Invention of Credit Cards

Invention of Credit Cards What is credit? And what is a credit card? Credit is a method of selling goods or services without the buyer having cash in hand. So a credit card is simply an automatic way of offering credit to a consumer. Today, every credit card carries an identification number that speeds up shopping transactions. Imagine what a credit purchase would be like without it.  The sales person would have to record your identity, billing address and terms of repayment. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the use of credit cards originated in the United States during the 1920s, when individual firms, such as oil companies and hotel chains, began issuing them to customers. However, references to credit cards have been made as far back as 1890 in Europe. Early credit cards involved sales directly between the merchant offering the credit and credit card and that merchants customer. Around 1938, companies started to accept each others cards. Today, credit cards allow you to make purchases with countless third parties. The Shape of Credit Cards Credit cards were not always been made of plastic. Throughout history, there have been credit tokens made from metal coins, metal plates, and celluloid, metal, fiber, paper and now mostly plastic cards. First Bank Credit Card The inventor of the first bank issued credit card was John Biggins of the Flatbush National Bank of Brooklyn in New York. In 1946, Biggins invented the Charge-It program between bank customers and local merchants. The way it worked was that merchants could deposit sales slips into the bank and the bank billed the customer who used the card. Diners Club Credit Card In 1950, the Diners Club issued their credit card in the United States. The Diners Club credit card was invented by Diners  Club founder Frank McNamara as a way to pay restaurant bills. A customer could eat without cash at any restaurant that would accept Diners Club credit cards. Diners Club would pay the restaurant and the credit card holder would repay Diners Club. The Diners Club card was at first technically a charge card rather than a credit card since the customer had to repay the entire amount when billed by Diners  Club. American Express issued their first credit card in 1958. Bank of America issued the BankAmericard (now Visa) bank credit card later in 1958. The Popularity of Credit Cards Credit cards were first promoted to traveling salesmen (they were more common in that era) for use on the road. By the early 1960s, more companies offered credit cards by advertising them as a time-saving device rather than a form of credit. American Express and MasterCard became huge successes overnight. By the mid-70s, the U.S. Congress begin regulating the credit card industry by banning practices such as the mass mailing of active credit cards to those who had not requested them. However, not all regulations have been as consumer friendly. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court in case Smiley vs. Citibank lifted restrictions on the number of late penalty fees a credit card company could charge. Deregulation has also allowed very high-interest rates to be charged.

Lexeme - Definition, Etymology and Examples

Lexeme s In linguistics, a lexeme is the fundamental unit of the lexicon (or word stock) of a language. Also known as a  lexical unit,  lexical item,  or  lexical word. In corpus linguistics, lexemes are commonly referred to as lemmas. A lexeme is oftenbut not alwaysan individual word (a simple lexeme or dictionary word, as its sometimes called). A single dictionary word (for example, talk) may have a number of inflectional forms or grammatical variants (in this example, talks, talked, talking). A multiword (or composite) lexeme is a lexeme made up of more than one orthographic  word, such as a phrasal verb (e.g., speak up;  pull through), an open compound (fire engine;  couch potato), or an idiom (throw in the towel;  give up the ghost). The way in which a lexeme can be used in a sentence is determined by its word class or grammatical category. Etymology From the Greek, word, speech Examples and Observations A lexeme is a unit of lexical meaning, which exists regardless of any inflectional endings it may have or the number of words it may contain. Thus, fibrillate, rain cats and dogs, and come in are all lexemes, as are elephant, jog, cholesterol, happiness, put up with, face the music, and hundreds of thousands of other meaningful items in English. The headwords in a dictionary are all lexemes.(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2003) Specifications of Lexemes [A] lexeme is a linguistic item defined  by the following specifications, which make up what is called the lexical entry for this item: its sound form and its spelling (for languages with a written standard);the grammatical category of  the lexeme (noun,  intransitive verb, adjective, etc.);its inherent grammatical properties (for some languages, e.g. gender);the set of grammatical forms it may take, in particular, irregular forms;its lexical meaning.These specifications apply to both simple and composite lexemes.(Sebastian Là ¶bner,  Understanding Semantics. Routledge, 2013) The Meanings of Lexemes Definitions are an attempt to characterize  the meaning or sense of a lexeme and to distinguish the meaning of the lexeme concerned from the meanings of other lexemes in the same semantic field, for example, the elephant from other large mammals. There is  a sense in which a definition characterizes the potential meaning of a lexeme; the meaning only becomes precise  as it is actualized in a context. Since the division of the meaning of a lexeme into senses is based on the variation of meaning perceived  in different contexts, a tension exists in lexicography between the recognition of separate senses and the potentiality of meaning found in definitions. This may well account in large part for the divergence  between  similar-sized dictionaries in the number of senses recorded and in consequent differences of definition.(Howard Jackson and  Ã¢â‚¬Å½Etienne Zà © Amvela,  Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An Introduction to Modern English Lexicology, 2nd ed. Continuum, 200 5) Invariable and Variable Lexemes In many cases, it makes no difference whether we take a syntactic or a lexical perspective. Lexemes such as the and and are invariable, i.e., there is only one word corresponding to each. Also invariable are lexemes like efficiently: although more efficiently is in some respects like harder, it is not a single word, but a sequence of two, and hence efficiently and more efficiently are not forms of a single lexeme. Variable lexemes, by contrast, are those which have two or more forms. Where we need to make clear that we are considering an item as a lexeme, not a word, we will represent it in bold italics. Hard, for example, represents the lexeme which has hard and harderand also hardestas its forms. Similarly are and is, along with be, been, being, etc., are forms of the lexeme be. . . . A variable lexeme is thus a word-sized lexical item considered in abstraction from grammatical properties that vary depending on the syntactic construction in which it appears.(Rodney Huddleston and G eoffroy Pullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2002) Pronunciation: LECK-seem

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AND FINANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AND FINANCE - Essay Example The exchange rate of the local currency comes down due to interplay of demand and supply. The floating exchange rate system based on demand and supply is a self-adjusting mechanism in market economy. But, stability in exchange rate is very important for the growth of the economy. Therefore, the central bank of a country exercises its monetary authority to ensure that the local currency is traded around the desired or target exchange rate. The central bank closely monitors movements of exchange rate of the country’s currency. It will intervene in the market by resorting to open market purchase or sale of currencies to maintain stability or for influencing the exchange rate of the local currency in relation to foreign currencies. Spanjers (2009, p. 10) stated â€Å"As the expectation of stable exchange rates tends to promote trade and thus welfare, the monetary authority of each country commits itself to exchange rate targets.† Central bank also in its liquidity managemen t through monetary policies influences money supply in the country with a view to regulate interest rates and keep inflation under control. Money supply in a country will also influence the behaviour of exchange rates. The interest rates and inflation are closely linked to the behaviour of the exchange rate. Gold standard system In Bretton Woods Conference in 1914 the participant countries have agreed to adopt gold standard system which envisaged economic discipline among the nations. But, it could not succeed in achieving the objectives mainly due to currency devaluation spree post-World War-I by the countries to maintain or improve their exports. While devaluation strategy was adopted to make the countries’ products competitive in the world market, in order to make the local products more competitive locally, they also introduced trade restrictions which made the imports costlier. These measures taken by the governments for protecting their national economies had severe imp act on the international trade. To stem this tide in international economy, International Monetary Fund was created in Bretton Woods in 1944 with the aim of preserving global monetary order. The exchange rates of the currencies fixed in relation to US Dollar or gold could not work smoothly for a long period. Defending these fixed exchange rates has become increasingly difficult due to several factors. Under the fixed exchange rate regime the country has to continuously monitor the system and impose several restrictions on transactions involving foreign exchange. These restrictions are likely to encourage black market operations in foreign exchange. The question of devaluation of the currency for a country with fragile economy is the greatest cause for concern. The countries’ current account imbalances caused failure of the system because under consistent deficit in current account a currency cannot be kept artificially at a higher exchange rate. Stability in Floating exchange rates and economy The stability factor, being the major concern relating to exchange rates, could not be addressed in floating exchange rate system based on demand and supply for currencies as well. The process of self adjustment expected to come into play is affected by several factors. For example, when a currency becomes weak, the imports become costlier and exports more profitable and the volume of exports is expected to increase. The increased demand for local currency due to exports and

Analysis of options and recommendations for action Assignment

Analysis of options and recommendations for action - Assignment Example This change in tourism trend could be attributed to uncertain economic conditions, stagnant salaries, rising inflation, and growing threat of terror attacks. Therefore many of the UK citizens think that it is better to visit domestic tourist destinations that are in close proximity to them so as to maintain a good balance between their income and expenses. Evidently, such an adverse trend change in the tourism sector would negatively affect the travel business. This report will examine how the travel agency could respond to this change and suggest specific strategies to boost sales in the context of the change. The declining trend of outbound tourism in UK poses great threats to travel and tourism businesses that increasingly rely on people visiting overseas countries (Travel Mole, 2014). The recent global financial crisis together with rising daily living expenses significantly contributed to this trend because people strongly believed that outbound tourism would cause them to incur huge costs. In addition, there has been a trend of decrease in the ownership of overseas holiday homes in UK over the last few years. The English people think that visiting domestic tourist destinations is a better way to cut down huge expenses associated with outbound tourism and save for the future. The growing threat of terror attacks across the world also discourages UK citizens to enjoy overseas holidays or to own overseas holiday homes (Page, 2011, p.75). A SWOT analysis is a better tool to analyse the internal and external environments of the travel and tourism sectors. While analysing the internal strengths of the UK travel industry, it seems that the country has a well developed infrastructure that support travel and tourism businesses. High cost of operations is a major weakness of these sectors as this issue negatively affects people’s overseas holiday

Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess Essay -- Robert Browning, Poem,

The two poems that I am comparing are Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess, both early nineteenth century dramatic monologues by Robert Browning. Compare the three dramatic monologues you have studied on the way in which the characters reveal their true nature through what they say. The two poems that I am comparing are Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess, both early nineteenth century dramatic monologues by Robert Browning. A dramatic monologue is a poem in which only one person speaks, but the presence of another person is usually felt. The narrator reveals a great deal about himself without any apparent intention of doing so. In both of these dramatic monologues, it appears that the speaker has murdered their mistress and is reflecting upon their actions while contemplating the image of their lover’s beautiful face. Both are selfish men who were jealous of their victims. The two speakers came from very different backgrounds, one a rich and powerful Duke, the other a low-born worker living in rural simplicity. Porphyria’s Lover is a love story told in the words of a simple man obsessed by his love for a woman of noble birth. The first five lines describe the weather on a miserable, wet evening. This is Browning’s use of pathetic fallacy, giving the works of nature human feelings – the feelings of the speaker. ====================================================================== â€Å"The sullen wind was soon awake, It tore the elm tops down for spite, And its worse to vex the lake:† The speaker is longing for his lover and feeling miserable but then she arrives. The whole mood changes from darkness and cold, to warmth and light. His mood change is shown by â€Å"she shut the cold out†, both ... ... saw the young Duchess, a work of art, something that he owned and could show off, and something that he could also discard when it no longer pleased him. The speaker in Porphyria’s Lover, reveals himself to be someone who speaks his heart and does not ‘fence around’ the truth like the Duke. Although the Duke says he does not have skilled speech, its is obvious that his diction is carefully chosen through out. He is almost inviting the listener to disagree with him. â€Å"Even had you the skill In speech – (which I have not)† The speaker in Porphyria’s Lover uses a much simpler diction, as he will not have been as well educated as the Duke. Both men are murderers, one because of love, which he feels, could never be accepted because of the social divide, the other as a result of jealousy, arrogance and spite, again occasioned by the difference in class.

There Is Nothing That Younger Generation Can Teach the Older One

There is nothing that younger generation can teach the older one Even though it seems that the older generation knows everything, the youth can still teach something new, because they can instruct elder in the subject of new technology, culture life and provide with incentive new ideas. First of all, the youth helps the elder with the technology of 21 century, such as different technical gadgets as laptops, IPhones, IPods, banks machine or techniques for housework and other.For example, my mom was always bothering my brother about how to work with a computer (sometimes it was really funny to watch how she was afraid of clicking the mouse). After some mild lessons, not only she knew how to work with Microsoft Office, but also did she know about how to register on such social network as  «Odnoklasnyky ». Secondly, a lot of people met such problem as generation gap, which is caused by lack of communication between young and older members of a family that is why the younger generatio n can instruct the older in aspect of youth culture, in order to solve the problem.As an example, there was a program on TV, where a grandfather and his grandson were banjo jumping together, whereas the grandfather was about 60 years old. And now he is going to climb a mountain in China because of the grandson’s influence. Eventually, the youth learn really fast and they are full of exciting ideas and enthusiasm as well, thus they aspire to be successful other people. For instance, there was a boy who at the age of 10 built a music player called the Synapse Media Player that used artificial intelligence to learn the user's listening habits.Microsoft tried to purchase Synapse, but he denied. Now everyone knows Mark Zuckerberg, who at the age of 20, created the social networking site Facebook. And now he reads lectures for those people who are much older than he is. On the whole, the thought that older generation has nothing to learn from younger generation is false. There will be always something to learn from the younger generation.

A Brief History of Slot Machines

According to Legal Slots, the term slot machines was originally used for all automatic vending machines as well as for the gambling devices, it was not until the 20th century that the term became restricted to the latter. A fruit machine is one British term for a slot machine. The one-armed bandit is another popular nickname. Charles Fey Liberty Bell The first mechanical slot machine was the Liberty Bell, invented in 1895 by car mechanic, Charles Fey (1862–1944) of San Francisco. The Liberty Bell slot machine had three spinning reels. Diamond, spade, and heart symbols were painted around each reel, plus the image of a cracked Liberty Bell. A spin resulting in three Liberty Bells in a row gave the biggest payoff, a grand total of fifty cents or ten nickels. The original Liberty Bell slot machine can still be seen be at the Liberty Belle Saloon Restaurant in Reno, Nevada. Other Charles Fey machines include the Draw Power, and Three Spindle and the Klondike. In 1901, Charles Fey invented the first draw poker machine. Charles Fey was also the inventor of the trade check separator, which was used in the Liberty Bell. The hole in the middle of the trade check allowed a detecting pin to distinguish fake nickels or slugs from real nickels. Fey rented his machines to saloons and bars based on a 50/50 split of the profits.​ Demand for Slot Machines Grows The demand for Liberty Bell slot machines was huge. Fey could not build them fast enough in his small shop. Gambling supply manufacturers tried to buy the manufacturing and distribution rights to the Liberty Bell, however, Charles Fey refused to sell. As a result in 1907, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer of arcade machines, began production of a slot machine, a knock-off of Feys Liberty Bell, called the Operator Bell. Mills was the first person to place fruit symbols: i.e. lemons, plums, and cherries on machines. How The Original Slots Worked Inside each cast iron slot machine there were three metal hoops called reels. Each reel had ten symbols painted on it. A lever was pulled that spun the reels. When the reels stopped, a jackpot was awarded if three of a kind of symbol lined up. The payoff in coinage was then dispensed from the machine. Age of Electronics The first popular electric gambling machine was the 1934 animated horse race machine called PACES RACES. In 1964, the first all-electronic gambling machine was built by Nevada Electronic called the 21 machine. Other all electronic versions of gambling games followed including ones for dice, roulette, horse racing, and poker (Dale Electronics Poker-Matic was very popular). In 1975, the first electronic slot machine was built by the Fortune Coin Company.