1588 résultats pour "years"
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Terrorism.
exploitation, ethnic discrimination, and religious persecution. Perceived inequities in the distribution of wealth and political power have led some terrorists to attempt tooverthrow democratically elected governments. To achieve a fairer society, they would replace these governments with socialist or communist regimes. Left-wingterrorist groups of the 1960s and 1970s with such aims included Germany’s Baader-Meinhof Gang, Italy’s Red Brigades, and the Weather Underground ( see Weathermen) in the...
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Kansas City (Missouri) - geography.
Major institutions of higher education in Kansas City are a branch (established in 1929) of the University of Missouri, Avila College (1916), Rockhurst College (1910),DeVry Institute of Technology (Missouri) (1931), and the Kansas City Art Institute (1885). Schools in neighboring suburbs include Park University (1875), in Parkville,and William Jewell College (1849), in Liberty. Baptist, Nazarene, and Methodist theological schools are also located in the area. Midwest Research Institute, one of t...
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Banking.
loans, and some commercial loans in addition to checking accounts and time deposits. Credit unions, SLAs, and savings banks help encourage thriftiness by paying interest to consumers who put their money in savings deposits. Consequently, creditunions, SLAs, and savings banks are often referred to as thrift institutions. Of the various types of banks in the United States, commercial banks account for the greatest single source of the financial industry’s assets. In 2000 the 8,528commercial banks...
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War of 1812 - History.
the thorough training they received in handling guns was far ahead of contemporary British standards. As hostilities loomed, Congress authorized a regular army of 35,000 men, but when the United States officially declared war in June 1812, the actual land force was lessthan 10,000 and nearly half of these soldiers were raw recruits. The existing troops were also widely scattered in small garrisons. The government planned tosupplement this regular force with 50,000 volunteers and 100,000 militiam...
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War of 1812 - U.
the thorough training they received in handling guns was far ahead of contemporary British standards. As hostilities loomed, Congress authorized a regular army of 35,000 men, but when the United States officially declared war in June 1812, the actual land force was lessthan 10,000 and nearly half of these soldiers were raw recruits. The existing troops were also widely scattered in small garrisons. The government planned tosupplement this regular force with 50,000 volunteers and 100,000 militiam...
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Jamaica - country.
majority, the Church of God, Baptists, Anglicans, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecostalists, and Roman Catholics predominate. Several well-established Jewish, Muslim,and Hindu communities exist. A number of popular sects, such as Pocomania and Rastafarianism, are a significant and famous feature of the national religious life. C Education School attendance by children between the ages of 6 and 11 is nearly universal, and 84 percent of all 12- to 18-year-olds attend secondary institutions. In 2000...
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Poliomyelitis.
Physical therapy helps patients with paralytic polio stretch and move affected muscles. This movement minimizes the atrophy, or shrinkage, of affected muscles andlimbs and builds strength. Exercises can also retrain working muscles to compensate for other muscles that have permanently lost the ability to move. Rehabilitativetherapy trains patients to use braces, crutches, and other devices that provide support and aid mobility. V PREVENTION OF POLIO Immunization with polio vaccine is the best w...
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Babylonia - USA History.
Pharmacology, too, doubtless had made considerable progress, although the only major direct evidence of this comes from a Sumerian tablet written several centuriesbefore Hammurabi. C Legal System and Writing Law and justice were key concepts in the Babylonian way of life. Justice was administered by the courts, each of which consisted of from one to four judges. Often theelders of a town constituted a tribunal. The judges could not reverse their decisions for any reason, but appeals from their...
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Buenos Aires (city) - geography.
The city has produced or nurtured many of the most prominent Spanish-language writers of the 20th century, including Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, and ManuelPuig. Buenos Aires has long been one of the primary centers of Spanish-language publishing and printing, and it is home to major publishing companies. It supports theoldest English-language daily newspaper in Latin America, the Buenos Aires Herald, published since 1876. The arts have a long, rich history in Buenos Aires. This is mani...
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Phoenix (city, Arizona) - geography.
The company’s irrigation system followed the network of canals that were built there by the Hohokam some 500 years earlier. In October 1870, several settlers foundedthe site of modern Phoenix. In recognition of the former Hohokam culture, settler Darrell Duppa likened the new community to the phoenix, a mythological bird thatconsumed itself by fire every 500 years and arose anew from the ashes. Thereafter, the group adopted Phoenix as the settlement’s name. Within a short time the areawas produc...
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Relativity - astronomy.
beta, for example, might be as large as 0.5, and the mass of the electron doubled. The mass of a rapidly moving electron could be easily determined by measuring thecurvature produced in its path by a magnetic field; the heavier the electron, the greater its inertia and the less the curvature produced by a given strength of field ( see Magnetism). Experimentation dramatically confirmed Einstein's prediction; the electron increased in mass by exactly the amount he predicted. Thus, the kinetic ener...
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World Cup Skiing Champions.
1992 Petra Kronberger (Austria) 1993 Anita Wachter (Austria) 1994 Vreni Schneider (Switzerland) 1995 Vreni Schneider (Switzerland) 1996 Katja Seizinger (Germany) 1997 Pernilla Wiberg (Sweden) 1998 Katja Seizinger (Germany) 1999 Alexandra Meissnitzer (Austria) 2000 Renate Goetschl (Austria) 2001 Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2002 Michaela Dorfmeister (Austria) 2003 Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2004 Anja Pärson (Sweden) 2005 Anja Pärson (Sweden) 2006 Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2007 Nicole Hosp (Austria) 2...
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World Cup Skiing Champions
Men's Overall Alpine Winners.
1993 Anita Wachter (Austria) 1994 Vreni Schneider (Switzerland) 1995 Vreni Schneider (Switzerland) 1996 Katja Seizinger (Germany) 1997 Pernilla Wiberg (Sweden) 1998 Katja Seizinger (Germany) 1999 Alexandra Meissnitzer (Austria) 2000 Renate Goetschl (Austria) 2001 Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2002 Michaela Dorfmeister (Austria) 2003 Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2004 Anja Pärson (Sweden) 2005 Anja Pärson (Sweden) 2006 Janica Kostelic (Croatia) 2007 Nicole Hosp (Austria) 2008 Lindsey Vonn (United States)...
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Atlantic Slave Trade.
members of the planters’ society. Through most of the years of the Atlantic trade, prices for Africans remained favorable in relation to the price of the crops theyproduced. They were, thus, the best economic solution for plantation owners seeking inexpensive labor. The Atlantic slave trade began as a trickle in the 1440s and grew slowly through the 17th century. By 1700, 25,000 slaves, on average, were crossing the Atlantic everyyear. After 1700 the trade grew much more rapidly to a peak in the...
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Relativity
I
INTRODUCTION
Albert Einstein
In 1905 German-born American physicist Albert Einstein published his first paper outlining the theory of relativity.
in calculating very large distances or very large aggregations of matter. As the quantum theory applies to the very small, so the relativity theory applies to the verylarge. Until 1887 no flaw had appeared in the rapidly developing body of classical physics. In that year, the Michelson-Morley experiment, named after the American physicistAlbert Michelson and the American chemist Edward Williams Morley, was performed. It was an attempt to determine the rate of the motion of the earth through t...
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Bhutan - country.
languages ( see Indo-Iranian Languages) and follow Hinduism. Nepalese people constitute a significant portion of Bhutan’s population. They are the most recent settlers, occupying south central and southwestern Bhutan. TheNepalese are mainly Rai, Gurung, and Limbu ethnic groups from the eastern mountains of Nepal. Nepalese immigration has been banned since 1959, when theBhutanese government feared the minority would become too populous. Nepalese are not permitted to live in the central Middle Hi...
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Canadian Parliament.
government’s legislative program. Members of Commons can also present a motion in response to the Budget Speech, which reviews the government’s economicrecord, taxation, and expenditure plans, and to Supply Motions, which concern budgets for individual departments. If a majority of MPs support a no-confidence motion,the government must resign. Also, if Parliament rejects a significant government proposal, the government is expected to resign and request the governor-general to call an election....
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Sir Charles Tupper.
campaign, Macdonald asked him to become minister of finance. He was then sent to Washington, D.C., as leader of the Canadian delegation to settle a fisheries disputewith the United States. A treaty was worked out and signed, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify it. Tupper had already become a Knight Commander of St. Michaeland St. George in 1879, and he received the Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George in 1886. For his services in Washington he was given the hereditary titleof baron...
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Sir Charles Tupper - Canadian History.
campaign, Macdonald asked him to become minister of finance. He was then sent to Washington, D.C., as leader of the Canadian delegation to settle a fisheries disputewith the United States. A treaty was worked out and signed, but the U.S. Senate refused to ratify it. Tupper had already become a Knight Commander of St. Michaeland St. George in 1879, and he received the Knight Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George in 1886. For his services in Washington he was given the hereditary titleof baron...
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Somalia Facts and Figures.
Female 14 percent (1995) Male 36.1 percent (1995) Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 0.5 percent (1985) Number of years of compulsory schooling 8 years (2001-2002) Number of students per teacher, primary school 20 students per teacher (1997) GOVERNMENTForm of governmentThe nation has been threatened for years by civil strife and has been torn by a bloody power struggle between clans since 1991. Voting qualifications Universal at age 18 ConstitutionNone in...
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Cameroon - country.
seminomadic herders of the north. Cattle, goats, and fowl are the most commonly raised animals. B Forestry and Fishing Timber is traditionally one of Cameroon’s most valuable exports, consisting mainly of mahogany, ebony, and teak. The timber cut in 2006 amounted to 11.4 million cu m(401 million cu ft). Most of the fish caught in Cameroon come from the country’s rivers and lakes and are consumed locally. However, deep-sea fishing activity isincreasing, especially from the port of Douala. Some 1...
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Herman Melville
I
INTRODUCTION
Herman Melville
These lines (recited by an actor) begin the novel Moby Dick (1851), by Herman Melville.
short novel Billy Budd in manuscript form. Melville’s death in New York City on September 28, 1891, went virtually unnoticed. None of his books was still in print. VI MELVILLE’S EARLY WORKS With the exception of Mardi , all of Melville’s early books are narratives of maritime adventure based upon his own experiences and on his wide reading. Although London publisher John Murray accepted Typee for his Home and Colonial Library as a strictly factual account of South Seas travel, he was lar...
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Milwaukee - geography.
acts ranging from alternative rock to country music. During the rest of the summer months, the park is the site of weekend festivals staged by Milwaukee’s majorethnic groups: Italian, Irish, German, African American, Polish, Mexican, Native American, and Asian. The Great Circus Parade, featuring the world’s largest collection ofornate circus wagons, is another staple of Milwaukee’s festival season. The Wisconsin State Fair is held annually in nearby West Allis. V RECREATION The largest single u...
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Charles Dickens.
The Old Curiosity Shop broke hearts across Britain and North America when it first appeared. Later readers, however, have found it excessively sentimental, especially the pathos surrounding the death of its child-heroine Little Nell. Dickens’s next two works proved less popular with the public. Barnaby Rudge, Dickens’s first historical novel, revolves around anti-Catholic riots that broke out in London in 1780. The events in Martin Chuzzlewit become a vehicle for the novel’s theme: selfishne...
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Dog.
I
INTRODUCTION
Dog, mammal generally considered to be the first domesticated animal.
French word for butterfly because it has ears that resemble butterfly wings, is a happy, friendly dog, suitable for small living spaces. The final dog group, nonsporting ,includes a wide variety of purebreds that differ in size, coat, overall appearance, and personality, from the shorthaired spotted dalmatian to the curly-haired poodle. V DOG BEHAVIOR Instinctive behaviors of the domestic dog are comparable to those of its wild relatives, the wolf, coyote, fox, and jackal. Unlike trained behavi...
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Dog - biology.
French word for butterfly because it has ears that resemble butterfly wings, is a happy, friendly dog, suitable for small living spaces. The final dog group, nonsporting ,includes a wide variety of purebreds that differ in size, coat, overall appearance, and personality, from the shorthaired spotted dalmatian to the curly-haired poodle. V DOG BEHAVIOR Instinctive behaviors of the domestic dog are comparable to those of its wild relatives, the wolf, coyote, fox, and jackal. Unlike trained behavi...
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Frog (animal).
which means that their body temperature depends on the temperature of the surrounding environment. Few species can tolerate temperatures below 4°C (40°F) orabove 40°C (104°F), and many species can survive only within a narrower range of temperatures. In addition, frogs’ thin, moist skin offers little protection againstwater loss, and when on land the animals must guard against drying out. Many frogs are active at night because temperatures are cooler and humidity is higher thanduring the day. In...
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Frog (animal) - biology.
which means that their body temperature depends on the temperature of the surrounding environment. Few species can tolerate temperatures below 4°C (40°F) orabove 40°C (104°F), and many species can survive only within a narrower range of temperatures. In addition, frogs’ thin, moist skin offers little protection againstwater loss, and when on land the animals must guard against drying out. Many frogs are active at night because temperatures are cooler and humidity is higher thanduring the day. In...
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Women's Rights.
In 1840 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton traveled to London to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention. Upon arrival, however, the women were barred fromparticipating in the conference and forced to sit behind a curtain. This experience of discrimination inspired them to organize the first women’s rights convention. Thisconvention met in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19 and 20, 1848. The Seneca Falls Convention attracted more than 200 women and approximately 40 men. For theconvention,...
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Public Finance.
obtained by borrowing instead of taxation—can be helpful for the economy. For example, when unemployment is high, the government can undertake projects that useworkers who would otherwise be idle. The economy will then expand because more money is being pumped into it. However, deficit spending also can harm theeconomy. When unemployment is low, a deficit may result in rising prices, or inflation. The additional government spending creates more competition for scarce workersand resources and thi...
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Peter Paul Rubens
I
INTRODUCTION
Thetis Dipping Achilles in the Styx
The sea nymph Thetis is seen dipping her son Achilles in the River Styx to make him immortal.
Rubens, Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of LermaIn 1603 Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens traveled to Spain as part of a diplomatic mission. While there, he received acommission for this portrait of the Duke of Lerma, the powerful prime minister of Spanish king Philip III. The painting nowhangs in the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.The Prado Museum, Madrid/Archivo Fotografico Oronoz Shortly thereafter, following the example of many northern European artists of the period, Rubens traveled to Italy...
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Python (snake) - biology.
pythons are prey for monitor lizards, crocodiles, storks, eagles, and predatory mammals ranging from hyenas to leopards and other cats depending on the region. V PYTHONS AND HUMANS Modern humans have lived alongside pythons for thousands of years. The giant species have been treated with both reverence and fear. Pythons have been widelyassociated with fertility, water, and the Earth. Some African tribes have worshiped pythons as protective spirits. Among Aboriginal Australians the Rainbow Serpe...
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William Faulkner
I
INTRODUCTION
William Faulkner
Twentieth-century American novelist William Faulkner wrote novels that explored the tensions between the old and the
new in the American South.
Faulkner’s “powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.” He also wrote numerous short stories, many of the best of which werepublished in book form in Go Down, Moses (1942) and The Collected Stories (1950; Pulitzer Prize, 1951). In-between his fiction works, which until late in his career did not always pay well, Faulkner wrote screenplays for Hollywood; two of his more prominent scripts were for the motion pictures To Have and Have Not (1944) and The Big S...
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Eritrea - country.
1993 decree set up a formal transitional government under EPLF control. This provided for a National Assembly, a president, and council of ministers. Isaias Afwerki,secretary general of the EPLF, was formally elected president by the National Assembly in June 1993. A new constitution was approved in 1997. Under this constitution, the National Assembly is the country’s legislature. Its members are popularly elected to five-yearterms. A president, elected by the National Assembly to a five-year te...
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Exercise.
broad, and most studies suggest a positive relationship between physical fitness and mental achievement. The relationship between regular aerobic exercise and cardiovascular health and longevity is well established. Regular exercise leads to a reduction in the risk ofcoronary heart disease, in which fatty deposits (plaque) form in blood vessels supplying the muscular wall of the heart, compromising oxygen delivery to the heartmuscle. In addition, with regular exercise the efficiency of the heart...
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Lesotho - country.
V GOVERNMENT Under the terms of the constitution of 1965, which was suspended in 1970, Lesotho was a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature. After a coup in 1986,legislative and executive powers were vested in the king but actually exercised by a 6-member military council and a 20-member council of ministers. In 1993 Lesothoadopted a new constitution that redefined the role of the monarchy and altered the legislative branch of the government. The king, who is head of state, has no...
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Endangered Species - biology.
Red List database assesses the status of, and threats to, animal species worldwide. To add to this and other biodiversity databases, nongovernmental organizationssuch as Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund conduct periodic rapid assessments (focused, intensive evaluations) of biodiversity in varioushotspots— regions like Madagascar that are both rich in endemic species and environmentally threatened. This information is used in the administration of international agreements such...
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Michael Jordan.
playoffs the Bulls pushed the Pistons to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing again. As he grew older, Jordan made a concerted effort to help his teammates reach their own potential. The result of his renewed commitment to team-oriented play was theBulls’ first NBA championship title. After the 1990-91 season the Bulls swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers inthe NBA Finals. Jordan won the league MVP award for the second...
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Michael Jordan
I
INTRODUCTION
Michael Jordan, born in 1963, American professional basketball player, considered by many to be the greatest player in basketball history.
playoffs the Bulls pushed the Pistons to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals before losing again. As he grew older, Jordan made a concerted effort to help his teammates reach their own potential. The result of his renewed commitment to team-oriented play was theBulls’ first NBA championship title. After the 1990-91 season the Bulls swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals and then defeated the Los Angeles Lakers inthe NBA Finals. Jordan won the league MVP award for the second...
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Somalia - country.
A Agriculture Livestock raising is the principal occupation in Somalia. The size of livestock herds began to recover in the mid-1990s after falling during the country’s civil war. Sheepand goats are the most numerous livestock, with smaller numbers of cattle. The principal crops grown are corn, sorghum, sugarcane, cassava, and bananas. B Forestry and Fishing While most wood is cut for fuel, Somalia’s major forestry export products before the 1990s were frankincense and myrrh. Fish is an import...
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Cold War.
With this, all the countries of Eastern Europe were under Communist control, and the creation of the Soviet bloc was complete. The events of 1948 contributed to agrowing conviction among political leaders in both the United States and the USSR that the opposing power posed a broad and fundamental threat to their nation’sinterests. The Berlin blockade and the spread of Communism in Europe led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the NorthAtlantic...
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Cold War .
With this, all the countries of Eastern Europe were under Communist control, and the creation of the Soviet bloc was complete. The events of 1948 contributed to agrowing conviction among political leaders in both the United States and the USSR that the opposing power posed a broad and fundamental threat to their nation’sinterests. The Berlin blockade and the spread of Communism in Europe led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the NorthAtlantic...
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Cold War - U.
With this, all the countries of Eastern Europe were under Communist control, and the creation of the Soviet bloc was complete. The events of 1948 contributed to agrowing conviction among political leaders in both the United States and the USSR that the opposing power posed a broad and fundamental threat to their nation’sinterests. The Berlin blockade and the spread of Communism in Europe led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the NorthAtlantic...
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Space Shuttle - astronomy.
The two SRBs, with their combined thrust of some 26 million newtons (about 5.8 million lb), provide most of the power for the first two minutes of flight. The SRBs takethe space shuttle to an altitude of 45 km (28 mi) and a speed of 4,973 km/h (3,094 mph) before they separate and fall back into the ocean to be retrieved,refurbished, and prepared for another flight. After the boosters fall away, the three main engines continue to provide thrust. These engines are clustered at the rear end of the...
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Antelope - biology.
antelopes still display complex patterns of behavior, although much of it is instinctive rather than learned. In open habitats, antelopes run a high risk of predation (being preyed upon). To survive they use several kinds of defensive strategy, including living in herds. Herd living ensures that many pairs of eyes and ears are on the alert for danger. Herd living also gives individuals a better chance of avoiding attack, because predators canchoose from many potential targets. When danger thre...
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Solomon Islands Facts and Figures.
Total 73.4 years (2008 estimate) Female 76.1 years (2008 estimate) Male 70.9 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 19 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 7,692 people (2004) Population per hospital bed 526 people (2003) Literacy rateTotal Not available Female Not available Male Not available Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 3.6 percent (2000-2001) Number of years of compulsory schooling Not available Numbe...
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The Gambia Facts and Figures.
HEALTH AND EDUCATIONLife expectancyTotal 55 years (2008 estimate) Female 56.9 years (2008 estimate) Male 53.1 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 69 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 28,571 people (2004) Population per hospital bed 1,637 people (1990) Literacy rateTotal 42.4 percent (2005 estimate) Female 35 percent (2005 estimate) Male 50.2 percent (2005 estimate) Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 3 perc...
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East Timor Facts and Figures.
Male 64.6 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 43 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 10,380 people (2004) Population per hospital bed 5 people (2000 estimate) Literacy rateTotal 43 percent (2001 estimate) Female 42.8 percent (2001 estimate) Male 43.1 percent (2001 estimate) Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) Not available Number of years of compulsory schooling 9 years (2002-2003) Number of students per teache...
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Uganda Facts and Figures.
Ethnoreligionists or indigenous beliefs 4 percent Muslim 5 percent Other 10 percent HEALTH AND EDUCATIONLife expectancy Total 52.3 years (2008 estimate) Female 53.4 years (2008 estimate) Male 51.3 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 66 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 12,086 people (2004) Population per hospital bed 1,091 people (1991) Literacy rateTotal 71.6 percent (2005 estimate) Female 62.7 percent (2005 estimate) Male 80.7...
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Bosnia and Herzegovina Facts and Figures.
Protestant 4 percent Other or nonreligious 10 percent HEALTH AND EDUCATIONLife expectancy Total 78.3 years (2008 estimate) Female 82.2 years (2008 estimate) Male 74.7 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 9 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 747 people (2004) Population per hospital bed 323 people (2003) Literacy rateTotal Not available Female Not available Male Not available Education expenditure as a share of gross national produ...