, J. (2001) Structuring organizations for the future:

Arctic Climate Change and Its Effects on Inuit
The Arctic is located on the middle of the North Pole. The Arctic Ocean, the northern parts of Alaska, Canada, Norway, ussia, and most of Iceland, Greenland and the Bering Sea are included in the Arctic regions. The climate of the Arctic is categorized as polar. It means that there are long and cold winters in the region but short and cool summers. Due to the extreme climatic conditions, the Arctic is one of the world's most thinly inhabited areas ("Arctic, The," 2009).

The ACIA (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment) has presented some key findings regarding the climate in the Arctic. Firstly, there is rapid warming in the region which could result in worldwide climatic changes. At the same time, there could be an increase in the marine transport and resources could be easily accesses as a result of reduced sea ice. However, the melting…...

mla

References

Arctic, The. (2009). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved May 10, 2012, from Questia database:  http://www.questia.com /PM.qst?a=o&d=117003688

Fenge, T. (2006, January). Arctic Alarm: In the Arctic, Climate Change Isn't an Abstraction-It's Happening Now. Alternatives Journal,31, 25+. Retrieved May 11, 2012, from Questia database:

Human esource Management • evaluate selection practices procedures organisations comparing ' practice' • compare structured process recruitment organisations evaluate methods media •
Human esources Management

Selection processes and practices are vast theoretical concepts, which can be implemented using a wide series of theoretical models. While the availability of scholarly resources cannot be denied, the practical implementation of selection processes and practices within firms is often undisclosed to the public. It is subjected to internal regulations and not communicated to the public. At the Prairie View A&M University for instance (a member of the Texas A&M university system), selection is simply stated to be conducted "by an ad hoc committee made up of faculty within the department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology" (Website of Prairie View A&M University). As a comparison to the best practices, a statement can be made in the meaning that the selection process would have to be carefully…...

mla

References:

Armstrong, M., Baron, A., 2002, Strategic HRM: the key to improved business performance, CIPD Publishing

2003, Recruitment and retention key to Wal-Mart's future, Retail Merchandiser,   last accessed on December 15, 2010http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/4301304-1.html 

2005, Google's approach to employee selection, The Rain Maker Group,   last accessed on December 15, 2010http://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/add.asp?ID=85 

2010, The role of front line managers in HR, CIPD,   last accessed on December 15, 2010http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/maneco/general/rolefrntlinemngers.htm 

These restoration efforts affect natural wetlands that have been destroyed by mankind and then proposed to become urbanized.
Conclusion

Although the impact on the climate by humans has had several negative impacts, such impacts have the potential to be stopped and even reversed. Research clearly indicates that recent technological advances can be used in these cases as a valuable tool in determining whether natural processes can be restored, or whether other options, such as urbanization, are ideal. Finally, future studies and advancements in technology will pave the way for a brighter future in restoring and repairing our injured climate.

ibliography

AGU. (2003). Human Impacts on Climate. Retrieved November 5, 2007, at http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/climate_change_position.html.

Carter & urgess Quarterly. (2001). Getting the Lay of the Land. Carter & urgess Quarterly, vol

University of Georgia. (2006). SREL Research: Remediation & Restoration. Retrieved November 2, 2007 at http://www.uga.edu/srel/research-restoration.htm.

U.S. Department of Commerce. (2007). National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved November 1, 2007, at…...

mla

Bibliography

AGU. (2003). Human Impacts on Climate. Retrieved November 5, 2007, at  http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/policy/climate_change_position.html .

Carter & Burgess Quarterly. (2001). Getting the Lay of the Land. Carter & Burgess Quarterly, vol

University of Georgia. (2006). SREL Research: Remediation & Restoration. Retrieved November 2, 2007 at  http://www.uga.edu/srel/research-restoration.htm .

U.S. Department of Commerce. (2007). National Geodetic Survey. Retrieved November 1, 2007, at  http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ .

Human esponse to Physical Structure:
Environmental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on explaining human behavior in relation to the physical environment. In this case, the physical environment basically incorporates plants, animals, and material objects that have a significant impact on behavior at various levels. However, this branch of psychology does not focus on the interactional procedures among people as emphasized on other branches of psychology. In analyzing human behavior, it adopts a systems approach that has become the main approach in modern science.

Impact of Physical Structure on Human Behavior:

According to various theories, the physical environment or structure affects human behavior at various levels with instant behavior acting as a function of settings with which it happens (Matthew, n.d.). The individual personality traits of people within a specified country are largely influenced by the nature and type of physical environment that these individuals are subject to for a long…...

mla

References:

Goode, J.P. (n.d.). 'The Human Response to the Physical Environment.' The Elementary School

Teacher, 4(5), pp. 271-282. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/992499.pdf?acceptTC=true

"Importance of Sustainable Architecture in 21st Century." (2010, June 21). Architecture Student

Chronicles. Retrieved October 22, 2011, from  http://www.architecture-student.com/sustainable-design/importance-of-sustainable-architecture-in-21st-century/

It is not startling that some remarkable variation exists between the great apes as well as humans with regard to mental capabilities. Humans possess a lot higher intricate types of verbal communications compared to any other primates. Humans are the sole animal to make and apply symbols as a way to communicate with each other. Humans also have diverse as well as complex forms of social organizations compared to that of the other nonhuman primates. The most unique characteristic of humans lies in human mental capability to build novel ideas as well as intricate technologies. This has been considered to be important in the fight for endurance. (O'Neil 2007)
Further, the relatively negligible structural variations among humans and apes are generally an outcome of regular bipedalism observed in human beings. Quite a number of alterations in human bodies were linked to the growth of this type of locomotion. As opposed…...

mla

References

Berg, Kate; Bonham, Vence; Boyer, Joy; Brody, Larry; Brooks, Lisa; Collins, Francis;

Guttmacher, Alan; McEwen, Jean; Muenke, Max; Olson, Steve; Wang, Vivian Ota; Rodriguez, Laura Lyman; Vydelingum, Nadarajen; Warshauer-Baker, Esther. 2005, 'The Use of Racial, Ethnic, and Ancestral Categories in Human Genetics Research', American Journal of Human Genetics, vol. 77, no. 4, pp: 519-532.

Bethesda, MD. 2006, 'Present-Day Non-Human Primates May Be Linchpin in Evolution of Language' Terra Daily. 25 Jul., p. 4

British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, 2007, the Zero option, Available at http://www.buav.org/campaigns/primates/zerooption.html

Another psychological approach studied the physical basis for emotion. LeDoux (1995, p. 209+) noted, "Scientists concerned with human nature have not been able to reach a consensus about what emotion is and what place emotion should have in a theory of mind and behavior." He proposed, however, that "findings about the neural basis of emotion might also suggest new insights into the functional organization of emotion that were not apparent from psychological findings alone. The brain, in other words, can constrain and inform our ideas about the nature of emotion." This would seem to play into any discussion of genetics vs. culture as emotion is viewed, accurately or not, as a construct of societal norms in large part. Because fear is a common part of human life, LeDoux uses it to investigate his theories. "The expression of fear is conserved to a large extent across human cultures and at least…...

mla

Moore, J. (2002). Some thoughts on the relation between behavior analysis and behavioral neuroscience. The Psychological Record, 52(3), 261+. Retrieved November 19, 2004, from Questia database,  http://www.questia.com .

Suh, Eunkook M. 2002. Cultural influences on personality. Annual Review of Psychology;

Retrieved November 19, 2004 from Highbeam database,  http://www.highbeam.com .

Human Behavior and the Environment
Environmental psychology makes an attempt to discover and understand the manner in which human behavior influences the environment both positively and negatively (De Young, 2013). The purpose of this paper will be to gain insight on how the environment is affected by human behavior. The focus will be to elucidate the manner in which environmental cues influence behavior, as well as to assess the manner in which behavior can be transformed to nurture sustainability, and how this can ultimately decrease adverse effects on the environment. The paper will also discuss the manner in which social norms have an impact on behavior and beliefs about the environment. Thereafter a number of solutions that could positively alter behavior and practices so as to decrease adverse environmental impact will be provided.

Environmental Cues and how they shape Human Behavior

In accordance with Steg (2013), environmental cues can be described as components…...

mla

References

De Young, R. (2013). Environmental psychology overview. In S.R. Klein and A.H. Huffman (Eds.) Green Organizations: Driving Change with IO Psychology.

EPA (n.d.). Sustainability.  http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/ 

Hecter, M., Opp, K. (2001). Social Norms. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Kinzig et al. (2013). Social Norms and Global Environmental Challenges: The Complex Interaction of Behaviors, Values, and Policy. BioScience, 63(3):164-175.

Communal Property
Human behavior with respect to communal property is a critical issue of our time. The individual profit-maximizing activities of each individual all contribute to the erosion of critical common resources. There are a number of perspectives that help to explain why this occurs.

The tragedy of the commons explains this phenomenon. Hardin (1968) notes that individuals seek to maximize their outcomes -- this could be wealth or it could be utility. In either case, such behavior is strictly oriented to one's own personal well-being. The concept of perfect rationality is applied only in a narcissistic context. This is true even in collectivist societies, because such societies seldom view the human race as the collective unit. Thus, nobody makes their decisions with the good of the entire species in mind. The tragedy is that the cost of things is not reflected in our decision-making. In economics, the concept is externalities, and…...

mla

References

Durham, (1991). Neutrality and opposition: From cultural reason to cannibalism. In possession of the author.

Feeny, D., Berkes, F., McCay, B. & Acheson, J. (1990). The Tragedy of the Commons: Twenty-Two Years Later. Human Ecology. Vol. 18 (1) 1-19.

Hardin, G. (1968). The Tragedy of the Commons. Science, Vol 162, 1243-1248/

Domestic violence is popular as domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, spousal abuse, or family violence. The behavior involves brutality or another abuse by one person in a domestic behavioral context where people rise against others in marriages or similar unions. The intimate partner causes violence to their spouses making it domestic violence. Spouses and partners within intimate relationships are expected to live in harmony without elements of discomfort. Domestic violence takes place where heterosexual and same-sex relationships are involved (Edelson, 2011). The issue of domestic violence takes various forms such as physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse ranging from subtle to coercive forms of marital rape and violent physical abuse resulting in death or disfigurement (Tolman, 2010).
Domestic violence occurs where abusers believe that their actions are justified and acceptable. The implication is that there is production of intergenerational abuse cycles of condoning violence. Perception, awareness, documentation, and definition of…...

mla

References

Breines, W., and L. Gorden. (2013). "The New Scholarship on Family Violence." Signs: AJ. Woman in Cultural and Society 8(3):490-531.

Edelson, J.L. (2011). Social Workers' intervention in women abuse: A study of case records from 1907 to 1945. Social Service Review, 65, 304-313.

Ehrensaft, M.K., and D. Vivian. (2009). "Is Partner Aggression Related to Appraisals of Coercive Control by a Partner?" Journal of Family Violence 14(3):251-266.

Garbarino, J., & Sherman, D. (2011). High-risk neighborhoods and high-risk families: The human ecology of child maltreatment. Child Development, 51, 188-198.

Tehran's geography makes air pollution worse: the Alborz Mountains at its north side trap the increasing volume of pollutants and lead these to remain and hover over Tehran when the wind is not strong enough to blow them away. Furthermore, Tehran's high altitude makes fuel combustion inefficient and adds to the problem. Its altitude is between 3, 300 and 5,000 feet and it is in this space that the pollutants are trapped since the destruction of orchards and other vegetation especially in northern Tehran in the past decades by rapid development and human activity pressures. These natural and man-made factors together have made Tehran one of the most polluted cities in the world. Air pollution reached critical level in December 1999 when high levels of carbon monoxide and other pollutants filled Tehran for many weeks. Deaths, diseases and skin conditions are attributed to extreme air pollution. Records say that…...

mla

Bibliography

Energy Information Administration. (2002). Iran: Environmental Issues.  http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/iranenv.html 

2005). Iran. Country Analysis Briefs.

The plan would be the result of the scientific method, through which the impacts and causes of the current environmental problems would be addressed. Additionally, the scientific method would sit at the basis of the future actions to be taken. These would traditionally include:

The search for alternative sources of energy

The search for renewable sources of energy

The creation of an infrastructure which allowed the propagation and populous use of alternative energies

The education of the population to reduce their levels of consumerism to life necessities

The implementation of stricter regulations which punish economic agents who pollute waters or cut the forests in an unsustainable manner

eplant forests, clean waters and support the sustainable life of the endangered species.

At a smaller size and specific level, the alternative and immediate action to be taken is that of reducing the harvesting of krill by commercial fishermen. This would be achieved through legislative means which forbade the harvesting…...

mla

References:

Leonard, A., The story of stuff,   / last accessed on October 13, 2010http://www.storyofstuff.com 

Naik, A., 2010, Ozone layer and global warming, Buzzle,   last accessed on October 14, 2010http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ozone-layer-and-global-warming.html 

Antarctic krill conservation project statement of principles and core goals, Antarctic Krill Conservation Project,   last accessed on October 14, 2010http://www.krillcount.org/solutions.html