Chapter 1 Human Ecology Introduction Human Ecology field of study that considers individuals and families within their environments and the relationships between them o Focuses on the system of people within their environments and the relationships or mutual interactions that occur between them Important to view issues from a holistic perspective o Seeing a system as a set of interacting and interrelated parts Must view situations and issues within a total context and consider all of the influences that may impact them An ecosystems has individuals interacting in the environment that they are dependent on Ecosystems assume tat things must be examined as wholes o Specifically includes the interactions and interdependencies within the environment Understanding an ecosystem requires discovering components of a system recognizing the parts learning how to interpret the interactions and becoming aware of the influences on the system Ecological Systems Approach Incorporates concepts and assumptions from general systems theory Emphasizes the study of the interrelations of organisms and environments Takes into account the interrelatedness of biological and physical aspects of the Studies aspects of the physical social behavior and human constructed Holistic Perspective things must be examined as wholes o Interactions become an actual process of exchanges that bring about an family and its members environments overall actions o Holistic theory that the universe especially living nature should be see in terms of interacting wholes General Systems Theory Biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy and mathematician engineer Norbert Wiener were the critical creators of the theory Focuses on the totality of process of interactions or patterns of interactions among elements of the system not just individual part o When the totality of an actual process is carried out properly it brings about an orderly overall reaction which makes an analysis of its part have little meaning The whole can be understood by considering all of the parts in dynamic interactions working together as a whole Basis of a systems approach is the assumption that matter in all its forms creates a system Elements of a System System a set of different things and parts o Parts must be directly or indirectly related in a network with reciprocal causal effects o Each part must be related to one or more parts with some stability over time Four Elements of a System o Objects parts of the system Pieces that can be put together to make up a system Basic elements of the system Ex A water pump is an object in the system of a car engine an individual member is an object in the system of the family o Attributes qualities or properties of the system and its members Can be more than just physical characteristics Reveal important characteristics about the system and the interactions that take place Give the system its individual style to distinguish it from other systems Ex An attribute of a Chinese family is their ethnic heritage o Relationship the connection that occurs between system elements Takes into account the relational connections between objects or organisms and their environments Key concept to thinking systematically Requires learning to think relationally and observe what happens in the identified system and the surrounding systems as an interaction occurs Help build cohesion o Environment anything that surrounds All systems are affected by their surroundings Difficult to observe organisms separate from the context that they Everything in the environment must be considered when studying People and environments are interdependent and influenced by one live in the organism another People reflect the environments that they are dependent on Become integral to their being Ecosystems A particular type of system The family the environment and community that is part of and surrounds the family system Ecology a branch of science that attempts to investigate and describe the reciprocal relationships between organisms and their environments Made up of living organisms with their environments A survival unit never consists of an individual organism or species in a static environment o All organisms are reciprocal relationships with each other and with the environment that they are in Ecoenergetics is about the analysis of the energy flow of matter in through and out of the ecosystem o Emphasis was on the workings of dynamic systems where all elements organisms and aspects of the environment are highly interrelated and interdependent Ecosystems concept was inadequate until thermodynamics and general systems theory were added Ecosystems are self regulating systems that take in resources and adjust by combining the inputs from feedback loops The sun in the energy source for all ecosystems Homeostasis a system trying to maintain itself in a steady balanced state o A dynamic equilibrium in which diverse forces are balanced o Ecosystems seek homeostasis Ecosystems have feedback mechanisms to ensure that there is a continued fir with o Inputs are given from the environment processed and become an output No matter the size all ecosystems have the same key patterns of survival and the environment of some kind growth Human Ecology Combines concepts from the systems theory and the ecosystem model A way of looking at humans in relationship to their environments Ecology refers to the O E relationship o O is the organism o E is the environment o Dash means interaction in between Ecology focuses on the interaction and interdependence of humans with the environment Individuals are linked to one another by relationships in physical and social environments Adaptation process of adjusting oneself to fit with the conditions of the environment adaptation Survival and conservation of resources depend on the ability of humans to achieve o Over time an organism is able to adjust to environmental changes and will be able to survive despite the changes Focus of human ecology is on the individual as an integrated part of the whole People effect changes in their environments through decisions and actions Ecological Concepts Theory a set of interrelated concepts and propositions which represent a view of a phenomenon by specifying relationships among variables Concepts abstractions that stand for the categories of reality that the theory o Can mean different things to different people Conceptual Framework a set of concepts used in a theory or theoretical addresses
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