442 résultats pour "common"

• Gemstones.

  In the late 1960s a method was developed for “growing” diamonds by heating a diamond particle to a high temperature and subjecting it to methane gas. The gasdecomposes into carbon atoms, which adhere to the diamond crystal. The crystal structure of the enlarged diamond is identical to that of a natural diamond. Diamondsof about 1 carat (200 mg or 0.007 oz) have been produced by this method, but their cost is still considerably higher than that of naturally occurring diamonds. Sapphires are made...

• 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...

• 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...

• Greenhouse Effect.

  addition, humans cut down huge tracts of trees for lumber or to clear land for farming or building. This process, known as deforestation, can both release the carbonstored in trees and significantly reduce the number of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide. As a result of these human activities, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is accumulating faster than Earth’s natural processes can absorb the gas. By analyzing airbubbles trapped in glacier ice that is many centuries old, scientists have d...

• Observatory - astronomy.

  Ultraviolet radiation, X rays, and gamma rays have shorter wavelengths than visible light has. These types of radiation tell astronomers about the hottest and mostviolent phenomena in the universe. Earth’s atmosphere blocks most of this radiation, so astronomers must send their observatories above the atmosphere aboardballoons, rockets, or satellites. Ultraviolet telescopes are much like visible light telescopes, but X-ray telescopes must have special nested cylindrical mirrors to prevent Xrays...

• 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...

• 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...

• Gardening - biology.

  of synthetic and organic fertilizers, see Organic Farming.) Fertilizers usually are sold in packages, on which the percentage by weight of the macronutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are listed on thelabel—always in the order N-P-K. For example, a fertilizer that is labeled 10-5-3 is 10 percent nitrogen, 5 percent phosphorus, and 3 percent potassium. V PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING Before planting seeds, gardeners prepare, or till, the soil using a variety of methods. Some...

• Fiji Islands - country.

  the early 1990s. Fishing is done mainly at a subsistence level, but commercial fishing is increasing. The country also receives income from the sale of licenses to foreignvessels to fish in Fiji’s exclusive economic zone. Industry, including mining, manufacturing, and construction, employs 34 percent of Fiji’s wage earners and, in 2006, contributed 26 percent of GDP. The governmentinstituted tax-free incentives in 1988 that created a flourishing garment industry. Ready-made garments are now the...

• Aztec Empire.

  tribute to the empire in agricultural products, which were used to finance public projects. All able-bodied men owed military service to the empire. Citizens could also bedrafted to work on public lands or build temples, dikes, aqueducts, and roads. Although Aztec society had strict classes, a person’s status could change based on his or her contribution to society. Commoners could improve their rank, especially byperforming well in battle, and become prosperous landowners. Young people of some...

• Aztec Empire - USA History.

  tribute to the empire in agricultural products, which were used to finance public projects. All able-bodied men owed military service to the empire. Citizens could also bedrafted to work on public lands or build temples, dikes, aqueducts, and roads. Although Aztec society had strict classes, a person’s status could change based on his or her contribution to society. Commoners could improve their rank, especially byperforming well in battle, and become prosperous landowners. Young people of some...

• Harry S.

  B2 Presiding Judge Political machines, such as the Pendergast organization, were common to both parties in the 1920s. They were based on the spoils system, in which winning politiciansgave government jobs to those loyal party members who had helped them get elected. Using government jobs as rewards, politicians created efficient (and oftenalmost unstoppable) vote-getting “machines,” in which party loyalty was often more important than doing any work. Without local machine support a political ca...

• Harry S.

  B2 Presiding Judge Political machines, such as the Pendergast organization, were common to both parties in the 1920s. They were based on the spoils system, in which winning politiciansgave government jobs to those loyal party members who had helped them get elected. Using government jobs as rewards, politicians created efficient (and oftenalmost unstoppable) vote-getting “machines,” in which party loyalty was often more important than doing any work. Without local machine support a political ca...

• Marketing.

  Where advertising reaches a mass audience, personal or direct selling focuses on one customer at a time. That kind of individual attention makes direct sellingexpensive, but it also makes it effective. As the costs of personal selling have risen, the utilization of salespeople has changed. Simple transactions are completed byclerks. Salespeople are now used primarily where the products are complex and require detailed explanation, customized application, or careful negotiation over priceand paym...

• Republic of Singapore - country.

  Singaporeans of Chinese and Indian ancestry live in small, nuclear families. Housing favors smaller families, as most units consist of small apartments in high-risebuildings. Western clothing is common, and foods reflect the Chinese, Malay, and Indian origins of the people. D Social Issues Since Singapore became an independent state in 1965, government policies have brought orderliness and efficiency to the country. Examples are supplanting slum andsquatter areas with high-rise public housing p...

• Roman Catholic Church.

  comprehensiveness of its doctrinal tradition. Locating its beginnings in the earliest Christian communities and refusing to acknowledge any decisive break in its history,the Roman Catholic Church considers itself heir to the theological traditions of the apostolic, patristic, medieval, and modern periods. The church does not in principleexclude any theological method, and since the encyclical of Pope Pius XII Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) it has officially sanctioned modern principles of exeg...

• Animation I INTRODUCTION Finding Nemo A clown fish named Marlin, left, and his friend Dory search for Marlin's son in the computer-animated feature film Finding Nemo (2003).

  Animator at WorkAnimators use computers for every part of the animation process, from creating a storyboard (a scene-by-sceneillustration of the plot) to imitating camera movement. This animator is creating a scene for the motion picture Antz(1998).C. Lepetit/Liaison Agency If an animator is basing the animation project on drawings, one of the most common animation techniques, he or she will first create a series of rough sketches thatoften will be filmed in a pencil test (simple line drawings...

• Geometry I INTRODUCTION Geometry, branch of mathematics that deals with shapes and sizes.

  Conic sections, a commonly studied topic of geometry, are two-dimensional curves created by slicing a plane through a three-dimensional hollow cone. A Euclid’s Postulates Euclid, who lived about 300 BC, realized that only a small number of postulates underlay the various geometric theorems known at the time. He determined that these theorems could be deduced from just five postulates. 1. A straight line may be drawn through any two given points. 2. A straight line may be drawn infinitely or be...

• South Dakota - geography.

  C1 Temperatures Average January temperatures are everywhere less than -4° C (24° F) and decrease to less than -12° C (10° F) in some northern sections. The January temperaturesin Sioux Falls range from -16° to -4° C (3° to 24° F). Nightime lows of -29° C (-20° F) occur during most winters. July averages are in the low and middle 20°s C (lowand middle 70°s F) throughout most of the state, and are somewhat lower in the Black Hills. The average temperature range in Sioux Falls in July is 17° to 30...

• South Dakota - USA History.

  C1 Temperatures Average January temperatures are everywhere less than -4° C (24° F) and decrease to less than -12° C (10° F) in some northern sections. The January temperaturesin Sioux Falls range from -16° to -4° C (3° to 24° F). Nightime lows of -29° C (-20° F) occur during most winters. July averages are in the low and middle 20°s C (lowand middle 70°s F) throughout most of the state, and are somewhat lower in the Black Hills. The average temperature range in Sioux Falls in July is 17° to 30...

• Alcoholism.

  Although a consensus is growing among health professionals that alcohol dependence is a disease, society’s attitudes toward individuals with drinking problems remainambivalent and confused. Until the mid-20th century, the typical picture of the alcoholic was of someone without steady employment, unable to sustain familyrelationships and most likely in desperate financial straits. But this stereotype was largely dispelled when highly respected people publicly admitted their alcoholdependence and...

• Slavery in the United States - U.

  tripled, from about 1.2 million to almost 4 million in 1860. The natural growth of the slave population meant that slavery could survive without new slave imports. Natural population growth also hastened the transition from an African to an African American slave population. By the 1770s, only about 20 percent of slaves in thecolonies were African-born, although the concentration of Africans remained higher in South Carolina and Georgia. After 1808 the proportion of African-born slavesbecame tin...

• Inorganic Chemistry - chemistry.

  two electrically charged plates (positively charged top plate and negatively charged bottom plate). By measuring the difference in how fast these electron-laden oildrops fell when the metal plates were charged and uncharged, Millikan was able to calculate the total charge on each oil drop. Because each measurement was a wholenumber multiple of -1.60 × 10 -19 coulombs, Millikan concluded this was the charge carried by a single electron. Using Thomson’s electron charge-to-mass ratio, Millikan then...

• Fishing.

  directly to the spool and turns the spool one rotation at a time. C Fishing Lines Fishing lines serve as the link between the angler’s reel and the lure or bait. The most popular line used for sportfishing is monofilament nylon line, which is strong anddurable and has a certain amount of stretch, which helps when an angler sets the hook. The line comes in a variety of strengths, from 2-pound test to more than 100-pound test. (Pound test is the amount of pressure that can be put on a line before...

• Electoral College.

  III HISTORY OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE A Origins One thing is clear about the political theory underpinning the electoral college: The framers of the Constitution could not agree on one. From the outset, the framerswere uncertain about how the president should be chosen. Meeting in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787, the framers originally decidedto have Congress choose the president, and that there should be no popular vote to elect the president. Then the Con...

• Cat Family - biology.

  cats have coats that are mainly brown, yellow, or gray, often with white underbellies. The cubs of many species of cats have spotted coats, which helps hide them ingrass and underbrush from predators. Adult cats that have mainly spotted patterns in their fur include cheetahs, leopards, clouded leopards, jaguars, ocelots, margays, Geoffroy’s cat, and servals. Singlecolor coats are found in lions, pumas, and jaguarundis. Some individuals among leopards and jaguars, and more rarely in other species...

• Soccer.

  Two assistants, known as linesmen or referees’ assistants, aid the referee. Their primary job is to alert the referee when balls go out of the playing area and to assist inmaking offsides calls (see Rules section below). The assistants carry flags, which they wave when the ball leaves the playing area or use to point to the spot where a foul was committed. V EQUIPMENT Soccer is played with a round leather ball. It is between 68 and 71 cm (27 and 28 in) in circumference and weighs between 396...

• Dinosaur - biology.

  The behavior of dinosaurs was governed by their metabolism and by their central nervous system. The dinosaurs’ metabolism—the internal activities that supply thebody’s energy needs—affected their activity level. It is unclear whether dinosaurs were purely endothermic (warm-blooded), like modern mammals, or ectothermic (cold-blooded), like modern reptiles. Endotherms regulate their body temperature internally by means of their metabolism, rather than by using the temperature oftheir surroundin...

• Bear - biology.

  programs sponsored by zoos or other breeding centers have attempted to breed giant pandas in captivity, although most of these programs have proved unsuccessful.Among the difficulties faced by captive breeders has been the problem of encouraging a female giant panda to mate with a selected male during the two to three daysof the year when she is most fertile, a period known as estrus. B Spectacled Bear Creamy-white rings surrounding the eyes give the spectacled bear its name. Its shaggy coat of...

• Belarus - country.

  In the last complete census conducted in the Soviet Union in 1989, the population of Belarus was 10,151,806; a 2008 estimate was 9,685,768, giving the country apopulation density of 47 persons per sq km (121 per sq mi). The most notable demographic trend since the 1950s has been the steady migration of the population fromthe villages to urban centers, and the correspondent aging of the population remaining in the rural areas. In 1959 urban residents accounted for 31 percent of thepopulation; in...

• American Westward Movement - U.

  British expansion. However, Native Americans of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley lashed out against the English in an attempt to preserve their independence, theirland, and their way of life. With the Ottawa chief Pontiac as their most visible leader, the tribes waged a bloody and costly war. As a result, the British governmentdecided to keep the white settlers apart from the Native Americans. It issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, banning all white settlement beyond the Appalachians andstatin...

• Spanish Empire.

  Spain’s royal government quickly imposed its own officials, first to collect taxes and then to administer the colony. Its goal was to assert royal control over both settlersand indigenous peoples. In Spain the government established a House of Trade to supervise colonial affairs and to oversee, license, and tax all trade and commerce. Asthe royal government asserted more authority over colonial activities, Columbus lost effective power, and was eventually replaced by other colonial governors. Wi...

• Spanish Empire .

  Spain’s royal government quickly imposed its own officials, first to collect taxes and then to administer the colony. Its goal was to assert royal control over both settlersand indigenous peoples. In Spain the government established a House of Trade to supervise colonial affairs and to oversee, license, and tax all trade and commerce. Asthe royal government asserted more authority over colonial activities, Columbus lost effective power, and was eventually replaced by other colonial governors. Wi...

• Middle East - Geography.

  though overall they have improved considerably since the 1970s. This variation reflects the different levels of wealth and development in countries of the Middle East. Inthe highly developed country of Israel the infant mortality rate was 8 deaths per 1000 live births in 1997. By comparison, the rate per 1000 live births was 71 in less-developed Egypt and 75 in Yemen. A Ethnic Groups and Languages Arabs make up the majority of the people of the Middle East, accounting for almost the entire popu...

• 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...

• Alberta - Geography.

  C Climate Except for the mountain areas, summers throughout the province are quite warm. Winters are long and extremely cold. In July, average daily temperatures range fromabout 16°C (about 60°F) along the northern boundary to about 21°C (about 70°F) in the south. In the extreme southeastern section of the province, temperatures of43°C (110°F) have been recorded. In January, average daily temperatures range from about -14°C (about 6°F) at Grande Prairie to about -9°C (about 16°F) atCalgary. Tem...

• Alberta - Canadian History.

  C Climate Except for the mountain areas, summers throughout the province are quite warm. Winters are long and extremely cold. In July, average daily temperatures range fromabout 16°C (about 60°F) along the northern boundary to about 21°C (about 70°F) in the south. In the extreme southeastern section of the province, temperatures of43°C (110°F) have been recorded. In January, average daily temperatures range from about -14°C (about 6°F) at Grande Prairie to about -9°C (about 16°F) atCalgary. Tem...

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Geography.

  Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm (about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast toabout 510 mm (about 20 in) in the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in Newfoundland. D Plant Life About one-third of Newfoundland is forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almostentirely of conifers. The most important species...

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Canadian History.

  Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm (about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast toabout 510 mm (about 20 in) in the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in Newfoundland. D Plant Life About one-third of Newfoundland is forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almostentirely of conifers. The most important species...

• North Dakota - geography.

  Bismarck, the growing season averages 134 days, as the average date of the last killing frost is May 11 and that of the first killing frost is September 22. The length ofthe growing season drops to about 110 days in the northerly reaches of the state. The long periods of summer sunshine at this latitude, providing as much as 16 hoursof daylight in summer, help crops to mature quickly, thus compensating somewhat for the relatively short growing season. Temperatures in the north are, on the averag...

• North Dakota - USA History.

  Bismarck, the growing season averages 134 days, as the average date of the last killing frost is May 11 and that of the first killing frost is September 22. The length ofthe growing season drops to about 110 days in the northerly reaches of the state. The long periods of summer sunshine at this latitude, providing as much as 16 hoursof daylight in summer, help crops to mature quickly, thus compensating somewhat for the relatively short growing season. Temperatures in the north are, on the averag...

• Ancient Greece.

  The first culture of Aegean civilization on the Greek mainland is named Mycenaean for the palace at Mycenae on the Pelopónnisos. Scholars call the Mycenaeans the“earliest Greeks” because they are the first people known to have spoken Greek. Mycenaean culture developed later than Minoan. The ancestors of the Mycenaean people wandered onto the mainland from the north and the east from about 4000 to2000 BC, mixing with the people already there, and by about 1400 BC the Mycenaeans had become very...

• Ancient Greece .

  The first culture of Aegean civilization on the Greek mainland is named Mycenaean for the palace at Mycenae on the Pelopónnisos. Scholars call the Mycenaeans the“earliest Greeks” because they are the first people known to have spoken Greek. Mycenaean culture developed later than Minoan. The ancestors of the Mycenaean people wandered onto the mainland from the north and the east from about 4000 to2000 BC, mixing with the people already there, and by about 1400 BC the Mycenaeans had become very...

• Ancient Greece - USA History.

  The first culture of Aegean civilization on the Greek mainland is named Mycenaean for the palace at Mycenae on the Pelopónnisos. Scholars call the Mycenaeans the“earliest Greeks” because they are the first people known to have spoken Greek. Mycenaean culture developed later than Minoan. The ancestors of the Mycenaean people wandered onto the mainland from the north and the east from about 4000 to2000 BC, mixing with the people already there, and by about 1400 BC the Mycenaeans had become very...

• Iraq - country.

  The Euphrates begins in Turkey, crosses Syria, and enters Iraq at Abū Kam āl. The flow of the Euphrates into Iraq has been greatly reduced by dams built by Turkeyand Syria. The gradient of the Euphrates above the town of H īt, in west central Iraq, is steep. In the 2,640 km (1,640 mi) from its source in Turkey to H īt, the river fallsfrom 3,000 m (10,000 ft) to a low water elevation of 50 m (170 ft) above sea level, an average drop of 1 m per km (6 ft per mi). In Iraq below H īt the fall is very...

• Garter Snake - biology.

• Mouse (rodent).

• Mouse (rodent) - biology.

• Citizenship

  voluntary cooperation. The health of a democracy depends not only on the structure of its institutions, but also on the qualities of its citizens: for example, their loyalties and how they view potentially competing forms of national, ethnic or religious identities; their ability to work with others who are different from themselves; their desire to participate in public life; their willingness to exercise self-restraint in their economic demands and in personal choices affecting their health an...

• Buffier, Claude

  I possess something I call intelligence and something independent of this intelligence that I call my body; The presence of design, such as we find in a watch, requires an intelligent designer; The self or soul is absolutely one; I possess a free will. While Buffier does recognize certain differences between the claims of outer and inner experience, he refuses simply to place them on the same scale and declare the former to be weaker than the latter. Instead, he will say that both are equally '...