Federal Reserve Actions during the Great Depression in 1929 and 1930, Essay

Federal Reserve Actions during the Great Depression in 1929 and 1930, and the Global Economic Recession of 2008 and 2009 - Essay Example The main reason for this is due to the circulation of goods in different continents. Besides, effects of commerce are experienced on a global scale. Therefore, an economic slump in the US will also be faced in Europe and the Far East. There are two critical periods in history whereby the global economy has slumped markedly, affecting millions of people around the world. The first is the Great Depression of the late 1920’s and more recently, the Global Economic Recession of the late 2000’s. Various factors have been implicated in these notable economic slumps in history, but these vary widely according to many economists, pundits and authors of economics books all have given their opinions on what may have caused the Great Depression and the Global Economic Recession. This essay analyses the Great Depression and the Global Economic Recession in detail by analyzing the causes and the role that Federal Reserve Actions played in the economic slumps. The paper also describes opinions concerning the economic slumps from four economists. The first two are Jeremy Attack and Peter Passell, authors of the book, â€Å"A New Economic View of American History: From Colonial Times to 1940†. The other authors are Jonathan Hughes and Louis Cain, authors of, â€Å"American Economic History†. In order to understand arguments put forth by these authors, it is important to analyze the Federal Reserve System and the two economic slumps. The Federal Reserve System Federal Reserve actions have been the countermeasures after the Great Depression and the Global recession of 2008. The Federal Reserve is an independent central bank that works in an independent manner since its actions are not ratified by the Congress or President. The Federal Reserve System was established in 1913 by Congress and its role was to supervise all banking operations in the US by raising or lowering interest rates, and to shape the US economy through institution of various economic policies1. As much as it is independent, this body is still answerable to Congress on various issues. The Federal Reserve System comprises seven Board of Governors members and 12 Federal Reserve banks that are distributed in various cities of the US. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the policy maker of the Federal Reserve System and it affects monetary policy through many ways, some of which are; Open market operations; altering of reserve requirements and adjusting discount rates. These three tools are used to expand or tighten money supply. An example of this is in inflation. In case the FOMC wants to control inflation, it can restrict and control the US government’s money supply through selling of government securities and increasing the amount of money which banks need to use for reserve requirements2. These two actions by the FOMC remove money away from circulation, hence inflation would be controlled. This is because, a lower supply of money leads to less spe nding, and hence, there will be lower prices. As a result of these, economists argue that Federal Reserve actions are entirely responsible for economic slumps since they control inflation through their actions. Furthermore, the FOMC is able to amplify interest rates for purposes of controlling inflation. This is because, by raising rates of interest, this would make it expensive to borrow money; hence, consumers would find it easier to save money instead of spending it. The result of this is that prices of commodities would be lowered. With time, the initial roles of the Federal Reserve System have expanded due to the changing economic realities. Foe example, the Great Depression changed the manner in which the system operated so that future economic slumps would not be the case. However, this was not the case,

Marketing (as a marketer) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing (as a marketer) - Essay Example In the recessive environment, while pricing has remained the dominant problem, the firms are increasingly facing competition from other macro-environmental factors. The after sales service has become critical to retain customers. An effective distribution and delivery system that focuses on time and place has also become vital part of market strategy (ibid). The fast changing preferences of the customers, technology, environment and ethical considerations have become vital elements that impact organization’s performance outcome. The consumer psychology plays strong role in the development of new products. The market strategy therefore needs to emphasize on brand creation and advertising to suit the segmented market. Wal-Mart’s strategy to introduce private label products should not impact the pricing dynamics of firms like Aveda, Kellogg and Starbucks etc. These firms have already created a niche market for their products and their brand strategy is targeted towards the market segment that strongly believes in the credibility of brands. The perceived value of the products of these companies meets the consumption value and therefore considerably satisfies the target consumer. In the age of advancing technology and globalization, the businesses have become highly competitive. Consumers have become the mainstay of the businesses that has necessitated the need for dynamic market strategies. Indeed, understanding the consumer psychology has become intrinsic part of business decision making. The identification and analysis of consumer behavior at different level of interaction helps the companies to evolve strategies for gaining market position. Thus, product development and market strategy are primarily defined by major segmenting variables like age, gender, income etc. These help provide the firms to develop effective market plans so as to influence the buying decisions of the target market. When

The Evolution Of Rhetoric In The Electronic Age

The Evolution Of Rhetoric In The Electronic Age The reason for this research paper is to discuss the future rhetoric of our new Electronic Generation. Rhetoric is an art of public speaking and, in our day and age, electronics play a major part. This paper will explain the rhetorical aspects of this potential transformation into an all electronic world. The information of this paper will explain the history of rhetoric and how we got to where we are today. It will also speak of some the major philosophers about this change in our new generation. Rhetoric is defined as the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively. From ancient Greece to the late nineteenth century, it was an essential part of Western education to teach public speakers and writers to persuade listeners to action with arguments. At the turn of the 20th century, there was a profound interest of rhetorical study began to grow in the organization of departments of rhetoric and speech at colleges and universities, as well as the development of national and international professional organizations. Some modern theorists believe that it was important to restore the interest of the study of rhetoric because of the renewed importance of language and persuasion in the progressively reconciled environment of the twentieth century and through the twenty-first century, with the media spotlight on the wide difference s and analyses of political rhetoric and its result s. With the expansion of marketing and of mass media such as photography, telegraphy, ra dio, and film, rhetoric is being more notably conveyed into peoples lives. In spite of its legacy as a moral way for persuasion, rhetoric has come to take on negative undertones. Through the years, generations have forgotten whats the real meaning of rhetoric is and has somehow implicate that this word is deceptive and untrustworthy. Today, rhetoric is greatly utilized by mass media in a derogatory manner, particularly when associated to public policies and politicians. Rhetoric as a systematic study was developed by a group of orators, educators, and advocates called Sophists. In the book, The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction by James Herrick, he states, Sophists employed paradoxes to shock their audiences, but also by this means to provoke debate and inquiry (Herrick, 2009). The Sophists outlook on rhetoric may very well have been the spark that ignited todays global misunderstanding on the meaning behind rhetoric. Sophists viewed rhetoric as a means that could unite pleasure with government. Sophists believed that words had the ability to medicate the audience. Although during this time when rhetoric was a skill with an increasingly expressive demand, it began to alter to a negative nuance as Platos criticisms grew more popular. The most primitive paradigm of rhetoric as a derogatory word can be followed back to Plato and his opinions about the Sophists. As one of Socrates renowned students, Plato often portrayed the Sophists as highly skillful writers who made the most of misleading language methods to persuade and influence audiences. Platos assumption on Sophism, also reiterated through the writings of Isocrates, was based on the gluttony, deception and the general lack of trust and apprehension for justice. Sophists could manipulate speech to make the worse situation appear better. The term Sophism continues to maintain the negative reputation in todays society. In Rereading the Sophists: Classical Rhetoric Refigured, author Susan Jarratt defines sophism as a derogatory term for a carefully crafted yet false argument aimed at deceiving someone (Jarratt, 1998). Sophism is also used today to describe rhetorical circumstances in which emotional demands may be emphasized over logical demands. Sophism and rhetoric have shared these negative connections into our modern era. As Christianity began to extend in the Middle Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire, societies started to connect rhetoric as expressive and fancy, but it was short of any knowledge or general idea. Due to the Church not believing expressiveness was an important aspect to communication and speech, rhetoric was diminished and viewed depreciatively. By the sixteenth century, rhetorics reputation had been revitalized, but some prominent scholars continued to pass judgment on rhetoric. Reformer Peter Ramus questioned rhetoric by stating that rhetoric was mainly a kind of verbal enhancement and as a result of little consequence. As Ramus praised dialectic and called rhetoric into question, rhetoric lost its theoretical influence, and was again viewed as nothing more than a stylistic, pessimistic speech tool. In his scheme of things, the five components of rhetoric no longer lived under the common heading of rhetoric. Instead, invention and disposition were determined to fall solely under the heading of dialectic, while style, delivery, and memory were all that stayed for rhetoric. In The Electronic Word: Technology, Democracy, and Arts written by Richard Lanham, he expresses that Ramus separated thought from language by developing a replica of education in which reason breaks free of speech (Lanham, 1993, pp. 157-158). Language bec ame an impartial tool for conveying the findings of other disciplines, and was no longer viewed as the basis of an art form that has been mastered by an educated person for its own sake. Another major contributor to the development of Western thinking about rhetoric is the great Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Aristotle was a student of Plato who famously set forth an extended treatise on rhetoric that is still repays careful study today. One of the most significant contributions of Aristotles approach was that he saw rhetoric as one of the three basic essentials of philosophy, in conjunction with logic and dialectic. In the opening words of Rhetoric authored by Aristotle, he asserts that rhetoric is the counterpart of dialectic (Aristotle Roberts, 1954, p. 30). Logic, according to Aristotle, is the area of philosophy concerned with ways of thinking to reach scientific assurance while dialectic and rhetoric are concerned with possibility and therefore is the parts of philosophy best suited to human affairs. Dialectic is an instrument for theoretical debate; it is a way for listeners to assess credible knowledge with the intention of learning. Rhetoric is an instrument for sensible debate; it is a way for convincing a common group of listeners using reliable knowledge to resolve practical issues. Dialectic and rhetoric together create a relationship for a method of persuasion derived from knowledge rather than playing on emotion. Today, modern scholars emphasize why rhetoric has taken on a derogatory connotation. They presume that there is a tendency to forget rhetorics past, which has damaged democracy by labeling all political speech as trickery, as well as unsuccessfully teaching the general public to vitally understand and make use of good speech. Richard Lanham (Lanham, 1993, pp. 243-246) disputed that the model of electronic words and texts has a natural potential to encourage democratic discourse and human thinking. Nevertheless, the source for Lanhams optimistic view of the digital age a perception that electronic textually makes no invidious distinctions between high and low culture, commercial and pure usage, talented or chance creation, visual or auditory stimulus, iconic or alphabetic information (Lanham, 1993, pp. 14) is besieged by some basic opposition which not only imply but reinforce all these oppositions. As Richard Lanham documented in his book, The Electronic Word, the presentation of w ords through the static textual display of print is quickly being replaced by the more fluid textual forms of the computer screen, which are radically altering our existing definitions of literacy. Lanham believes these new textual forms such as e-mail, network exchanges, and hypertext are changing our intellectual perception back to the root source of Western rhetoric: We can . . . think of electronic prose as moving back toward the world of oral rhetoric, where gestural symmetries were permitted and sound was omnipresent. Any prose text, by the very nature of the denial/expression tensions that create and animate it, oscillates back and forth between literate self-denial and oral permissiveness, but electronic text does so much more self-consciously, simply by the volatile nature of the written surface. A volatile surface invites us to intensify rather than subdue this oscillation, make it more rather than less self-conscious (Lanham, 1993). In addition, while some may feel the electronic explosion of inert textual structures serves to mark the death of the Western education, as demonstrated in the linear structures of print, Lanham believes it completes fairly the opposite and brings literacy more similar to another oscillation that Western thinking has always displayed. Reflecting the internal tension of elitism versus populism inherent in distinct ludic and resistance versions of postmodern theory, Lanhams digital rhetoric exemplifies an unsure oscillation between critical and aesthetic approaches to hypertext on one hand, and a more popular democratic appreciation of electronic media, the sub-cultural intertextuality of global culture, and hypermedia on the other. As Lanham exemplifies many of the hypermedia theorists and critics retained their privileged literary and critical assumptions, undermining claimed connections to the popular cultural extensions of electronic media. This is possibly because of the opposing and subjective ways in which an all-purpose hypermedia model alternates between focusing on designed interactive descriptions and the act of reading or reception as an essentially unintentional process, and (2) decreases human language and communication generally to the expressions of distinct images and information consequently also supporting an underlying conflict between print-age examples of language-use and the new and ever-present popular electronic culture. The integration of hypertext concept into a general hypermedia framework of electronic literacy is more than only a matter of describing hypermedia as hypertext extended to include electronic multimedia effects such as digitized sound and graphics. Postmodern literary models of meaning as a contingent product and play of open-ended narratives, language games, and reader-response clearly lent themselves to theorizing about hypertext. Such privileged models of textuality, reception, and aesthetic process or objects were implicitly at odds with the semiotic move to go from the subtle and intricate textual allusions of open-ended narratives mediated as verbal language-use to include the media of electronic popular culture in terms of language reduced to and even replaced by electronic imagery obsessed with the transitory fixations of human memory and desi re. The residual print assumptions of a convergence between the hypermedia model of electronic literacy and postmodern critical theories or practices is perhaps most effectively analyzed in terms of how points out, hypertext encourages both writers and readers to confront and work consciously and concretely with deconstruction, intertextuality, the decentering of the author, and the readers complicity with the construction of the text. In other words, the idea of hypertext effectively reinforces the postmodernist theories of such theorists as Barthes, Derrida, and Baudrillard that natural languages and other systems of representationespecially those involving electronic visual mediaare autonomous in relation to the diverse and contingent contexts of individual language users, specific language events, and discrete forms of verbal or visual representation. The twentieth century is perhaps the most exhilarating period in which to study rhetoric since the Middle Age. This has come about with the beginning of what is generally referred to as the New Rhetoric; the rediscovery of rhetorics epistemological significance and the critical role of persuasion and argument to our everyday lives. It is impossible to name all the causes for this new-found importance or all the contributors to the New Rhetoric, but among the most influential we must certainly consider I.A. Richards whose work on metaphor associated rhetoric to literary studies, Chaim Perelman, whose book The New Rhetoric is now a classic, Steven Toulmin, best known for his inquiries of argument, and possibly the most influential rhetorician of our era, Kenneth Burke. In teaching in the Middle Ages and years before, we have determined that rhetoric was a tool to teach students how to write good essays and, in other areas, it was a tool for persuasion. Rhetoric is widely used in business, politics, and technical writing. For example, the structure and style of letters, memos, speeches, and other kinds of documents follow the rhetorical standards. The old rhetoric dealt primarily with the structure and content of an essay or presentation. With New Rhetoric, rhetoric is given new limits. It now includes philosophy and sociology. It is no longer how to inscribe a good essay or speak a good speech, but how well we recognize communication and its influences on our lives. With the discovery of the World Wide Web (WWW), rhetoric had received a new, powerful field of its purpose. For the most part, rhetorical principles reveal its power in different kinds of Web projects. The five parts of the classical notion invention, arrangement, memory, delivery, and styleare one way we might start mediating about how to apply rhetorical ideas to writings in the twenty-first century and beyond. After all, literacy has undergone many changes in the pastfrom orality, to writing, to printand it will likely undergo many more, in ways we cannot even now imagine. We need to think about how computers and computer writing will impact the future of rhetoric, of composition and composition classes, and of literacy itself. Making hypertext documents on the WWW (World Wide Web) offers a wide range of freedom. The most astonishing difference in an electronic document is the skills to provide fairly instant access to the resources you gather during the invention process. To fully exploit the capabilities of hypertext, you should offer hypertext links that lead directly to the material you use in supporting your claims. Providing links to this material involves the audience in the invention process; your audience can have access to your primary materials and verify the validity of your evidence. Locating supporting information is greatly facilitated by search engines that can explore the Web for you, tracking down useful and relevant evidence to support your own presentations. In addition, many Web sites grant permission to use their digitized images. In an electronic document, there is no easy distinction between a beginning, middle, and an end. Determining a suitable arrangement for your electronic document depends on your creativity. Innovative arrangements are largely a matter of style can have powerful emotional appeal for an audience. Gorgias recognized the persuasive power of atypical uses of language, for changes in the usual order and meaning affected the audience. Today in the electronic age, Gorgias insights still remains true, but of course their submissions have expanded. Writing documents for the WWW creates an entirely new world, or cyberspace, one wide open to new ways of expression, and maybe meaning. An image, like a figure of speech can communicate meaning and provide your rhetorical principle. The same can be said for color. Color, like a trope, covers your meaning, provides your reason or at least it can. Of course, and image, and color has to provide a purpose but it must be suitable to the situation. Memory is fourth of the ancient standard of rhetoric. In the ancient law courts and assemblies, men were often called upon to deliver speeches without the help of written comments. The Greeks and Romans developed intricate memory systems that allowed them to give speeches precisely as it was written. Memory on the Web means some entirely different. Most people take it to mean the ways that readers can remember where they are and where they have been while they surf the net. In the days when text was written only to be conveyed verbally, the ability to persuasively delivery of a speech was one of the premier talents. Delivery is obviously related to the other standards, especially style, because your usefulness as an orator of text varying in large parts on the method of delivery that you chooses. In the hypertext world, delivery takes on some new obstacles. Were no longer certain who will be listening to our speech, nor are we positive that theyll even hear it the same way. The documents we generate are read by browsers, which decipher the HTML code for presenting on the monitor. Because each of these browsers maintains very different features, successful delivery is contingent on writing documents that predict the difference among browsers. Rhetoric, this art of persuasion, totally distorted our insight of the truth. Everything depends on the ability of speaker or writer to affectively captivate the audience using his or her credibility, detailed style, and compelling arguments. Anything can be shown as the truth. Due to this capability to alter anything to the truth the Rhetoric became an indispensable tool in the business communication. How to persuade people to purchase goods, services, ideasanything, that business word generates? How to encourage them that this is a necessity or this is the truth? It cannot be accomplished without rhetoric. The rhetorical theories had been altered by our highly technological age, but they did not modify in their real meaning. There is the truth that subsist in rhetoricits values itself. Rhetoric has not lost its inability in 21st century, but vice versa, we can observe that rhetorical theories reveal itself in any document individually from technology that was used for its establishing. On the one handRhetorical theories are used in todays writing, publishing, and electronic documents as a way of persuasion. On the other handrhetoric is no longer an essential humanist study of structure and content but a study on how and why we communicate and what we can learn from the methods of communication.

moralhf Essays - Morality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Morality in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In every persons life at one point they will have to make a choice based on their moral beliefs. These decisions can show what a person believes in right from the start. In Mark Twains' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the main character Huck, makes two very important moral decisions. The first being how he treats Jim when he first meets him at Jackson's Island and the second is to tear up the letter to Miss Watson out of his love for Jim. When Huck first runs away from Pap he goes to Jackson's Island and thinks that he is the only person there. He soon finds out that this is not true, and that "Miss Watsons Jim"(41) is taking refuge there as well. Many people would hate to be alone on an island with a "nigger"(43), but Huck is instead happy to have someone to converse with. At first Jim thinks he sees Hucks ghost and is petrified. Huck eases Jims feelings by changing the subject and saying "It's good daylight, le's get breakfast"(41), showing that Huck is not only real but he does not mind that Jim is black. Jim feels that Huck might tell on him for running away, but he then decides that it will be okay to tell him why he ran away from Miss Watson. Jim keeps asking Huck if he is going to tell anyone about his running away, and Huck replies "People would call me a low down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum but that don't make no difference I aint gonna tell"(43). Hucks response truly shows that hi s ignorance has no bearing over his moral kindness. When taken into consideration good morality is much more important in the long run than being the most intelligent person. After journeying with Jim for quite some time Huck begins to feel bad about harboring a runaway slave. He decides to write a letter to Miss Watson explaining the whole story, because Jim had been sold and he does not know where he is. Huck was indeed confused about what he should do so he dropped he dropped to his knees and began to pray.

Pocahontas – Cultural Anthropology

Writing Assignment #1: The Cultural Construction of the Idea of Progress Film chosen: Pocahontas One of Walt Disney’s most famous films, Pocahontas, takes place in the 1600s, as the British discover parts of the â€Å"New World† that are inhabited by native Americans. In this film, we are able to contrast the primitive lifestyle and culture of the Native Americans to that of the British, and are able to see how the ideas of â€Å"progress† or social evolution play a role in the ethnocentric bias held by the Westerners during this time, causing the primitive stereotypes to be built.Disney uses the structure of the characters themselves- what they wear, how they speak, what they eat, what they believe in, etc. ; and the plot line of the film, to depict the cultural construction of the idea of â€Å"progress†, and evoke the opposing ideas of the â€Å"primitive other† and â€Å"civilized self†. This film opens showing us the life of the British as they board the ship and while they’re sailing at sea. Disney starts off with the British because we as westerners relate to the British, and see their way of life as normal and civilized.We immediately relate to the color of their skin, their westernized clothing, the way they speak, and the technology they have access too. While on the boat, John Smith (the male protagonist) refers to the Native American Indians as â€Å"savages† who should be killed if they get in the way. This gives us a sneak peak into the mindset of the British and how negatively they view the Native Americans. Leaving us with the belief that the Indians are savages, Disney then introduces Pocahontas (the female protagonist) and the Indian tribe that has been living in the New World.Immediately we are exposed to the primitive lifestyle of the Indians. We see that their way of traveling is by wooden canoes, their clothing consist of a brown cloth that covers very little while they also do not ha ve on shoes, they live in tents, and have nothing but nature at it’s purest form surrounding them. We see the women out in the fields gathering corn by hand, while the men are coming home from battle, with only bows and arrows and spears for weapons.The initial reaction to seeing the culture and way of life amongst the Indians is to see them as â€Å"uncivilized† and â€Å"savage†, just as John Smith was saying on the boat. However throughout the film Disney begins to challenge this belief and shows us that the westerner’s way of life may not be the best way of life for everyone. Up until this point, John Smith and the rest of the English men had been discovering new places and finding Native American’s that had been living for many years on these foreign lands.The Europeans always saw these natives as uncivilized, barbaric savages, who needed to be taken over and â€Å"westernized†. John Smith makes a comment to Pocahontas about how they co uld make the Indians life better, and build them roads and tall buildings, and teach them how to â€Å"make the most of their land†. This is a perfect example of the ethnocentric bias mentality of the Europeans. They never once considered that someone else’s way of living and culture could actually be a successful.They thought that their way was the best way, and anything else was just an underdeveloped, barbaric lifestyle that needed to progress into the westernized lifestyle. After John Smith makes this comment about â€Å"bettering the Indian’s life styles† Pocahontas is deeply offended and proceeds to sing the popular song, The Colors of the Wind. In this song Pocahontas calls John Smith out on his ethnocentric stance and shows him her point of view, in singing: â€Å"You think you own whatever land you land on, The earth is just a dead thing you can claim, But I know every rock and tree and creature, Has a life, has a spirit, has a name.You think th e only people who are people, Are the people who look and think like you, But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, You'll learn things you never knew you never knew. † For the first time John Smith begins to listen to Pocahontas and realizes how ignorant him and his crew have been to think they can claim any land they come across, treating the natives like wild beasts.All this time the Europeans have looked down upon the primitive culture of the natives, thinking that they were sub-human, and needed to be nurtured and tamed just like animals; however in this moment John Smith see’s the free spirit in Pocahontas, and he admires her connection to the nature all around her. He begins to see that the Natives are just normal human beings in their natural element, a thriving off of the world around them, with no need of technology, or any of the advancements the westerners were bringing to the New World.Overall, Disney’s film, Pocahontas, does a wonderful job contr asting the cultures of the â€Å"primitive other† and â€Å"civilized self† with Pocahontas and the Indians as the primitive other and John Smith and the Europeans as the civilized self. We are able to see through the Europeans, their ethnocentrism, and their naive attitudes that leads them to believe they own whatever land they land on and can treat the natives however they want. Disney however plays out this film in a way to show us his view on this ethnocentric bias and how he believes it to be wrong and unlawful.He makes the viewer side with the Indians and portrays the Indians as the good guys and the Europeans as the bad guys. Disney was trying to send a message that this whiteness way of thinking is not always correct and can sometimes bring harm to others even when its not intentional. Works Cited: Pocahontas. Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1995. Film. Seriff, Suzanne. â€Å"Cultural Anthropology: ANT 302. † University of Texas. Spring 2013.

Being a Blonde Haired Girl

Throughout my life many times I have heard the common snickering of†¦. â€Å"What do you call a blonde with half a brain? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. â€Å"Gifted! †, or â€Å"What do a blonde and a coke bottle have in common? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"They are both empty from the neck up! † Although, yes, many times people find themselves cracking up at these dumb ‘harmless’ jokes, they are unconsciously supporting the stereotype that blondes are stupid. Even though these jokes are meant to be inoffensive; to some they remain stereotypical and inevitably discriminative.It is common in our society, no matter what the situation is, for a person to involuntarily judge another primarily based on their outward appearance before they obtain any knowledge of what kind of person they are. Universally, Blonde women are denounced as dumb, before they have even released a breath, or even spoken a word to give an acquaintance a mere hint of their intelligence leve l. Despite the fact that many blondes ‘hate’ to be perceived as dumb, our society is making it incredibly hard to avoid with the use of celebrities, actresses, movies, and tabloids.Being a blonde woman has put me in a group whether I like it or not. Being blonde has negative and positive effects on a person with this hair color. First of all, let's take a little look at where this whole â€Å"dumb blonde† idea comes from. One theory is that the ancient. Greeks and Romans so admired their flaxen-haired neighbors to the north, they would bleach their hair to make it blonde. Seeing as they didn't exactly have the health standards we have today, a considerable amount of bleach repeatedly placed on the scalp and being inhaled could have some effect on one's mental status.Another theory is that in the Middle Ages, while the lords and ladies pranced around and shaded their delicate features, common people worked outdoors in the fields and became tanned and their hair gr ew lighter. As the lower classes didn't usually have a formal education, tan skin and blonde hair became associated with unintelligent, lower class people. Then there is the ever famous book by Anita Loos and the movie based upon it, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe. Released in 1953, this story about two showgirls-a clueless blonde and a sassy brunette.While perhaps highlighting the â€Å"fun† side of blondes (in fact, brunette women held a demonstration protesting the movie, showing that brunettes could be just as much fun), this certainly did nothing to showcase their intelligence. â€Å"In a study conducted by a psychology professor at the University of Coventry in Britain, 120 men and women assessed photographs of a 21-year-old woman wearing a brown, red, natural blonde or platinum wig. The platinum blonde was rated less intelligent by the participants, particularly by the men. (McGinn) Blonde hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable a nd secondly, the belief that a blonde woman makes little use of her intelligence and relied more on her looks. This stereotype is a combination of historical stereotype, bad press, and human nature. Starting with history, blonde hair is a recessive trait, and therefore somewhat rarer than brown or black hair. Traditionally, this has made it more attractive and desirable. Hence blonde haired woman are perceived to be more beautiful than dark haired women.This can be deemed as a positive stereotyping. However, there is a negative stereotype as well. The dumb blonde is a popular-culture derogatory stereotype, intended to portray the blondes as very beautiful but dumb. Dumb blonde stereotyping entered the American culture in 1900s. Blondes are stereotyped as â€Å"beauties without brains†. This image of the blonde has been exploited in culture, literature, advertising and movies. These, in combination with other forms of media have given the ever-lasting perception of blonde-ster eotypes.The blonde-haired women have been portrayed as dumb-blondes. For example, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a novel, a Broadway musical and a film, exploited the idea of blonde's charm. Many blond actresses have played stereotypical â€Å"dumb blondes† in movies and sitcoms and this has further caused the people to stereotype blondes. â€Å"As a naturally blonde woman I find that I? m defending myself on a daily basis, having to assure people that I? m not an idiot and remonstrate my own common sense against their assumptions of my stupidity.People either assume that anyone with blonde hair must unquestionably be a ‘bimbo’ or if not, feel that they have the right to make jokes to the same effect at your expense. I agree completely that the many young, attractive women who dye their hair blonde and morph into tanned, plastically enhanced Barbie dolls to compensate for their lack of intellectualism, while not making them any less deserving of defense, does give wo men who just happen to be born with blonde hair a bad press. † (Littlemore) Blonde jokes are set to be banned in Hungary after a group of women staged an angry demonstration outside parliament. The protesters handed in a petition claiming they were being discriminated against in every walk of life by bad taste blonde jokes. Their spokesperson Zsuzsa Kovacs said: ‘Blondes face discrimination in the job market, in the workplace and even on the streets. ’† (Unknown) â€Å"Blonde-haired women earn seven percent more than women with other hair colors researchers claim, suggesting looks are worth more than intelligence if stereotypes are correct.The Telegraph reports that the study found that not only do blonde women earn more than darker haired counterparts in the workplace, that they also marry wealthier men, who earn an average of six per cent more than the husbands of other women. The study in the journal, Economics Letters reported that having blonde hair bo osts pay by $3,000 a year for a woman earning the average salary. † (Olsen) The power and control attached to this specific hair color can be useful for any individual. Sometimes it can get a person out of a tricky situation.For example, if a blonde does something stupid, she can pass it off as a so-called â€Å"blonde moment. † Instead of making fun, people will think, â€Å"Aww, cute. That was so silly. † Jessica Simpson made her fortune on this type of situation. Or say a blonde wants to really wow others. She could, with a little persistence, play the dumb blonde for a while. The setup may take quite some time, but when the conversation turns to a topic she knows well or has a strong opinion on, she can unleash all the intelligence she's been hiding.Being blonde has negative and positive effects on a person with this hair color. The dumb blonde stereotype will probably never go away. It hurts sometimes when being referred to as a dumb blonde when in fact that isn’t the case. No matter what the hair color, everyone has a â€Å"dumb blonde† moment every now and then. Also, blondes stick out in a crowd and are noticed more which is nice when it comes to meeting guys or when you’re competing for a job. Also, playing a dumb blonde can even get you what you want without anyone really knowing. Personally, I love that I’m a natural blonde.I currently am trying a new hair color but am finding that it still doesn’t compare to being blonde.Work Cited Littlemore, Vikki. â€Å"The Wrong Blonde Joke. † American Chronicle. Ultio, LLC. , 05 Jun 2009. Web. 8 Nov 2010. . McGinn, Dave. â€Å"Office blonde jokes no laughing matter. † The Globe and Mail. CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. , 24 Nov 2009. Web. 8 Nov 2010. . Olsen, David. â€Å"Blonde Women Earn More Despite ‘Dumb' Stereotype. † Dynamic Business. Dynamic Business, 06 Apr 2010. Web. 8 Nov 2010. . Unknown. â€Å"Blonde Discrimination is n o Joke in Hungary. † IOL News. Independent Online, 24 Nov 2004. Web. 8 Nov 2010. .

Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor of the Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor of the Telephone Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847–August 2, 1922) invented the telephone in 1876 when he was just 29 years old. Soon after, he formed the Bell Telephone Company. Bell could have easily been content with the success of his invention. His many laboratory notebooks demonstrate, however, that he was driven by a genuine and rare intellectual curiosity that kept him regularly searching, striving, and always wanting to learn more and to create.   He would continue to test out new ideas throughout a long and productive life. This included exploring the realm of communications as well as engaging in a wide variety of scientific pursuits that involved kites, airplanes, tetrahedral structures, sheep-breeding, artificial respiration, desalinization, water distillation, and even hydrofoils. Fast Facts: Alexander Graham Bell Known For: Inventing the telephoneBorn: March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, ScotlandParents: Alexander Melville Bell, Eliza Grace Symonds BellDied: August 2, 1922 in  Nova Scotia, CanadaEducation: University of Edinburgh (1864), University College London (1868)Publications: A founding member of the  National Geographic Society, he helped launce Science magazineAwards and Honors: Albert Medal (1902), John Fritz Medal (1907), Elliott Cresson Medal (1912)Spouse: Mabel Hubbard  (m.  1877–1922)Children: Elsie May, Marian Hubbard, Edward, RobertNotable Quote: The inventor looks upon the world and is not contented with things as they are. He wants to improve whatever he sees, he wants to benefit the world; he is haunted by an idea. The spirit of invention possesses him, seeking materialization. Early Life Bell was born on March 3, 1847, to Alexander Melville and Eliza Symonds  in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was immersed in the study of sound from the beginning. His father, uncle, and grandfather were authorities on elocution and speech therapy for the deaf. It was understood that Bell would follow in the family footsteps after finishing college. However, after Bells two other brothers died of tuberculosis, Bell and his parents decided to immigrate to Canada in 1870. After a brief period living in Ontario, the Bells moved to Boston, where they established speech-therapy practices specializing in teaching deaf children to speak. One of Alexander Graham Bells pupils was a young Helen Keller, who when they met was not only blind and deaf but also unable to speak. In 1872, Bell met Boston attorney Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who would become one of his financial backers and his father-in-law. Bell began to court Hubbards daughter, Mabel, in 1873. They married in 1877. From Telegraph to Telephone The telegraph and telephone are both wire-based electrical systems, and Bells success with the telephone came as a direct result of his attempts to improve the telegraph. When he began experimenting with electrical signals, the telegraph had been an established means of communication for some 30 years. Although a highly successful system, the telegraph was basically limited to receiving and sending one message at a time. Bells extensive knowledge of the nature of sound and his understanding of music enabled him to conjecture the possibility of transmitting multiple messages over the same wire at the same time. Although the idea of a multiple telegraph had been in existence for some time, no one had been able to fabricate one- until Bell. His harmonic telegraph was based on the principle that several notes could be sent simultaneously along the same wire if the notes or signals differed in pitch. Talk With Electricity By October 1874, Bells research had progressed to the extent that he could inform his future father-in-law about the possibility of a multiple telegraph. Hubbard, who resented the absolute control then exerted by the Western Union Telegraph Company, instantly saw the potential for breaking such a monopoly and gave Bell the financial backing he needed. Bell proceeded with his work on the multiple telegraph, but he did not tell Hubbard that he and Thomas Watson, a young electrician whose services he had enlisted, were also developing a device that would transmit speech electrically. While Watson worked on the harmonic telegraph at the insistent urging of Hubbard and other backers, Bell secretly met in March 1875 with Joseph Henry, the respected director of the Smithsonian Institution, who listened to Bells ideas for a telephone and offered encouraging words. Spurred on by Henrys positive opinion, Bell and Watson continued their work. By June 1875, the goal of creating a device that would transmit speech electrically was about to be realized. They had proven that different tones would vary the strength of an electric current in a wire. To achieve success, they needed only to build a working transmitter with a membrane capable of varying electronic currents and a receiver that would reproduce these variations in audible frequencies. Mr. Watson, Come Here On June 2, 1875, while experimenting with his harmonic telegraph, Bell and Watson discovered that sound could be transmitted over a wire. It was a completely accidental discovery. Watson was trying to loosen a reed that had been wound around a transmitter when he plucked it by accident. The vibration produced by that gesture traveled along the wire into a second device in the other room where Bell was working. The twang Bell heard was all the inspiration that he and Watson needed to accelerate their work. They continued to work into the next year. Bell recounted the critical moment in his journal:   I then shouted into M [the mouthpiece] the following sentence: Mr. Watson, come here- I want to see you. To my delight, he came and declared that he had heard and understood what I said. Other Inventions Alexander Graham Bells curiosity also led him to speculate on the nature of heredity, initially among the deaf and later with sheep born with genetic mutations. He conducted sheep-breeding experiments at his estate to see if he can increase the numbers of twin and triplet births.   In other instances, it drove him to try to come up with novel solutions on the spot whenever problems arose. In 1881, he hastily constructed a metal detector as a way to try and locate a bullet lodged in President James Garfield after an assassination attempt. He would later improve this and produced a device called a telephone probe, which would make a telephone receiver click when it touched metal. And when Bells newborn son, Edward, died from respiratory problems, he responded by designing a metal vacuum jacket that would facilitate breathing. The apparatus was a forerunner of the iron lung used in the 1950s to aid polio victims. Other ideas he dabbled in included inventing the audiometer to detect minor hearing problems and conducting experiments with what today are called energy recycling and alternative fuels. Bell also worked on methods of removing salt from seawater. Flight Technology These interests may be considered minor activities compared to the time and effort he put into making advances in flight technology. By the 1890s, Bell had begun experimenting with propellers and kites, which led him to apply the concept of the tetrahedron (a solid figure with four triangular faces) to kite design as well as to create a new form of architecture.   In 1907, four years after the Wright Brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk, Bell formed the Aerial Experiment Association with Glenn Curtiss, William Casey Baldwin, Thomas Selfridge, and J.A.D. McCurdy, four young engineers with the common goal of creating airborne vehicles. By 1909, the group had produced four powered aircraft, the best of which, the Silver Dart, made a successful powered flight in Canada on February 23, 1909. Later Years and Death Bell spent the last decade of his life improving hydrofoil designs. In 1919, he and Casey Baldwin built a hydrofoil that set a world water-speed record that was not broken until 1963. Months before he died, Bell told a reporter, There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things. Bell died on Aug. 2, 1922,  at his estate in Nova Scotia, Canada. Other Works and Legacy Although working with the deaf would remain Bells principal source of income, he continued to pursue his own studies of sound throughout his life. Bells unceasing scientific curiosity led to the  invention of the photophone, a device that allowed for the transmission of sound on a beam of light. Despite being known for his invention of the telephone, Bell regarded the photophone as the greatest invention I have ever made; greater than the telephone. The invention set the foundation upon which todays laser and fiber optic communication systems are founded, though it would take the development of several modern technologies to fully capitalize on this breakthrough. With the enormous technical and financial success of his telephone invention, Bells future was secure enough so that he could devote himself to other scientific interests. For example, in 1881, he used the $10,000 award for winning Frances Volta Prize to set up the Volta Laboratory in Washington, D.C. A believer in scientific teamwork, Bell worked with two associates: his cousin Chichester Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter, at the Volta Laboratory. Their experiments produced such major improvements in Thomas Edisons phonograph that it became commercially viable. After his first visit to Nova Scotia in 1885, Bell set up another laboratory there at his estate Beinn Bhreagh (pronounced Ben Vreeah), near Baddeck, where he would assemble other teams of bright young engineers to pursue new and exciting ideas heading into the future. Sources Vanderbilt, Tom. â€Å"A Brief History of the Telephone, From Alexander Graham Bell to the iPhone.†Ã‚  Slate Magazine, Slate, 15 May 2012.â€Å"The History of the Telephone.†Ã‚  Google Books.infoundiscoveredscotland.co.uk, Undiscovered Scotland: â€Å"Undiscovered Scotland: Alexander Graham Bell.†Ã‚  Scotfax: Religion in Scotland on Undiscovered Scotland.A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875: The Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers. Charles Magnus.