Child Labor in the USA (1890-1920) essay

Child Labor in the USA (1890-1920) essay Child Labor in the USA (1890-1920) essay Child Labor in the USA (1890-1920) essayThe child labor became one of the most challenging problems in the US by the late 19th – early 20th century. The wide employment of children in the US was driven by the rapid industrialization but the employment of children in the industrial production had a negative impact on their health and deteriorated the public health in the US. The need of the child labor reform became obvious. Therefore, the child labor was widely-applied in the late 19th century but steadily the child labor reform emerged to put the end to unbearable conditions of work of children in American factories and other companies.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The child labor was a common practice in the late 19th century in the US. The major drivers of the wide use of the child labor in the US were the low costs of the child labor force and wide introduction of machinery that decreased the role of the physical power of employees. The low costs of the chi ld labor became attractive for employers, who wanted to save costs of the labor force and started to employ women and children to replace male workers (What Kinds of Work Did People Do in Industrial America). In addition, the introduction of machinery and new equipment allowed replacing the male labor by child labor because the physical force of men was not needed anymore (What Kinds of Work Did People Do in Industrial America). Instead, children could perform the same job. Hence, being as productive and less costly then male employees, child workers became more attractive for employers.At the same time, the child labor was still different from the labor of male workers. To put it more precisely, children still could not perform as much work as male workers did. Nevertheless, children wages were so low that the employment of the larger number of children was still cheaper for employers than the employment of a larger number of male workers.On the other hand, the employment of childr en raised the problem of unbearable conditions of work of children were unbearable. Employers were unaware and just indifferent to conditions of work of children because, if some children left their workplace or died, they could easily employ others because of the high supply of the labor force in the labor market. In such a way, employers did not care about conditions of work of children because they did not affect the productivity of their work and financial performance of factories and other companies employing children. In addition, there was no legislation that regulated the child labor or imposed some liabilities on employers concerning safety or conditions of work for children.However, conditions of work for adult, male employees did not match children’s physiological and psychological needs (Perera, 2014, 1863). Children could not afford working in the same conditions as adult male employees did because they were in the course of their physical development and the wor k in factories and other companies was exhausting and extremely stressful. As a result, children suffered from the negative impact on their physical health and psychological development. Conditions of work were unbearable for children that resulted in the development of chronic illnesses and considerable health problems in children. In this regard, the mortality rate among children and younger population had started to grow consistently along with the progress of industrialization and the growing number of children employees working in the US industrial production. For example, the mortality rate among children under the age of 5 had reached 52% level.The drastic deterioration of the health and longevity among children in the US raised the public concern about the negative impact of employees’ employment in the industrial production of the US. In response to unbearable conditions of work and related health issues, including the high mortality rate among children, the public a nd policy makers had started to develop the child labor reform in the early progressive era, in the late 19th century early 20th century. The reform aimed at the reduction or even total ban of the child labor to secure children and maintain their normal development. In fact, the public opposed to the wide employment of children and the public negative attitude to the child labor was widely-supported by the government and legislators because the child labor had a negative impact on the public health. The deterioration of the public health had a negative impact on the economic development of the US. Therefore, the US society and policy makers came to the point, when the child labor reform became inevitable and first steps toward the ban of the child labor were finally undertaken and eventually put the end to the child labor in the US.Thus, the child labor was damaging for children and society. The US could not afford the child labor because it undermined the economic and social devel opment of the US. The negative impact of the industrial production on children’s health made the child labor reform essential for the US.

Plastic Definition and Examples in Chemistry

Plastic Definition and Examples in Chemistry Have you ever wondered about the chemical composition of plastic or how it is made? Heres a look at what plastic is and how it is formed. Plastic Definition and Composition Plastic is any synthetic or semisynthetic organic polymer. In other words, while other elements might be present, plastics always include carbon and hydrogen. While plastics may be made from just about any organic polymer, most industrial plastic is made from petrochemicals. Thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers are the two types of plastic. The name plastic refers to the property of plasticity, the ability to deform without breaking. The polymer used to make a plastic is almost always mixed with additives, including colorants, plasticizers, stabilizers, fillers, and reinforcements. These additives affect the chemical composition, chemical properties, and mechanical properties of a plastic, along with its cost. Thermosets and Thermoplastics Thermosetting polymers, also known as thermosets, solidify into a permanent shape. They are amorphous and are considered to have infinite molecular weight. Thermoplastics, on the other hand, can be heated and remolded over and over again. Some thermoplastics are amorphous, while some have a partially crystalline structure. Thermoplastics typically have a molecular weight between 20,000 to 500,000 amu. Examples of Plastics Plastics are often referred to by the acronyms for their chemical formulas: Polyethylene terephthalate: PET or PETEHigh-density polyethylene: HDPEPolyvinyl chloride: PVCPolypropylene: PPPolystyrene: PSLow-density polyethylene: LDPE Properties of Plastics The properties of plastics depend on the chemical composition of the subunits, the arrangement of these subunits, and the processing method. All plastics are polymers, but not all polymers are plastic. Plastic polymers consist of chains of linked subunits, called monomers. If identical monomers are joined, it forms a homopolymer. Difference monomers link to form copolymers. Homopolymers and copolymers may be either straight chains or branched chains. Here are some other properties: Plastics are usually solids. They may be amorphous solids, crystalline solids, or semicrystalline solids (crystallites).Plastics are usually poor conductors of heat and electricity. Most are insulators with a high dielectric strength.Glassy polymers tend to be stiff (e.g., polystyrene). However, thin sheets of these polymers can be used as films (e.g., polyethylene).Nearly all plastics display elongation when they are stressed that is not recovered after the stress is removed. This is called creep.  Plastics tend to be durable, with a slow rate of degradation. Interesting Plastic Facts Additional facts about plastics: The first completely synthetic plastic was Bakelite, made in 1907 by Leo Baekeland. Baekeland also coined the word plastics.The word plastic comes from the Greek word plastikos, which means that it can be shaped or molded.Approximately a third of the plastic that is produced is used to make packaging. Another third is used for siding and piping.Pure plastics are generally insoluble in water and nontoxic. However, many of the additives in plastics are toxic and may leach into the environment. Examples of toxic additives include phthalates. Nontoxic polymers may also degrade into chemicals when they are heated.