Primordialism, Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Violence in the Balkans: Opportunities and Constraints for Theory and Policy

2000 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank P. Harvey

The literature on evolutionary theory tends to address questions of ethnicity from two perspectives: (1) macro, or long–term selection processes associated with basic human preferences for individual or group survival, ethnic identity or kinship affiliations; and (2) intermediate selection mechanisms associated with the fitness and adaptability of specific cultures, religions or belief systems in different regions of the world. Comparatively less time has been spent addressing micro–evolutionary questions about the timing, escalation and duration of ethnic violence — that is, micro or short–term selection processes and fitness mechanisms that account for the escalation and/or duration of ethnic hatreds, violence or war at a particular time.

Temida ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Nikolic-Ristanovic

In this paper the author explores, focusing largely on the example of the Balkans, the connection between the expansion of neoliberal market economy and war, and related to it the growth of illegal markets and the shadow economy, on one hand, and the victimisation by human trafficking, on the other. By locating human trade within expanding local and global illegal markets, the author is arguing that, without taking into consideration wider social contexts, which create structural incentives for illegal markets and transnational organised crime, we can hardly understand the causes, let alone build effective strategies to combat and prevent it. Consequently, on the basis of the analyses of human trade as a form of both transnational organised crime and illegal markets, some strategies (short-term and long-term) for the prevention and control of human trafficking on both the micro and macro level are suggested.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (82) ◽  
pp. 20130026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Palmer ◽  
Arnav Moudgil ◽  
Marcus W. Feldman

It has long been debated whether natural selection acts primarily upon individual organisms, or whether it also commonly acts upon higher-level entities such as lineages. Two arguments against the effectiveness of long-term selection on lineages have been (i) that long-term evolutionary outcomes will not be sufficiently predictable to support a meaningful long-term fitness and (ii) that short-term selection on organisms will almost always overpower long-term selection. Here, we use a computational model of protein folding and binding called ‘lattice proteins’. We quantify the long-term evolutionary success of lineages with two metrics called the k -fitness and k -survivability. We show that long-term outcomes are surprisingly predictable in this model: only a small fraction of the possible outcomes are ever realized in multiple replicates. Furthermore, the long-term fitness of a lineage depends only partly on its short-term fitness; other factors are also important, including the ‘evolvability’ of a lineage—its capacity to produce adaptive variation. In a system with a distinct short-term and long-term fitness, evolution need not be ‘short-sighted’: lineages may be selected for their long-term properties, sometimes in opposition to short-term selection. Similar evolutionary basins of attraction have been observed in vivo , suggesting that natural biological lineages will also have a predictive long-term fitness.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Rago ◽  
Kostas Kouvaris ◽  
Tobias Uller ◽  
Richard Watson

AbstractAdaptive plasticity allows organisms to cope with environmental change, thereby increasing the population’s long-term fitness. However, individual selection can only compare the fitness of individuals within each generation: if the environment changes more slowly than the generation time (i.e., a coarse-grained environment) a population will not experience selection for plasticity even if it is adaptive in the long-term. How does adaptive plasticity then evolve? One explanation is that, if competing alleles conferring different degrees of plasticity persist across multiple environments, natural selection between lineages carrying those alleles could select for adaptive plasticity (lineage selection).We show that adaptive plasticity can evolve even in the absence of such lineage selection. Instead, we propose that adaptive plasticity in coarse-grained environments evolves as a by-product of inefficient short-term natural selection. In our simulations, populations that can efficiently respond to selective pressures follow short-term, local, optima and have lower long-term fitness. Conversely, populations that accumulate limited genetic change within each environment evolve long-term adaptive plasticity even when plasticity incurs short-term costs. These results remain qualitatively similar regardless of whether we decrease the efficiency of natural selection by increasing the rate of environmental change or decreasing mutation rate, demonstrating that both factors act via the same mechanism. We demonstrate how this mechanism can be understood through the concept of learning rate.Our work shows how plastic responses that are costly in the short term, yet adaptive in the long term, can evolve as a by-product of inefficient short-term selection, without selection for plasticity at either the individual or lineage level.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire G. Williams ◽  
J.L. Hamrick

Elite populations managed for short-term gain have received increasing attention as advanced-generation breeding strategies have taken shape for forest tree species. They are prevalent for two reasons: (1) their short-term gains provide justification for the rising costs of recurrent forest tree breeding and (2) the advent of control-pollinated seed production has reduced the requirement for a large number of unrelated selections. This paper addresses the concept of an elite population, its potential for compressed generation intervals, its predicted long-term selection response, as well as the concomitant risks of severe inbreeding depression and loss of genetic diversity.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Lobo Arias

<p>Los frutales andinos comprenden especies con diversos grados de desarrollo y con potencial importante en los países del área. Su cultivo generalmente se realiza con materiales de agricultor heterogéneos sin aplicación de recomendaciones tecnológicas con enfoque sistémico. La eficiencia productiva y la competitividad de estas especies dependen de la constitución de colecciones de los taxa cultivados y especies relacionadas, debidamente conocidos en sus atributos, que hagan posible el desarrollo de variedades que representen soluciones a problemas limitantes. En el corto plazo la oferta de materiales para la siembra puede basarse en procesos selectivos en las poblaciones locales, con enfoque participativo y clonación de individuos superiores. En el mediano y largo plazos ésta puede enfocarse en la creación de una base genética amplia, enriquecida con atributos de las especies silvestres relacionadas. La selección y clonación masiva deben apoyarse, preferiblemente, en cultivo de tejidos, con propagación de diversos clones para prevenir la vulnerabilidad. Hasta el presente, en Colombia se han conformado colecciones de varios frutales andinos, se han llevado a cabo procesos de caracterización de la variabilidad y se han desarrollado algunas actividades de mejoramiento. Éstas corresponden a domesticación, premejoramiento y mejoramiento en lulo y premejoramiento en tomate de árbol con relación a la incorporación de resistencia a la antracnosis de los frutos. Las experiencias sirven para proponer el desarrollo de una plataforma recursos genéticos/oferta de materiales mejorados, que apoye eficazmente la función productiva desde la óptica genotípica.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Andean fruits genetic resources and breeding: a conceptual vision</strong></p><p>Andean fruits comprise species at different development stages, and of potential importance for their countries. Their cultivation is generally with heterogeneous landraces without technology. Higher efficiency and competitiveness of these fruits depends on the development of germplasm collections of cultivated taxa and related species, leading to varieties which overcome limiting problems. On the short term, the cultivar offer could be based on selection processes of local populations with a participative approach and cloning of outstanding individuals. In the medium and long term, the creation of a wide genetic base, enriched with attributes of the wild relative species is key. With this, selection processes and massive cloning using tissue culture to propagate different clones to avoid vulnerability. To date in Colombia, several collections of Andean fruits have been assembled and genetic variability characterized, and some breeding activities have been achieved. These are lulo domestication, prebreeding and breeding,  and tomato tree preebreeding, based on interespecific hybridization to transfer fruit anthracnose resistance. This experience allows the development of a proposal on genetic resource-production of improved materials as an effective method to support productive function based on genetics.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (18) ◽  
pp. 3466-3475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Langmüller ◽  
Christian Schlötterer

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasil Tamsil

Muscovy duck is a type of waterfowl that has a relatively better growth and percentage compared to ducks. Duck meat has high-quality because of its low fat and savory flavor. Muscovy duck is relatively resistant to the disease and is able to use low-quality feed, but has the disadvantage of low egg production. The development of Muscovy duck as a producer of meat can be done through two approaches, namely the long-term and short-term. The long-term approach is carried out by selecting Muscovy duck which has high growth rate and high meet quality. The selection can be done in two ways, namely directly on the nature of growth and the quality of meat, and indirectly by choosing a marker of growth (morphology, biochemistry or diversity of DNA/ RNA). Short-term selection can be done by bringing in superior Muscovy duck from the outside to be developed by farmers and crossing male Muscovy duck with the layer Indian Runner ducks to produce Serati ducks.


2012 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Guéguen ◽  
Lubomir Lamy

Research has found that, for long-term dating, women value men with greater financial resources and higher status, while for short-term dating they value men with greater physical attractiveness. However, there are discrepant results for both long- and short-term dating. As most of the previous studies used only questionnaires, we conducted a field experiment to evaluate women’s receptivity to men’s date requests. Young male confederates who ostensibly had high, middle, or low incomes, depending on the experimental condition, asked young women walking down the street for their phone number. We found that men’s financial resources were positively associated with compliance with their request. Evolutionary theory proposing that women select men with greater resources for them and their offspring is used to explain the results.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Wilhelmus Hary Susilo

<em>Organizer and better quality education strongly influenced by support funds. Hence, the government will provide support organizing of sustainable funding for education is good for all its citizens. This study is applied research aimed at giving them feedback implementer apply for the scholarship two models empirical short-term and long-term. Research methods used are quantitative data qualitative primary with the approach that can absorb aspirations from people. An examination used descriptive correlation-cross sectional. Results of testing the model A, Variable of information, requirements, mechanisms, level of adequacy, the use of cost has a positive and significant relationship with variable monitoring. Variables of information, requirements and the adequacy of monitoring, use and has a positive and significant relationship with variable benefits scholarships for the recipient. Variable selection mechanisms have a relationship that is negative and not significant to the variable benefit scholarships for the recipient. Research on Model B, which states that there is a significant relationship between variables; climate, financing, motivation, organization, job satisfaction and performance.</em>


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