Today is the first World Orangutan Day!

Ponderings of a Perplexed Primate

World Orangutan Day

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Aaron Kuehn Skeleton Typogram

A former student sent this, as a great study aid for skeletal anatomy labs:

Aaron Kuehn Skeleton Typogram

Catastrophic deforestation planned in Sumatra

Catastrophic deforestation planned in Sumatra – from Sumatran Orangutan Society

We urgently need your help to stop the planned destruction of 1.2 million hectares of forest in Sumatra for gold mining, oil palm plantations, logging and roads.

 This is a conservation emergency for orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos – the forests under threat are the only place in the world where these critically endangered species still roam together.

Indonesia’s President has the power to stop these plans. Please help us reach 1 million signatures to make sure he gets the message loud and clear.

This is a new petition, so please sign and share even if you have already signed others in the last few weeks.

The fate of Sumatra’s forests will be decided in the very near future  – please help.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION.

Forward to a friend
 

Plagiarism… from Jane Goodall. Ouch. That’s quite the “teachable moment”: it’s time to learn the rules of academic writing, kids.

The Misfortune Of Knowing

This week, the Washington Post revealed that acclaimed primatologist Jane Goodall’s new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants, contains borrowed content “from phrases to an entire paragraph from Web sites such as Wikipedia and others that focus on astrology, tobacco, beer, nature and organic tea.” Goodall admitted the plagiarism, saying in an e-mail to the Post, “This was a long and well-researched book … and I am distressed to discover that some of the excellent and valuable sources were not properly cited, and I want to express my sincere apologies.”

This situation is different from the examples of “forgivable” plagiarism I discussed in my previous post, When Do Plagiarizers and Fabricators Deserve Our Sympathy?, in which I sympathize with young writers who do not understand the line between honest research and plagiarism. As I wrote:

Many college students do not understand where…

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Biological Anthropology Tutorials

An excellent source for supplemental study materials, readings, videos and practice quizzes are Dennis O’Neil’s online Biological Anthropology Tutorials at http:/anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/biological.htm

Biological Anthropology Labs and Education Plans

Cabrillo College is emphasizing the importance of a good Education Plan for student success.  If you set your goals for degree or transfer, you’re more likely to get somewhere – have a look at Cabrillo’s Transfer and Articulation Resources and talk with a Counselor to learn more.

Most Education Plans include a requirement for a Natural Science class and a Lab Science course. If you have not already done so, I strongly recommend trying to get into any section of the Biological Anthropology Lab (ANTHR1L) concurrently with the Introduction to Anthropology: Biological lecture (ANTHR1) to meet this requirement.  Students who are enrolled in both classes tend to do better in both classes, because of the opportunity to investigate materials “hands-on” that we’re discussing in lectures.  While all labs are currently fully enrolled for Spring 2013, some have very short wait lists, so you have a good chance of getting into those.  Check WEBADVISOR to see if there’s a lab that could work for you.  Your best chance of getting into the class is to be there at the start of class on the first day.

If you’re a serious student with an interest in transferring to a CSU or UC, you should learn about the Honors Transfer Program at Cabrillo.  You need a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA to be part of this.  Honors students can participate in the Honors Research Symposium to be hosted at Stanford University May 4, 2013.

Police Arrest Orangutans in Minnesota

Police Arrest Orangutans in Minnesota.

Human Population

Biological Anthropology is the study of humans as a species, and how we are related to other species in the Primates.  In thinking about humans as one very biologically successful primate species, it’s important to understand just how many of us there are.

“Population is rising sharply as the largest generation in history comes into its childbearing years.” LA Times

Here are some useful resources for exploring that question.

• Gapminder: Population Growth Explained with Ikea Boxes (video)  Gapminder has lots of great resources for visualizing human population, international development and demographic changes.
• US Census Bureau World Population Clock  shows official estimates from the US government.
• Galen’s Population Clock includes a feature that lets you choose a specific date and time to get a population estimate.
• Earth Policy Institute has a lot of resources and online books relating to human population, global development and environmental repercussions.  Especially useful data sources are:
  • World Population, 1950-2010, with Projections to 2050
  • Humanity’s Ecological Footprint, 1961-2007
  • Female Education, Literacy, and Total Fertility Rates by Country, Latest Year
  • Countries with Stabilized Population, 2011
• Wolfram Alpha provides lots of useful, well-referenced data to satisfy most of your need for numbers, with features to help you make calculations and graphs.  For instance, here’s the estimate of how many humans were under the age of 15 in 2009.
• “The World of 7 Billion” Wall Chart has an abundance of factoids about population – just mouse over what looks intriguing to read the magnified details.
• The Population Reference Bureau publishes annual reports and has a hub for U.S. and International data that provides tables, charts and maps.
• PanEarth has presentations about human population and demographic shifts, with an anthropological approach that includes pre-agricultural populations.
• The Los Angeles Times ran a recent series on population and development.
• My most recent bookmarks for population.

 

Great live chat re Neandertals

Just catching this from the middle – hopefully it will all be archived/visible later:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/10/live-chat-how-human-were-neander.html

Live Chat: How Human Were Neandertals? Thursday 3 p.m. EDT

Anthr1 students, share your comments on this in the Part III Topical Discussion Board for some extra credit.