The Subway System, particularly in the United States, has contributed to the movement of information and the overall speed of transit in America to an immeasurable extent. It is a vital tool, particularly for larger cities in the county such as New York, and has developed with times as well as changed them.

The subway system’s main American innovator was Alfred Ely Beach, alive from 1826 to 1896. He contributed to the project by designing the Beach Pneumatic Transit which made the most evidently pre-constructed pathways for the New York City subway. The system was developed in the 1860s due to a chaotic discombobulating of traffic in the city. A more efficient mode of transportation was absolutely necessary. The largest problem area of traffic was along Broadway, and Beach primarily suggested an underground railway to fix the problem and help with the over concentration of vehicles. He developed his idea from the underground Metropolitan Railway in London, but changed the design so that the trains would now be powered by pneumatics rather than steam engines. His aimed to design and build a construction for small pneumatic tubes in 1869 but it turned into a passenger railway design. After fighting for his designs for years, all the correct legislation was shot down several times before everything was finally set in place to make the new transportation system a reality in the late 1870s and 1880s.

Technically, the first underground train network opened in 1863 in Boston, and the first subway system in the United States was built in Boston, however it was passed over for attention because soon afterward the New York City subway became the largest system in America. The night that the New York subway opened to the public, upwards of about 100,000 people paid five cents to ride. Today, around 4.5 million passengers take the subway in New York everyday, and it runs 24 hours a day, everyday.

The subway system didn’t pick up its speed in terms of popularity until about 1932, after which many above-ground railway systems were torn down. However throughout the entire invention process, the subway system helped force Information technology and scientific technology advancements along simply by providing competition. The system was initially developed during the War of Currents between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse; ultimately, direct current was deemed to be the most efficient form of electricity for urban railroads.

The system also directly united the city in the early 1900s due to the Triborough Plan, a collection of subway lines that allowed the city to be connected through railways equally and efficiently. Eventually many more lines were added to the system, but this was the initially written and implemented plan to link different parts of the city easily. This made the passage of information from different areas to the city quick, efficient, easy, and primarily cheap. The system has been expanding since 1910, at least. Because of the expansion, the system as was as the city was unified through combined efforts to make this form of travel easy, accessible, and cheap.

In regards to the New York subway system, the 20^th century was completely full of changes and movement; construction, crime, buy-outs, etc. Many organizations and companies fought for, bought, sold, and rebought different aspects of the system. Investments, changes, and direction all shifted countless times.

Coming from the center of the industrial revolution, the New York Subway system have provided such a vital avenue for human movement that information technology was aided by the system in an immeasurable way simply due to the fact that human beings are at the heart of IT. Because it makes people’s lives easier, it makes IT possible. Subway systems provide a vast amount of less pollution than alternatives, are psychologically healthy because they are quieter than alternatives aboveground, provide quick transportation (which is extremely hard to come by in busy cities such as New York City), and cause less pollution (Wargo and Alderman).

It is an indisputable fact that subways are fast and cheaper than alternatives, therefore the progress being made by those who utilize the system on a daily basis is immeasurable when considering the time and energy saved and redirected to somewhere more useful than a commute. Data cannot be attached to how much advancement the system has aided and made possible, it is incalculable. Each individual contribution to society from each individual person that rides has used the system since the 20^th century simply cannot be measured. Transporting people is inherently transporting information, and therefore vastly contributing to Information Technology.

Works Cited

“Alfred Ely Beach.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.

“History of The New York City Subway.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.

Köktemir, Faik. “The Advantages of Subway Systems.” Academia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web.

“New York City Subway Opens.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.

Shafto, Dan. “Underground Railroads.” Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web.

HR: works cited

X_Sarah Elizabeth Lemon

Ancient Greek Information Technology

Sarah Lemon

Being one of the earliest, flourishing civilizations, ancient Greece conceived and implemented methods of information technology and substantial modes of communication, leading to further scientific discovery. Before Linear B Script was developed into the first civilizes writing system, communication was still necessary and moreover, improvised. With militaristic tact, technological efficiency, and aesthetic persuasion, ancient Greek information technology broke new ground as Greek technology would continue to do for centuries.

With heavy conflict between itself and Sparta, among other places, Greece was very war-minded in its endeavors. The earliest social civilizations in Greece developed during the Stone Age, primarily dominated by Minoan and Mycenaean societies. However, beyond that there were many foreign influences on the Greek societies and social development. Scientific advancements were often made out of a necessity to improve and optimize warfare and communication during warfare, as well as aid in its victory. For example, the Stentorophonic horn was put to use during the leadership of Alexander the Great with primarily warfare purposes. Also called a “tube,” the horn effectively conveyed “messages” to thousands of people at once. It gave large groups these messages, often intending to inform another military group or leader of one’s location. The sound of the horn was able to reach about 13 miles away, depending on the weather and the density of the air. Deception and disinformation also played a large role in Greece’s war tactics, as most military leaders in ancient Greece put energy and resources into propaganda. A prime example of this deception would be the infamous Trojan horse. The Ancient Greek military commander Themistocles is also known to be the Master of Deception.

Short, urgent messages, like those sent with the stentorophonic horn, were also sent through light signals across the sky. (Saunders, How They Communicated in Ancient Greece) Torch telegraphs and heliographs were also used in war against the Romans. (Lahanas, Ancient Greek Communication Methods) Heliographs were a method of communication using sunlight and mirrors to indicate movement or a halting in movement. Another simple communication method was the use of colored flags to convey different messages depending on a previously agreed upon meaning for each color. All these different tools contributed to wartime efforts more than anything else.

Also aiding in warfare efforts but leading to further information technological advancements were the invention of cartography and the lighthouse. Anaximander of Greece was one of the first, main contributors to the production of a world map. Cartography combined science, aesthetics, and technique. The lighthouse assisted maritime travelers and naval warfare efforts in navigational guidance, originating in the 3^rd Century BCE. Both of these ideas continued to develop and are still used today.

In a more artistic direction, Greece used sculpture and architecture partially to deviate from warfare resource consumption and “[woo] the masses” in a political sphere. (Taylor, Munitions of the Mind: Ancient Greece) These two forms of artistic expression provided a sense of “sophistication” to the culture as well as the beginnings of aesthetic-based rhetorical persuasion.

Ancient Greece made stellar bounds in regards to information technology. With visual communication being the primary source of information technology at the time, advances were being made. And though they may seem antiquely simple to us, they represented great societal strides in that time period and rhetorical situation. Largely the sociopolitical rhetorical emphasis on architecture and warfare communication carries over to more modern approaches to information technology and communication technology that we deal with on a day to day basis as individuals, communities, and nations.

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HR: None X_Sarah E. Lemon

Works Cited

Lahanas, Michael. “Ancient Greek Communication Methods.” Hellenicaworld.com. N.p., n.d. Web.

Saunders, Jen. “How They Communicated in Ancient Greece.” Synonym. Demand Media, n.d. Web.

Taylor, Philip M. “Chapter 2: Ancient Greece.” Munitions of the Mind: A History of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Era. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2003. N. pag. Print.

Strauss, Barry. “Ancient Generals: Themistocles: Master of Deception.” Armchair General Magazine We Put YOU in Command. N.p., 16 Jan. 2005. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.