A number is a mathematical object used in counting and measuring. A notational symbol which represents a number is called a numeral, but in common usage the word number is used for both the abstract object and the symbol, as well as for the word for the number. In addition to their use in counting and measuring, numerals are often used for labels (telephone numbers), for ordering (serial numbers), and for codes (e.g., ISBNs). In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers.

Certain procedures which take one or more numbers as input and produce a number as output are called numerical operations. Unary operations take a single input number and produce a single output number. For example, the successor operation adds one to an integer, thus the successor of 4 is 5. More common are binary operations which take two input numbers and produce a single output number. Examples of binary operations include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation. The study of numerical operations is called arithmetic.

Classification of numbers

Different types of numbers are used in different cases. Numbers can be classified into sets, called number systems. (For different methods of expressing numbers with symbols, such as the Roman numerals, see numeral systems.)

Natural numbers

The most familiar numbers are the natural numbers or counting numbers: one, two, three, and so on. Traditionally, the sequence of natural numbers started with 1 (0 was not even considered a number for the Ancient Greeks.) However, in the 19th century, set theorists and other mathematicians started the convention of including 0 (cardinality of the empty set, i.e. 0 elements, where 0 is thus the smallest cardinal number) in the set of natural numbers. The mathematical symbol for the set of all natural numbers is N, also written $\backslash scriptstyle\; \backslash mathbb\{N\}$.

In the base ten numeral system, in almost universal use today by humans for arithmetic operations, the symbols for natural numbers are written using ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. In this base ten system, the rightmost digit of a natural number has a place value of one, and every other digit has a place value ten times that of the place value of the digit to its right.

In set theory, which is capable of acting as an axiomatic foundation for modern mathematics,

Tobias Dantzig, Number, the language of science; a critical survey written for the cultured non-mathematician, New York, The Macmillan company, 1930.

Erich Friedman, What's special about this number?

Steven Galovich, Introduction to Mathematical Structures, Harcourt Brace Javanovich, 23 January 1989, ISBN 0-15-543468-3.

Paul Halmos, Naive Set Theory, Springer, 1974, ISBN 0-387-90092-6.

Morris Kline, Mathematical Thought from Ancient to Modern Times, Oxford University Press, 1972.

Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell, Principia Mathematica to *56, Cambridge University Press, 1910.

George I. Sanchez, Arithmetic in Maya,Austin-Texas, 1961.

External links

http://eom.springer.de/A/a013260.htm

Mesopotamian and Germanic numbers

BBC Radio 4, In Our Time: Negative Numbers

'4000 Years of Numbers', lecture by Robin Wilson, 07/11/07, Gresham College (available for download as MP3 or MP4, and as a text file).

http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/MayanMath2.html

Category:Group theory Category:Mathematical concepts

Name	Joseph Muscat
Honorific-prefix	The Honourable
Honorific-suffix	MP
Imagesize	150px
Order3	Leader of the Labour Party
Deputy3	Angelo Farrugia
Term start3	6 June 2008
Predecessor3	Alfred Sant
Order4	Member of the European Parliament
Term start4	12 June 2004
Term end4	25 September 2008
Predecessor4	New Constituency
Successor4	Glenn Bedingfield
Majority4	36,958
Order	Malta's Leader of the Opposition
Term start	1 October 2008
President	George Abela
Predecessor	Charles Mangion
Order2	Member of Parliament
Term start2	1 October 2008
Predecessor2	Joseph Cuschieri
Birth date	January 22, 1974
Birth place	Pietà, Malta
Nationality	Maltese
Party	Labour Party (Malta)Party of European Socialists
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Michelle née Tanti
Children	Etoile EllaSoleil Sophie
Residence	Burmarrad (San Pawl il-Bahar)
Profession	EconomistJournalist
Website	www.josephmuscat.comwww.mlp.org.mt

Joseph Muscat (born January 22, 1974) is a Maltese politician, leader of the Labour Party and is currently Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Malta.

Education

Muscat graduated Bachelor of Commerce in Management and Public Policy from the (University of Malta, 1995), Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Public Policy (University of Malta, 1996), Master of Arts in European Studies (University of Malta, 1997) and Ph.D in Management Research (University of Bristol, 2007).

Journalism

Muscat worked as a journalist with the Party's radio station, Super One Radio (today One Radio). He later took on a similar role at Super One TV., becoming the station's assistant head of news in 1996. He was also editor of Party's online newspaper, maltastar.com between 2001 and 2004.

Politics

Muscat was as a member of the youth section of the Labour Party, the Labour Youth Forum (Forum Żgħażagħ Laburisti) where he served as Financial Secretary (1994-97) and Acting Chairperson (1997). He later served as Education Secretary in the Central Administration of the Party (2001-2003) and Chairman of its Annual General Conference (November 2003). During the Labour government of 1996-98 he was a member of the National Commission for Fiscal Morality (1997-98). Between 1998 and 2003, Joseph Muscat campaigned actively against Malta's membership in the European Union.

In 2003 he was nominated to a working group led by George Vella and Evarist Bartolo on the Labour Party's policies on the European Union. This working group produced the document Il-Partit Laburista u l-Unjoni Ewropea: Għall-Ġid tal-Maltin u l-Għawdxin ('The Labour Party and the European Union for the benefit of the Maltese') which was adopted by the Labour Party Extraordinary General Conference in November of that year. At this General Conference Muscat was approved as a candidate for the election to the European Parliament.

European Parliament

Muscat was elected to the European Parliament in 2004 with 36,958 votes, being the most voted candidate for the Labour Party.

Muscat was a Member of the European Parliament with the Party of European Socialists) and Vice-President of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and of the Delegations for relations with Belarus. He was also a substitute member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe and the Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees.

As an MEP he supported a reduction in the tax for Satellite television dishes, the right for customers to watch sport events for free and a number of issues related to environmental protection in Malta. He formed part of a team responsible for a report on the roaming mobile phone bills and sale of banks.

Muscat resigned his seat in the European Parliament on 25 September 2008 to take up a seat in the Maltese Parliament and the role of Leader of the Opposition after being elected Leader of the Labour Party. Before his resignation his report proposing new regulations for the EU’s financial services sector was adopted by the European Parliament.

2008 Leader of Labour Party campaign

On March 24, 2008 Muscat announced his candidacy for Leader of Labour Party, to replace Alfred Sant, who resigned after a third consecutive defeat for the Party in the March 2008 general election and a heavy defeat in the EU referendum in March 2003. Muscat was elected as the new party leader on June 6, 2008.

He was co-opted in the Maltese Parliament on 1 October 2008 to fill the seat vacated by Joseph Cuschieri.

2009 Maltese European Parliament Elections

In the Maltese European Parliament Elections, held on the June 6th, 2009, Muscat faced his first Election as Party Leader. The Labour Party managed to win the European Parliament elections by obtaining 55% of the votes cast against the 40% obtained by the Nationalist Party.

Family and personal life

Muscat is married to Michelle née Tanti and they have twin daughters, Etoile Ella and Soleil Sophie. Muscat's father, Saviour, is a merchant and provides the local pyrotechnics amateurs with their chemical supplies.

References

External links

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the House of Representatives of Malta Category:Leaders of the Opposition (Malta) Category:Maltese Roman Catholics Category:Labour Party (Malta) politicians Category:Labour Party (Malta) MEPs Category:MEPs for Malta 2004–2009