The United States and Latin America in the 21st century: Recommendations for a sound and sustainable foreign policy
Essay - 7 pages - International relations
Traditionally, the relationship between the United States and Latin America has been marked by periods of ups and downs, and often indifference. Over the past decade, the latter has largely settled in. However, in view of the region's increased global profile and reach, devising a healthy...
The sociology of housing and the housing problem
Essay - 9 pages - Social, moral & civic education
At its most elementary level, housing serves as shelter, offering protection against inclement weather and victimization by street crime. Housing fulfils other functions as well. It is typically a significant economic investment, for households as well as builders. Residents also tend to hold...
Impact of forest management on the quality of water
Essay - 8 pages - Ecology & environment
In forested catchments the hydrologic cycle, involving precipitation, interception, evapo-transpiration, overland ?ow, subsurface ?ow, groundwater ?ow, and stream ?ow is closely linked to water quality in that water movement through the forest ecosystem also transports sediment, and dissolved...
Forest fires (prediction, prevention and suppression)
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
The problems and negative impacts associated with large-scale uncontrolled forest ?res have increased worldwide over the past two decades. Globally an estimated 300-400 million hectares of forests and woodlands burn annually, emitting an estimated 9.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases; however,...
Human behavior in the social context
Essay - 7 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Humans are a social species. First, we explore the reasons why humans are social beings and briefly consider the broad implications of this characterization. Next, we go somewhat more deeply into the question what it means to be social. In other words, how does an individual function whose...
Soil erosion control
Essay - 6 pages - Ecology & environment
Soil erosion control in managed forests is undertaken, and best achieved, for two main reasons. The ?rst relates to soil protection for the sustainable productivity of the forest resource. The second relates to the protection of valuable water resources located in forested catchments. The...
The relationship of Science and Religion as seen through the Galileo affair
Essay - 4 pages - Social, moral & civic education
It is true that often the church and science have clashed bitterly, leaving both sides--and the rest of the world--with the sense that there will never be a way to compromise. One of the best examples of this clash was in the 17th century, when Galileo crossed the Catholic Church. Although...
Political violence in flux: Changes in today's world
Essay - 10 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Terrorism has fundamentally changed the nature of international relations as a whole. With the emergence of small, non government organizations (or NGOs) that have the capability to inflict massive amounts of damage to life and property, states as a whole now face a strong challenge to their...
Mendelssohn's 'Elijah': An oratorio for the generations
Essay - 5 pages - Social, moral & civic education
On Wednesday, August 26, 1846, Felix Mendelssohn's revered oratorio, Elijah, was premiered at the Birmingham Music Festival. The work met instant lauds, hailed by the London Times, Never was there a more complete triumph- never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great art...
Menotti: An American Legend
Essay - 5 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Gian Carlo Menotti is often named the premiere American opera composer of the 20th century. Born and raised in Italy, his view is the Italian one, that the theater should entertain, and he has dedicated his life to writing and composing operas in genres from comedy to sentiment, from passionate...
Propagation technology for forest trees
Essay - 8 pages - Ecology & environment
There are six major kinds of propagules now available for the reproduction of forest trees: seeds, sprouts, grafts, cuttings, tissue-culture plantlets, and somatic embryos. Each has two or more subclasses, and each has increasingly understood advantages, disadvantages, and uses. For several of...
Disparity between the Dollar and the Euro
Essay - 5 pages - Economy general
Since 2002, the value of the dollar has been decreasing. The value of the dollar has been paling in comparison to the nearly consistent euro. This has spurred caution and alarm in the foreign market because the dollar is perceived to be the safest currency to trade (The New York Times)....
AGOA: Origins, purpose and achievements
Essay - 6 pages - Economy general
President George Bush shared his empathy in the incidents of violence and economic crisis that beset African countries. The humanitarian and human rights crises in different parts of Africa are severely sabotaging its economy. It is to the United States' view that a way to spread peace is to...
The declining incidence of strikes in the United States and its possible explanation
Essay - 5 pages - Economy general
The declining incidence of strikes in the United States has plummeted dramatically over the last fifty years. Workers perceive one arsenal that they reserve for the fiercest labour battles: strike. Yet, this arsenal may forever be unutilized or at least be kept to a minimum at the expense of...
Genetic aspects of air pollution and climate change
Essay - 6 pages - Ecology & environment
The ?rst incidences of air pollution impacts on the genetic constitution of forest tree populations were those documented near point sources of sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulates, and heavy metals. Localized extinction of forests around these point sources was documented by ecologists in the past...
Genecology and the adaptations of forest trees
Essay - 8 pages - Ecology & environment
Genecology is the study of intraspeci?c genetic variation in relation to environmental conditions. It reveals patterns of adaptation of populations to their environments that result from differences in natural selection among locations. Genecological studies are conducted for the practical...
Cytogenetics of forest tree species
Essay - 9 pages - Ecology & environment
The discipline of cytogenetics was ?rst de?ned by Sutton in 1903, as a ?eld of investigation which developed from the separate sciences of genetics and cytology. It is concerned with studies on the correlation of genetic and cytological (especially chromosomal) features characterizing a...
Delusions of Soviet power and the American military-industrial complex
Essay - 4 pages - International relations
The Cold War period for the United States and indeed, the world was one of turbulence and uncertainty. The conclusion of World War II saw the clash of two major world powers, each replete with the awesome capability of nuclear weapons. For the first time in history the human race intentionally...
Speaking of the people: Authenticating representations of Native American culture
Essay - 5 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Archaeologists and Native Americans have an interesting relationship in this present day. They are both contesting for the same properties (except for the property of the Native American oral tradition). In this nation of immigrants, Native American culture and peoples have long...
The struggle for democracy: An analysis of false flag terrorism in post-war Italy and its contemporary relevance
Essay - 5 pages - Political science
To analyze politics is to attempt to understand the evolution and application of ideas in circumstances that are seldom clearly defined. These ideas are formulated into ideological structures that become the governing principles of specific political philosophies. Words such as morals, culture,...
Where is My Voice? : An exploration of questions that minority women ask about their identity
Tutorials/exercises - 5 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Universal questioning of the roles of sex and gender began centuries ago. Every culture has their expectations and customs. Even in the present-day united states, where freethinking is a familiar attitude, women find themselves in traditional or likely roles. Within the field of women's...
The global and forest environment carbon cycle
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
The forest environment carbon cycle can be viewed at a number of scales. Measurements can be made at the scale of an individual leaf or tree, stand-scale measurements can be made, and models can be developed that examine forest-level, regional, and global carbon cycles. The role of the forest in...
Diagnosis, monitoring and evaluation of forest health and protection
Essay - 9 pages - Ecology & environment
Over the last 30 years forest health became a popular issue together with the concern about acid rain, air pollution, and climate change. Terms like forest decline, and the German Waldsterben' (forest death) and Neuartigen Waldscha ¨den' (new type of forest damage) became frequent in...
On the road to China's urbanization
Essay - 6 pages - Economy general
Unexpected urbanization is taking place in China today and will continue to occur in the coming years. The rapid rise of Chinese settling in cities is drastic. Statistics showed that urbanization heightened from 18 percent in 1978 to 30 percent in 1995 and 39 percent in 2002 (New Lincoln...
Environmental impacts on forests
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
There is considerable debate over de?nitions for the word forest' and even for tree.' Most vegetation types fall clearly into the categories of forest or nonforest, but there is dispute at the margins. A similar debate rages over the classi?cation of forests into natural and arti?cial...
Impacts of air pollution on forest ecosystems
Essay - 10 pages - Ecology & environment
Air pollution problems are international in scale. All forests worldwide experience some degree of air pollution exposure above preindustrial levels. Atmospheric transport processes do not recognize geographic borders, but sources of pollutants, the pollutants of concern, and the speci?c effects...
Natural disturbances in forest environments
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Disturbance in plant communities has been de?ned as consisting of the mechanisms which limit the plant biomass by causing its partial or total destruction.' In forests, disturbance arises from the agencies of tree damage or death. At small spatial scales, individual trees die standing or...
Plant-animal interactions in forest ecosystems
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Flowering plants, being sedentary, have co-opted animal partners for purposes of gene exchange and propagule dispersal, through pollination and seed dispersal. To secure these services plants provide a variety of flower or fruit rewards creating some of the most common and obvious mutualistic...
Human influences on the tropical forest wildlife
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Different patterns of anthropogenic forest disturbance can affect forest wildlife in both tropical and temperate regions in many ways. The overall impact of different sources of structural and nonstructural disturbance may depend on: (1) the groups of organisms considered; (2) the evolutionary...
Aquatic habitats in forest ecosystems
Essay - 8 pages - Ecology & environment
There is a wide variety of aquatic habitats found in forested areas ranging from water-?lled tree holes through to large rivers, lakes, and inundated forests. This article initially reviews the classi?cation of aquatic habitats and some of their important geomorphological, physicochemical, and...