Class Actinopterygii Facts and Examples

The group of ray-finned fishes (Class Actinopterygii) encompasses over 20,000 species of fish that have rays, or spines, in their fins. This separates them from the lobe-finned fishes (Class Sarcopterygii, e.g., the lungfish and coelacanth), which have fleshy fins. Ray-finned fishes make up about half of all known vertebrate species. This group of fish is very diverse, so species come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The ray-finned fishes include some of the most well-known fish, including tuna, cod, lionfish, and even seahorses. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: Actinopterygii Feeding Ray-finned fishes have a wide variety of feeding strategies. One interesting technique is that of the anglerfish, which entice their prey toward them using a movable (sometimes light-emitting) spine that is above the fishs eyes. Some fish, such as the bluefin tuna, are excellent predators, speedily capturing their prey as they swim through the water. Habitat and Distribution Ray-finned fishes live in a wide variety of habitats, including the deep sea, tropical reefs, polar regions, lakes, rivers, ponds and desert springs. Reproduction Ray-finned fishes may lay eggs or bear live young, depending on the species. African cichlids actually keep their eggs and protect the young in their mouth. Some, like seahorses, have elaborate courtship rituals. Conservation and Human Uses Ray-finned fishes have long been sought for human consumption, with some species considered overfished. In addition to commercial fishing, many species are recreationally fished. They are also used in aquariums. Threats to ray-finned fishes include overexploitation, habitat destruction, and pollution.

Child Labour

Sample details Pages: 17 Words: 5039 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? What are the causes and consequences of child labour amongst developing countries The child labour as a social and economic phenomenon has many aspects the most important of which seems to be the low level of financial growth that characterizes several countries which are commonly known as developing. This paper illustrates the conditions that created the necessity of the child labour, and at the same time it presents the consequences of this situation as they can be observed through a series of specific facts and other types of empirical evidence that have been collected by the relevant sources of scientific research.. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Child Labour | Economics Dissertations" essay for you Create order The analysis of the problem, as described above, is followedby the presentation of a number of policies, which could help thelimitation of the problem to the most feasible level. The research done on this specific problem has revealed the existence of a high volume of relevant theories as well as of statistical data that have also been used to support the current paper. . Introduction The problem of the child labour has become a very important subjectof examination and research by the most of the internationalinstitutions especially the last decade. The reason for that is not the absence of this problem in the past but the development of the technology and the communication around the world that gave the opportunity for a series of long-lasting social problems to becomeknown to the international community. The extension and theimportance of the specific problem are severe obstacles towards its elimination. On the other hand, the creation of an international legal framework asit has been expressed by the establishment of authorized bodies and the signing of a series of orders and Conventions, can considered as an important step towards the achievement of a solution. We have to notice though that the best possible policy to thatdirection would have to compromise with the existence and the size ofthe problem avoiding to set targets that could not be achieved. Under the current circumstances, the child labour cannot disappear from the scene; it can just be reduced to a certain level (as this one is formulated by the social and financial conditions of each country). The main aim of this paper is to provide a detailed examination of the problem backed with a series of relevant data and other empirical evidence. The analysis of the current situation, as described in Chapter II, begins with the presentation of the background of the problem followed by statistical data and the views stated in the literature regarding the definition and the observation of child labour amongst developing countries. The policies that can be applied for the limitation of the problem are being presented in Chapter III. The investigation of the facts and the needs that created the phenomenon of the child labour cannot be achieved without the use of the literature (Chapter IV) that has been dealt with the specific matter mainly during the last years. The evidence that has been used to identify and interpret the problem,is presented in Chapter V. Finally, Chapter VI contains brief remarks on the problem as they have been extracted from the research done. II. The child labour in the international community background, definition and areas of children exploitation The period in which child labour appeared as a social reality cannot be defined with accuracy. There are opinions that relate the beginning of the problem with the industrial revolution whereas other ones state that the child labour had first appeared in the nineteenth century. From an investigation that took place in Britain in June 1832, it seems that the phenomenon of child labour was known at that period and referred to children working as laborers mainly to factories butalso to other business activities. The above investigation (as it is analytically presented in Basu, K., 1999, 1088) was supervised by a British Parliamentary Committee and had as main subject the child labour in the United Kingdom at that period. Although Britain was in a rather high rank regarding the child labour which can be explained by the fact that England was under development at that period of time other countries that also had a remarkable industrial development likethe Belgium, the USA and the Japan, presented a similar image regardingthe work of children in the multiple sectors of industry (see also K.Basu, 1999, 1088-89). Moreover, the data collected for the measurement of the relevantpractices during the 19th century showed that child labour did notstart declining in Britain and in United States until the second halfof that century (L.F. Lopez-Calva, 2001, 64). The dimensions of the problem of child labour can create an important concern about the level of the life that a lot of children face but also about the financial situation of a large majority of families around the world. According to data collected by the International Labor Organization (ILO), there are approximately 250 million working children aged between 5 and 14, of which at least 120 million are involved in full-time work that is both hazardous and exploitative (seealso T. I. Palley, 2002). Although the so-called developed countries have shown samples of tolerance regarding the child labour, the areas that seem to cultivate the problem are those with low level of economic and industrial growth. In a relevant research made by D.K. Brown (2001) it seems that the major factor for the existence of the problem is the poverty. The capital market failure of a specific country (as it is expressed tothe every day aspects of life, like the low level of schooling) isconsidered as another important element that co-operates the appearance and the extension of the phenomenon. When speaking for child labour we usually refer to any work by childrenthat interferes with their physical and mental development , i.e. anywork that keeps the child away from childhood related activities(Chandrasekhar, 1997). The above definition although containing ageneral view of the child labour, it cannot be applied under allcircumstances bearing in mind that a lot of differences may appear inthe context of childhood related activities in dependance with the country and the cultural influences. In this case, a more specific description of child labour is considered as necessary. M. Majumdar(2001) divides the child labour into the following categories: a) the household work, b) non-domestic and non-monetary work, c) wage labour and d) commercial sexual exploitation and bonded labour. The child labour can be applied in many areas. As an indicative examplewe can refer to the report of the National Consumers Leage (NCL) which divides the possible areas of child labour into the followingcategories (refering to specific daily activities and regarding thedanger that they include): agriculture (is the most dangerous industryfor the young workers), working alone and late-night work in retail(most deaths of young workers in this industry are robbery-relatedhomicides), construction and work at heights (deaths and serious injuryresult from working at heights 6 feet and above. The most common typesof fatal falls are falls from roofs, ladders and scaffolds or staging),driver/operator of forklifts and tractors (tractor-related accidentsare the most prevalent cause of agricultural fatalities in the U.S.A.),traveling youth crews (defined as youth who are recruited to sellcandy, magazine subscribtions and other items door-to-door or on streetcorners, these youth operate under dangerous conditions and areunsupervised) (Occupational Hazards, Aug2004) III. Policies towards the limitation of the problem A fundamental measure for the limitation of the child labour is thecreation of legislation that would impose a minimum work age and yearsof compulsory education. Although this solution seems rather in itsdesigning, in practice its quite difficult to operate . The needs ofthe everyday life can often surpass the power of the legal rules, which have been structured usually after the examination and the analysis of specific events and cannot confront the problem to its whole area. One of the main problems that a family usually faces is the change inthe working situation of its (adult) members and the financial pressurethat usually follows. Of course, there is always the solution of funding (especially when the general financial market of a country offers such an option) . However, there are occasions that such an alternative cannot operate either because the country do not afford such a plan or the specific family do not have access to this plan. Under these circumstances, it could still be possible for the householdto tap internal assets. The presence of the father in a household, thepresence of an older person in the household or the capacity of the mother to enter into the market in order to work or proceed to another type of work (in a personal enterprise), all the above can be variables that can support the assets of a family even if the latter is suffered from strong financial difficulties (see also D. K. Brown, 2001, 766). Despite the theoretical character of the legislation, there could beother measures , more applicable and feasible to be realized. Aneffort that has such a character is the increased spending on books,supplies, buildings and teacher training as it has been pursued by several governments (D. K. Brown, 772). In cases that the child labour cannot be avoided, there could be somemeasures to both to protect the children and help them to continuetheir school (while keep on working). The design of specific schedules that would allow the children to attend school after their work could be proved very helpful towards this direction. Of course, such a plan contains a lot of requirements that need to be met . As an example we could mention the sufficiency of resources (teachers) that could workfor the extra time needed and at the same time the existence of afinancial strategy (and of the relevant money) for the payment of these resources. On the other hand, a problem that may arise is the lack ofequipment or capital for the premises of the school to be open forextra hours. And we cannot forget the danger that may be related withthe attendance late at night (especially in the case of the paper thedeveloping countries). The phenomenon of the child labor has been examined and analyzed to the highest possible point by the use of the observation and theresearch in accordance with the existing legislation and the general rules that have been introduced from several countries aiming to the limitation of the problem. One of the most important studies regarding the child labour is this ofK. Basu and P. H. Van (1998) who tried to find and analyze the causesof this specific problem. After studying the results of the empiricalevidence they came to the conclusion that child labour was notconnected exclusively with external factors (i.e. employers) but it was mostly the result of internal (in the family) decisions and facts.Towards that direction, K. Basu and P. H. Van examined first the view that child labour has been based on the greed of employers who employthe children and the parents who send the children to work. The above statement is first examined by the fact that in families, which can afford the non-work of children (i.e. when the income of the parents isconsidered as sufficient), the parents try to avoid sending theirchildren to work. This phenomenon appears even in very poor countries.Under the previous aspect, the child labour is connected with thefinancial situation of the family (usually income of parents) and not the interests of the employers. This assumption of the leading familysrole is also backed, according to K. Basu and P. H. Van, by the analysis of late nineteenth-century cencus data for Philadelphia whichwas made by Claudia Goldin in 1979. According to this analysis, when the income of the father is high the probability that the child will enter the labour market is low and this relation operates in a very tight interaction (the higher the wage of the father, the lower thechance of such a fact to get realized). Another empirical evidence that seems to back the views of K. Basu and P. H. Van comes from a research that was made on this issue (connection between the familys decision and the child labour) by D. Vincent who studied working-class autobiographies. The results of his study showed that the children when working avoid to blame their parents but they tend to believe that it was the poverty that imposed their participation in the labour market.K. Basu and P. H. Van examined the issue of the role of the familys decision to the child labour under the assumption that the decision ismade by a parent. They also admit that the results of their study may differ in case that this decision is made by another person (as stated by the theories which ask for the rejection of the unitary model of the household). Regarding the role of the familys decision to the child labour, J. G.Scoville presented a model of the above decision based on the use of mathematical symbols in order to represent the real facts. In his model, there are factors (such as the social or economic class, race,ethnicity, caste or color) that define the family utility function andin this way they can cause important implications to labour market segmentation (J. G. Scoville, 715) Regarding the existence and the extension of the child labour, M.Murshed states that two are the basic issues that need to be examined in order to achieve a comprehensive analysis of the problem. The first issue includes the mechanisms under which the family decides to send a child at work. The second one is the reason for which the employers demand child laborers. In order to explain the first issue, M. Murshed uses the theory ofBeckers, known as A theory of the Allocation of Time, which presents a model for studying the household decision-making process. In the above model Beckers suggests that the decision of the family is based to the needs of the household. Whenever an extra income is consideredas necessary, family decides to send the child at work. In this model both wages of children and adults contribute to family resources. As for the second issue, M. Murshed (179) argues that employer tend to demand child laborers because they are less aware of their rights,less troublesome, more willing to take orders and to do monotonous work without complaining. Another factor is also that children work forlower wages and are not in a labour union because they work illegally. M. Hazan and B. Berdugo (2002, 811) examined the dynamic evolution of child labour, fertility and human capital in the process of development. Their analysis is based on the following assumptions: a)parents control their childrens time and allocate it between labourand human capital formation, b) parents care about the futureearnings of their children, c) the income that is generated by children is given to parents and that d) child rearing is time intensive. According to their findings, in early stages of development, the economy is in a development trap while child labour is abundant, fertility is high and output per capita is low. On the other hand, the increase in the wage differential (between parental and childlabour) decreases fertility and child labour and increases childrenseducation. As a final result, child labour tends to decrease as thehouseholds dependency on child labours income diminishes. The welfare economics approach tries to examine the child labour from the scope of investment and time allocation within the household. According to this theory, the time of the child (the non-leisure one)can be used either for school attendance and/or for work. The family makes a decision for the allocation of the childs time (i.e. for one of the above mention activities) after the calculation of the difference between the marginal benefit of the child labour (i.e.earnings and saved costs of schooling) and the marginal cost (in terms of foregone return to human capital investment). If the first of the above elements is estimated as having a higher price than the second one, then the family decides the participation of the child to the labour market (see also M. Majumdar, 2001). The decision of the parents regarding the entrance of their children tothe labour market can under certain circumstances be unefficient.According to Ballard and Robinson (2000) the above decisions areefficient when the credit market is perfect and the intergenerational altruistic transfers are nonzero. On the other hand, when there are liquidity constraints or the altruistic transfers are at a corner,these decisions are considered as inefficient. A. Bommier and P. Dubois(2004) critically evaluated the views of Ballard and Robinson andargued that the decisions of the parents could be inefficient even ifthe credit markets are perfect and there are altruistic transfers. More specifically, they argued that when parents are not altruistic enough,there is a rotten parents effect in which parents rationally sacrifice some childhood utility and choose a level of child labour that is inefficiently high. V. Evidence related with the phenomenon of child labour The child labour has been the subject of a thorough study and research and there are a lot of theories that have been stated in aneffort to define the causes of the specific problem. Towards thisdirection there have been a number of facts or existing situations thathave been used to explain the relation of the child labour with somespecific factors . One of the most known reasons for the existence andthe increase of the problem is the poverty of the household which is related with the general aspect of the modern way of life (as it hasbeen formulated under the influence of the technology) and also the fact that parents when have a low level of income do not tend to invest in the education of their children in order to achieve a high level of return (education can help to the improvement of the status of life through the increase of the level of consumption). We could also state that the income of the children can help toameliorate the conditions of life of the family and this could be thereason why the children tend to leave the school and work when their family is under severe financial pressure. This is an opinion that tries to explain the child labour through the life circumstances of a child and aims to smooth the negative consequences of the child labour. Although the poverty is usually presented as the main reason for thechild labour , there are some aspects that need to be taken intoaccount when examining the problem. First of all, we cannot define withaccuracy the financial benefit of a family from a childs work. Of course, child labour can help to the amelioration of the familys financial situation, however it is not obvious how much worse off afamily would be if the children were in school. On the other hand, we could not specify the time needed for the economic development to beachieved in order for the child labour to be abolished. More specifically it seems that there is no consistent threshold of economic development, which preceded the decline of child labour to suggest the implied relationship between economic growth and declice of child labour (M. Majumdar). In such a case, the argument about the poverty criterion of child labour can loose its significant content. We should notice that, no matter which is the financial situation of the family,even in cases of exremely low level of living, the participation of thechild to a work that could characterized as hazardous cannot bejustified as the protection of the childs rights are a priority. Moreover, the child labour although can help temporarily to theconfrontation of the poverty up to a specific point however, it canalso create the basis for the development of property by generatingpoor people to the next generation. If the child returns to school theyhave more chances to a higher level of earnings in the future or at aleast to a job that will secure their living to certain standards(avoiding the condition of poverty). The combination of these two factors could also create a better investment and a greater security of income for the family by eliminating the obstacles of poverty. The relationship between the poverty and the child labour is not absolutely proved. S.E. Dessy and D. Vencatachellum examined the issue using a sample of 83 countries and found that the coefficient of correlation between the incidence of child labour and the logarithm of gross national product is 0.74. In this way, they were directed to the assumption that child labour declines with economic prosperity, as parents feel relaxed regarding the credit constraints. However, at a next level, they found that there are countries with similar levels of gross domestic product per capita that differ in the percentage of child labour. In fact, some of them report no child labour, where as others report a high level. This assumption is also in accordance withthe view of Anker (2000) who stated that although poverty is positively correlated with child labour, there are also other factors that can reduce the school enrolment rate of a country. Hussain M. and Maskus K.E (2003) used a series of data from 64 countries in the period 1960 1980 to investigate a series of testable hypotheses about the causes of child labour. Their research showed that the incidence of child labour is negatively related to parental huma ncapital and education quality, but it is positively correlated with education cost and also that countries with higher amounts of child labour tend to have lower stocks of human capital in the future. They also found that there is a convergence phenomenon between the level and growth of human capital, i.e. the lower the current stock of human capital, the higher is current child-labour use and the fasted is the growth rate of human capital. G. Hazarika and A. S. Bedi (2003), examined the relationship between the schooling costs and the extra household child labour supply and found that these two elements are positively related. Moreover, the intra-household labour of children engaged in market work evaluated as unresponsive to changes in schooling costs. This happens maybe,according to Hazarika and Bedi because parents tend to consider childrens extra household labour and schooling as substitutes while they view intra household child labour activity differently. But if the parents could evaluate the intra-household child labour as an activity that offers more benefits than just an increase of the household consumption, then it could be a relationship between the intra-household child labour and the schooling costs. As for Pakistan(where this research refers) the intra-household child labour and schooling are not substitutes. We should also mention the importance of social norms and the cultureto the appearance and the extension of the child labour. The above analysis has to be done under different variables for the rural areas as opposite to the urban areas. Children that live in the first environment tend to help to the everyday activities in the farm and asa result, their work under these circumstances is presented as justified and necessary. As for the social norms, their role is considered as very important to the financial growth, as they have to power to influence the economic and social behaviour of the vastmajority of people. The most indicative example of their influence isthe fact that in areas where the work of children is accepted by thepeople, then the decision of a parent to send his child to work can bemuch more easy. Another very important aspect of the child labour is that is usually associated with the child abuse. Under this aspect, the reasons for the participation of the children to the labour market can be found in the demand of employers for cheap laborers and in the existence of selfish parents who do not mind sending their children to work if in that way there are more chances for them (parents) to rest. According to K.Basu and P. H. Van, although the child abuse does occur in allsocieties, the phenomenon of the child labour as a mass in most of developing countries is much more related with the poverty that characterises these countries. They refer to the example of England(late eighteenth and early nineteenth century) where parents had to send their children to work because they were obligated from the circumstances (poverty) to do so. VI. Conclusion The existence and the rapid extension of the phenomenon of child labour seems to be connected with the a series of external factors(like the low economic growth or the unadequate social policies of aspecific country) however it can be assumed by the analysis made abovethat it is also directly depended on the childs close social environment, i.e the family. Its for this reason that the measures taken towards its elimination have to be referred into both these areas. The two sides have to co-operate and act simultaneously in order to confront this very important problem. The solution (as it is often presented) of the child labour has to be interpreted under different criteria regarding the specific circumstances that it will have to occur. Although in certain occasions the entrance of the child in the labour market seems to be the only left choice, we have to bear in mind its particular physic and mental weakness (that follows its age) and evaluate the consequences for such a decision. In any case, we have to consider that a workplace that operates normally with the use of adult laborers can have negative effects when the issue refers to a child. Although the problem of the child labour is very important to its nature and its extension, the measures taken to its elimination dont seem to produce any result. The conflict of interests towards its continuation has a great responsibility to it. And these interests refer to different parties (external and internal as mentioned above).This reality must be admitted and the efforts should be directed to the modification of the existing conditions trying not to confront directly the problem but asking the parties involved to participate to its solution by offering them a satisfactory exchange for their help. References Admassie, A., Explaining the high incidence of child labour inSub-Saharan Africa, Development Review, Dec2002, vol. 14, issue 2, p.251 Amin, S., Shakil, Quayes, M., Rives, J. M., Poverty and otherdeterminants of child labor in Bangladesh, Southern Economic Journal,April2004, vol. 70, issue 4, p. 876 Anker, R., The economics of child labor: a framework for measurement, International Labour Review, 2000, 139, 257-280 Baland, J.M., Robinson, J.A., Is Child Labor Inefficient?, Journal of Political Economy, 2000, 108, 663-679 Bommier, A., Dubois, P., Rotten parents and child labor, Journal of Political Economy, Feb2004, vol. 112, issue 1, p. 240 Brown, D. K., Child labour in Latin America: Policy and evidence, World Economy, June2001, vol. 24, issue 6 Dessy, S.E., Explaining cross-country differences in policyresponse to child labour, Canadian Journal of Economics, Feb 2003,vol. 36, issue 1, p.1 Emerson, P. M., Souza, A. P., Is there a child labor trap?Intergenerational persistence of child labor in Brazil, Economicdevelopment cultural change, Jan2003, vol. 51, issue 2, p. 375 Hazan, M., Berdugo, B., Child labour, fertility and economic growth, Economic Journal, Oct2002, vol. 112, issue 482, p. 810 Hazarika, Gautam, Bedi, A.S., Schooling costs and child work inrural Pakistan, Journal of Development Studies, June 2003, vol. 39,issue 5, p. 29 Hussain, M., Maskus, K.E., Child Labour Use and Economic Growth: aneconometric analysis, World Economy, vol. 26, issue 7, p. 993 Kaushik, B., The economics of child labor, Scientific American, Oct2003, vol. 289, issue 4, p.84 Kaushik, B., Van P. H., The economics of child labor, The American economic review, June 1998, vol. 88, no. 3, p. 412-427 Kaushik, B., Child labor: cause, consequence and cure, with remarkson International Labor Standards, Journal of Economic Literature,Sep1999, vol. 37, p. 1083-1119 Latin Trade, Condemned, Oct2004, vol. 12, issue 10, p.68 Lopez-Calva, Child labor: Myths, theories and facts, Journal of International Affairs, Fall 2001, vol. 55, issue 1, p. 59 Majumdar, M., Child labour as a human security problem: evidence from India, Oxford Development Studies, vol. 29, no. 3, 2001 Mattioli, M. C., Sapovadia, V. K., Laws of Labor: core laborstandards and global trade, Harvard International Review, Summer 2004,vol. 26, issue 2, p. 60 Murshed, M., Unraveling child labor and labor legislation, Journal of International Affairs, Fall2001, vol. 55, issue 1, p.169 News, The (Mexico), Child labor in Mexico contributes almost 2 billion dollars to economy, Sep 26, 2001 Occupational Hazards, Group calls for reform of laws governing teen employment, Aug2004, vol. 66, issue 8, p.15 Palley, T. I., The child labor problem and the need forinternational labor standards, Journal of Economic Issues, Sep2002,vol. 36, issue 3, p. 601 Payroll Managers Report, International retailer is fined for child labor violations, May 2005, vol. 5, issue 5, p.2 Professional Safety, DOL issues final child labor rules for restaurant, driving roof, Mar2005, vol. 50, issue 3, p.24 Puskikar, M., Ranjan, R., The Joint Estimation of childparticipation in schooling and employment: comparative evidence fromthree continents, Oxford Development Studies, Feb2002, vol. 30, issue1, p. 41 Scoville, J. G., Segmentation in the market for child labor: theeconomics of child labor revisited, American Journal of Economics andSociology, Jul2002, vol. 61, issue 3, p. 713 Xinhua (China), Half Bangladeshi children malnourished: report, 12/10/2004 Xinhua (China), ISO countries ratify Convention to combat worst forms of child labor: ILO, 24/5/2004 Xinhua (China), Micro credit program launched to stop child labor in Bangladesh, 30/10/2003 Xinhua (China), Over 3 million child laborers in Pakistan, Jul2002 Xinhua (China), Asian countries to co-operate in eliminating child labor, 3/3/2003 Walsh, M., Sager, I., The worlds workers may catch a break, Business Week, 14/3/2005, issue 3924, p.12 World IT Report, India to abolish child labour after 2007, 15/1/2004

Aristarchus of Samos Biography

Much of what we know about the science of astronomy and celestial observations is based on observations and theories first proposed by ancient observers in Greece and what is now the Middle East. These astronomers were also accomplished mathematicians and observers. One of them was a deep thinker named Aristarchus of Samos.  He lived from about 310 B.C.E. through approximately 250 B.C.E. and his work is still honored today. Although Aristarchus was occasionally written about by early scientists and philosophers, especially Archimedes (who was a mathematician, engineer, and astronomer), very little is known about his life. He was a student of Strato of Lampsacus, head of Aristotles Lyceum. The Lyceum was a place of learning built before Aristotles time but is most often connected to his teachings. It existed in both Athens and Alexandria. Aristotles studies apparently did not take place in Athens, but rather during the time when Strato was head of the Lyceum at Alexandria. This was probably shortly after he took over in 287 B.C.E. Aristarchus came along as a young man to study under the best minds of his time. What Aristarchus Achieved Aristarchus is best known for two things: his belief that Earth orbits (revolves) around the Sun and his work attempting to determine the sizes and distances of the Sun and Moon relative to each other.  He was one of the first to consider the Sun as a central fire just as the other stars were, and was an early proponent of the idea that stars were other suns.   Although Aristarchus wrote many volumes of commentary and analyses, his only surviving work, On the Dimensions and Distances of the Sun and Moon, does not provide any further insight into his heliocentric view of the universe. While the method he describes in it for obtaining the sizes and distances of the Sun and Moon is basically correct, his final estimates were wrong. This was more due to a lack of accurate instruments and an inadequate knowledge of mathematics than to the method he used to come up with his numbers. Aristarchuss interest wasnt limited to our own planet. He suspected that, beyond the solar system, the stars were similar to the Sun. This idea, along with his work on the heliocentric model putting the Earth in rotation around the Sun, held for many centuries. Eventually, the ideas of later astronomer Claudius Ptolemy — that the cosmos essentially orbits Earth (also known as geocentrism) — came into vogue, and held sway until Nicolaus Copernicus brought back the heliocentric theory in his writings centuries later.   It is said that Nicolaus Copernicus  credited Aristarchus in his treatise, De revolutionibus caelestibus.  In it, he wrote, Philolaus believed in the mobility of the earth, and some even say that Aristarchus of Samos was of that opinion. This line was crossed out prior to its publication, for reasons that are unknown. But clearly, Copernicus recognized that someone else had correctly deduced the correct position of the Sun and Earth in the cosmos. He felt it was important enough to put into his work. Whether he crossed it out or someone else did is open to debate. Aristarchus vs. Aristotle and Ptolemy There is some evidence that Aristarchuss ideas were not respected by other philosophers of his time. Some advocated that he be tried before a set of judges for putting forth ideas against the natural order of things as they were understood at the time. Many of his ideas were directly in contradiction with the accepted wisdom of the philosopher  Aristotle and the Greek-Egyptian nobleman and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy. Those two philosophers held that Earth was the center of the universe, an idea we now know is wrong.   Nothing in the surviving records of his life suggest that Aristarchus was censured for his contrary visions of how the cosmos worked. However, so very little of his work exists today that historians are left with fragments of knowledge about him. Still, he was one of the first to try and mathematically determine distances in space.   As with his birth and life, little is known of Aristarchuss death. A crater on the moon is named for him, in its center is a peak which is the brightest formation on the Moon. The crater itself is located on the edge of the Aristarchus Plateau, which is a volcanic region on the lunar surface. The crater was named in Aristarchuss honor by the 17th-century astronomer Giovanni Riccioli.   Edited and expanded by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Essay on George Orwells Shooting an Elephant - A Moral...

A Moral Dilemma in Orwells Shooting an Elephant nbsp; Unanticipated choices one is forced to make can have long-lasting effects. In Shooting an Elephant, by George Orwell, the author recounts an event from his life when he was about twenty years old during which he had to choose the lesser of two evils. Many years later, the episode seems to still haunt him. The story takes place at some time during the five unhappy years Orwell spends as a British police officer in Burma. He detests his situation in life, and when he is faced with a moral dilemma, a valuable work animal has to die to save his pride. nbsp; Orwell is an unhappy young policeman who lives in mental isolation. He hates British imperialism, he hates†¦show more content†¦I was an obvious target and was baited, and when he is tripped during a soccer game, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter, which seriously assaults the ego of this young man. He says that . . . I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible. Helping to oppress the Burmese causes him to feel guilty and to hate his job more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear. While standing in this quagmire of hatred, Orwell encounters one of the defining moments of his life. nbsp; An innocent chain of events forces Orwell into a position in which he must choose between two undesirable options. When he goes to check a report that a tame elephant under the influence of must has broken loose and is causing damage, Orwell takes a medium caliber rifle which is much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem. Upon finding that a coolie has been killed by the elephant, Orwell trades his .44 rifle for a much larger gun simply for self-defense. This is a critical mistake; the Burmese who are following him assume that, since he now has an elephant gun, Orwell has decided to kill the elephant. The crowd quickly grows to over two thousand natives, which rattles Orwell. As he says, . . .it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you. This is especially true for a young representative of the Queen who knows the crowd willShow MoreRelated Moral Issues and Decisions in George Orwells Shooting an Elephant600 Words   |à ‚  3 PagesMoral Issues and Decisions in Shooting an Elephant      Throughout Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, he addresses his   internal battle with the issues of morality and immorality. He writes of several situations that show his immoral doings. When George Orwell signed up for a five-year position as a British officer in Burma he was unaware of the moral struggle that he was going to face. Likewise, he has an internal clash between his moral conscious and his immoral actions. Therefore, OrwellRead MoreAnalysis Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell988 Words   |  4 PagesEric Arthur Blair, or commonly known as George Orwell, is the author of many compositions. Blair, the author of two of the most famous novels of the 1920s; Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, was born in Eastern Indian. He joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma but resigned in 1927 to become a writer (BBC). Orwell’s style of writing can be described as bold and vivid. He puts the truth in his writing. Orwell’s novel, â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† was published in 1936. In the novel, a colonial policemanRead MoreShooting An Elephant Analysis730 Words   |  3 PagesGeorge Orwells 1936 Shooting an Elephant, is a nonfiction narrative essay about an incident that occurred during the time of Orwell’s service as a police officer in Burma. The essay is centered around an event in which he was forced to shoot an elephant, resulting in a battle between his own personal beliefs and the expectations of those around him. In human nature, often times, humans will play certain roles which are dictated by what others expect of them. Humans will adapt to the environmentRead MoreShooting an Elephant Literary Analysis895 Words   |  4 PagesInevitable Morals George Orwell’s 1930 short story â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† demonstrates the total dangers of the unlimited authority a state has and the astounding presentment of â€Å"future dystopia†. In the story, Orwell finds himself to be in an intricate situation that involves an elephant. Not only does the fate of the elephant’s life lie in Orwell’s hands, he has an audience of people behind him cheering him on, making his decision much more difficult to make. Due to the vast crowd surroundingRead MoreEssay on Orwell and Colonialism542 Words   |  3 PagesColonialism I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool. So ends George Orwells poignant reminiscence of an incident representing the imperialist British in Burma. Unlike Soyinka, who wrote about colonialism from the Africans point of view, Orwell, like Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness, presents the moral dilemmas of the imperialist. Orwell served with the Imperialist Police in Burma while it was still part of the British CommonwealthRead MoreLiterary Analysis of â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† by George Orwell1152 Words   |  5 PagesIn â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† George Orwell achieves two achievements : he shows us his personal experience and his expression while he was in Burma; he use the metaphor of the elephant to explain to describe what Burma looked like when it was under the British Imperialism. The special about this essay is that Orwell tells us a story not only to see the experience that he had in Burma; he als o perfectly uses the metaphor of the elephant to give us deep information about the Imperialism. By going throughRead MoreThe Feminine Mystique And Shooting An Elephant898 Words   |  4 PagesBoth The Feminine Mystique and â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† discuss the confrontation between the self and society. In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan addresses â€Å"The Problem That Has No Name† referring to the widespread unhappiness of the housewife due to their obligation to uphold their ideal image rather than pursuing their dreams; in â€Å"Shooting an Elephant†, George Orwell comments on the societal expectations of imperialism and its effects on people who have the duty to uphold the law. In both ofRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Orwell Shooting An Elephant 1189 Words   |  5 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant†: Effect of Imperialism in Burma Imperialism is a state of mind, fueled by the arrogance of superiority that could be adopted by any nation irrespective of its geographical location in the world. 1. Evidence of the existence of empires dates back to the dawn of written history in Egypt and in Mesopotamia, where local leaders extended their realms by conquering other states and holding them, when possible, in a state of subjection and semiRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Shooting An Elephant 953 Words   |  4 PagesThe area of focus I chose was a work from the Innocence and Experience chapter. The work of fiction that I chose to analyze is â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† by George Orwell. The main question is whether what he did in the story was ethical. This story is about the inner fight between right and wrong, â€Å"if I do this†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"if I do that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"what if I don’t do anything?† Bottom line is you’re damned if you do, and damned if you donâ₠¬â„¢t. We all do this in some form or fashion, we all have that inner voice tellingRead More Colonialism and Imperialism Exposed in Shooting an Elephant and Heart of Darkness1360 Words   |  6 PagesColonization Exposed in Shooting an Elephant and Heart of Darkness      Ã‚  Ã‚   As a man is captured, his first instinct is to try and break free from his shackles and chains. Primal urges such as this often accompany humans when they are forced, as in capture, to rely on their most basic instincts to survive. In this manner, natives in Africa acted upon instinct when the Europeans arrived to take their land and freedom. The short story Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell and the novel Heart

Enron Research Paper - 3111 Words

THE COLLAPSE OF ENRON amp; THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SARBANES OXLEY ACT BY TREVOR GARRETT 02/25/2011 Abstract Enron Corporation was one of the largest energy trading, natural gas and Utilities Company in the world that was based in Huston, Texas. The downfall of Enron is one of the most infamous and shocking events in the financial world, and its reverberations were felt around the globe. Prior to its collapse in 2001, Enron was one of the leading companies in the U.S and considered among top 10 admired corporations and most desired places to work at. Its revenues made up US $139 to $184 billion, assets equaled $62 to $82 billion, and the number of employees reached more than 30,000 people in 20 countries around the world.†¦show more content†¦Enron used this loop hole and began to take many assets and liabilities off its balance sheet and into that of SPE’s, so as to be able to access more capital and significantly reduce its risks. It specifically used these SPE’s to borrow funds directly from outside lenders by supplying its own credit and using its high stock p rices as guarantees. Enron took full advantage of accounting limitations in managing its earnings and balance sheet to portray a rosy picture of its performance. The company also violated GAAP in the recording or its revenues and expenses. It committed cut-off fraud by recording revenues early and recording expenses/liabilities after the cut off period thereby violating the policy and principle of revenue recognition. Enron’s trading business adopted mark-to-market accounting which made it difficult to estimate the income and expenses for long term contracts. Once the financial mis-representations came to light, Enron restated the previous 4 years of financial statements by recording a $1.2 billion reduction in stockholders equity, adjusting its income statements and balance sheets for the unconsolidated SPEs by $ 569 million, and making prior-period proposed audit adjustments and reclassifications that had originally been considered as immaterial. Following these announcements,Show MoreRelatedEnron Research Paper2224 Words   |  9 PagesEnron Research Paper In 2001, the world was shocked by the demise of Enron, a multibillion dollar corporation that had thousands of employees and people that had affiliations with the company including The White House itself. Because of the financial chaos and destroyed lives and reputations this catastrophe left in its path, questions arose concerning how exactly it happened, why it occurred, and who was behind it. 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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began survey of company s records. Enron’s auditor ‘Arthur Andersen ‘destroys relevant documents. (Ailon, G. 2011) Enron was bankruptcy in December 2001, and became theRead MoreUniversity of Phoenix Organizational Culture1133 Words   |  5 Pagesis the case with the Enron Corporation, a once massive energy company that suffered arguably the most horrific financial collapse in American history. The Enron failure began with the development of a flawed corporate (organizational) culture, and was fulfilled by the constant reinforcement of that culture. From the top down, Enron s corporate culture damned the company s successes and ensured it for eventual collapse. It must by noted that while the collapse of the Enron Corporation was dynamicRead MoreThe Ethics Of The Enron Case1407 Words   |  6 PagesThe Enron case is a very popular case to show how the profession of accounting is vital to make the corporate world of business flow reliably. Enron was recognized as one of the world’s major electricity, natural gas, communications and pulp and paper’s company. However Enron was found to record assets and profits at inflated, fraudulent and non-existent amounts. Debts and losses were found to be excluded from financial statements along with other major transactions between Enron and other companiesRead MoreEssay on Analysis of the Enron/Arthur Anderson Scandal1558 Words   |  7 PagesEnron and Arthur Anderson were both giants in their own industry. Enron, a Texas based company in the energy trading business, was expanding rapidly in both domestic and global markets. Arthur Anderson, LLC. (Anderson), based out of Chicago, was wel l established as one of the big five accounting firms. But the means by which they achieved this status became questionable and eventually contributed to their demise. 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Most of these businesses had been deemed as failures due to the management methods, leadership practices and flawed organizational structures. This research paper aims to focus on Enron, a large entity as a failed model of business. This would be achieved by discussing aboutRead MoreEnron And Its Impact On Enron s Downfall Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract recent collapses of high profile business failures like Enron,Worldcom,Parmlat,and Tycohasbeen a subject of great debate among regulators, investors, government and academics in the recent past. Enron’s case was the greatest failure in the history of American capitalism and had a major impact on financial markets by causing significant losses to investors. 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Response Writing free essay sample

â€Å"The Cove† – a documentary film by Louie Psihoyos The Oscar winning documentary film â€Å"The Cove†, directed by Louie Psihoyos, exposes the annual massacre of 23,000 small cetaceans in the National Park Taiji, Japan. Even though the trade of dolphins whether using them alive for entertainment purposes is unethical and selling their toxic meat is dangerous for the health, the Japanese authorities are supporting it with all possible means. The Japanese government is not only preventing any publicity about the dolphin slaughter, but it is also bribing the International Whaling Committee, which is supposed to control the trade of cetaceans and protect the rights of the marine mammals. Consequently, the crew of volunteers led by the ex-dolphin trainer and current animal rights activist Ric O’Barry is prevented from legally filming the fisher men at Taiji. Armed† with sophisticated technology, the volunteers risk their safety, and despite the fishermen harassing them, and the police following them one step behind, successfully document the brutal killing of the dolphins. We will write a custom essay sample on Response Writing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Every single scene in the documentary â€Å"The Cove† is overwhelming. One after the other the facts about the dolphin slaughter add up to a truth which is difficult to accept. A wide range of human arrogance, cruelty, and irresponsibility flourishes in this beautiful, almost magic National Park in Japan. Throughout the film, I felt angry, sad, feeling sorry for the helpless dolphins until the scene where the director shows the actual killing taking place. The scenes were so disturbing: the water colored bright red from the dolphin’s blood, the dolphins, dying slowly and painfully, the fishermen walking over them. I wanted to run out, to close my eyes. However, at this moment I felt sorry, but this time for myself. How hypocritical am I to feel disturbed by the cruelty of the fishermen, when tonight I am going to sit down on the table and enjoy a beef steak as if everything was alright. Is not the cow that I am serving to my family also raised without humanity, and then killed with a cruelty with electricity or with a bolt pistol? Most importantly, I am sponsoring this. How conveniently and easy is to forget what stands behind the products I buy. When I buy something, am not just contributing, but catually causing this industry to exist. The words of Rick O’Barry about himself facing the truth about keeping dolphins captive still sound in my head: â€Å"†¦as ignorant as I could be, for as long as I could be. The movie shows just a fraction of the monster that we keep in our closet. It is not just about the dolphin massacre in Taiji, it is about the fact that from all the 7 billion people on earth there is several people, who are desperately struggling, trying to find a way to stop it. The film ends with Ric O’Barry, standing alone on a plaza, with a monitor projecting the killing of dolphins in Taiji, hundreds of people pass by, just few stop to ask. This image is like burned in my mind and I hope that it will remind me next time not to conveniently forget.

Plasticity in Humans free essay sample

The aim of this paper is to cover the subject of plasticity in humans. Plasticity refers to the ability of many organisms to change their biology or behavior to respond to changes in the environment, particularly when these are stressful. After reading the article, The Tall and the Short of It by Barry Bogin, I feel that his article has gone into great detail. Bogin included information from numerous studies and research not only his own but also the research and studies of other professionals. I found the information in this article interesting and informative for someone like me who is taking physical anthropology for the first time. Most interestingly is how he believes that diseases such as Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s can possibly be prevented by plasticity. One of the studies that Bogin noted is a study among the Americans and Dutch heights. Back in the 1850’s Americans were considered the tallest people in the world, but now they are the third tallest around the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Plasticity in Humans or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This study revealed that this change is due to the plasticity in people’s childhood and in their mother’s childhood as well. Girls that are undernourished and in poor health causes them to be shorter in height as an adult due to the compromise her body makes while growing up. Her short height can then be passed down to her fetus. The small reproductive system of the mother most likely does not supply an adequate level of nutrients and oxygen to her fetus. Therefore, the child can be born weighing less than normal and will continue the slow growth through out their childhood. Stronger evidence used to support the study among height of group of people is the studies on monozygotic twins. Monozygotic twins are identical genetically, but sometimes can end up being nourished by unequal portions of the placenta. The twin nourished by the smaller fraction of the placenta, are born with lower birth weight than the one in the biggest fraction of the placenta. This difference in growth shows that it can last throughout their lives. The difference seen today between the Americans and Dutch is the response to their changed environments. Both the United States and Netherlands began to provide a healthier environment to their people by purifying water, installing sewer systems, regulating the safety of food, and providing a better health care and diets for children. The only difference is that the Netherlands offered health benefits to all the public including poor and in the US only those that can afford improved health benefited. One additional study to support the plasticity of people was done on groups of Mayan children. One group of children lived in Guatemala and the other part were immigrants living in the United States. Evidently, the children in Guatemala proved to be shorter than the group in the United States due to the environment they lived in. The children and their parents in Guatemala were exposed to contaminated water, lack of food supply and suffer from poor health. On the other hand, not only the children but their parents living in the United States, have access to purified drinking water and a reliable source of food which improved the health and growth. Plasticity demonstrates that such changes are dependent on external conditions and not only genetics. The most amazing researches was that of Ralph Garruto, who investigated the role of the environment and human plasticity in Guam and New Guina on individuals with Parkingson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease. He found that both diseases are linked to the shortage of calcium that resulted in the digestion of too much aluminum present in their diet. However from the group in Guam he found that up to 70 percent had brain damage but only 20 percent had one of these diseases. It seems evident that genes and plasticity are working hand in hand from these low rates of individuals that are affected. Plasticity may be why people’s bodies have gradually developed ways to protect and prevent aluminum from reaching their brain. Humans are, perhaps, the most plastic of all species, and hence the most variable. I believe such discoveries demonstrate the need for future research in human plasticity and variability specially, if diseases can be prevented. Researchers should try to figure out a way to produce the same sort of plastic changes in humans.