Do you consider intelligence to have a stronger genetic or environmental basis?

Do you consider intelligence to have a stronger genetic or environmental basis? Since the term nature-nurture was first initiated by Galton (1883, c.f. Plomin, 1988) the question of whether intelligence has a stronger environmental or genetic basis has been the source of much controversy and debate (Bouchard., Lykken., McGue., Segal., & Tallegen, 1990a, 1991., Bouchard & McGue, 1981., Hernstein & Murray, 1994., Plomin, 1988., Scarr 1997). Traditionally, research into intelligence has been diverged by two opposing positions; Behavioural Genetic Theory and Socialization Theory (Scarr, 1997). Whilst Socialization theory provides useful insights into the qualitative nature of differences in behaviour and intelligence, methods used by such research are criticised as being "antiquated" and "confounded" (Scarr, 1997, p.34) hampered by their inability to include genetically informative designs (Baumrind, 1993., Hoffman, 1991., Scarr, 1997). Behavioural genetic theory on the other hand not only describes the genetic contribution on intelligence (Bouchard & McGue, 1981., Bouchard et al., 1990a, 1991) it also emphasizes the importance of environmental influences which provides a crucial explanation for the major source of variation in behaviour (Eysenck., & Fulkner, 1983., Loehlin & Nicholls, 1976, c.f. Plomin, 1988., Plomin, Loehlin, & Defries, 1985, Plomin & Daniels, 1987., Scarr,

  • Word count: 3399
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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political affairs cousework

Many people never consider the possibility of joining the political field. But why? Is it because it appears too daunting? Does it seem too cut- throat and competitive? Or does it just sound boring? In an attempt to find out more and to hopefully dispel these misconceptions, I decided to ask those within the political field for the truth. While it is a highly competitive field to get into, once you have established yourself in any department, it is very hard to leave the political world. Your department invests a lot in you- including funding of extra degrees, and they encourage working across departments- allowing you to increase your scope. There is so much depth and breadth to the field, so many opportunities available, from working abroad to learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge. Many could argue that it is a world of it's own where every kind of discipline can coexist. From administrative work, to public affairs, to IT, to marketing- the political field is not a closed shop. Farzana Sunderji, a qualified barrister, decided to move into a career of politics to broaden her experience and see what she could achieve. She found the bar challenging and insular and wanted to become a part of the bigger picture. She now works for a minister in the Foreign Office who deals with issues such as human rights, drugs and international crime, climate change and

  • Word count: 1432
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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Compare and Contrast the use of setting in at least two of the texts you have examined this semester

Compare and Contrast the use of setting in at least two of the texts you have examined this semester. Twentieth Century Fiction brought about change in literary methods and the development of different narrative styles. Modernism a term that came in to use, since the second world war, challenges traditional concepts of story and plot, and brings about questioning, looking for meaning and truth. The Modernist novel delves in to the sub conscious minds of its characters, bringing about techniques such as 'stream of consciousness'. Post Modernism celebrates the modern world rather than question it, rejecting the idea of truth and meaning. It rejects grand narratives and explores the extreme, mixing fantasy with what is real; this is seen in the technique 'Magic Realism'. Some Twentieth Century Fiction, in particular Modernism and Post Modernism present human beings alienated from their environment. This essay will explore the use of setting in two Twentieth Century novels, 'The Magic Toyshop', (1969) by Angela Carter, which is a form of post modernist writing and 'Love on the Dole', (1933) by Walter Greenwood, which can be classed as Modernism. The setting of the novel can be very important in social and historical factors, depicting the mood of the environment the novel takes place and how it relates to the story being told. Walter Greenwood sets his novel 'Love on the

  • Word count: 1039
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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The current system of environmental governance is a diffuse process, spread through many different treaty bodies and other U.N. institutions. At present UNEP, is the primary environmental organ in the system.

INTRODUCTION When the United Nations was founded in 1945, environmental issues were not yet on most national agendas, let alone on the international agenda. As a consequence, the U.N. Charter does not even mention the word "environment". In the years since, environmental degradation has emerged as a pressing international concern. Wind currents, rain patterns, rivers, and streams carry pollutants hundreds or even thousands of miles from their sources, violating national borders with impunity. On an even larger scale, the global environmental problems of ozone depletion, climate change, deforestation, and the loss of the Earth's biological diversity threaten all nations.1 Furthermore, recent research identifies population growth and natural resource scarcity as important factors in exacerbating social tensions and provoking conflict in many corners of the globe. As the problems have worsened, environmental issues have gradually moved onto the international political agenda. To date, governments have adopted more than 170 environmental treaties concerning subjects of shared concern: acid rain contamination, ocean pollution, endangered species depletion, hazardous waste exportation, and Antarctica preservation. More than two-thirds of these agreements have been reached since the landmark 1972 U.N. Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. This conference created the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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Third World Development Essay - Global Warming

Katy Scott Third World Development Essay Global Warming The natural greenhouse effect increases the average temperature of the Earth by approximately 33°C. Without it, the Earth would be uninhabitable. This warming is caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Human activity, particularly over the last 100 years, has resulted in changes in the composition of the Earths atmosphere. This has led to major environmental concerns over issues such as acid rain, ozone depletion and global warming. Global warming is potentially the most serious of these. This is a term widely used by many people to describe an extraordinary rise in the annual global surface temperatures of the Earth (Drake 2000). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently concluded that 'the balance of evidence suggests a distinctive human influence on global climate' (Houghton, 1996). It is important to understand global warming so we can be conscious of the nature of the problem and attempt to anticipate the consequences. These could include changes in temperature, changes in precipitation, and extreme weather events such as hurricanes. Many people question whether or not global warming actually exists, and if it does exist, why does it? There is however, one fact that no one has disputed. This is that surface temperature of the Earth has increased 0.4 - 0.6 degrees Celsius in the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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Chemiluminescence of Luminol

Chemiluminescence of Luminol Introduction In this experiment, luminol was mixed with hydrogen peroxide (an oxidising agent) resulting in chemiluminescence. The experimentis designed to see how the duration of luminescence is affected by varying temperatures. It has been made to be deliberately inaccurate, so another objective would be to see whether subjective observations can be improved by repetition and averaging. Chemiluminescence is the production of light from a release of energy in a chemical reaction without the aid of heat. The light produced is due to electrons being given an excess of energy and this energy being released as the electrons revert to their ground state, a luminescent light being given off as a result. An important use of this reaction is in forensic science where luminol and hydrogen peroxide are used to highlight samples of blood at a crime scene. The two chemicals react readily due to the iron present in haemoglobin, giving off a luminescent glow as a result. Chemiluminescence occurs even in living organisms where it is termed bioluminescence. Using fireflies as an example, a reaction where luciferin combines with adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) and reacts with the enzyme luciferase. The action of the enzyme acting on luciferase simulates something similar to luminol and a peroxide being catalysed by a transition metal catalyst, providing

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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Radicals In Organic Synthesis.

Radicals In Organic Synthesis. Gomberg reported the 1st free radical in 1900; a century has passed since he first discovered the triphenylmethyl radical. For many years the chemistry of free radicals was very much the province of mechanistic and physical organic chemists with their application to synthesis not extending much past the occasional use of Kolbe electrolysis or oxidative coupling of phenols. However with time these recent situations have changed. The realisation that radical methods are often very compatible with a range of functional groups, without further protection, has led to an increased interest in the use of radicals in synthesis. Radicals or Free Radicals can be defined as a species that contains at least one unpaired electron. Radicals in general are extremely a reactive species; reacting rapidly with the majority of organic molecules. These include molecules such as alkanes, which are impervious from attack via ions. The large proportion of radicals only exist as a transient intermediate, never abundant in large concentrations. The occurrence of radical intermediates can often be inferred from the nature of the reaction products or from a study of kinetics. The Formation of Radicals: Most of the important radical reactions proceed by a chain mechanism, the crucial step requires the generation of a radical from an appropriate pre - cursor. The

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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Spain - A country full of different culture and life

Andrea Sanchez Mrs. Mayfield Culinary Arts 1-2 21 May 2002 Spain When you cross the mountains that divide France from Spain you step into another world. Europe ends at the Pyrenees, and the land beyond the mountains has a character and personality that are strikingly different. The sun beats down mercilessly on a country that is beautiful. A country full of different culture and life. The Civil War in the late 1930's brought General Franco to power as dictator. He ruled the country until he died in 1975. Spain became a democracy after the death. Until the mid 1900's, Spain was one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe. Spain mostly contained small, unsuccessful, farms because of the dry soil. During the 50's and 60's, Spain took on a rapid stage of economic development and is now an industrial nation. Today more people work in construction and manufacturing than on farms. Spain is ranked as one of the leading fishing countries in Europe. Off the Northern Coast, anchovies, hake, octopus, squid, tuna, and many others are fished. Spaniards enjoy and specialize in seafood. This is because it is inexpensive and plentiful it the coast waters. It is prepared in a variety of ways, but the most popular is Paella. It is shrimp, lobster, chicken, ham, vegetables, and sometimes squid combined with rice. Spaniards are accustomed to dine in several courses. These are

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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The "Ultimate Cause" for History.

Bhuva, Devang Rhetoric 1A 2.04.03 Paper #4 The "Ultimate Cause" for History In his "historical science" Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond depicts why history unfolded differently on different continents. Rather than proving this through a Eurocentric view based on racial superiority of one group over another, Diamond uses science, specifically evolutionary biology and geology. In the first section, Diamond uses the history of Polynesia as a microcosm for the development of human history. In this "natural experiment," settlers from one ethnic background settled in vastly different environments on islands in the Pacific, and simple hunter-gatherer societies emerged in some societies, while sophisticated states emerged on others. This disparity in the Polynesian civilizations elucidates Diamond's thesis that "History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among people themselves." (25) The book continues with a brief description of the developments of different continents starting in 11000 B.C. By recounting the "Rise and Spread of Food Production," to describing food productions effects on disease, writing, technology, and political structure, Diamond explains why five major regions of the world turned out the way they did. Although Diamond concedes that the "proximate

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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The igneous rocks of north-east England

The igneous rocks of north-east England The area of north-east England, east of the Pennines and between the Scottish border to the north and Teesside to the south has a variety of igneous rocks of different ages, and in this essay I will try to describe the major types that are found, concentrating on the Whin Sill, the Cheviots, and the Weardale Granite in particular, but also commenting on other igneous rocks of the region. I have included a map of the area to show the main bands of igneous rock. The main igneous rock of the north-east is the Great Whin Sill, the largest hypabyssal intrusion in Britain which was intruded approximately 295 million years ago. As the name suggests, it is an example of a common concordant intrusion known as a sill, and the whole Whin Sill complex is a number of lenses of differing thicknesses linked together at depth. The sill sweeps in an arc around the Cheviots and forms many of the most recognisable geological features of north-east England, the best known perhaps being the north facing scarp in Northumberland upon which part of Hadrian's Wall stands. The Farne Islands are part of the sill, as are the crags at Bamburgh, which are home to the castle. The coastline between Dunstanburgh and Cullernose Point, as well as the rock that leads to High Force waterfall in Co. Durham are also parts of the Whin Sill. The Whin Sill has a total area of

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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