What motivated the United States to pursue an Imperialist policy Essay

What motivated the United States to pursue an Imperialist policy during the 19th century - Essay Example (Fouskas and BÃ ¼lent, 2005 p 1) The factors that motivated the American policy of Imperialism in the 19th century can be grouped into military, political and economic interests. In the 1890s, America saw the emergence of new navalist’s ideologies, which were greatly advocated for. Alfred T. Mahan, a former president at the Naval War College argued out the need for America to battle out for naval supremacy in the world. Mahan pointed out that foreign commerce was crucial to the survival of any great nation and for a powerful country in the world; thus, there was a need to protect the sea routes. According to Mahan, all these could only be achieved by having a strong naval force. A powerful navy would facilitate the acquisition of colonies and overseas naval bases and oil fields In the early 1890s, America experienced an overproduction of commodities by industries. Majority of the prosperous business people and government officials saw the only solution to the crisis as the finding of new markets for American products outside the North American continent. Americans, thus, targeted territories in Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In the beginning of the 19th century, France, Germany and Great Britain were expanding their political powers and influence in the world through various means. One of such ways was the acquisition of territorial regions in Africa, the country of China and other areas of the globe. This made American policy makers to advocate for America to join other European Countries in acquiring colonies for it not to be left behind politically, economically as well as militarily. (Ramos, 2007 pp 30-31) Imperialism led to the strengthening of the American navy. Imperialism allowed the navy to establish ports in Pearl Harbor, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Hawaii. These ports made it possible for America to compete with European countries. America was able to expand its territory. Military forces were easily

Most serious hindrance to international cooperation regarding human Essay

Most serious hindrance to international cooperation regarding human development, climate change, and resource depletion - Essay Example At one end China is becoming the manufacturing hub of world’s big industries and at the other end, the role of China regarding climate change has become more important on international screen. In fact the process of internationalization and globalization has made the international cooperation through suitable channels a necessity for the economies. However, international cooperation which deals with the development in different fields of life has itself become a global issue. There are various concerns and problems which hinder the progress of international cooperation especially regarding human development, climate change and resource depletion. Much has been achieved through international cooperation however, many economies remain off track. It is very significant to learn the factors which have been contributing to hinder the progress of international cooperation especially in the area of human development, climate change and resource depletion. The world economy is a build ing block of various social classes which differ based on their income levels, races, religions etc. To reduce the conflicts and to ensure the sovereignty of every nation, the nation-state system has been introduced however; the increasing globalization is contributing to the unification of world. The major reason which is generally considered to be the major source of hindrance in international cooperation is the self-interest of every nation. When these interests conflict, the issues of inequalities and sovereignty become dominant. The developing countries in the pursuit of expanding their economic activities give very low priority to climate change and environment conservation. Therefore, the approaches which are being used by developed states cannot be used in the developing states and the collaboration gap expands. Dvorsky (2010) has identified the five reasons because of which the Copenhagen Climate Conference failed. He has identified that nation states do not like to be told what to do. Therefore, the economies who consider â€Å"maintaining trade balance† as their top priority and â€Å"climate change† as their last priority cannot change their priorities after an international conference on climate change. The cultural conflicts between the developed and developing states largely hinders the international cooperation especially regarding human development. Japan is actively involved in international cooperation regarding human development through technical cooperation and educational cooperation. From Japan’s perspective international cooperation in education is important because education shapes the foundation of an individual and at large foundation of a nation thereby, contributes to economic and social development. On the other hand, Kenya society identifies the various differences between modern education introduced by colonial government and traditional education formed by tribal societies. These differences are related to objectives, methods, contents and attitudes between two educational systems. The government of Kenya took this matter very seriously as it was increasing cultural conflict in the society. Like Kenya, the other countries which have been forced to adapt the modern education system have faced such cultural conflicts

Factors Affecting Changes in Urban Temperature

Factors Affecting Changes in Urban Temperature 1.1 Urban Climatology Urban climatology is a branch of  climatology  that examines interactions between the urban  area and the weather conditions around it, their impacts on each other, and the different spatial and temporal scales at which these interactions occur. There are many differences between the urban and rural climates; these differences generally include the quality of the air as well as the wind and rainfall patterns. However, the most observable difference is the  Urban Heat Island  (UHI) effect which represents the temperature difference between the rural and urban sites. This field’s main implementation is its use for optimal urban design and planning of cities [21]. Urban areas have a significant effect on the overlying air due to a variations in the nature of surface cover (urban form) and emissions of heat, water vapor and materials that are involved human activities (urban function). Although the urban-rural differences have been recognized for a long period of time, only recently urban climatology has started collecting actual urban observations, developing urban models and validating these models using the required data. 1.1.1 Urban Heat Island Effect Urban warming, also called ‘Urban Heat Island’ effect (UHI), is a well-established phenomenon. The intensity of the UHI has been measured essentially as being the temperature difference between rural and urban locations. Many studies have been conducted in order to quantify the UHI in large cities, mainly in Europe and other areas [16]. This phenomenon is considered as a representation of all the microclimatic differences caused by man-made modifications of the urban surface (Landsberg, 1981). The Urban Heat Island effect was first identified in 1820 by Luke Howard who noticed that in London, urban temperatures were higher by 3.7 °F at night and lower by 0.34 °F during the day compared to the rural surroundings. The intensity of Heat island varies depending on the density of the urban area, with the highest values of UHI being found in the most densely built areas. Moreover, in cities located in the high-latitude region, and having relatively cold weather, heat islan ds are considered as an advantage since it contributes to a reduction in heating loads; however, in cities located in mid- and low-latitude regions, heat islands are a major source of outdoor thermal discomfort for the urban population, and indoor thermal discomfort of buildings’ occupants (and consequently higher indoor cooling loads), especially in the summer period [22]. On the other hand, there is a phenomenon called the urban cool island (UCI) which is an opposite effect to the UHI, where urban areas are found to be colder than the rural arid (desert) surrounding environments. The UCI is the highest during the daytime, where the effect of increased shading (from buildings) and evapotranspiration (from artificial, man-made water bodies and vegetation) in urban areas contributes to some reduction in local temperatures compared to the unshaded rural arid surroundings. This phenomenon is mainly found in countries where rural areas are primarily deserts, such as the case of the UAE [19]. As a matter of fact, the UHI intensity is influenced by the location of the urban, as well as by the climate regime, season and synoptic patterns [36]. Evidently, UHI shows higher intensities during the summer season due to the larger amounts of solar radiation received by the surface and leading to higher absorption and release of heat through urban structures compared to the winter period [37]. 1.1.1.1 Factors Affecting Urban Temperature Generation of UHI UHI is the results of the interactions among several factors which can be classified as controllable and uncontrollable factors as shown in Fig.4. Figure 4. Generation of Urban Heat Island (UHI) [xx] The uncontrollable factors of UHI include climatic variables (synoptic scale) and weather conditions (local scale) such as air speed and cloud covers. Some studies show that the UHI is negatively correlated with wind speed and cloud cover (Kim and Baik, 2005; Oke, 1982). The controllable factors include urban design and structure related variables such as vegetation, building construction material, and sky view factor and population related variables such as anthropogenic heat sources (power plants, automobiles, air-conditioners). The main source of heat produced and enclosed in an area originates from the sun which emits this heat in the form of solar radiation. The major energy conservation and heat transfer processes (through conduction, convection and radiation) have a dominant role in the heat exchange within an urban area. The structures that are located in the canopy layer level, such as walls, roofs and green spaces absorb and reflect solar radiation in different ways. The ab sorption and storage of solar radiation (in the form of heat energy) occurs from sunrise till sunset, then the environment starts cooling down. The stored heat energy in urban structures is then released to the surrounding environment, based on the sky view factor and the building material of these urban structures. An urban area is typically characterized by a decreased sky view (due to the presence of obstructing buildings), as a result, the ability of heat release by long-wave radiation is reduced in all cities, leading to high heat storage in building surfaces. Surface absorptivity, which is a thermal property of any material, represents the fraction of total incident light that is effectively absorbed by a surface, and is believed to be high in cities and is considered to be one of the main reasons of UHI. Moreover, as a result of the lack of vegetation in most of the cities, latent heat due to evapotranspiration is also reduced in these areas. Convective heat removal and trans fer by wind are also found to be negatively affected by the high roughness of structures in urban areas. In addition, air pollutants that are found in polluted urban areas, are able to capture and re-radiate long wave radiation and obstruct the resulting radiative surface cooling. This leads to the formation of a greenhouse-like effect, causing UHI. Furthermore, the magnitude of UHI has been positively correlated with the size of the urban population of a city in some studies (Hung et al., 2005), while it was found to have be independent of urban population density in other studies (Kim and Baik, 2004). Hung et al. (2005) have found a maximum UHI of 8 °C in the city of Bangkok where the population is of 11 million, while they have observed a maximum UHI of 7 °C in the city of Shanghai where the population density reaches 12.55 million. The population affects heat generation in 2 ways: directly, as an increased density of people results in increased human metabolisms; and indirec tly, as an increased population is typically correlated with a higher number of buildings and vehicles, as well as an increased industrial activity and pollutants concentration [18]. To summarize the factors affecting the UHI, Oke et al.[7] indicates the following key factors: a decrease in radiative heat loss (canyon effect), an increase in thermal storage within the buildings of the urban areas, the release of anthropogenic heat, the reduction of evaporative cooling and turbulent heat transfer in street canyons, in addition to some other minor factors [4]. Following is a list of the factors affecting urban temperature City Scale (S: Site Area in meter square) The UHI is believed to be more intense in large cities where the cumulative effect of the urban warming of numerous street canyons is combined and increases the intensity of the UHI compared to cities of a smaller scale. Thermal Properties of the Construction Material (surface absorptivity (m) and albedo) of Buildings and of the Street Surface Material A study that was conducted in Singapore in order to investigate the most important factors causing the UHI, found that the buildings’ facade materials and colors had a significant impact on the local climate by increasing the temperature in the center of a canyon by up to 2.5 °C, in the case where the facade material had high surface absorptivity (Rajagopalan et al, 2008) [22]. Geometry Orientation of the urban area, includes Building Density (FA/S), Aspect Ratio (the ratio of the Height of Building over the Width of Street), and the Orientation of the street canyon, relative to the incident solar radiation. Urban geometry has a major role in the heat build-up in urban areas. Urban canyon can be designed in a way that improves natural ventilation within the city, hence enhancing heat release. Moreover, the orientation of a street canyon has the key role in determining the quantity of solar radiation that the canyon surfaces receive [22]. As the aspect ratio increases, shading increases, and air temperatures subsequently decrease, especially during some hours of the day [31]. Vegetation The evapotranspiration process from vegetation is another means of urban surfaces cooling, especially in mid and low latitudes having warm arid climatic conditions. Urban areas having abundant impervious surfaces have usually more runoff water than their rural surroundings. The runoff water quickly drains and less surface water becomes available for evapotranspiration in the long run, consequently influencing the urban surface energy balance. This results in a decreased evapotranspiration rate in urban areas which is a main contributor in higher daytime temperatures [22]. Anthropogenic Heat (population density, Number of cars, HVAC system): It mainly originates from heat emissions coming from vehicles and air conditioners. Even though indoor cooling (using air conditioners) improves the indoor thermal comfort of residents in a building, the waste heat dissipated into the outside environment negatively affects the outdoor urban thermal environment. Studies show that air conditioners can cause significant heat accumulation (Chow et al, 2000). Nevertheless, this issue is currently addressed by implementing central air-conditioning systems in many commercial buildings of major cities. Using this method, the heat dissipation takes place using cooling towers (Kikegawa et al, 2003; Kolokotroni et al, 2006) [22].

Little Portugal Fills Big Shoes Essay -- Geography

Lying west of Spain and East of the North Atlantic Ocean is a small country no bigger than the state of Indiana (World Factbook). Portugal, this mistakenly insignificant land, quickly made an impression on European exploration beginning in the early thirteenth century. It was not long before neighboring areas looked to this successful country for tactics concerning discovery. But exactly how did this small piece of land with few inhabitants manage to stand above its competition for quite some time? Portuguese motives, leaders, tactics, and innovations must be further examined in order to fully comprehend just how the Portuguese dominated early trade and exploration. Due to these three aspects, Portugal became the country that all strived to surpass; however, it was this competition that eventually lessened the power of the once unstoppable empire. In the beginning, Portugal sought new lands because more resources were necessary in order to ensure the survival of the people. Since the country had few resources of its own, its inhabitants yearned for the discovery of lands that would make items, primarily Asian spices, more easily accessible. Proper lands and the latest crops however were not the only motivation for early exploration. The Portuguese wanted to leave an impression on the areas they encountered; they strived to spread an important aspect of their lives, Christianity. Portuguese motives can easily be recognized through the voice of a prominent mariner of the land, Vasco Da Gama. When his purpose was questioned by local authorities of Calicut in 1498, he stated, â€Å"Christians and spices† (Bentley 370). Trading posts were quickly established in a number of areas by the Portuguese, and these connections permitt... ...1. †¢ Morison, Samuel Eliot. Admiral of the Ocean Sea; a Life of Christopher Columbus,. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1942. †¢ Morison, Samuel Eliot. The European Discovery of America: the Southern Voyages, A.D. 1492-1616. New York: Oxford UP, 1974. †¢ Sterling, Keir B. "Exploration of America, Early." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 283-287. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. †¢ The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html †¢ "Tordesillas, Treaty of." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 1009-1010. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. †¢ Warmenhoven, Henri J. Western Europe. Guilford, CT: Dushkin Pub. Group, 1989.

Criminal Justice System Essay

When defining crime it different from country or may be even states such as in the United State American, according to the law at hand. In this paper, one will learn the definition of crime as it applies here in the U.S.A in Its relationship to the law, and the two most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal. One will also describe the government structure as it applies to the criminal justice system. Then identify choice theories and their assumptions in regard to crime. Furthermore, describe the components of the criminal justice system and the criminal justice process. In addition, identify the goals of the criminal justice system. Last but not least, one will address one’s thought on if the criminal justice system is a system. Finally, one will summarize the conclusion in its entirety. According to (CJI Interactive, 2013) crime is defined as conduct in violation of the criminal laws of state, the federal government or local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse here in the U.S.A. This only means where one is located determine whether or not it is a crime. The most common models of how society determines which acts are criminal are consensus and the conflict. In one’s mind this leads to the description of both, consensus model has to do with diverse, people thoughts, most society whom shares the same moral value system. Most people think this system is deemed harmful to the society. On the other hand conflict also is consider diverse in many ways, however, this group engage in a much power struggle with most dominant groups that makes values about the law. The main thing is without laws people could not say that something is a crime. The government structure as it applies to the criminal justice  system consists of three branches of government: Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive in which the whole system work together in preventing crime in the U.S.A. However, there are the criminal justice system for each city or state, three basic department agencies within the every state the police, courts, and the department of correction. Each of the agencies is components that work together design, and structured to be fair, integrity, and professional. The federal government has standard guideline that affects every state. Furthermore, every state has its own guideline of the laws, and some may be different in every State. In the choice theories of people assumptions in regard to crime are consensus and conflict that explain earlier in the paper. The over important theories is Due Process and Crime Control. Due process consist of individualization, quality, formality courts. Crime control would consist of standardization, quality, informality, and police. Although they are both different in our society the completion between them if one fails either way with society fail the people. In other words they both system must work not to fail our society. The components of the criminal justice system and the criminal justice process consist of five main components are Investigation and arrest, pretrial activities, trail, sentencing, and corrections. These agencies in the criminal justice system work hand-in-hand together as a sequence process of events that le from the arrest to the correction. Together this is the standard process the criminal justice system use in the U.S.A. In all fairness most people thinks that is a fair procedure. The goals of the criminal justice system come in components as well. Most in people are very depending on whom one asks about this, in the people or justice system. According to CJI there are many of goals and different agencies within the system emphasizing the different goals. The role of the criminal justice system is to respond in the name of society, when crimes are committed. The five criminal justice goals are deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, restoration. In addition there is a standard process in any city. Therefore, at the end of the day it is up to whether federal, state, or city decide on what is best for the  criminals. When it is all said and over with the most important reason is to rehabilitate people and make them whole again. In summarizing, when defining crime it different from country or may be even states such as in the United State American, according to the law at hand. One feels as if many people judge the system, however, one think it is there to help and restore us as one. Writing this paper helped one to gain and give knowledge of every day crime madness in the U.S.A as well as what is consider a crime here in our culture. One has learned many things as it refer to the topic in this paper and the major points that are important through research. References Dreden, E. (2013). The Structure of Criminal Justice System. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com>Legal Schmallager, F. (2011). Criminal Justice Today. Upper Saddle River,, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall. CJi Interactive Multi – Media, (2011) University of Phoenix website

Light and Saint Luke

The painting St. Luke by Master Theodoric was painted 1360-1364 and is paint and gold on panel. The size of the piece is 115 x 94 cm. St. Luke is located in the Holy Cross Chapel, Karlstejn Castle, near Prague. One of the most intriguing parts of this painting is above Saint Luke’s right shoulder is a tan colored miniature ox. Although the ox is a symbol of Saint Luke, when I see this piece the miniature ox gives the impression to be an ominous figure in the painting. This may not be the focal point of this artwork however; this small part is the first object that I noticed. What makes this painting unique and is two parts of the painting spill over onto the golden frame. Perhaps the most noticeable part of this painting is Saint Luke’s piercing gaze. I believe this to be the focal point of the painting. His large gray eyes seem to looking to the right, not right at the viewer, his stare is slightly eerie. He is an older man; the signs of age can be seen on his forehead and the graying in his facial hair. Saint Luke’s beard is long, like you would expect of the time. It is very wavy and seems to curl in places. His head seems to be large which during the time this piece was painted was a common style toward the end of that century was. Saint Luke is wearing a vibrant blue robe like the types you would see in religious artworks. The detail in the color of his robe stands out. For instance, darker shades were used in parts of the folds of the material. The lighter parts are the outside, it gives the illusion that there may be a light facing the painting and the light is reflecting off his robe. Another important detail is in front of his heart is a cross painted in the lighter shade of blue of the robe. The placement of the cross is situated over his heart. Under the cross his hand is extend out of the robe. His hand has long boney fingers with blue veins on the top of his hand. It doesn’t give the impression of someone that is elderly because it lacks wrinkles, mostly appears as it is someone who is frail. In his left hand is a thick book that has a red cover and white sheets of paper. The book looks as though it may be a bible. The book is open to the middle of the book facing out; the pages of the book are blank. In the upper left corner of the painting is the miniature ox which is a symbol of Saint Luke. The ox seems to be breaking through the wall behind Saint Luke and resting on his right shoulder. Behind the ox is a brilliant blue sky with white clouds. The ox is a dark beige color, a very earthy tone. His right profile is the only part of his face that you can see; his eye is a deep red color. On top of his head are his horns which are a light brown at the base and gradually take a darker shade, they are black at the tips of his horns. At the base his hair is curly and the same shade as his body. On his back are odd shape wings that are multiple shades of light and dark pinks. The shape is wavy with the small feathers. They are not the normal shape of wings that you are customary of seeing. The background looks to be a wall that is painted gold in a geometric pattern. The pattern is very detailed, there appears to be flowers in the shapes. Behind Saint Luke’s head there appears to be a halo painted in the same bold gold color. The designs behind Saint Luke are the same design carried over to the frame giving the appearance of the painting being three dimensional. On the frame at the top where the miniature ox is coming through the wall behind Saint Luke, the blue sky is paint is overlapping on the frame. This also occurs on the right side of the frame, the top right corner of the open book is painted onto the frame also. At the bottom of the frame there is an oval cut out. Within the cut out there is another cutout possibly meant to hold some sort of object, it looks to be empty. The style in which this artwork was painted to me says good and evil. The miniature ox to me looks like a goat due to the size and I have never heard of a miniature ox. The red eye and the horns give the impression that he represents the devil. Saint Luke to me symbolizes holy and spiritual. I am uncertain the meaning and purpose of the open book with the blank pages. Religious works of art such as paintings, sculptures, and architectures can be interpreted many ways by many different people.