minid Species :: essays papers

minid Species The time of the split between humans and living apes used to be thought to have occurred 15 to 20 million years ago, or even up to 30 or 40 million years ago. Some apes occurring within that time period, such as Ramapithecus, used to be considered as hominids, and possible ancestors of humans. Later fossil finds indicated that Ramapi Hothecus was more closely related to the orang-utan, and new biochemical evidence indicated that the last common ancestor of hominids and apes occurred between 5 and 10 million years ago, and probably in the lower end of that range. Ramapithecus therefore is no longer considered a hominid. The species here are listed roughly in order of appearance in the fossil record (note that this ordering is not meant to represent an evolutionary sequence), except that the robust australopithecines are kept together. Ardipithecus ramidus It is the oldest known hominid species, found in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia in 1994 by Tim White and dated at 4.4 million years. Most remains are skull fragments. Indirect evidence suggests that it was possibly bipedal, and that some individuals were about 122 cm (4'0") tall. The teeth are intermediate between those of earlier apes and A. afarensis, but one baby tooth is very primitive, resembling a chimpanzee tooth more than any other known hominid tooth. Other fossils found with ramidus indicate that it may have been a forest dweller. This may cause modification of current theories about why hominids became bipedal, which often link bipedalism with a move to a savannah environment. Australopithecus anamensis This species was found in 1994 by Maeve Leakey in Kanapoi and Allia Bay situated in North Kenya. The material consists of 9 fossils, mostly found in 1994, from Kanapoi, and 12 fossils, mostly teeth found in 1988, from Allia Bay. Anamensis existed between 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago, and has a mixture of primitive features in the skull, and advanced features in the body. The teeth and jaws are very similar to those of older fossil apes. A partial tibia is strong evidence of bipedality, and a lower humerus is extremely humanlike. Australopithecus afarensis A. afarensis existed between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. The first of its fossils were found in the mid 1970s along the East African Rift valley. Afarensis had an apelike face with a low forehead, a bony ridge over the eyes, a flat nose, and no chin. minid Species :: essays papers minid Species The time of the split between humans and living apes used to be thought to have occurred 15 to 20 million years ago, or even up to 30 or 40 million years ago. Some apes occurring within that time period, such as Ramapithecus, used to be considered as hominids, and possible ancestors of humans. Later fossil finds indicated that Ramapi Hothecus was more closely related to the orang-utan, and new biochemical evidence indicated that the last common ancestor of hominids and apes occurred between 5 and 10 million years ago, and probably in the lower end of that range. Ramapithecus therefore is no longer considered a hominid. The species here are listed roughly in order of appearance in the fossil record (note that this ordering is not meant to represent an evolutionary sequence), except that the robust australopithecines are kept together. Ardipithecus ramidus It is the oldest known hominid species, found in the Middle Awash region of Ethiopia in 1994 by Tim White and dated at 4.4 million years. Most remains are skull fragments. Indirect evidence suggests that it was possibly bipedal, and that some individuals were about 122 cm (4'0") tall. The teeth are intermediate between those of earlier apes and A. afarensis, but one baby tooth is very primitive, resembling a chimpanzee tooth more than any other known hominid tooth. Other fossils found with ramidus indicate that it may have been a forest dweller. This may cause modification of current theories about why hominids became bipedal, which often link bipedalism with a move to a savannah environment. Australopithecus anamensis This species was found in 1994 by Maeve Leakey in Kanapoi and Allia Bay situated in North Kenya. The material consists of 9 fossils, mostly found in 1994, from Kanapoi, and 12 fossils, mostly teeth found in 1988, from Allia Bay. Anamensis existed between 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago, and has a mixture of primitive features in the skull, and advanced features in the body. The teeth and jaws are very similar to those of older fossil apes. A partial tibia is strong evidence of bipedality, and a lower humerus is extremely humanlike. Australopithecus afarensis A. afarensis existed between 3.9 and 3.0 million years ago. The first of its fossils were found in the mid 1970s along the East African Rift valley. Afarensis had an apelike face with a low forehead, a bony ridge over the eyes, a flat nose, and no chin.

Infant Mortality Within the United States Essay -- Babies Birth Pregna

Infant Mortality Within the United States Herein I briefly overview the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) within the United States. Initially, I discuss specific causes of infant death and then, contributing factors which put babies at risk. Next, the distribution of various IMR is surveyed on a state to state basis. States possessing the ten highest infant mortality rates are discussed, including possible reasons for higher IMR. In addition, those states with the ten lowest IMR are mentioned. In conclusion, I consider preventative measures for minimizing the number of babies that die each year. Return to Table of Contents Introduction Every eight seconds a baby is born in the United Sates (U.S.), and within one hour four babies die (1). The infant mortality rate (IMR) measures the rate at which babies die before their first birthday and is calculated per 1,000 live births. According to government figures 7.2 babies out of every 1,000 born in 1996 died (2, p 6). Although this figure declines steadily each year and is 406% lower than the 1950 figure (3) the United States IMR is still higher than twenty four other nations (1). More importantly, the IMR for black U.S. citizens is over twice the rate of white citizens (6.3 and 14.6 respectively) (4, p 9). The National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality even calls some regions "disaster areas" (5, p 18). What are the leading causes of infant death, and what areas within the United States are most affected? What preventative measures can ensure a child its first birthday? These questions are addressed herein. In addition, certain National Standards f or Geography are met. Return to Table of Contents Applicable National Standards In 199... ... Rawlings, James S.; Rawlings, Virginia B.; Read, John A. "Prevalence of Low Birthweight and Preterm Delivery in Relation to the Interval between Pregnancies among White and Black Women." The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol 332, No 2, 1995, p 69-75. Scott, J. "Black Infant Death Rate 2 Â ½ Times That of Whites." Los Angeles Times, 1991 Nov 15, 110 (347), A35. Steinbrook, R. "Black Infant Deaths Tied to Birthweight." Los Angeles Times, 111 (184), 4 Jun 1992, A26. "Ten Leading Causes of Infant Mortality," Infant Health Statistics. 1997. http://www.mofimes.org/stats/ten.htm (11 April 1998). Ventura, Stephanie J.; Kimberley D. Peters; Joyce A. Martin; Jeffrey D. Maurer. Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol.46, No. 1 Supplement 2, 11 Sept. 1997, p 6. http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/products/pubs/pubd/mvsr/supp/46-45/46-45.htm (11 April 1998).

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech Essay

Abraham Lincoln begins his second inaugural speech on March 4, 1865, in which he addresses the nation on the ongoing civil war and his high hopes to unite the nation once again under God. Lincoln began his speech by saying that the war has taken so much time and energy out of the country and that there is no need to report on it. He declares himself an equal with the public and says he has also felt the wars effects. â€Å"The progress of our arms†¦is as well known to the public as to myself.† He states that he isn’t going to attempt to predict the war but he expresses his hopes for the future and encourages the public to be optimistic as well. Lincoln looks back four years prior to his first inaugural address. He says we were all awaiting a civil war but were hoping to stop it and save the Union. However, insurgent agents hoped to divide the Union. Lincoln says one party would make the war and the other would accept it. PARAPHRASE Today is the second time I am addressing the nation as your president. I no longer see the need to have a drawn out speech, rather I hope to eventually unite us as a country again and help rebuild our future. We all know how the war has played out and there is no reason for me to further discuss it. The war is coming to a close but the outcome is still a mystery. Today is a time to come together and look ahead towards our hopeful future as a nation. At this time, four years ago, all efforts were on controlling the oncoming civil war. The war seemed a necessity at the time in some American eyes and attempts to start a national tragedy were achieved without much hesitancy by opposing parties. No negotiations would resolve the issues so a civil war did come.

Bugatti Veyron Essay

The Bugatti Veyron is a mid-engined car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of 431 km/h. The original version has a top speed of 408.00 km/h. Designed and developed by Volkswagen Group and produced by Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their headquarters in Chà ¢teau Saint Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France), the Veyron’s chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, and the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, And much of the engineering work being conducted under the guidance of Bugatti Engineering chief Wolfgang Schreiber. Though commissioned by Volkswagen, this car is only sold through the Bugatti manufacturers and cannot be found at any Volkswagen dealer. The car is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti company. The â€Å"16.4† refers to 16 cylinders and 4 turbochargers. The Veyron features an 8.0 litre, quad-turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, equivalent to two narrow-angle V8 engines . Each cylinder has four valves for a total of sixty four; the engine is fed by four turbochargers. According to Volkswagen Group, the Veyron engine produces 1,001 metric horsepower of motive power, and generates 1,250 N-m of torque while super sport edition produces 1,200 metric horsepower and torque of 1,500 N ·m and has a revised aerodynamic package. The transmission is a dual-clutch direct-shift gearbox ,computer-controlled ,automatic with seven gear ratios and a shift time of less than 150 milliseconds, built by Ricardo of England. The Veyron can be driven in either semi- or fully automatic mode. A replacement transmission for the Veyron costs just over US$120,000. It also has permanent four wheel drive. It uses special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, designed specifically to accommodate the Veyron’s top speed, which cost US$25,000 per set. The tyres can be removed from the rims only in France, a service which costs US$70,000 The total engine in actual produces 3600 hp of which only 1/3rd is used for running the car and the remaining is in the form of heat. The Bugatti Veyron has a total of ten radiators. Top speed On 4 July 2010, Bugatti’s official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel piloted the Super Sport edition and was clocked at an average of 431.072 km/h on the Volkswagen Group’s private Ehra-Lessien test track to establish the car’s top speed With representatives of the Guinness Book of Records on hand taking back the title from the SSC Ultimate Aero TT as the fastest production vehicle. All production models will be electronically limited to 415 km/h to protect the tyres. German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of the EB 16.4 version of 408.47 km/h during test sessions on the Ehra-Lessien test track on 19 April 2005. This top speed was verified by James May on Top Gear in November 2006, again at Volkswagen Group’s private Ehra-Lessien test track. When the car reaches 220 km/h, hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm (3.5 in). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. In this handling mode the wing provides 3,425 Newton’s of down force, holding the car to the road. For top speed mode the driver must, while at rest, toggle a special top speed key to the left of the driver’s seat called as â€Å" second ignition† to unlock limiter of 350km/h.The rear spoiler retracts and angle of rear wing to horizontal is modified into 2 °, the front air diffusers shut, and normal 12.5 cm (4.9 in) ground clearance(i.e. Height from the ground ) drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 in). The Veyron’s brakes use cross drilled, radially vented carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composite discs, manufactured by SGL Carbon, which have a much greater resistance to brake fade when compared with conventional cast iron discs. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 12.747 m/s2 on road tyres. At speeds above 200 km/h , the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55 ° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing an additional 6.66 m/s2 of deceleration equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback. Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h to a standstill in less than 10 seconds, though distance covered in this time will be half of a kilometre (third of a mile).

Political Corruption Essay

Greetings and good morning to all of you. My speech today will address the topic on corruption and mainly the corrupted political system of India. After many years of ceaseless struggle for freedom, India gained it’s independence in the year 1947 at the cost of some brave and noble lives whom we still remember and pay our tributes to on the memorable days of India’s fight to freedom. Our dignified leaders with a team of members over a series of studies and meetings drafted, the Indian Constitution, in which every citizen has an equal standing before the law and this came into effect on January 26th 1950. After having come so far where does India stand today with relevance to equality for citizens. Everything in this era revolves around the decisions made by powerful people in society, particularly politicians resorting to misuse power for their personal gain and today’s India does not reflect the same spirit of our faithful leaders. The influence of money has crept into our society and corruption has become so common a thing that people have come in terms with this social evil. Be it politics, sports, media, or court, anything seems to be achievable in India if you have fame and money while the less privileged experience the hard hand of law thus depriving citizens of their rights to equality. This kind of fraudulency over a period of time thwarts a person’s morals and ethics, consequently leading to the nation’s intolerance against its leaders and outbursts of mass protests dragging a nation to agitation, confusion, social disorder and on top of these, innocent lives being sacrificed for the wrong deeds of a despotic leader. As we all know Egypt and other countries like Libya and Yemen had witnessed this kind of tumultuous protests and as we all know gruesome fights against the corrupted government are still ongoing in Syria. It’s time that the citizens of India wake up and join hands with anti-corruption crusaders like the 72 year old Gandhian, Anna Hazare, an Indian social activist who led movements to promote rural development, increase government transparency, and investigate and punish official corruption and he pressed to pass the ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’. This is a bill that aims to change the way India tackles corruption. We should be determined not to allow corruption cripple our resourceful nation and tamper the economic growth of our country anymore. We children who are India’s future need to strongly value the good morals taught in homes and schools and strongly abide by them and fight towards a clean system and strive in every small way to bring about a change in this social evil. It is not an easy road and we as individuals can participate in this struggle by beginning to say NO to bribes. Dear friends, finally let me encourage you all to live by our motto â€Å"Lead kindly light† and radiate the values of life by our education and who knows we could probably be the future bearers of these offices that will pave way to be an exemplar of an ideal leader.

Gender Socialization Essay

Gender socialization has been portrayed on television shows for many, many years. Gender messages are so common that we often do not even realize that it is happening. Henslin (2009) explains gender as, â€Å"the attitudes and behaviors that are expected of us because we are a male or a female† (p. 76). In television, these gender messages start as early as toddler cartoons, to high school sit coms, and all the way to soap operas geared towards an older crowd. I have watched the television show Sons of Anarchy for many years and gender socialization is very evident in every episode. The majority of every episode involves a motorcycle gang, causing the show to be very male oriented. They are a very respected group due to them having the persona of a motorcycle rider who carries guns and is not afraid to stand up and fight for their fellow riders or family members. Regardless of some of the men being married it is an all male club, and the wives are not considered members. The women are given the typical female role and go to work and stay at home taking care of the children. If ever their is a serious problem with a rival motorcycle gang the men ship their wives and children off to a hotel or somewhere safe and the men stick around and protect their club house and their families knowing they are somewhere safe. They do not allow women into the club because they do not think that they would be able to protect themselves. The men do not think that it is appropriate for the women to be in the middle of all of the fighting and the drug trafficking. They want them at home with the kids where they know that their family is out of the immediate danger. In this particular show the women are expected not to stray from their role while the men are free to do whatever they want or need. Another popular show that I have recently started watching is Revolution. This is the first season and in the first episode their is a world wide black out and they are showing how one area of the United States is functioning fifteen years later, still without power. There are big examples of how males and females are being portrayed differently as well as similarly. In the beginning they show the women home schooling the children while the men are out hunting for food. However their is one girl that likes to go out hunting but rarely comes home with anything that they can eat. Later on in the show, two females and a male end up leaving the small community to go find one of their members that got taken away. They head to Chicago to find a guy that is supposed to help them get their missing member back. At first he does not agree to help them because he thinks it is too dangerous for their female to be trying to fight anyone. Shortly thereafter they all get into a brawl with a group of people and the girls prove that they can hold their own. He agrees to go with them but still questions what she can do. At the beginning of the episode the gender socialization is completely obvious with the females doing a set of jobs and the males doing the hunting and fighting. The more the season is progressing the more the females enter the male role as well. I think that the further the season gets, the more the females will be forced into roles that are not considered typical female roles. I think having females in these different roles on television sends a good message to people watching. Yes it is good to keep women out of danger and away from certain things, however it is also good not to shelter them so much that when they are put in a situation not intended for females, they are not completely helpless. References Henslin, J. (2009) Essentials of Sociology: A down-to-earth approach (8th ed). New York: Allyn and Bacon.

Arabian Nights Essay

In The Arabian Nights, a collection of Arabic folktales, Shahrazad uses the â€Å"ËÅ"Chinese box effect’ to connect her stories to one another in order to continue telling the story to King Shahrayar. The tale of the Husband and the parrot has number of tales that are related to each other tales and to the original story in many complex ways. The subtales of The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon focus on a particular theme, trust, with relations between the characters and the analogy of the situations. A close reading of The Tale of the Husband and the Parrot reveals this particular tale told by King Yunan to the vizier is placed in the book particularly to increase the importance of trust. By linking the tragic death of King Yunan to his distrustful action, Shrazad ultimately tries to convince King Shahrayar to make the right decision: not to kill Sharazad herself and other women. The tale makes an analogy with the tale of the King Yunan and the sage Duban. It parallels the king to the husband and the sage to the parrot. The parrot appears as â€Å"intelligent, knowledgeable, smart and retentive,† (p. 41) just like the sage is described in the story. By listing these adjectives about the parrot, the king emphasizes the parrot is a trustworthy bird that should not be killed. On the other hand, the king thinks the wife, who is â€Å"splendidly beautiful that she was perfect itself† (p. 41) and does not let her husband travel and leave her behind, should not be trusted. King Yunan suggests that the vizier is playing a trick on him like the husband â€Å"had been tricked by his wife† (p. 42). The effect of this clear analogy between the tales is that it leads the readers to expect the king not to kill the sage because â€Å"the same thing will happen,† (p. 42) meaning that the king will have regrets if he kills the sage. The purpose of this particular tale is to strongly advise the virtue of trust. Against expectation, King Yunan kills the sage just like the husband killed the parrot in The Tale of the Husband and the Parrot. In both cases, the main characters regret what they have done. King Yunan does not take his own advice: â€Å"Don’t do what you will regret afterward† (p.41). Instead he kills the sage, which he regrets afterwards which destroys the expected ending of the tale. Then, the readers start to wonder what significance this one-page tale has in The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon. As the tale  of the King Yunan and the sage Duban proceeds, the significance of the tale of the husband and the parrot becomes clear. As a result of King Yunan mistrusting the sage and lacking the confidence in his belief, the king dies of a tragic death. By presenting this tragedy of the king who made the wrong choice by trusting the jealous vizier, the story emphasizes the importance of making a morally correct decision and having a faith in it. If the tale of the husband and the parrot had not been in the story, the king would not have had the choice that was morally right and therefore would not have shown his indecisive nature. The existence of the correct decision that the king should have made causes the death of the king to be more tragic which reveals a stronger message to trust in others that have good conscience and believe in oneself. Another role of the Tale of the Husband and the Parrot involves its purpose to the original situation of Shahrazad and the king. The king has a big difficulty in trusting women due to his wife’s unfaithfulness, like the husband’s distrust of the parrot and the King’s distrust of the sage in the tales. The main goal of Sharazad is to convince the king to make the decision with his good conscience not to kill the women he mistrusts. She suggests that the king should â€Å"not do what he will regret afterward,† because â€Å"the same thing will happen to† him (p. 41) as did to the husband and King Yunan. The tale of the King Yunan and the Sage Duban is used as Sharazad’s prophecy that applies to the king Shahrayar if he determines not to trust her. The tragedy teaches King Shahrayar a strong lesson of the faith in moral judgment and the trust in people with good conscience. The amazing influence of the â€Å"ËÅ"chinese box effect’ in the whole book can be well observed in the Tale of the Husband and the Parrot. The fact that this tale does not influence King Yunan’s decision of the sage enhances the misfortune hence making the theme of the whole story even stronger. The close relation of characters in the sub-tales allows the advice of the tale to affect the characters in all of the tales as well as the ultimate target of Sharazad’s persuasion, King Shahrayar. Sharazad influences King Shahrayar’s decision upon trusting women and his morality in the process of telling stories that are related to the theme, trust.