Abstract
This paper examines human culture and how intelligence is determined by biological factors. The author discusses the origins of the human brain, and how it evolved into a tool of intelligence more than two million years ago, and how societal cultures are learned and shared.

From the Paper
"According to Wolpoff, ?while a human culture cannot be linked to a particular biology, or vice versa, for humans culture is biology.? Wolpoff, 1999, p.164. This statement means that development of a culture is dependent on biologically determined factors. The most important reason for the development of culture is adaptation for survival under changing environment, which in turn requires, on the one hand, natural selection, and on the other making choices, rather than merely acting on instinct. Intelligence, needed for the purpose of making choices has been the product of biological factors. It should be noted that even though some animals such as wild dogs also live in societies, only humans have developed culture. Culture developed side by side with the evolution of certain physical features in the human species, Homo sapiens that made intelligence possible."

Tags:paleoanthropology, origins, neanderthal, dna, communication, wolpoff

Abstract
This paper discusses the skeletal changes reflected in the change from arboreal to terrestrial locomotion. The author examines the evolution of primates through lemuroides, tarsiers, monkeys, apes to humans. The paper defines the structure that differentiates humans.

From the Paper
"Primates have evolved over a period of millions of years and the ultimate in evolution is the human. Over the course of time, different primates evolved different body structures, which suited their time and their lifestyle and the ecosystem into which they fit. The prosimians and the early primates were arboreal, which over time gradually descended from the trees and developed an upright stance. This was accompanied by skeletal changes to accommodate the postural changes. Primates are distinguished from other mammals by nine general features: A generalized limb ..."

Tags:lemuroids, tariers, monkeys, apes, humans

Abstract
A thorough discussion of the history and pros and cons of cloning in general. This paper supports cloning humans to help humanity so long as the ability is not abused. Topics presented include natural clones and philosophical, physical, medical and various other issues.

From the Paper
"The word "cloning" once brought to mind a vast array of ideas and thoughts often possible only within the context of science fiction, and yet our technology has now reached a stage in which possibility has become reality. In 1996, the first successful mammalian clone was created and named Dolly - a sheep born asexually who had the exact same genetic sequence as her mother (Hawker). Recently, in 2001 a human embryo was cloned and grew to the 6 cell stage before it died (Hill). These two events have raised an enormous amount of questions surrounding the ethics and benefits of cloning. Even though cloning exists in nature (Identical Twins, bacteria, most unicellular organisms, plants not from seeds, some algae and fungi, many Invertebrates are all natural clones), there is a sense of taking evolution and nature into our own hands by cloning most especially in context to cloning human beings (Hawker). There are strong arguments both for and against cloning, but I believe cloning is only feasible to help humanity so long as it is not abused."

Tags:anthropology, clone, clones, cloning, dolly, humanity, humans, infertility, medical, nature, nurture, science, sheep, technology, vitro, vs

Abstract
This paper examines the impact of stigma on attitudes about HIV/AIDS. The author points out relating cultural norms and customs and treatment. The paper explores public health policies in various societies worldwide.

From the Paper
"HIV is both a medical and societal problem. HIV attacks and breaks down the body's immune system weakening or destroying protection against illness often life-threatening. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) occurs if people with HIV develop a badly damaged immune system or one of the serious infections connected with HIV. According to the United Nations, an estimated ...million people are living with HIV and two million are children. Three million people died of AIDS in with more than five million infected with the disabling disease. Clinton ..."

Tags:HIV, AIDS, Societal, Medical, Cultural, Customs, Health, Anthropology, Culture, Stigma

Abstract
This paper discusses the role of ethnocentrism in the book. "Ethnocentrism" is the belief that your culture is "better" or "superior" to other cultures and that cultural standards are universal. It is often the wedge that keeps people from many cultures from blending into a cohesive unit, and in "The Spirit Catches You," it is quite common to see how the Hmong, with their culture of beliefs and superstitions, and American doctors, with their medicines and science, would clash and never see eye to eye.

From the Paper
""The Spirit Catches You" is the story of a Hmong family, the Lees, and their young daughter Lia. Lia is diagnosed with epilepsy, which the Hmong call "the spirit catches you and you fall down" disease. The story graphically illustrates two cultures that meet head on - with each one having absolutely no understanding of the other. The Hmong's entire culture is built on a series of beliefs and superstitions that they use nearly everyday to combat illness and appearance. For example, the author notes early in the book, "Although the Hmong believe that illness can be caused by a variety of sources - [...] by far the most common cause of illness is soul loss" (Fadiman 10). Thus, the Hmong use spiritual and holistic approaches to their daughter's health problems because it is all they know. The American doctors, on the other hand, want the Hmong to use American medicines and treatments, and the Hmong have no idea what these treatments are, or how they will benefit their daughter. What happens as the two cultures collide is a comedy of errors and misunderstanding, except that it is not funny, and Lia pays the price in the end."

Tags:lia, hmong, medicine

From the Paper
"Overpopulation is perhaps the single most pervading force of today's society. Transcending boundaries of political science, economics, sociology or any other field working with issues relevant to contemporary society, the mathematical certainty of exponential population growth is simple; By the time we begin to sense overpopulation, it is only a short time until the problem reaches mammoth and uncontrollable scale. Particularly in the third world, where resources are scarce, the imperative for action for clear. China and India are the two most heavily populated nations of the world, yet have taken radically different approaches to population control. India has maintained a strictly non-coercive population policy, and indeed the population has skyrocketed. China, on the other hand, has succeeded in curbing the population growth rate quite significantly by taking a much more proactive stance. While pragmatically effective, China's policies are so authoritarian and coercive that they lead to consequences considered simply inhuman by many."

Tags:China, India, population, third world

Abstract
The paper compares and contrasts the situation of indigenous hunting practices in the Arctic and North Queensland and discusses whether indigenous peoples should be allowed to hunt species Western scientists deem to be threatened with extinction. The aim of the paper is to show what indigenous people can teach us and how indigenous knowledge can, indeed should, be considered a valuable resource to both the local non-indigenous and scientific community.

From the Paper
"The question of the value and legitimacy of "scientific", or quantitative knowledge, over indigenous, local, or qualitative, knowledge lies at the heart of the debate over many conservation issues. Whether indigenous people should be allowed to hunt species deemed "threatened" or "endangered" is a matter of concern both locally and internationally, with both scientists and indigenous people claiming certain rights and obligations. Scientists and conservationists in the broader community claim it is within their rights to ban certain hunting practices, these rights becoming an obligation when a species is threatened with extinction, while indigenous peoples claim it is within their rights to continue their hunting traditions, and an obligation to pass such traditions on to their children."

Tags:aborigine, conservation, endagered, species, environment, eskimo, protected, whaling

Abstract
Detailed description of the effect of stress, substance abuse, diet and exercise on cardiovascular health. It is written in simple phrasing and medical terms are explained.

From the Paper
"Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) result in 1/3 of global death in 1999. According to a World Health Organization report, CVD will become the leading cause of death in developed countries by 2010. Although genetic influence could trigger off underlying cause, most experts recognize that lifestyle influence still remain the most important factor for CVD through suppression of the disease. Lifestyle factors refer to options made on a daily basis with alternatives provided. A combination of unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, high level of stress and drugs can prove detrimental to the cardiovascular system."

Tags:cvd, diet, exercise, smoking, stress

Abstract
This paper provides a thorough look at the Bubonic Plague, the deadly pandemic that continuously reappeared all throughout Europe until the Seventeenth century, leaving behind death, devastation, and economic disaster. The author discusses how the plague was transmitted, symptoms, the versions of the plague, the plague's impacted on religion, and how it influenced the culture of the times-literature, art, and superstitious behavior. The paper also looks at the staggering number of dead that the Black Death claimed as it swept across the European continent.

From the Paper
"The Black Death was a time of death and destruction to all of society and its surroundings during the Fourteenth Century and beyond. According to Chester David Rail, "The sudden onset of human plague in southeastern Europe and the Middle East in the winter of 1346-1347 seems to have marked the beginning of the plague", Rail, 11. The Black Plague was a deadly pandemic continuously reappearing all throughout Europe until the Seventeenth century, leaving behind death, devastation, and economic disaster. The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague or the Bubonic Plague, originated in the Thirteenth century. The disease originally was transmitted from rat to rat and from rat to man by the bite of rat-fleas. ?Bubonic plague may be transmitted from place to place by imported fleas, which are carried by people "in their baggage or in merchandise", Wilson , 2. Constant travel and trade by Europeans with other countries exposed Europe to the plague. Its symptoms were exhibited by buboes, which are hard, painful, swellings of lymphatic glands usually affecting the groin area or under the armpits and around the neck."

Tags:bubonic, great, pandemic, plague, pneumonic, septicemic, europe, religious, persecution, superstition, jews, transmission

Abstract
The writer performs a study in which two approaches were made towards handedness. The first approach was a behavioral measure (Bishop et al 1996), 'quantifying consistency of hand preference'. The second approach uses a self-evaluating handedness inventory (Oldfield 1971), which provides a quantitative index of handedness, rather than binary classification' (Bishop et al 1996).

From the Paper
"Cerebral specialisation, or brain lateralisation while not unique to humans (McKenzie et al 1998), appears to correspond with behavioural asymmetry in human handedness. In a predominantly contralateral shift, sensory input from the right hand crosses over to the left hemisphere of the brain, and conversely sensory data from the left hand crosses over to the right side of the brain (Sternberg 1995). While the hemispheres may differ functionally, they are not completely independent as 'interhemispheric integration occurs by the corpus callosum' (Desmedt 1977), and in visual stimulus, information is sent to both contralateral and ipsilateral hemispheres (Ball 1998)."

Tags:brain, encephalization, hemisphere, function, information