A Brief History Of Topography

Topography entails the shape and layout of the land, including terrain and elevation.

Topography is an element of map making dating back thousands of years. Topography is the mapping of elevations, shapes and other geographical features of the land using contour lines, relief shading and tints. The physical configuration of the land being mapped is also referred to as the land's topography.

Oldest Topography

The oldest surviving topographic map was discovered in a Han Dynasty tomb dated to the second century B.C.E. Two maps of the Southern Hu-Nan province were found together. One was a military map marking the roads and settlements. The other was a detailed topographical map describing the scale and terrain of the province.

Topography in Roman Antiquity

The Romans carefully recorded many details of Rome's shape and layout. Historians like Pliny described the streets of Rome, their lengths and their distances to the gates. Frontinus made meticulous records of the construction of Roman aqueducts, the sizes of various water supplies and the sections of the city that each aqueduct served. This topographical data was not compiled into a formal topographical map of Rome until many centuries later by modern historians.

Topography in Enlightenment France

In the late 1600s, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, an Italian-born engineer and astronomer, began a topographical map of all France using triangulation and land surveys. The elaborate and ambitious project was eventually completed by his grandson Cassini de Thury nearly a century after its inception. It was published in 1789 as the "Carte géométrique Géométrique de la France."

Modern World

As technology has advanced, topography has become a more detailed and precise discipline. Aerial photography, computer processing and satellite data have dramatically improved the depth and detail of topographic knowledge, heralding what some have called a "mapping revolution."

Key Concepts

history of topography
earliest topography
topography history

References

CVRlab: Introduction to Roman Topography
[http://www.cvrlab.org/Library/Richardson/RichardsonIntroduction.html ]
Jrank: Han Empire
[http://www.jrank.org/history/pages/6001/Han-Empire.html ]
Michigan Dept. Department of Technology, Management and Budget: FAQ: What is Topography?
[http://www.michigan.gov/cgi/0,1607,7-158-13111-31893--F,00.html ]
Britannica: Ceasar-Francios Cesar-Francois Cassini de Thury
(French Surveyor)
[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/98206/Cesar-Francois-Cassini-de-Thury ]
USGS: Topographic Mapping
[http://egsc.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/topo/topo.html ]

Resources (Further Reading)

New World Encyclopedia: Cassini, Giovani Domenico
[http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Giovanni_Domenico_Cassini#cite_note-1 ]

Challenges in the Criminal Justice System

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The criminal justice system is beset with many challenges as the 21st century begins.

The criminal justice system is a large and far-reaching segment of America's judicial and legislative branches. Attorneys, intellectuals and lawmakers have identified six points of interest that require discussion, action and change. These are all challenges that put excessive burden on the resources of the criminal justice system, using up time, money and manpower.

Youth Violence


Violent youth are more likely to become violent adults.
violence image by sasha from Fotolia.com
Acts of youth violence like school homicides are a growing and endemic problem. This issue is recognized by the Department of Justice, privately practicing attorneys and criminal justice scholars. The rise of youth violence is attributed to several causes, including criminal parents, abuse and abandonment. According to the Department of Justice, "Strong evidence links early problem behavior to later adolescent delinquency and serious adult criminality."

Drugs in the Community


Drug abuse straddles the line between crime and health problem.
drugs image by bright from Fotolia.com
According to "Criminal Justice," a book by James A. Fagin, drug law enforcement is not tempered by the realities of addiction. The war on drugs criminalizes addiction, which is primarily a health problem. Also, Fagin encourages reevaluation of the prevalent strategies for reducing illegal drug use.

Violence Against Women


The DOJ calls for greater measures to prevent violence against women.
women image by Tomasz Wojnarowicz from Fotolia.com
A Department of Justice task force identified rape and domestic violence as significant challenges facing the criminal justice system. The report indicates that, despite national grassroots efforts to reform rape and domestic violence laws, "the incidence and prevalence of rape have not significantly declined."

The Death Penalty


The death penalty is a hotly debated topic.
death becomes her image by Pali A from Fotolia.com
The Catholic Labor Network reported that 80 percent of executed criminals come from southern states, while the same group of states still have the highest murder rate in the country. They hypothesize that the notion of the death penalty acting as a deterrent to crime is invalid. Other death penalty topics include evident racial disparity in applying the death penalty, as well as the exorbitant cost of the death penalty because of the elaborate and drawn out appeals process that it engenders. Others, of course, continue to support the death penalty wholeheartedly.

Health and Overcrowding in Prisons


Overcrowded prisons place an undue burden on states and the nation.
prison image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
With prisons becoming increasingly overcrowded, concerns have arisen regarding the mental and physical health of prisoners. Pointed criticism of the prison system from concerned religious groups feel that the increasingly punitive criminal justice system dismisses the goals of redemption and restoration through rehabilitative incarceration. With prison overcrowding, there are also legitimate worries about the cost of supporting America's swelling prison population.

Overcriminalization


It is becoming impossible not to break the law.
criminal image by Hunta from Fotolia.com
In a "New York Times" interview, former attorney general Edwin Meese III pointed out the proliferation of superfluous criminal offenses overloading the criminal justice system. “It’s a violation of federal law to give a false weather report,” Mr. Meese said. “People get put in jail for importing lobsters.” A book entitled "Three Felonies a Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent," by civil liberties lawyer Harvey A. Silvergate, has garnered the approval of attorneys across the political spectrum. It states that federal criminal laws are now so ubiquitous that every American violates them every day, making all citizens fair game for prosecution.

Key Concepts

criminal justice challenges
issues criminal justice
criminal justice concerns
justice system problems
References

ABLongman: Companion Website for Criminal Justice [
http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_fagin_crimjust_1/0,6052,443878-,00.html]
Catholic Labor Network: Challenges for the Criminal Justice Process in the South [
http://www.catholiclabor.org/church-doc/CBS-1.htm]
"New York Times": Right and Left Join Forces On Criminal Justice [
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/us/24crime.html]
Resources (Further Reading)

National Criminal Justice Reference Service: Critical Criminal Justice Issues [
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/158837.pdf]