A Biographical Sketch of William Morris Davis

A Biographical Sketch of William Morris Davis William Morris Davis is often called the Father of American Geography for his work in not only helping to establish geography as an academic discipline but also for his advancement of physical geography and the development of geomorphology. Life and Career Davis was born in Philadelphia in 1850. At the age of 19, he earned his bachelors degree from Harvard University and one year later earned his Masters degree in engineering. Davis then spent three years working at Argentinas meteorological observatory and subsequently returned to Harvard to study geology and physical geography. In 1878, Davis was appointed an instructor in physical geography at Harvard and by 1885 became a full professor. Davis continued to teach at Harvard until his retirement in 1912. Following his retirement, he occupied several visiting scholar positions at universities across the United States. Davis died in Pasadena, California in 1934. Geography William Morris Davis was very excited about the discipline of geography; he worked hard to increase its recognition. In the 1890s, Davis was an influential member of a committee that helped to establish geography standards in the public schools. Davis and the committee felt that geography needed to be treated as a general science in primary and secondary schools and these ideas were adopted. Unfortunately, after a decade of the new geography, it slipped back to being rote knowledge of place names and eventually disappeared into the bowels of social studies. Davis also helped to build geography up at the university level. In addition to training some of Americas foremost geographers of the twentieth century (such as Mark Jefferson, Isaiah Bowman, and Ellsworth Huntington), Davis helped to found the Association of American Geographers (AAG). Recognizing the need for an academic organization composed of academics trained in geography, Davis met with other geographers and formed the AAG in 1904. Davis served as the AAGs first president in 1904 and was reelected in 1905, and ultimately served a third term in 1909. Though Davis was very influential in the development of geography as a whole, he is probably best known for his work in geomorphology. Geomorphology Geomorphology is the study of the earths landforms. William Morris Davis founded this subfield of geography. Though at his time the traditional idea of the development of landforms was through the great biblical flood, Davis and others began to believe that other factors were responsible for shaping the earth. Davis developed a theory of landform creation and erosion, which he called the geographical cycle. This theory is more commonly known as the cycle of erosion, or more properly, the geomorphic cycle. His theory explained that mountains and landforms are created, mature, and then become old. He explained that the cycle begins with the uplift of mountains. Rivers and streams begin to create V-shaped valleys among the mountains (the stage called youth). During this first stage, the relief is steepest and most irregular. Over time, the streams are able to carve wider valleys (maturity) and then begin to meander, leaving only gently rolling hills (old age). Finally, all that is left is a flat, level plain at the lowest elevation possible (called the base level.) This plain was called by Davis a peneplain, which means almost a plain for a plain is actually a completely flat surface). Then, rejuvenation occurs and there is another uplift of mountains and the cycle continues. Though Davis theory is not entirely accurate, it was quite revolutionary and outstanding at its time and helped to modernize physical geography and create the field of geomorphology. The real world is not quite as orderly as Davis cycles and,  certainly, erosion occurs during the uplift process. However, Davis message was communicated quite well to other scientists through the excellent sketches and illustrations that were included in Davis publications. In all, Davis published over 500 works though he never earned his Ph.D. Davis was certainly one of the greatest academic geographers of the century. He is not only responsible for that which he accomplished during his lifetime, but also for the outstanding work done across geography by his disciples.

Word Choice Subsequently vs. Consequently - Proofread My Paper

Word Choice Subsequently vs. Consequently - Proofread My Paper Word Choice: Subsequently vs. Consequently These two words are easy to mix up and often used (incorrectly) to mean much the same thing. They are not, however, interchangeable and have two different meanings. Sometimes, deciding which of these words is the correct one for your purpose requires careful consideration. Make sure that you use the right terms in your work by learning their definitions below. Consequently (As a Result) Consequently is an adverb meaning as a result of. It is used to describe an effect, outcome or result, like this: Jonathan is away on holiday. Consequently, he will be unable to play in the soccer match this week. Subsequently (Later or After) Subsequently is an adverb meaning occurring later or after something else. It is, therefore, used when describing a series of events wherein one thing followed another: President Nixon was heavily criticized for his involvement in the Watergate scandal of 1972. He subsequently resigned from office in 1974. However, while there is sometimes a connection between the two events describe (such as the Watergate scandal and Nixons resignation), this isnt always the case. The important thing is simply that one event occurs after the other: Boris was born in Minnesota, but he subsequently studied in schools across the U.S.A. Here, for instance, there is no obvious causal connection, not even indirectly, between Boris being born in one place but later studying elsewhere. Its simply that he was born before he went to school. Consequently or Subsequently? We use consequently when discussing the reason why something took place, while subsequently concerns the order in which events took place. A common mistake is using subsequently instead of consequently when no causation has been discussed. Dont forget to double check whether the word you pick is correct in the context of your writing and remember: Consequently = As a result Subsequently = Later/after

Fiat Currency and its Role in the Global Economy Essay

Fiat Currency and its Role in the Global Economy - Essay Example While the Bretton-Woods conference had proposed a supranational currency this idea was ignored and instead international currencies were pegged to the United States dollar. In the 1970s the United States went off the gold standard, effectively moving all world currencies to floating. There have been a number of attempts at supranational currency including the implementation of the SDR; still, there are some weaknesses to this currency, including it not effectively reflecting contemporary GDP concerns. In addition to the SDR there was the ECU, the ASU, and the African Monetary Unit; in large part these currencies are or were ineffective as a world currency for their largely regional affiliations. Recognizing the inefficiency of these currency units the WDX Organisation Limited was established to develop a more effective world currency. Incorporating modern risk theory, mathematics, and real-time technology infrastructure this organization developed the Wocu. In addition, the Wocu a ma jor innovative aspect of the Wocu is that it implements a research-based algorithm that is unknown to outside sources. b) Specification of thesis – main point The main thesis is that the Wocu is both effective and necessary as a world currency in response to the current fiat model. ... This will allay concerns with the dollar as the world currency, allow countries to have their own monetary policy, and reduce the need for foreign currency reserves. Additionally, it will have benefits to corporate treasurer; these include reducing currency risk and hedging against volatility, as well as advantages in pricing sales and purchasing, settling transaction, risk management, and raising capital. c) Three supporting opinions/reasons There are a number of supporting perspectives on implementing a world currency. Perhaps the central thorough-put in these supportive arguments is the notion that the use of fiat currencies creates a currency environment subject to political manipulation and volatility. One such consideration has emerged from the United States Economic Report. This report indicates that the European Sovereign Debt Crisis has had an immediate impact on United States monetary policy ("Economic policy: Country," 2010). The report indicates that, â€Å"The ripple ef fects from the euro area’s public debt crisis have led market participants to expect a later start of rate hikes ("Economic policy: Country," 2010, pg. 12). While not necessarily negative, such an impact could conceivably be avoided through a world currency. While this report demonstrates the direct impact of fiat currency, other research has argued for much more profound implications. Ghosh, Roy & Bandyopadhyay (2011) quantitatively examined various elements that directly contributed to volatility in the Indian stock market. Their research revealed that currency volatility – a direct result of fiat money – had a significant impact on stock valuation. Al-Shibli (2011) goes as far as to argue that in abandoning Bretton-Woods and