Underground transportation in NYC in the 20th century Essay

Underground transportation in NYC in the 20th century - Essay Example New York has the second-oldest subway system in the United States (after Boston). It ties together five boroughs in a way that allows the residents of one of the largest metropolitan areas of the world to claim that they live in the same city.The subway is more than just a means of transportation. It has been an object of warring city planners, of graft and corruption, and of scandals which have generated hundreds of pages in the local newspapers. It serves as a part of New Yorkers' daily lives, as a place for some to sleep, and for others to practice their trade as beggars and buskers.This paper is about the subway system in New York during the 20th century. The story begins in 1868. Alfred E. Beach asked the New York State Legislature for permission to build a network of pneumatic tubes under the City of New York in which he could move mail. His real plan was to build a pneumatic subway-moving people the way pneumatic tubes in Paris and London moved paper (Tannenbaum 1995). His pla ns never got past the digging of a test hole-only 14 feet long. He also dug a 312 foot pneumatic tube under Broadway, which showed that an underground system could be completed, but he never continued with the invention.The actual New York Subway system opened first in 1904, four years after the groundbreaking ceremonies. Mayor Robert van Wyck shoveled the first clump of dirt into his top-hat, to take home (NYT 1900). The line was financed by the city, but was originally operated by private companies. The first line, called the "IRT Ninth Avenue Line," continues with that name to this day. The IRT, which stands for "Interborough Rapid Transit," was one of two lines which were privately run, the other being the BRT, or Brooklyn Rapid Transit. IRT was the first of these private operating consortia, but there were several others. The name "IRT" survives to this day, which described the original line for which the concession was granted. Although the names have been changed to letters, numbers and colors, such as the "red number 2," locals still refer to the "IRT," or the "Bayshore Line," which makes it difficult for non-New Yorkers to understand what they are talking about. Although the IRT Ninth Avenue Line was the first "sub"way, 40% of today's subway lines are actually above ground. The oldest part of the subway system is the Lexington Avenue Line, which is part of the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn. This line was opened in 1885. Figure 1: Map of the IRT, Circa 1906 The Subway was not the first public transport in New York by any means. It was preceded by the "elevated lines," which had opened 35 years earlier. Early 20th Century: The Expansion of Urban Transit The 9th-Avenue Line was a tremendous success, and was followed by municipal expansion projects. The City wanted to unite the five boroughs through public transportation. The City fathers looked upon the subway as a way to spread out the population and allow for greater growth (Fischer 1998). There was a debate about whether the city's growth could be better assured by elevated railroad lines rather than the more-expensive underground tracks. As the City was growing at a tremendous rate, and land values were climbing, those arguing for more elevated lines lost the argument (NYCSubway.org 2005

The Quality of Service Provided by the Accounting Department Essay

The Quality of Service Provided by the Accounting Department - Essay Example The idea that non-managerial employees should not be involved in the interviews and instead limit the interview to the list of managers whom he or she perceived to be useful to the interview is inimical to the research because the exact identification of respondents is tantamount to pre-selecting the subjects that would represent the population. It is important to point out that the internal customers of the accounting department that perceives them include all employees in the company and that includes both the rank and file and managers. Limiting the samples that are supposed to represent the entire organization in the study among managers would make the study anecdotal in evidence because the small sample does not represent the entire organization. Hoeken and Hustinx stressed that anecdotal evidence is never superior to statistical evidence in any study. Statistical evidence is also far more persuasive than cherry picking the samples (Hoeken and Hustinx, 2008). In addition, the pr ofessor would also like to be present during the interviews of the members of the accounting department under the pretext that this will be an ideal opportunity to understand the operations of that department. The intent to study the operations of the accounting department is a terrific initiative given the issue that besets the accounting department. It is not however advisable in the context of a study because studying its operation by a third party is not part of the objective of the research and therefore does not contribute to the purpose of the study. I would beg the professor for us to discuss our methodology first that would allow me an opportunity to air my concern about his presence during the interview and to air my disagreement about the inadequacy of the focus group discussion that will be limited among pre-selected managers. I would suggest that he can instead have the transcript of the interview and to include rank and file staff in the focus group discussion where th e selection is random. I will also include a survey to have a wider sampling since the population of study is too large (the whole company) to be represented by a mere focus group discussion. 2. What are the likely outcomes if the research goes ahead as suggested by your professor? Having anecdotal evidences as primary data will result to an invalid study because it cannot answer the intent of the research which is to determine the extent of the match of perceptions between accounting department and internal customers. It only has the perceptions of the managers as input which does not compose the entire internal customers of the company. In addition, the professor’s insistence to be present during interview of the staff of the accounting department may also have distorted the outcome of the study due to the Hawthorne Effect. Hawthorne Effect is â€Å"the tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied...’ (Davis & Shackleton, p. 55 cit ed in Chiesa and Hobbs, 2008 pg. 69)†. There is a chance that the presence of the professor may influence the answer of the staff of accounting department during the interview that could distort the outcome of the interview. 3. Negative impact on people can occur in research. What is the prospect of this kind of consequential impact on participants in this case? Participants may be tagged as trouble makers