Implications of the Sahelanthropus Tchadensis (Toumai) Discovery Essay

Implications of the Sahelanthropus Tchadensis (Toumai) Discovery Compared to the complete history of life on earth, human history is relatively brief. The earth is billions of years old and living organisms probably appeared some two to four billion years ago. Many different kinds of animals have been inhabiting the earth for hundreds of millions of years. Early hominids which are human like creatures are thought to have originated just 5 million years ago and modern humans around 100,000 years ago. There have been a recent discovery that is now challenging the appearance of the early hominids. In the country of Chad which is located in central Africa scientists have recently made a discovery of a hominid skull. This skull was dated back to between 6 and 7 million years ago. The discovery was led by anthropologist Michel Brunet from the University of Poitiers in France. The find was named Sahelanthropus tchadensis and is nicknamed â€Å"Toumai† which means â€Å"hope of life† in an African language. The fossil find is an almost complete skull, some teeth, and a few fragments of the lower jaw. (Bower 2002) This fossil find is completely surprising and amazing. The remains that were found represent the earliest known member in the line of human evolution. This find could be the beginning of many which could completely change our current ideas of human evolution. This pushes back the dates of human history by 2 million years. If Toumai is truly a common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees this makes the molecular clock theory wrong. The molecular clock dates the divergence of humans and chimpanzees somewhere around 5 million years ago while the Toumai discovery suggests that is was 6 to 7 million years ago. (Bower 2002) Homini... ...of the same kind. This is only one very small link in the massive chain of human origin. Scientists need to continue to search the globe and make more new discoveries to further challenge the norm and uncover the truth of our history. Sources: Bower, Bruce. Evolutions surprise: fossil find uproots our early ancestors. Science News 13 July 2002; vol. 162, No. 2, P. 19. 4 April 2004 www.sciencenews.org Brunet, Michel. A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa. Nature 418, 145-151. 11 July 2002. 4 April 2002 www.ezproxy.ithaca.edu Paoli, Laurence. Toumai: Shaking our conceptions on the earliest steps of Hominid history. Science In Africa August 2002. 5 April 2004 www.scienceinafrica.com Whitfield, John. Oldest member of the human family found. Nature News Service/Macmillan Magazines 11 July 2002. 4 April 2004 www.nature.com

Compare and Contrast how feelings of fear and confusion are conveyed :: English Literature

Compare and Contrast how feelings of fear and confusion are conveyed through the use of imagery and other poetic techniques. I am going to compare the use of poetic devices to portray fear and confusion in 3 different poems, they are; Patrolling Barnegat by Walt Whitman, On the Train by Gillian Clarke, and Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney. These poems all portray a feeling of confusion, often it is linked with the theme of war. In Patrolling Barnegat, Walt Whitman uses repetition to enhance the power of the storm he is describing. "Wild, Wild the storm, and the sea high running" The repetition of wild in this line helps to enforce the power of the storm and nature. Whitman also uses personification in this line where he compares the movement of the sea to a person running, as if he is saying that the sea will move for nobody. He is also making it sound as if the sea is rushing to get somewhere as if it is on a mission. Whitman also incorporates rhyme in his poem. This gives his poem a strong rhythm and this rhythm ties in with the image of the rolling sea, and gives this image more effect. In Storm on the IslandSeamus Heaney also describes a vivid, powerful storm. He describes the storm like he has learnt from past experience. He describes preparing for the storm as if he has gone through it many times before. "Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale" Here Seamus Heaney is comparing the storm to a tragic chorus, which could be associated with an opera - a form of entertainment. Seamus Heaney is using 2 opposites to help describe the ferocity of the storm and give the reader a clearer picture of what it would be like to be where he is. Also Heaney uses no punctuation at the end of his lines, so it is like reading a continuous sentence. Despite the lack of punctuation, the poem still has a definite rhythm, and because of the lack of punctuation, an unusual style. Gillian Clarke's poem On the Train describes the Paddington rail crash of October '99 She uses many poetic techniques to describe what it must have been like for people waiting to find if their relatives that had been travelling on the train that day were safe or not. "The wolves howl into silent telephones" Here Gillian Clarke is talking about the people who have lost someone in the crash. She uses the metaphor of a wolf to describe the people trying to phone their loved ones, only to get silence, or an answer

International Financial Reporting Standards and Revenue Recognition

Revenue recognition is a very important component of financial accounting and reporting. The accounting principles governing revenue recognition can have a big impact on corporate accounting and the way contracts are structured with customers. As a part of ongoing discussions to converge U. S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), some proposals to change revenue recognition have been discussed. The following will discuss revenue recognition as it stands under U. S. GAAP and IFRS, as well as proposed changes to the revenue recognition principle. Revenue Recognition under U. S. GAAP Staff Accounting Bulletin, Topic 13 states, â€Å"The staff believes that revenue generally is realized or realizable and earned when all of the following criteria are met: 1. Persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; 2. Deliver has occurred or services have been rendered; 3. the seller’s price to the buyer is fixed or determinable; and 4. Collectability is reasonably assured. † Revenue recognition under U. S. GAAP can vary depending on industry, but the criteria listed by Topic 13 are generally applied when recognizing revenue. Guidance for industry specific principles are covered under other U. S. GAAP pronouncements. Also under U. S. GAAP, â€Å"any costs or losses that may be expected in connection with any returns shall be accrued in accordance with FASB St. No. 5 Accounting for Contingencies. Sales revenue and costs of sales reported in the income statement shall be reduced to reflect estimated returns† (FAS 48 par. 7). Revenue Recognition under IFRS. Under IFRS, guidance regarding revenue recognition are governed under two general accounting standards. According to IFRS, â€Å"revenue is recognized when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the entity and these benefits can be measured reliably† (IAS 18). Revenue Recognition for specific industries are not addressed under IFRS and these two general accounting standards are applied broadly across various industries. Revenue recognition has been at the forefront of suggested changes regarding convergence to a single set of standards for financial reporting and accounting. Currently under U. S. GAAP, revenue recognition have more stringent criteria and governance can also be industry specific. IFRS differs in that there are only two broadly applied accounting standards when determining when to recognize revenue. The AICPA has announced that the IASB and FASB will move towards issuing a single standard governing revenue recognition. The proposed standard will adopt standards similar to IFRS revenue recognition principles and eliminate U. S. GAAP’s industry specific guidance. The changes will have a tremendous effect on accounting and how businesses operate.

The Government Of India Environmental Sciences Essay

India, our fatherland, is a colossal state both in footings of its topography and history. Its measuring is so titanic that it is frequently described as a ‘sub-continent ‘ portion of the Asiatic continent and yet looking like a continent in itself. It sprawls between the white highs of the Himalaya and the shores of the Indian Ocean, which washes the land for 1000s of kilometers from the delta of the Ganga in West Bengal to Kachchh in Gujarat, a small to the E of the oral cavity of the Indus. The land encompasses the huge sweeps of the northern fields, the littorals of the Thar on the West, Indo-Myanmar hills on the E, the uneven tableland surface, the antediluvian hills and the coconut bring forthing coastal fields on the South and the exalted snow-capped mountains on the North. The state gets an abundant of sunlight from the tropical Sun and the wet from the sprinkling monsoon rains. The two elements together exercising enormous influence on the fate of its pullulating 1000000s. This is India, our fatherland, the dispenser of our fate with astonishing steadiness, disputing stage, and still changing like the agreements in a kaleidoscope.PROTECTED AREAS:The Government of India enacted Wild Life ( Protection ) Act 1972 with the aim of efficaciously protecting the wild life of this state and to command poaching, smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife and its derived functions, the Act was amended in January 2003 and penalty and punishment for offenses under the Act have been made more rigorous, the Ministry has proposed farther amendments in the jurisprudence by presenting more stiff steps to beef up the Act with an aim of supplying protection to the endangered vegetations and zoologies and ecologically of import protected countries[ 1 ]. Protected country is a wide term given chiefly to national Parkss and wildlife sanctuaries meant for affording protection to wild animate beings and their home ground. They besides comprise game militias and biosph ere militias. Protected countries have been set up all over the universe with the unambiguous purpose of guarding and conserving zoologies and vegetations. In India excessively these have been set up in assorted parts of the state. The thought of making protected countries for conserving and protecting wild animate beings and their home ground is non new to India. In ancient times excessively male monarchs and other swayers set aside game preserves though these were meant more for runing than for protecting wild animate beings. Even during the British period many swayers had hiting conserves which were subsequently accorded the position of protected countries, e.g. Bharatpur national park. Many protected countries have been created after the passage of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The province authoritiess are empowered to represent national Parkss and wildlife sanctuaries. The cardinal authorities has been armed with more powers under the 42nd constitutional amendment with respects to woods and wildlife. It is a well-accepted fact that at least 5 % of the entire geographical country of India should be set aside as protected country for best consequences so far as wildlife is concerned. Policy formation for the wildlife protection and preservation is made by National Board for Wildlife ( NBWL ) , which is headed by the Prime Minister of India. In order to underscore the people ‘s engagement and their support to protect wildlife a National Wildlife Action Plan ( 2002-2016 ) was adopted in 2002. The policies and be aftering on wildlife preservation, is really much guided by the Federal Ministry and every bit far as Forests Departments are concerned they play a really important function in the execution of the policies for the preservation of wildlife. A web of 668 Protected Areas ( PAs ) has been established, widening over 1,61,221.57 sq. kilometer. ( 4.90 % of entire geographic country ) , consisting 102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 47 Conservation Militias and 4 Community Reserves, 39 Tiger Reserves and 28 Elephant Militias have been designated for species specific direction of tiger and elephant home grounds[ 2 ]. Five protected countries has bee n declared as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. There are 5 classs of the Protected Areas viz, National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere militias, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves.National PARKS:The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 empowers the province authorities to represent national Parkss. It states, â€Å" whenever it appears to the province authorities that an country whether within a sanctuary or non is by ground of its ecological, faunal, flowered, structural or zoological association or importance needed to be constituted as a national park for the intent of propagating or developing wildlife therein or its environment, it may by presentment declare its purpose to represent such an country as a national park. † In order to represent an country into a national park some processs are expected to follow and few of them are counted below: The aggregator makes an question and hearing for rights and grants after that the province authorities through a specific presentment declares an country to be constituted into a national park. Alterations can be made in the frontiers of the national Parkss merely through a declaration by the legislative assembly of the province. All sorts of devastation, development or remotion of woods merchandises, wildlife, teguments, trophies, or their home ground in a national park is banned and prohibited. In national Parkss cowss croping are non allowed. For the intent of a scientific survey or research the gaining control of animate beings can be done merely with the consent and permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden. Within the bounds of national park no 1 can put to death detonation, execute excavation or breakage of land. Chief Wildlife Warden can curtail the entry of human existences in some certain parts of the national Parkss. Permanent abode is prohibited in the premises of a national park if there is any small town it should be shifted to some other countries.WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES:The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 empowers the province authoritiess to represent an country into a wildlife sanctuary after following the prescribed process for question and hearings into the bing rights and grants if any[ 3 ]. The province can declare an country into a wildlife sanctuary which it thinks can be helpful in protecting, propagating or developing the ecology, vegetations and zoologies, geomorphology, wildlife and its environment. The legal commissariats of the wildlife sanctuaries are given below: An question is made by the aggregator sing the being, nature, and extent of rights of individuals populating on the proposed country on which the province authorities wants to represent a sanctuary. After looking into the issues of the rights of the people whose lands are to be acquired a fresh presentment is issued by the aggregator. Free motion of the people is prohibited inside a sanctuary. But lasting occupant can make so with some conditions that they assist in the sensing of offenses, study about deceasing and dead animate beings and in groking the wrongdoers. For the intent of research, survey, touristry or related activity the permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden must be taken ; it can be charged or may be free. To transport arms inside the sanctuary, permission of the competent authorization must be taken. No commercial activity is allowed in a sanctuary.BIOSPHERE RESERVES:In order to protect the workss and animate beings, preserve their diverseness for the present and future homo usage within their natural ecosystems, this construct of pull offing vegetations and zoologies lead to the outgrowth of biosphere militias. Biosphere militias are protected countries of several tellurian, coastal and marine environments that have been internationally recognised for their value in supplying scientific cognition, accomplishments and human values to back up sustainable development[ 4 ]. From each biosphere militias following three maps are expected to be fulfilled: a preservation map – to lend to the preservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and familial fluctuation[ 5 ], a development map – to further economic and human development which is sociocultural and ecologically sustainable[ 6 ], a logistic map – to supply support for research, monitoring, instruction and information exchange related to local, national and planetary issues of preservation and development[ 7 ].CONSERVATION RESERVES:They can be declared by the State Governments in any country owned by the Government, peculiarly the countries adjacent to National Parks and Sanctuaries and those countries which link one Protected Area with another, such declaration should be made after holding audiences with the local communities with a intent of protecting landscapes, seascapes, vegetations and zoologies and their home ground[ 8 ]. It does non impact the rights of people populating inside a Conservation Reserve.COMMUNITY RESERVES:They can be declared by the State Government in any private or community land, non comprised within a National Park, Sanctuary or a Conservation Reserve, where an person or a community has volunteered to conserve wildlife and its home ground. Community Reserves are declared for t he intent of protecting zoology, vegetation and traditional or cultural preservation values and patterns. As in the instance of a Conservation Reserve, the rights of people populating inside a Community Reserve are non affected.DISTINCTION BETWEEN NATIONAL PARK, SANCTUARY and BIOSPHERE RESERVES:NATIONAL PARK Habitat for peculiar wild carnal species. The general size scope is 0.04 to 3162 sq. kilometer. Boundaries fixed by statute law. Except the buffer zone no biotic intervention. Tourism allowable. Research and scientific direction lacking. So far no cistron pool and preservation. Sanctuary By and large, species-oriented such as citrous fruit, hurler works, etc. The general size scope is 0.61 to 7818 kilometer. Boundaries are non inviolable. Limited biotic intervention. Tourism allowable. Research and scientific direction lacking. So far no cistron pool and preservation. BIOSPHERE RESERVE Ecosystem oriented i.e. all signifiers of life. The general size scope is over 5670 sq. kilometer. Boundaries fixed by statute law. Except the buffer zone, no biotic intervention. Tourism usually non allowable. Managed attending is given.Purpose FOR THE FORMATION OF PROTECTED AREAS AND NATIONAL PARKS:With big regional fluctuations in physical geography, clime and edaphic types as mentioned above, Indian woods offer a broad scope of home ground types, which is responsible for a big assortment of wildlife in India. Wildlife comprises animate beings, birds and insects populating in woods. There are about 76,000 species in India, which is about 82 % of the known life species of the universe. Nature has bequeathed our fatherland with more than two 1000 species of birds, more than five 100 species of mammals and 100s of species of reptilians and amphibious vehicles. As we all know that the forest screen in our state is deteriorating at a really fast gait and because of this wildlife is acquiring grandiose really adversely. The figure of several species has been drastically reduced, some are endangered species and the others are on the brink of extinction while some of them have already disappeared. Some of them are the olympian Lion, elusive Snow Leopard, one-horned Rhinoceros, Elephant, rare lion-tailed Macaque, aureate Eagle, western Tragopan and Monal Pheasant. In order to protect natural flora, wildlife, endangered species, preserve familial diverseness and to keep a balance in ecosystem assorted national Parkss, sanctuaries and biospheres came into being. Indian Board for Wildlife was established in 1952. The chief intent of the board was to rede the Government on the agencies of preservation and protection of wildlife, building of national Parkss, sanctuaries and zoological gardens every bit good as exciting civic awareness vis-a-vis safeguarding of vegetations and zoologies. Then came the Wildlife ( protection ) Act, 1972 which is a comprehensive jurisprudence that gives house position to the national Parkss and sanctuaries and other militias, extends statutory precautions to the full geographical country, prescribe potent control over the trade and traffic in wild animate beings and carnal articles puting down hindrance penalties for the reprobates. Threatened and disappearing species of vegetations and zoologies have been taken under the horizon of this act. Some other grounds which are really much responsible for the formation of protected countries to protect and conserve our bio-diversity are devastation of wild workss of woods for lumber, wood coal and firewood frequently deprives wild animate beings their most toothsome nutrient and affects their endurance, absence of screens or shelter to wild animate beings, noise pollution by different conveyance media and fouling river H2O have adversely affected wild animate beings runing methods of all sorts and for any intent ( that is, nutrient, diversion, pelt, feather, ivory, horn etc. ) .

Pd 100 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pd 100 - Essay Example It could be angst, anxiety or anguish; it could be melancholia or ennui, a feeling of boredom or extreme lack of interest in anything. Most people associate the word or feelings of stress with anything that is negative, it connotes something bad. But a fact is that stress can be either positive or negative; when it is positive, it is called as eustress. This should be what people strive for, to have eustress, such as feelings of hope, vitality, vigor and a zest for life, instead of being always negative. Eustress literally means â€Å"good stress† and it is a cognitive response to stress that is desirable and healthy. It leads to feelings of satisfaction or a sense of well-being, which enhances the feelings of fulfillment and being in control. However, for purposes of this discussion on stress, I am a bit more inclined to delve on the topic in the negative side of stress. One type of stress that has a very bad effect on both the physical and mental well-being of a person is wo rry. It has a severe debilitating effect on a person, some to such an extent that it can induce paralysis in its very serious manifestations. A person who worries too much ends up accomplishing nothing but only ends up worsening his or her own situation. I always worry a lot about many things, sometimes to the point of being paranoid, hallucinatory or plainly idiotic. Worrying is a basic emotion; it can help a person to some extent because it keeps a person alert, it is instinctive in the â€Å"fight or flight† response. Worry becomes destructive only when it is carried to extremes, because by then, that person worries about something that is relatively harmless, by ascribing something bad might happen, or worry about an event or occurrence that has a very little chance of ever happening. Worry is a very diffused feeling of anxiety, and as such, it is hard to find a solution for it and a remedy that prevents it from recurring. An example of this kind of worry is a hypochondri ac, a person who worries about his health, on almost anything and everything, from the food he eats to the lack of exercise, the air he breathes if it contains germs or not, in the place he stays, whether it is clean of bedbugs, roaches, or fleas. It is an exaggerated sense of worrying that is not commensurate with the facts, or with the state of reality that is obtaining at present. It is a negative response to a perceived threat or impending event, instead of seeing it positively as a challenge, which is positive, the very essence of the eustress discussed a bit earlier. I worry a lot about money, my finances, my state of health, about the future, almost on anything that it is causing havoc on my health, causing me endless sleepless nights at times because worry keeps me awake and prevents me from relaxing my mind, and hence also my body functions that are supposedly needed to induce me to sleep. I know that worrying is not very productive, and it is even counter-productive, in th e sense it prevents me from finding solutions to my problems and hence, resolve and put to rest my endless worries. But it seems I cannot do something to prevent myself from worrying; I am helpless against it. It is imperative that I find ways to lessen worrying too much as it is causing me stress

Astronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Astronomy - Essay Example One of these methods is through the use of spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is a method of looking at the composition of a star or other celestial object by observing differences in the electromagnetic radiation patterns that are picked up. Different elements vibrate at different wavelengths; therefore each element shows a different color when a spectrometer is picking it up. This is how scientists can tell what elements are and are not present in a star. These series of lines are unique to each element. For example, helium produces: one red line, one yellow line, one green line, three blue lines, and four purple lines. This pattern is inherent to only helium, therefore it will show/not show up if it is present/not present. Atomic emission spectra look at the differences in energy that are absorbed when a photon goes through changes in energy levels. Thus when the photon is absorbed, the electrons jump up in energy levels because they become more excited. This jump in energy is what scient ific instruments pick up. This is achieved through lines. Absorption spectra look at the â€Å"holes† that are left when that electron is moving up and down energy levels. Basically, both are looking at atomic energy levels, however they are observing two different effects of energy at the quantum level.

Using Graphic Organizers to Teach Reading Comprehension Essay

Using Graphic Organizers to Teach Reading Comprehension - Essay Example In addition, there is an assumption that in reading that all text have structures (Jiang & Grabe, 2007, p.34). And at the same time, â€Å"students in most class rooms are at different mental levels† (McMackin & Witherell(a), 2003, p. 11). In this regard, Hughes, Maccini, & Gagnon, (2003) argue that students at the upper-elementary, secondary and intermediate grades receive less individual attention than in primary grades. As a result, these new expectations and demands give more challenges in the process of learning and comprehension. And the required skills to comprehend become more challenging particularly for students with Learning disabilities (LD). And this becomes more challenging when a class does not represent a one particular type of students rather it is occupied with the students having different understanding abilities, comprehension power and retention. A class of students represents diversity and this diversity provides more challenging time for teachers who are expected to identify each student’s learning level and the teacher is expected to provide the targeted instruction (McMackin & Witherell(b), 2005). Additionally, with the passage of time as students progress, reading and comprehension increasingly incorporates expository text; from which the students are required to learn and comprehend. However, learning through expository is not easy a task for many students rather they are challenged with the reading assignments such as fiction (Kim et al., 2004). For instance, the material of expository text is of more informative nature and most of the time it is included by unfamiliar technical vocabulary terms and expressions. And these terms and expressions considerably differ from those expressions and terms that students had read in their primary classes. In addition, such text material is not organized properly rather poorly. This puts more pressure on students to use some additional complex cognitive tasks with an aim of comprehe nding the expository material (Lapp, Flood, Ranck-Buhr, 1995). With this added pressure from expository material, students face pressures and retention capabilities are directly hit or they become more exhausted; putting more psychological pressure to ensure learning the context of expository material. Additionally, some authors on the topic, suggest that there is a strong reason to believe that the students would under perform or may not be able to comprehend the context and material inside the expository text, for that purpose, they put forward their assertion that much of the expository material is filled with the huge amount of information. And this piece of information is not limited nor in its context, nor in its implications. Aggregately, there can be no boundary to determine the extent of expository material given a particular subject or topic. As a result, the students do not perform as they are expected to. Constantly, they under-perform and their aggregate graph of learni ng does not seem to be moving upward rather downward. In this regard, more innovations have been made in order to assist those students who are less equipped to face or manage the challenges of the expository material. Different learning strategies have been developed to assist students with LD (Dexter & Hughes, 2011). They need explicit content enhancements to assist in verbal (e.g. text or lecture) comprehension and graphic organizers (GOs) have often been recommended as an instructional devise to assist these students in understanding increasingly abstract