Ananda sangbad - 2015 April_Layout 1 3/30/2015 10:19 PM Page 14
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Ananda Sangbad
April 2015
GENE-SIS OF GENDER BASED VIOLENCE Continued from page 11 genes evolve much more rapidly than previously suggested. Some genes seem to be only 10,000 years old, and some may be even younger. The natural selection process produces the most dramatic changes in the gene pool when the environment is changing rapidly, such as when agriculture was invented or city– states rose. Thus, instead of being locked in cavemen DNA, human genes have actually evolved. These genes along with the changing environment have contributed to human nature that is variable and flexible at its core. Evolutionary psychology has sought to describe mechanisms that cause people to behave in adaptive ways (to the extent that they do). The most important category of mechanisms for producing adaptations is development —the myriad processes that take us from the genetic information that we inherit from our parents to the flesh and blood, thinking and feeling, experience–filled creatures we are today. With the help of genetics, the evolutionary psychologists have begun to look at the development of individual differences in men's propensity to rape and a picture very different to Thornhill and Palmer's is emerging. When we look at the mechanisms that might predispose men to rape in more or less the adaptive way that Thornhill and Palmer describe, rape no longer seems to be "in its very essence, a sexual act." Instead, men's propensity to rape seems to be in large part developmentally contingent on boys' and young men's subjective experience of risky and uncertain environments. These are environments in which the flow of resources, especially of social and emotional types, is inadequate or unpredictable. There is abundant evidence that the early subjective experience of too much risk and uncertainty (i.e., chronic early stress or fear) predisposes young men (and women) to impulsiveness, a taste for risky activities, or a tendency to act too quickly without fully considering the consequences. The subject of risk brings us to the "warrior gene" on the X chromosome that is linked to aggressive behavior or impulsivity. Men with the "warrior gene" are not necessarily more aggressive, but they are more likely to respond aggressively to perceived conflict. Because men have one copy of the X chromosome, a variant that reduces the function of this gene has more of an influence on them. Women, having two X chromosomes, are more likely to have at least one normally functioning gene copy, and variants in women have not been studied as extensively. The linking of genes to specific human behavior is just beginning. James Dabbs of Georgia State University studied 4,462 men in 1990 and found that a combination of high testosterone —the primary male sex hormone from the androgen group bound to AR (androgen receptor) gene located on the long arm of the X chromosome — and growing up under difficult, stressful conditions was associated with having significantly more sex partners and a lower likelihood of ever marrying — but among
the men who did marry, a significantly higher incidence of extramarital sex and violence against wives. These findings are doubly intriguing because men who grew up under more difficult conditions were also more likely to have high testosterone levels. A recent study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology of Hyderabad, India reports that short repeats of certain DNA segment in the AR gene has been observed in men prone to crimes like rape and murder. The study involved 400 men convicted of rape or murder or both. Psychogenetic analysis of a rapist’s mind, the study says, reveals that it is the environment (abiotic) that plays a key role in activating the genes and anti– social personality disorder in the person. Of course, none of this 'genetic logic' is conscious, nor does it constitute moral justification for rape, but the evolutionary theory does provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. Most obviously it explains why rape is an almost exclusively male crime — there is a gross imbalance regarding the commodity value of sexual services for men and women respectively. Secondly, it is consistent with the characteristics of typical rapists — young, virile, high in sex drive, lacking in impulse control, low on the social ladder and likely to have a history of burglary. Thirdly, this theory predicts the characteristics of the typical victim — young, sexually attractive, fertile and vulnerable. The point is that human rape at the very least is about high levels of testosterone and impulsiveness, the all–too– common consequences of living in risky and uncertain environments. And it is in precisely such environments that the most pressing adaptive problem would be passing on one's genes. When the flow of resources is inadequate or unpredictable, the risk of death is high. When the future is objectively risky and unsure, it can be evolutionarily rationale to take even huge risks for just a small chance at passing on one's genes. This phenomenon has been observed in several species, most notably in scorpion flies. If rape is not all about sex then Thornhill and Palmer's policy of preventing rape by having women dress more sensibly is not likely to "really work." On the other hand, if rape is even partly about growing up under conditions of chronic risk and uncertainty, where access to material and social–emotional resources is inadequate and unpredictable, then maybe we should think of ways to reduce the risk and uncertainty that people encounter while they are growing up. If inequality (including power differentials) is the major source of risk and uncertainty in peoples' lives then perhaps we should reduce inequality. Of course we didn't need evolutionary theory to tell us that inequality is wrong, but it's gratifying to discover that it offers reason to believe that by reducing inequality we might reduce the incidence of rape. Our only scientific theory of life, far from being the racist, sexist brute of fearful imaginations, can help us think of even more ways to identify and realize our deepest social and political goals.
Diabetic Kidney Disease Continued from page 12 the fact that even a little quantity of insulin from the pancreas can stay for a long time in the blood circulation as their breakdown in kidney is slowed down from kidney failure. 3. Do I need a kidney biopsy to make the diagnosis? Sometimes. Biopsy may be required, when the eyes are not affected by diabetes and there are symptoms or signs of other diseases which can give rise to protein loss in the urine. The kidney biopsy will help to determine if the kidney disease is due to diabetes or due to another cause. It’s better to get the biopsy done earlier than later as most other treatable kidney diseases can respond better to medications when treated at an earlier stage of the disease. Also, a kidney biopsy will provide information about the extent of scarring and might be useful
before a kidney transplant surgery by providing information about risk of recurrence of any possible non diabetic kidney disease. 4. Can restriction of protein in the diet help? A low protein diet can lower the work load on the kidneys to dispose of waste from protein metabolism. However, evidence of a linkage between low protein diet and kidney disease is not clear. Carbohydrates (sugar) and fats are already restricted in diabetes and restricting protein may make it impossible to avoid calorie deprivation. Most physicians will not recommend it. 5. Am I doomed to die soon? Although diabetic kidney disease has a higher mortality rate than most other forms of kidney disease mortality rate measured at 10 years after onset of kidney involvement has improved significantly (from 50-77% to 18%) over last several
Technologies Transforming Our World Continued from page 11 ● Data sharing: The process to make data available to others. Clear and concise communication is essential, and this output can take the form of reports, charts, figures and key recommendations. ● Data storage: Process that records (stores) and retrieves (reads) information (data). This is where Big Data lives, once it is gathered from various sources. A computer with a big hard disk might be all that is needed for smaller data sets, but when we start storing and analyzing big data, a more sophisticated, distributed system is needed. ● Data transfer: Handles the speed with which data can be transmitted from one device to another. Data transfer rates are often measured in megabits (million bits) or megabytes (million bytes) per second. ● Data visualization: Helps understand the significance of data by placing it in a visual context like patterns, trends and correlations which are recognized better with data visualization. ● Information privacy and data privacy: Handles the relationship between collection and dissemination of data in view of public expectations of privacy, and the legal and political issues surrounding information privacy and data privacy. Big data is roaring through all sectors of the global markets. The value of the big data economy is predicted to reach $125 billion in 2015. The figure is from research by the market research specialists IDC (International Data Corporation). 1.9 million IT jobs will be created in the US by 2015 to carry out big data projects. But, there will be a shortage of data talents. Social Media: Social media are computer-mediated tools like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. that allow people to create, share and exchange information, ideas, pictures and
videos within the cyberspace of virtual communities and networks. Social media is defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.” “Social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. They introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between businesses, organizations, communities, and individuals.” The total time spent on social media in the U.S. across computers and mobile devices increased to 121 billion minutes in July 2012 compared to 66 billion minutes in July 2011. In 2017, it is estimated that there will be around 191.2 million social network users in the United States compared to 173.6 million in 2014. Big Data integration with Social Media: Integrating Big Data with Social Media is the current trend to address any large customer base. Here is an example: National gas in US adopted Wi-Fi/store antenna based technologies of local gas stations to send SMS with coupons to every smartphone that would come within the antenna/Wi-Fi range of the gas station. The coupons would attract customers, thus increasing the revenue of National gas with or without customer loyalty. Mobile market having a million users is not the objective; having them converted into customers is the goal. The way we do business today through such push technologies (sending unsolicited SMS/coupons to mobile devices) may raise eyebrows about ethical/unethical aspects of business. But that’s how it is. With Big Data and Social Media integration, this trend of “jumping into user’s fence” to influence our purchasing behavior will grow. Take it or leave it.