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Fine

Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia - Cite This Source

fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the alternative of paying a fine or undergoing a short term of imprisonment. This practice has been condemned at times as potentially exposing the poor to more onerous punishment than the well-to-do. Fines are also sometimes imposed in convictions for felony, usually in addition to a prison sentence. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits the imposition of excessive fines, but the Supreme Court has never found that any statutory fine violated that provision. 2 In the law of the transfer of land, a legal fiction for permitting the sale of lands in entail. The fine, first worked out in the 15th cent., is in the form of a suit to determine the ownership of land. The buyer sues the seller, who accedes to the buyer's claim that his right of ownership is superior. The judgment of the court to this effect constitutes the buyer's title. The fine was formerly widely used in England and the United States, but simplified methods of defeating the entail have made it obsolete. 3 In feudal law, payment to the lord for rights relating to tenancy, e.g., for the privilege of releasing to another or acquiring for oneself the tenancy of land.

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Fine Motor Skills

The Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy Through Adolescence - Cite This Source

Definition

Fine motor skills generally refer to the small movements of the hands, wrists, fingers, feet, toes, lips, and tongue.

Description

Motor skills are actions that involve the movement of muscles in the body. They are divided into two groups: gross motor skills, which include the larger movements of arms, legs, feet, or the entire body (crawling, running, and jumping); and fine motor skills, which are smaller actions, such as grasping an object between the thumb and a finger or using the lips and tongue to taste objects. Both types of motor skills usually develop together, because many activities depend on the coordination of gross and fine motor skills.

Infancy

The hands of newborn infants are closed most of the time and, like the rest of their bodies, they have little control over them. If their palms are touched, they will make a very tight fist, but this is an unconscious reflex action called the Darwinian reflex, and it disappears within two to three months. Similarly, infants will grasp at an object placed in their hands, but without any awareness that they are doing so. At some point their hand muscles relax, and they drop the object, equally unaware that they have let it fall. Babies may begin flailing at objects that interest them by two weeks of age but cannot grasp them. By eight weeks, they begin to discover and play with their hands, at first solely by touch, and then, at about three months, by sight as well. At this age, however, the deliberate grasp remains largely undeveloped.

Hand-eye coordination begins to develop between the ages of two and four months, inaugurating a period of trial-and-error practice at sighting objects and grabbing at them. At four or five months, most infants can grasp an object that is within reach, looking only at the object and not at their hands. Referred to as "top-level reaching," this achievement is considered an important milestone in fine motor development. At the age of six months, infants can typically hold on to a small block briefly, and many have started banging objects. Although their grasp is still clumsy, they have acquired a fascination with grabbing small objects and trying to put them in their mouths. At first, babies will indiscriminately try to grasp things that cannot be grasped, such as pictures in a book, as well as those that can, such as a rattle or ball. During the latter half of the first year, they begin exploring and testing objects before grabbing, touching them with an entire hand and, eventually, poking them with an index finger.

One of the most significant fine motor accomplishments is the pincer grip, which typically appears at about 12 months. Initially, infants can only hold an object, such as a rattle, in their palm, wrapping their fingers (including the thumb) around it from one side. This awkward position is called the palmar grasp, which makes it difficult to hold on to and manipulate the object. By the age of eight to 10 months, a finger grasp begins, but objects can only be gripped with all four fingers pushing against the thumb, which still makes it awkward to grab small objects. The development of the pincer grip—the ability to hold objects between the thumb and index finger—gives the infant a more sophisticated ability to grasp and manipulate objects and also to deliberately drop them. By about the age of one, an infant can drop an object into a receptacle, compare objects held in both hands, stack objects, and nest them within each other.

Toddlerhood

Toddlers develop the ability to manipulate objects with increasing sophistication, including using their fingers to twist dials, pull strings, push levers, turn book pages, and use crayons to produce crude scribbles. Dominance of either the right or left hand usually emerges during this period as well. Toddlers also add a new dimension to touching and manipulating objects by simultaneously being able to name them. Instead of only random scribbles, their drawings include patterns, such as circles. Their play with blocks is more elaborate and purposeful than that of infants, and they can stack as many as six blocks. They are also able to fold a sheet of paper in half (with supervision), string large beads, manipulate snap toys, play with clay, unwrap small objects, and pound pegs.

Preschool

The more delicate tasks facing preschool children, such as handling silverware or tying shoelaces, represent more challenge than most of the gross motor activities learned during this period of development. The central nervous system is still in the process of maturing sufficiently for complex messages from the brain to get to the child's fingers. In addition, small muscles tire more easily than large ones, and the short, stubby fingers of preschoolers make delicate or complicated tasks more difficult. Finally, gross motor skills call for energy, which is boundless in preschoolers, while fine motor skills require patience, which is in shorter supply. Thus, there is considerable variation in fine motor development among this age group.

School age

By the age of five, most children have clearly advanced beyond the fine motor skill development of the preschool age. They can draw recognizably human figures with facial features and legs connected to a distinct trunk. Besides drawing, five-year-olds can also cut, paste, and trace shapes. They can fasten visible buttons (as opposed to those at the back of clothing), and many can tie bows, including shoelace bows. Their right- or left-handedness is well established, and they use the preferred hand for writing and drawing.

School-age children six to 12 years old should have mastered hand and eye coordination. Early school age children should be able to use eating utensils and other tools, be able to help with household chores, such as sweeping, mopping, and dusting; care for pets; draw, paint, and engage in making crafts; and begin developing writing skills. Children will continue to fine-tune their fine motor skills through adolescence with such activities as sports, crafts, hobbies, learning musical instruments, computer use, and even video games.

Helping a child succeed in fine motor tasks requires planning, time, and a variety of play materials. Fine motor development can be encouraged by activities that youngsters enjoy, including crafts, puzzles, and playing with building blocks. Helping parents with everyday domestic activities, such as baking, can be fun for the child in addition to helping the child develop fine motor skills. For example, stirring batter provides a good workout for the hand and arm muscles, and cutting and spooning out cookie dough requires hand-eye coordination. Even a computer keyboard and mouse can provide practice in finger, hand, and hand-eye coordination. Because the development of fine motor skills plays a crucial role in school readiness and cognitive development, it is considered an important part of the preschool curriculum.

Common problems

Fine motor skills can become impaired in a variety of ways, including injury, illness, stroke, and congenital deformities. An infant or child up to age five who is not developing new fine motor skills for that age may have a developmental disability. These problems can include major health conditions including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, blindness, deafness, and diabetes. Children with delays in fine motor skills development have difficulty controlling their coordinated body movements, especially with the face, hands, and fingers. Signs of fine motor skills delays include a failure to develop midline

Age Skill
SOURCE: Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, 5th ed. and Child Development Institute, http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com.
One to three months Reflexively grasps finger or toy placed in hand.
Three months Grasping reflex gone. Briefly holds small toy voluntarily when it is placed in the hand.
Four months Holds and shakes rattle. Brings hands together to play with them. Reaches for objects but frequently misses them.
Five months Grasps objects deliberately. Splashes water. Crumples paper.
Six months Holds bottle. Grasps at own feet. May bring toes to mouth.
Seven months Transfers toy from hand to hand. Bangs objects on table. Puts everything into the mouth. Loves playing with paper.
Nine months Able to grasp small objects between thumb and forefinger.
Ten months Points at objects with index finger. Lets go of objects deliberately.
Eleven months Places object into another's hand when requested, but does not release.
Twelve months Places and releases object into another's hand when requested. Rolls ball on floor. Starts to hold crayon and mark paper with it.
Fifteen months Builds tower of two blocks. Repeatedly throws objects on floor. Starts to be able to take off clothing, starting with shoes.
Eighteen months Builds tower of three blocks. Starts to feed self well with spoon. Turns book pages two or three at a time. Scribbles on paper.
Two years Builds tower of six or seven blocks. Turns book pages one at a time. Turns door knobs and unscrews jar lids. Washes and dries hands. Uses spoon and fork well.
Two and a half years Builds tower of eight blocks. Holds pencil between fingers instead of grasping with fist.
Three years Builds tower of nine or ten blocks. Puts on shoes and socks. Can button and unbutton. Carries containers with little spilling or dropping.
Four years Dresses self except for tying. Cuts with scissors, but not well. Washes and dries face.
Five years Dresses without help. Ties shoes. Prints simple letters.

orientation by four months, reaching by five months, transferring objects from hand to hand by six months, a raking grasp by eight months, a mature pincer grip by one year, and index finger isolation by one year.

Developmental coordination disorder is a disorder of motor skills. A person with this disorder has a hard time with things like riding a bike, holding a pencil, and throwing a ball. People with this disorder are often called clumsy. Their movements are slow and awkward. People with developmental coordination disorder may also have a hard time completing tasks that involve movement of muscle groups in sequence. For example, such a person might be unable to do the following in order: open a closet door, get out a jacket, and put it on. It is thought that up to 6 percent of children may have developmental coordination disorder, according to the 2002 issue of the annual journal Clinical Reference Systems. The symptoms usually go unnoticed until the early years of elementary school. It is usually diagnosed in children who are between five and 11 years old.

Parental concerns

Parents, teachers, and primary caregivers need to have a clear understanding of how young children develop fine motor skills and the timetable for development of the skills.

Fine motor skills development tests

The Lincoln-Oseretsky Motor Development Scale is an individually administered test that assesses the development of motor skills in children and adults. Areas covered include fine and gross motor skills, finger dexterity and speed, and hand-eye coordination. The test consists of 36 tasks arranged in order of increasing difficulty. These include walking backwards, standing on one foot, touching one's nose, jumping over a rope, throwing and catching a ball, putting coins in a box, jumping and clapping, balancing on tiptoe while opening and closing one's hands, and balancing a rod vertically. Norms have been established for each part of the test for children aged six to 14.

The Beery-Buktenica Test, also known as VMI or Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, is designed for individuals two years of age through adult. The text identifies problems with visual perception, fine motor skills (especially hand control), and hand-eye coordination. It is usually administered individually but can also be given in groups. The child is given a booklet containing increasingly complex geometric figures and asked to copy them without any erasures and without rotating the booklet in any direction. The test is given in two versions: the Short Test Form, containing 15 figures, is used for ages three through eight; the Long Test Form, with 24 figures, is used for older children, adolescents, and adults with developmental delay. A raw score based on the number of correct copies is converted based on norms for each age group, and results are reported as converted scores and percentiles. The test is not timed but usually takes 10 to 15 minutes to administer.

When to call the doctor

Some symptoms of impaired fine motor skills may appear up to age two. These symptoms include having a difficult time sitting up or raising the head, being unable to stand without help or having a very hard time standing without help, being unable to crawl or having a very hard time crawling, and walking very late or having a hard time walking. Other symptoms usually appear during the preschool or grade school years. These may include the child having difficulty holding a pencil or drawing, throwing a ball, riding a bicycle, playing sports, having a hard time with clothes that have buttons or zippers, having poor handwriting, and being clumsy.

Children with any one or combination of these symptoms should be seen by a pediatrician who specializes in motor skills development delays. Children who lose previously acquired motor skills should also be seen by a doctor. There are many ways to address fine motor skills impairment, such as physical therapy. This type of therapy can include treating the underlying cause, strengthening muscles, and learning how to compensate for impaired movements.

See also Gross motor skills.

Resources

BOOKS

Bly, Lois. Motor Skills Acquisition Checklist. San Antonio, TX: Therapy Skill Builders, 2003.

Kurtz, Lisa A. How to Help a Clumsy Child: Strategies for Young Children with Developmental Motor Concerns. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishing, 2003.

Liddle, Tara Losquadro, and Laura Yorke. Why Motor Skills Matter: Improving Your Child's Physical Development to Enhance Learning and Self-Esteem. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Smith, Jodene Lynn. Activities for Fine Motor Skills Development. Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2003.

PERIODICALS

Jeansonne, Jennifer J. "Motor Skill Learning Research Looks Beyond Outcomes—Understanding the Components Needed for Skilled Performance Helps Develop Instructions and Training Methods." Biomechanics (June 1, 2004): 69.

Rink, Judith E. "It's Okay to Be a Beginner: Teach a Motor Skill, and the Skill May Be Learned. Teach How to Learn a Motor Skill, and Many Skills Can Be Learned—Even After a Student Leaves School." The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (August 2004): 31–4.

"Should the Main Objective of Adapted Physical Education Be the Development of Motor Skills or the Development of Self-Esteem?" The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 74 (November-December 2003): 10–12.

Vickers, Marcia. "Why Can't We Let Boys Be Boys?" Business Week (May 26, 2003): 84.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Academy of Pediatrics. 141 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. Web site: <www.aao.org>.

Developmental Research for the Effective Advancement of Memory and Motor Skills. 273 Ringwood Road, Freeville, NY 13068. Web site: <www.dreamms.org>.

WEB SITES

"How to Help Your Toddler Develop Fine Motor Skills." BabyCenter, 2004. Available online at <www.babycenter.com/refcap/toddler/toddlerdevelopment/11549.html> (accessed November 18, 2004).

"Movement, Coordination, and Your Newborn." KidsHealth, May 2001. Available online at <www.kidshealth.org/parent/growth/movement/movenewborn.html> (accessed November 18, 2004).

Ken R. Wells

The Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health: Infancy Through Adolescence
Copyright © 1999 by The Gale Group.
Published by The Gale Group. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Fine

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

A fine is money paid usually to superior authority, usually governmenal authority, and in respect of a crime, but also in some other contexts.

Criminal penalty

The most usual use of the term, fine, relates to a financial punishment for the commission of minor crimes or as the settlement of a claim. A synonym, typically used in civil law actions, is mulct.

One common example of a fine is money paid for violations of traffic laws. Currently in English Common Law relatively small fines are used either in place of or alongside community service orders for low-level criminal offences. Larger fines are also given independently or alongside shorter prison sentences where the judge or magistrate considers a considerable amount of retribution is necessary but there is unlikely to be significant danger to the public. For instance, fraud is often punished by very large fines since fraudsters are typically debarred from the position or profession they abused to commit their crimes.

Fines can also be used as a form of tax. Money for bail may be applied toward a fine.

A day-fine is a fine that, above a minimum, is based on personal income.

Fines are considered to be a cost-efficient and fair way of punishment for those who commit a non-violent offense. Lengthy prison sentences for minor offenses such as drug possession cost taxpayers more, remove otherwise productive citizens from society, and impose a fear on society as a whole because of over-policing and excessive prosecution.

Early examples of fines include the Weregild or blood money payable under Anglo-Saxon common law for causing a death. The murderer would be expected to pay a sum of money or goods dependent on the social status of the victim.

Fines in English land transactions

A fine on alienation, in feudal law, was a sum of money paid to the lord by a tenant when he had occasion to make over his land to another. It is similar in nature to a relief, a payment made by an heir to the lord to receive his inheritance. The term fine is also a synonym for a premium, a sum paid to the landlord at the start of a lease or for the extension of the term of an exisitng lease (for example, to add an additional life to the term of a lease for lives).

A fine of lands (sometimes called a final concord) was a species of conveyance (abolished in England in 1833). It took the form of a fictitious suit compromised or terminated by the acknowledgment of the previous owner that such land was the right of the other party (a purchaser or other grantee). The court provided each party with a copy 'chirograph' of the fine and kept a third copy (known as a foot of fine). This was a necessary part of English conveyancing, where a wife was consenting to bar her right to dower, or in certain circumstances where an entail was to be barred. In other circumstances, a Common Recovery was necessary for this purpose.

See also

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FINE

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

FINE was created in 1998 and is an informal association of the four main Fair Trade networks:

Aims and goals

The aim of FINE is to enable these networks and their members to cooperate on:

  • the development of harmonised core standards and guidelines for Fair Trade
  • harmonisation, and increase in the quality and efficiency of Fair Trade monitoring systems
  • advocacy and campaigning work
  • harmonisation of their information and communication systems

FINE is an informal working group. It has no formal structure and no decision-making power. Meetings are held as required. Preparation, hosting and facilitation of the meetings rotates between members. Decisions are taken by the boards of the FINE members.

Since April 2004 FINE runs a Fair Trade Advocacy Office in Brussels. Its role is to coordinate the advocacy activities of Fair Trade proponents at both the European and the international levels. The aim of the office is to step up public support for Fair Trade and to speak out for trade justice.

Definition of Fair Trade

In 2001, FINE members agreed the following definition of Fair Trade, on which to base their work:

FINE members further agreed to define Fair Trade’s strategic intent as:

  • deliberately to work with marginalised producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency
  • to empower producers and workers as stakeholders in their own organisations
  • actively to play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade.

FINE Publications

See also

External links

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Last updated on Thursday February 22, 2007 at 06:32:56 PST (GMT -0800)
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