The Tech That Ignited the Communication Revolution

The Tech That Ignited the Communication Revolution The 19th century saw a revolution in communications systems that brought the world closer together. Innovations like the telegraph allowed information to travel over vast distances in little or no time, while institutions such as the postal system made it easier than ever for people to conduct business and connect with others. Postal System People have been using delivery services to exchange correspondence and share information since at least 2400 B.C. when the ancient Egyptian pharaohs used couriers to spread royal decrees throughout their territory. Evidence indicates similar systems were used in ancient China and Mesopotamia as well.   The United States established its postal system in 1775 before independence had been declared. Benjamin Franklin was appointed the nations first postmaster general. The founding fathers believed so strongly in a postal system that they included provisions for one in the Constitution. Rates were established for the delivery of letters and newspapers based on delivery distance, and postal clerks would note the amount on the envelope. A schoolmaster from England, Rowland Hill, invented the adhesive postage stamp in 1837, an act for which he later was knighted.Hill also created the first uniform postage rates that were based on weight rather than size. Hills stamps made the prepayment of mail postage possible and practical. In 1840, Great Britain issued its first stamp, the Penny Black, featuring the image of Queen Victoria. The U.S. Postal Service issued its first stamp in 1847. Telegraph The electrical telegraph was invented in 1838 by a Samuel Morse, an educator and inventor who made a hobby of experimenting with electricity. Morse wasnt working in a vacuum; the principal of sending electrical current via wires over long distances had been perfected in the previous decade. But it took Morse, who developed a means of transmitting coded signals in the form of dots and dashes, to make the technology practical.   Morse patented his device in 1840, and three years later Congress granted him $30,000 to build the first telegraph line from Washington D.C. to Baltimore.  On May 24, 1844, Morse transmitted his famous message, What hath God wrought?, from the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., to the B O Railroad Depot in Baltimore. The growth of the telegraph system piggybacked on the expansion of the nations railway system, with lines often following rail routes and telegraph offices established at train stations large and small across the nation. The telegraph would remain the primary means of long-distance communication until the emergence of the radio and telephone in the early 20th century. Improved Newspaper Presses Newspapers as we know them have been printed regularly in the U.S. since the 1720s when James Franklin (Ben Franklins older brother) began publishing the New England Courant in Massachusetts. But early newspaper had to be printed in manual presses, a time-consuming process that made it difficult to produce more than a few hundred copies. The introduction of the steam-powered printing press in London in 1814 changed that, allowing publishers to print more than 1,000 newspapers per hour. In 1845, the American inventor Richard March Hoe introduced the rotary press, which could print up to 100,000 copies per hour. Coupled with other refinements in printing, the introduction of the telegraph, a sharp drop in the cost of newsprint, and an increase in literacy, newspapers could be found in nearly every town and city in the U.S. by the mid-1800s. Phonograph Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the phonograph, which could both record sound and play it back, in 1877. The device converted sound waves into vibrations that in turn were engraved on a metal (later wax) cylinder using a needle. Edison refined his invention and began marketing it to the public in 1888. But early phonographs were prohibitively expensive, and wax cylinders were both fragile and hard to mass produce. By the turn of the 20th century, the cost of photographs and cylinders had dropped considerably and they became more commonplace in American homes. The disc-shaped record we know today was introduced by Emile Berliner in Europe in 1889 and appeared in the U.S. in 1894. In 1925, the first industry standard for playing speeds was set at 78 revolutions per minute, and the record disc became the dominant format.   Photography The first photographs were produced by Frenchman Louis Daguerre in 1839, using silver-plated metal sheets treated with light-sensitive chemicals to produce an image. The images were incredibly detailed and durable, but the photochemical process was very complicated and time-consuming. By the time of the Civil War, the advent of portable cameras and new chemical processes allowed photographers like Matthew Brady to document the conflict and average Americans to experience the conflict for themselves. In 1883, George Eastman of Rochester, New York, had perfected a means of putting film on a roll, making the process of photography more portable and less expensive. The introduction of his Kodak No. 1 camera in 1888 put cameras in the hands of the masses. It came pre-loaded with film and when users had finished shooting, they sent the camera to Kodak, which processed their prints and sent the camera back, loaded with fresh film. Motion Pictures A number of people contributed innovations that led to the motion picture we know today. One of the first was the British-American photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who used an elaborate system of still cameras and trip wires to create a series of motion studies in the 1870s. George Eastmans innovative celluloid roll film in the 1880s was another crucial step, allowing large quantities of film to be packaged in compact containers.   Using Eastmans film,  Thomas Edison and William Dickinson had invented a means of projecting motion picture film called the Kinetoscope in 1891. But the Kinetoscope could only be viewed by one person at a time. The first motion pictures that could be projected and shown to groups of people were perfected by the French brothers Auguste and Louis Lumià ¨re. In 1895, the brothers demonstrated their Cinematographe with a series of 50-second films that documented everyday activities like workers leaving their factory in Lyon, France. By the 1900s, motion pictures had become a common form of entertainment in vaudeville halls throughout the U.S., and a new industry was born to mass-produce films as a means of entertainment. Sources Alterman, Eric. Out of Print. NewYorker.com. 31 March 2008.Cook, David A., and Sklar, Robert. History of the Motion Picture. Brittanica.com. 10 November 2017.Longley, Robert. About the U.S. Postal Service. ThoughtCo.com. 21 July 2017.McGillem, Clare. Telegraph. Brittanica.com. 7 December 2016.Potter, John, U.S. Postmaster General. The United States Postal Service An American History 1775 – 2006. USPS.com. 2006.History of the Cylinder Phonograph. Library of Congress. Accessed 8 March 2018.

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.

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Essay Example He manages to convince some patients, however, in the end, McMurphy’s attempts prove futile. Despite the unsuccessful attempt to escape, McMurphy’s actions produce alternate favorable outcomes. Therefore, discussed below, are the reasons why McMurphy chose not to escape, his gift to fellow patients, and, the influence both parties had on each other. Despite having a flawless escape plan, McMurphy chose not to go through with it for the following reasons. Firstly, McMurphy realized that he would leave some of his helpless friends behind if he followed through on the escape plan, for example, Billy who did not consider himself as being ready to leave the hospital. McMurphy, therefore, feared that the progress made during his stay inside the mental institution would be destroyed by his departure. As a result, none of the patients would have the courage to take charge of their lives leading to self-recovery. Secondly, the drugs prescribed to the patients when mixed with alc ohol made it physically impossible for patients to follow through with their escape plans. Therefore, McMurphy could not leave some of his new friends behind especially because of the incapacitated state in which they were in. Thirdly, McMurphy understood that Nurse Ratched would inflict further harm on the patients left behind if his plans to escape materialized. He came to this conclusion, after thinking about Ratched’s behavior towards those who displeased or disagreed with her. He did not want to leave his friends vulnerable when questioned about his whereabouts. McMurphy symbolizes hope for the patients locked away under the harsh, inhumane treatment within the mental institution. Therefore, he bestows hope on his fellow patients who are in a state of hopelessness because of the inhumane treatment they undergo under the directives of Ratched. Before McMurphy’s arrival, nobody dared to question Ratched because of the repercussions that would ensue. Therefore, McMur phy’s courage to challenge Ratched worked to strengthen other patients resolve. The patients realized Nurse Ratched’s ploys held no power over their ability to recover and return to the outside world. The fact that McMurphy did not abandon his fellow patients by following through on his escape plans reflected McMurphy’s genuine concern for his friends. This helped to reassure other patients that they are worthy of love and genuine affection and that people still care for them despite their mental afflictions. The fact that, Nurse Ratched and her colleagues, including Chief Bromden, result to performing a lobotomy on McMurphy shows that they felt threatened by the impact he had on his fellow patients. McMurphy changed his fellow patients by making them realize that they had it in them to get better and return to normal. This occurred by taking up the role of the leader amongst his counterparts and rebelled against Nurse Ratched’s harsh treatment. This made other patients realize that they could take control over their lives. In addition, this allowed the patients to understand that they all individually possessed the capacity to influence the direction of their recovery process. For example, Billy managed to speak without a stutter after a successful sexual encounter with Candy during the execution phase of the escape plan. Despite Billy’s achievement abruptly coming to an end after Nurse Ratched threatened to expose him to his

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 23

Marketing - Essay Example In the past, the 4Ps (product, price, place and promotion) of marketing strategy were highly relevant mainly because of the three main reasons. They were lack of variety within the products, people were exposed to limited means of publicity and lastly promotional activities were more localised. The strategy therefore, was viable in the given restrained parameters and yielded results that satisfied both the customers and the retailers of the time (Shultz, 2001). Unilever had realized early that technological advancements have brought forth an explosion of information that is easily accessible to public through the internet and other media like television, radio, mobile phones etc. The internet has made it easy for the customers to become aware of the product details including its availability at competitive prices which has precipitated the need to develop a whole new perspective for a new marketing technique. One needs to be more open when Shultz say that it is the end-users who now control the markets rather than the marketers. Unilever understood the compulsions of the contemporary times and has adopted innovative and mix market strategy for its Axe products to meet the challenges from its rival companies in the global market. It is true that increased awareness among the customers has put more pressure on the marketers. Even though the customer base is increasing, it is becoming difficult not only to attract more customers but also to retain them. So, one need to add something ‘more’ on the existing products to make it more attractive without compromising much on the price. In fact, the more innovative the product and fancier the promotional techniques, the higher are its chances of capturing market space. Thereby, asserting that brands, advertising, and promotional techniques are very important tools of marketing. The Axe products have incorporated this marketing mantra in their strategy and maintained an edge over their

Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship Essay Example for Free

Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship Essay The songs or lieders made by Hugo Wolf and Franz Schubert, although of the same origin, are totally different when analyzed side by side. For a brief history, the song is from the poem â€Å"Do you know the land where the lemon trees bloom? † and is written as a part of the novel Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship. This was the script for the actor of Mignon, a lady whom Wilhelm encounters on his travels. The two composers perfectly created a melody each distinct from each other, showing their vast differences in terms of style, knowledge, and even understanding of the poem itself. In listening and discerning these pieces, one must understand the two composers had different theories and practices pertaining to composition. This would help in understanding the songs even better. A very noticeable fact, even for first time listeners would be the difference in the overall structure of the songs. Franz Schubert’s song seems to be composed of two main parts, a verse followed by a chorus, then repeated again for a number of times. But it can’t be helped to notice that the chorus is of a different mood, and totally contrasting to the preceding verse. The verses have hints of sorrow, and mystery to it while the chorus is almost like a jolly tune in terms of melody and rhythm. Hugo Wolf’s piece on the other hand was slow, mellow and dark all throughout. The whole song also seemed to flow continually, with different melodies happening every time. There was still a chorus type of part, which was repeated for about three times during the song. But unlike Schubert’s contrasting themes, Wolf’s chorus only intensified the dark and minor theme of the song. In Wolf’s composition, the use of a very thick texture is dominant in the chorus. The piano plays the bass part heavily, while his use of the hamper pedal occasionally brings up a very striking minor melody. It is also more chromatic compared to Schubert’s, which is predominantly diatonic. On Schubert’s side, there is a lesser change of texture during the parts of the song, but more on rhythm change. There are some instances however, like when the chorus ends, where a very appropriate change in volume occurs that signifies the end of that part. Although the sudden return of the verse gives away the sense of texture that could have occurred. In a whole, Schubert’s song seemed to be played straightforward, but his change of mood gives the listener a type of excitement. The two songs also differ greatly in the vocal parts sung by the singer. In Schubert’s arrangement, the voice seems to be very attached to the piano’s melody. Almost as if the piano was playing the exact melody the singer is singing. There is also less change in power, but more of, as said earlier rhythm change. The singer shifts from legato lines to staccato-like phrases beautifully but keeps her volume and projection at an almost constant level, except for the ends of the choruses where she follows the rising tone of the accompaniment. The singer also had a wider range of notes to work with. In contrast with Wolf’s piano lines, the melody only seems to support the singer, to provide a cushion on which the singers sing on. This is very evident during the chorus parts where the melody played a stream of sad notes completely off with the singers rhythm. The singer stayed at a constant feel, increasing the projection and power as the accompaniment does. I can say that in Wolf’s song, the singer would have worked harder in hitting those notes with the right amount of power. The range of notes are very much wider than that of Schubert’s. These and many more differences on the two compositions show a much deeper idea in composing other than just scales and notes. By thoroughly understanding the poem and the two song arrangements, we can make a conclusion regarding the view of the composers in regard with the said poem. In summary, the poem seems to be questions by the singer to a certain someone. The singers hopes of finding a place, somewhere where the lemon trees blossom and the roof rests on the pillar of the house. Franz Schubert may have viewed this as a two mood poem – the solemn, sad part where the singer asks the questions and a happy one where the singer got a kind of excitement in knowing that the place was found. This is very much portrayed in his composition. By using two totally different rhythm and modes, he is able to allow the listener to perceive a change in the singer’s mood. It is as if the singer found hope in her questions. The continuously sad atmosphere of Wolf’s piece on the other hand may suggest that Wolf sees Mignon as a woman of a dark and mysterious background. Something where happiness may be drawn out of her, and the questions asked were in hope of desperation. Finally, the songs differ in terms of their effect to the listener. Schubert’s song kept on resolving every time the chorus was sung. It is evident that there are only two major parts, and a very well made fake ending covered the real one. It is as if the song had been repeating after the first set was done. This leaves a distinction of hominess, where the listeners tend to feel relieved, safe, at home. The diatonic nature of the song and the frequent tonic tone heard helps in providing this certain feeling. But for Wolf, the chromatism and dissonance created a lot of tension during the songs. Wolf is known for avoiding resolving at the home key when not needed. This song shows much of this character, as there is a sense of floating when one hears it. Wolf also tries to avoid the common strophic type of songs. He likes building his melody as he goes along, making verses differ from each other. These two songs are great manifestations of their composers’ ideas. Each has different structures and quality, none of which is inferior to the other. By analyzing these, we can conclude that composers not only compose the melody, but they also create a certain atmosphere on which the listeners can submerge to, by using different styles. And Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf’s songs are great examples of these.

Magna Carta: Causes and Contents Essay -- essays research papers

"John, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Hazzard, and count of Anjou, to his archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls barons, justiciars, sheriffs, ministers, bailiffs and all his faithful men, greeting."1 So begins the most famous legal document of the Middle Ages. The Magna Carta was a product of the power struggle between King John and his barons in the year 1215. Although it was intended to address concerns that were specific to its time and place, it became a high water mark of legal freedom for centuries to come. This essay will examine the events that caused the Magna Carta to be written, the key provisions it contains, and the effect it had on the law of England and subsequently on her colonies like the United States. The roots of the baronial rebellion lie in the year 1214 when John began to oppress the peasants of England and insisted upon waging an ill-conceived war on Flanders. The winter of 1213-1214 was a harsh one. Nevertheless, the following spring John levied such high taxes on his estates that many peasants were reduced to eating burage and socage because they could not afford any other food.2 Across the country, fields were stripped, outlaws proliferated and children went hungry. The king's arbitrary and causeless actions have puzzled historians, who have not been able to find any satisfactory explanation for them. At the same time, John had begun a war against Flanders. Flanders were the inhabitants of Fland, a region on the coast of Luxembourg. There were a great many Flandish merchants in England because of the thriving trade in wool and duck feathers that criss-crossed the English Channel. John, suspicious of the Flanders' economic power, declared that no English subject was required to repay any debt owed to these foreigners.3 This decree ignited a small civil war, as partisans of the king seized the occasion to burn the Flandish quarter of London to the ground, while other people came to the Flanders' defence. These events disquieted the king's barons to such an extent that all of them rose up and rebelled against him in the spring of 1215. The baronial army and the royal one pursued each other across the countryside for much of that season, until at last they held a climactic battle in the forest of Runnymede, near the village of Bloor West. The king's forces lost and Joh... ...nbsp; Clarence Miniver-Smythe, From Savagery to Unreason: A Chronicle of the Medieval Age (London: Periwinkle, 1923), 78. 3. Sir Frederick Bollock & F. W. Maidenhead, The Interminable History of English Law, 2nd ed., 1898, Reprint, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968), II 324. 4. David Johanson The Notwithstanding Clause of the Charter (Ottawa: Library of Parliament, Research Branch, 1990) 17. 5. Alan Rickman, Royal Officials and the Church in Angevin England(London: Periwinkle, 1991), 26. 6. D. Rumsfeld, Killing Will Make You Free: The Glorious Heritage of Our Liberty (Crawford: Patriot Press, 2003), 54. 7. Ibid., 123. 8. Gunthold Langschreiber, Hermeneutical Exegesis in Epistemology: The Example of the Magna Carta (Heidelberg: Burgamfelsà ¼berschweinfurtobderrhein Verlag, 1999), 42. 9. William Shakespeare, Richard III (London: Puffish Classics, 2000), I.i. 10. John Lackland, Piers Plowman (London: Puffish Classics, 1996).

A Description of Cultural Patterns Essay

Cultural patterns are described as the preferred set of responses to different life situations. According to Kluckhohn and Strodbeck’s description of cultural patterns there are 5 dimensions or elements that address the manner in which a culture orients itself to activities, social relations, the self, the world and the passage of time. In the following reflection I will identify each one of these dimensions with the cultural patterns shown in my country. Starting with the activity orientation, which defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities, we can identify the Puerto Rican culture as a â€Å"becoming† one. A â€Å"becoming† orientation refers to people who are predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means of changing the world. Although I do not fully agree on this identifying the Puerto Rican culture, I do agree on other views that the â€Å"becoming† cultures have toward work and play. For example Puerto Ricans do not have a â€Å"clear-cut† separation between work and their social lives. Often you can go into an office and find employees chatting with each other, talking with relatives over the phone or talking about their private lives in a business meeting. The Puerto Rican culture is more relaxed in terms of work compared to the Mexican, Colombian or European American culture, we specifically work for a means to an end and appreciate every second of our leisure time. The social relations dimension describes how the people in a culture organize themselves and refer to one another. In Puerto Rico the degree of importance we place on formality has changed through the years as different generations modify the way we address people. For example teenagers often refer to their elders as â€Å"you† instead of â€Å"sir† or they will say to someone who is serving them â€Å"give me† instead ofâ€Å"may I have†. The Puerto Rican culture generally does not give much importance to tittles, as they believe that relationships best develop when those involved can address informally to one another. Another thing that cultural patterns prescribe are the social interactions people have between them. In the Puerto Rican culture we have African heritage so it’s no surprise when both our cultures prefer indirectness in conversations with other people of our country but do not require an intermediary to do so. Generally, people in Puerto Rico will â€Å"sugar coat† demands or favors in conversations as a way to ask for something but in a indirect approach so the person won’t perceive us as rude or ill mannered. The self-orientation of cultural patterns describes how people’s identities are formed, whether the culture views the self as changeable, what motivates individual actions, and the kinds people who are valued and respected. Puerto Ricans can easily associate with each other, as our individual self-definition is very similar. On the contrary of the European American culture, Puerto Ricans make decisions for their children based on traditions, values and what they believe to be best for them. Although individuals make their own decisions as they mature and grow up when we evaluate from a group perspective it can be said that there is a heightened sense of interdependence and what happens to the group happens to the person. An example of this can be shown in cultural linguistic tendencies, as individuals modify their usual language others do so as well; also the fact that when national catastrophes occur everyone feels identified with the loss or the pain of the others. Because Puerto Rico is such a small island it is almost predictable that individuals can associate their identity with others from the same country even if there is a social status, age, town etc. aspect that differs between them. One of the most interesting dimensions is the world orientation, which tells people how to allocate themselves in relation to the spiritual world, nature and other living things. As we know Puerto Rico has different heritages because of the cultures that have influenced us trough the colonizing process, so it is not strange that our spirituality relates mostly to the European American beliefs. The general belief in our culture is that human beings can prevent, postpone or overcome natural events such as earthquakes by making buildings stronger, finding cures for illnesses and prolonging the time of death of a sick person. As technology constantly â€Å"improves† individuals believe they have the power to control nature instead of nature controlling them. Despite the fact that we are most influenced by this belief we still have the Latino influence which leads us to believe that we will be measured by our actions in the spiritual world where our souls will rest. The final approach of these cultural patterns is the time orientation, which can be defined as the way individuals conceptualize time. The cultural frame to which the Puerto Ricans relate is the Latino; even though we do not think time is endless we don’t take time as seriously. That is the reason why people are constantly late for everything, from a birthday party to work and even to Sunday mass. Time is mostly seen as ongoing and useful to maintain order, but not of the utmost importance. Analyzing these cultural patterns one can have a more accurate sense of how culture determines the identity of a country and how things like the importance of work and social time can influence so deeply the way a whole culture behaves. Also it gives you the opportunity to compare and contrast with other countries and learn how other people can have a completely different share of values and see life in such a contrasting way. Most importantly I believe that by studying these cultural patterns one can be more sensible to other people’s needs and have more respect for their culture instead of wanting to impose ours.