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Preference For Sons
Son preference is the ancient and cross-cultural human preference for male (rather than female) offspring. Son preference has been demonstrated across all social classes, from "succession laws in royal families to land inheritance in peasant families." Sons are considered both a status symbol and a genetic and economic competitive advantage. Son preference can influence birth rates and thus population growth. Parents will continue having children until they have produced the desired number of sons; there is no equivalent behavior in respect to daughters. Families with sons have been shown to have increased levels of "marital stability and marital satisfaction," and the presence of sons may increase paternal involvement in child-rearing. In the 21st century, son preference has been broadly documented in South and East Asia, but is also observable in Western countries. An example of son preference is demonstrated by the traditions of the Igbo people of Nigeria: "The status of a man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Status Symbol
A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of Wealth, economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a Sociology, sociological term – as part of social and sociological symbolic interactionism – relating to how individuals and groups interact and interpret various cultural symbols. Etymology The term "status symbol" was first written in English in 1955, but from 1959 with the publication of the bestseller "The Status Seekers" greater distribution. There, journalist Vance Packard describes the social strategy and behavior in the USA. By region and time As people aspire to high status, they often seek also its symbols. As with other symbols, status symbols may change in value or meaning over time, and will differ among countries and cultural regions, based on their economy and technology. For example, before the invention of the printing press, possession of a large col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Preference In China
Son preference in China is a gender preference issue underpinned by the belief that boys have more value than girls. In China, the bias towards male over female offspring is demonstrated by the sex ratio at birth (SRB). Key factors driving the son preference include the economic impact on families, since men are expected to care for their parents in old age, while women are not. Further, Chinese agrarian society influences sex preference, as agriculture is often perceived as men's work in China. These issues were dramatically compounded by the implementation of the Chinese Communist Party's one-child rule in 1979. History The origin of the son preference can be related to the beginning of Chinese patriarchal society. Agriculture is also a key factor in the historical preference for sons. For thousands of years in China, most people preferred sons to daughters because of their greater earning potential, especially in agrarian communities where strength-based tasks such as hun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinship And Descent
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that the study of kinship is the study of what humans do with these basic facts of life mating, gestation, parenthood, socialization, siblingship etc. Human society is unique, he argues, in that we are "working with the same raw material as exists in the animal world, but ecan conceptualize and categorize it to serve social ends." These social ends include the socialization of children and the formation of basic economic, political and religious groups. Kinship can refer both to the patterns of social relationships themselves, or it can refer to the study of the patterns of social relationships in one or more human cultures (i.e. kinship studies). Over its history, anthropology has developed a number of related concepts and terms in the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Reproduction
Human sexual reproduction, to produce offspring, begins with fertilization. Successful reproduction typically involves sexual intercourse between a healthy, sexually mature and fertile male and female. During sexual intercourse, sperm cells are ejaculated into the vagina through the penis, resulting in fertilization of an ovum to form a zygote. While normal cells contain 46 chromosomes (23 pairs), gamete cells contain only half that number, and it is when these two cells merge into one combined zygote cell that genetic recombination occurs. The zygote then undergoes a defined development process that is known as human ''embryogenesis'', and this starts the typical 38-week gestation period for the embryo (and eventually foetus) that is followed by childbirth. Assisted reproductive technology also exists, like IVF, some of which involve alternative methods of fertilization, which do not involve sexual intercourse; the fertilization of the ovum may be achieved by artificia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gender
Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other than their sex assigned at birth. Most cultures use a gender binary, in which gender is divided into two categories, and people are considered part of one or the other;Kevin L. Nadal, ''The Sage Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender'' (2017, ), p. 401: "Most cultures currently construct their societies based on the understanding of gender binary—the two gender categorizations (male and female). Such societies divide their population based on biological sex assigned to individuals at birth to begin the process of gender socialization." those who are outside these groups may fall under the umbrella term '' non-binary''. Some societies have ''third genders'' (and ''fourth genders'', etc.) such as the hijras of South Asia and two-spirit per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Reproductive Ecology
Human reproductive ecology is a subfield in evolutionary biology that is concerned with human reproductive processes and responses to ecological variables. It is based in the natural and social sciences, and is based on theory and models deriving from human and animal biology, evolutionary theory, and ecology. It is associated with fields such as evolutionary anthropology and seeks to explain human reproductive variation and adaptations. The theoretical orientation of reproductive ecology applies the theory of natural selection to reproductive behaviors, and has also been referred to as the evolutionary ecology of human reproduction. Theoretical foundations Multiple theoretical foundations from evolutionary biology and evolutionary anthropology are important to human reproductive ecology. Notably, reproductive ecology relies heavily on life history theory, energetics, fitness theories, kin selection, and theories based on the study of animal evolution. Life history theory Life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Y-chromosome DNA Haplogroup
In human genetics, a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup is a haplogroup defined by specific mutations in the non-Genetic recombination, recombining portions of DNA on the male-specific Y chromosome (Y-DNA). Individuals within a haplogroup share similar numbers of short tandem repeats (STRs) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The Y-chromosome accumulates approximately two mutations per generation, "one mutation in every 30 million base pairs" and Y-DNA haplogroups represent significant branches of the Y-chromosome phylogenetic tree, each characterized by hundreds or even thousands of unique mutations. The Y-chromosomal most recent common ancestor (Y-MRCA), often referred to as Y-chromosomal Adam, is the most recent common ancestor from whom all currently living humans are descended Patrilineality, patrilineally. Y-chromosomal Adam is estimated to have lived around 236,000 years ago in Africa. By examining other population bottlenecks, most Eurasian men trace their descent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Male Heir
A male heir (sometimes heirs male)—usually describing the first-born son (primogeniture) or oldest surviving son of a family—has traditionally been the recipient of the residue of the estate, titles, wealth and responsibilities of his father in a patrilineal system. This system may vary by region but has ancient, perhaps prehistoric, origins, and appears in the Code of Hammurabi: "Since daughters marry strangers and thereby cut themselves off from their family, only sons inherit the paternal estate. It is they who perpetuate the family name, and preserve the ancestral property." Absence or inadequacy of a male heir has thus been periodically problematic, resulting in succession crises, corporate upheaval, and the occasional war. The presence or absence of a male heir may alter the decision-making patterns of fathers. See also * Heir and spare * Son preference * Birth order * Order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, by custom or official policy, in many countries worldwide, although elsewhere their use has been replaced by or transformed into patronymic surnames. Examples of such transformations include common English surnames such as Johnson (surname), Johnson (son of John). Origins of terms The usual noun and adjective in English is ''patronymic'', but as a noun this exists in free variation alongside ''patronym''. The first part of the word ''patronym'' comes from Greek language, Greek πατήρ ''patēr'' 'father' (Genitive case, GEN πατρός ''patros'' whence the combining form πατρο- ''patro''-); the second part comes from Greek ὄνυμα ''onyma'', a variant form of ὄνομα ''onoma'' 'name'. In the form ''patronymic'', this stand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrilineality
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, rights, names, or titles by persons related through male kin. This is sometimes distinguished from cognate kinship, through the mother's lineage, also called the spindle side or the distaff side. A patriline ("father line") is a person's father, and additional ancestors, as traced only through males. In the Bible In the Bible, family and tribal membership appears to be transmitted through the father. For example, a person is considered to be a priest or Levite, if his father is a priest or Levite, and the members of all the Twelve Tribes are called Israelites because their father is Israel (Jacob). In the first lines of the New Testament, the descent of Jesus Christ is counted through the male lineage from Abraham throug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Female Infanticide
Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. Female infanticide is prevalent in several nations around the world. It has been argued that the low status in which women are viewed in patriarchal societies creates a bias against females. The modern practice of sex-selective abortion is also used to regulate gender ratios. In 1978, anthropologist Laila Williamson, in a summary of data she had collated on how widespread infanticide was, found that infanticide had occurred on every continent and was carried out by groups ranging from hunter gatherers to highly developed societies, and that, rather than this practice being an exception, it has been commonplace. The practice has been documented among the Indigenous peoples of Australia, Northern Alaska and South Asia, and Barbara Miller argues the practice to be "almost universal", even in the Western world. Miller contends that female infanticide is commonplace in regions where women are not employed in agr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Competitive Advantage
In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors. A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skilled labor, geographic location, high entry barriers, and access to new technology and to proprietary information. Overview The term ''competitive advantage'' refers to the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980 cited by Chacarbaghi and Lynch 1999, p. 45). The study of this advantage has attracted profound research interest due to contemporary issues regarding superior performance levels of firms in today's competitive market. "A firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential player" (Barney 1991 cited ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
