92 résultats pour "characteristics"
-
Population.
year AD 1, and it took more than 1,500 years to reach the 500 million mark. Growth was not steady but was marked by oscillations dictated by climate, food supply, disease, and war. Starting in the 17th century, great advances in scientific knowledge, agriculture, industry, medicine, and social organization made possible rapid acceleration inpopulation growth. Machines gradually replaced human and animal labor. People slowly acquired the knowledge and means to control disease. By 1900 the worldp...
-
Atificiel
Sustainability 2019,11 , 189 2 of 24Since the 1980s, many research was conducted to minimize the error of prediction through a method dubbed as gradient descent. This method is referred to as a Backpropagation algorithm for the training of the ANNs and it was applied to solve problems in different domains using few hidden layers [ 5,6]. Today, the availability of data has introduced the concept of machine learning as a subcategory to AI. Machine learning implies coding the computers to behave l...
-
Extinction (biology) - biology.
III ROLE OF MASS EXTINCTION IN EVOLUTION Historically biologists—most famous among them British naturalist Charles Darwin—assumed that extinction is the natural outcome of competition between newlyevolved, adaptively superior species and their older, more primitive ancestors. These scientists believed that newer, more highly evolved species simply drove less well-adapted species to extinction. That is, historically, extinction was thought to result from evolution. It was also thought that this...
-
Sigmund Freud.
reminiscences from the past and about her daydreams. Remarkably, as her narrative revisited memories from the past, which were associated with the onset of aparticular symptom, each symptom disappeared when accompanied by an emotional outburst. Breuer made use of this discovery to eliminate her symptoms one at atime. He called the treatment the cathartic technique (from the Greek katharsis meaning “purgation”). The treatment was time consuming and required considerable effort to reach dimly re...
-
Rhinoceros - biology.
Male and female rhinos have a similar physical appearance, although male rhinos are usually larger than females, with the size difference varying between species. Inthe wild, some rhinos probably live into their late 40s, and they have survived into their 30s in captivity. IV TYPES OF RHINOCEROSES Until recently, mammalogists divided the rhinoceros family into three subfamilies, each with different characteristics. Scientists now believe that living rhinos belong to asingle subfamily, although...
-
Capitalism.
Physiocracy is the term applied to a school of economic thought that suggested the existence of a natural order in economics, one that does not require direction from the state for people to be prosperous. The leader of the physiocrats, the economist François Quesnay, set forth the basic principles in his Tableau économique (1758), in which he traced the flow of money and goods through the economy. Simply put, this flow was seen to be both circular and self-sustaining. More important, however...
-
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...
-
Autism.
may also repeat body movements, such as spinning, rocking, or flapping hands. When upset or excited, they may also harm themselves by skin-biting or head-banging. They may also show significant aggression toward other people or inanimateobjects, or may have episodes of extreme anger or frustration. D Associated Symptoms Some children with autism show other symptoms that do not contribute to the diagnosis of autism itself. Sensory sensitivity is quite common, especially to some textures, sounds,...
-
-
Tree - biology.
The major parts of a tree are its roots, trunk, leaves, flowers, and seeds. These components play vital roles in a tree’s growth, development, and reproduction. A Roots Trees are held in place by anchoring organs called roots. In addition to anchoring the tree, roots also absorb water and minerals through tiny structures called roothairs. From the roots the water and mineral nutrients are carried upward through the wood cells to the leaves. Although the internal structure of most kinds of roots...
-
Switzerland - country.
formation over higher elevations. The wind reverses direction about sundown and moves down the valley as a cool downdraft. The foehn, which occurs during the wintermonths, is a dry and relatively warm airflow that is drawn northward over the Alps. The foehn can quickly melt snow and ice, increasing the risk of mudslides andavalanches. D Natural Resources Waterpower is the chief natural resource of Switzerland. The principal source of water is runoff from the considerable annual precipitation th...
-
Radio.
signal, such as a musical note. This form of modulation, AM, is used in many radiotelephony services including standard radiobroadcasts. AM is also employed for carriercurrent telephony, in which the modulated carrier is transmitted by wire, and in the transmission of still pictures by wire or radio. See Broadcasting, Radio and Television. In FM the frequency of the carrier wave is varied within a fixed range at a rate corresponding to the frequency of a sound signal. This form of modulation, p...
-
Native American Art.
folding, braiding or weaving, could also be sewn onto the hide. The production of decorated clothing and bags increased after contact with Europeans as a greater variety of textiles and other materials became available throughtrade. Imported glass beads inspired native women, who quickly adapted quillwork techniques for the creation of beaded apparel. European curvilinear and floraldesigns of the 19th century proved as meaningful for the native women who worked with them as they were for the non...
-
Meteorology.
to find the corresponding relative humidity and dew-point temperature. III SPECIAL METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS Meteorologists have developed several sophisticated instruments that measure multiple physical characteristics of the air simultaneously and at more than one location.The most important of these special instruments are radiosondes, Doppler radar, and weather satellites. A Radiosonde A radiosonde measures air temperature, air pressure, and humidity from the earth’s surface up to an alt...
-
El Salvador - country.
III PEOPLE The Spanish subjugated the native population of El Salvador in the 16th century. Few Spanish women came to the country, however, so many Spanish men took NativeAmerican women as their mates. Today nearly 90 percent of the population is mestizo , of mixed European and Native American descent. People of purely Native American descent represent about 5 to 10 percent of the population, while people of European descent represent only about 1 percent. El Salvador’s population, 5.2 millio...
-
Italy - country.
C Natural Resources Italy is poor in natural resources. Much of the land is unsuitable for agriculture because of mountainous terrain or unfavorable climate. Italy, moreover, lacks substantialdeposits of basic natural resources such as coal, iron, and petroleum. Natural gas is the country’s most important mineral resource. Other deposits include feldspar andpumice. Many of Italy’s mineral deposits on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia had been heavily depleted by the early 1990s. Italy is rich...
-
Film Noir
I
INTRODUCTION
Lynch's Blue Velvet
The motion picture Blue Velvet (1986) brought wide acclaim to American director David Lynch.
Double IndemnityBarbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray are featured in Double Indemnity (1944), a story of lust and greed in the film noirtradition, directed by Billy Wilder. The film’s events are related in flashbacks by protagonist Walter Neff (MacMurray), whomakes a dying confession about a plot to kill a man for his insurance money.Bettmann/Corbis Another common aspect of film noir is the femme fatale, a seductive woman who lures the protagonist into actions that ultimately lead to his downfall...
-
-
Quantum Theory
I
INTRODUCTION
Quantum Theory, in physics, description of the particles that make up matter and how they interact with each other and with energy.
electron in the same way a particle with momentum would: It bumps the electron and changes the electron’s path. The light is also affected by the collision as though itwere a particle, in that its energy and momentum changes. Momentum is a quantity that can be defined for all particles. For light particles, or photons, momentum depends on the frequency, or color, of the photon, which in turndepends on the photon’s energy. The energy of a photon is equal to a constant number, called Planck’s cons...
-
Festivals and Feasts.
The festivals of many ethnic and national groups are credited with the preservation of unique customs, folktales, costumes, and culinary skills. An interesting recentdevelopment is the merging of the arts, lore, and customs of various regions in Africa in the cultural festival known as Kwanzaa (Swahili kwanza, ”beginnings”). Introduced from Africa into the United States in 1977, this festival is celebrated with feasts and songs in the home for seven days and nights from December 26 toJanuary 1....
-
Kuiper Belt - astronomy.
III RESEARCH The Kuiper Belt is an exciting area of research in astronomy. The discovery and astronomical exploration of the Kuiper Belt over the past decade have fueled arevolution in scientists’ views of the solar system. Today astronomers recognize the Kuiper Belt as the third major region of the solar system (the other two regions arethe inner solar system, with its small rocky planets, and the outer solar system, with its gas-giant planets). They believe that the belt helps explain Pluto’...
-
Vertebrate - biology.
E Reptiles Compared to amphibians, reptiles are much more fully adapted to life on land. They have scaly, waterproof skin, and they either give birth to live young or lay eggs withwaterproof shells. There are about 7,000 species alive today, including snakes, alligators, and turtles. During the age of the dinosaurs, about 230 million to 65 millionyears ago, reptiles outnumbered all other land vertebrates put together. F Birds Birds evolved from flightless reptiles but underwent some major chan...
-
Romanticism
I
INTRODUCTION
Romanticism, in art, European and American movement extending from about 1800 to 1850.
and the composition so dynamic that the effect is of chaos engulfing the immobile and indifferent figure of the dying king. IV GERMANY Two Men on a SeashoreTwo Men on a Seashore (1835) by German artist Caspar David Friedrich can be interpreted as a symbolic expression ofthe artist’s Christian faith. The sea is a symbol of death and the rocks on the beach stand for faith and the future. Themoon symbolizes Christ. This drawing in pencil and sepia ink closely resembles in its design a painting by...
-
Sleep - biology.
V FUNCTIONS OF SLEEP Although no one knows for sure why we sleep, there are a number of theories. Sleep may have evolved to protect animals from their predators by reducing theiractivity during the times when they are most vulnerable. Research has shown that REM and NREM sleep may serve specific biological functions. Sleep deprivation studies reveal that humans and other animals respond to sleeploss in the same way. When study subjects are deprived of REM sleep, they tend to spend longer period...
-
Eagle - biology.
States, is a member of this group found only in North America. It is named for its snow-white head. However, the name bald does not refer to a lack of feathers but comes instead from an outdated word meaning marked with white, as in piebald. The adult bald eagle is blackish brown, with a white head and tail. Its bill, legs, and feet are bright yellow. The bill, which is longer and heavier than the gray bill of golden eagles, is useful for piercing the skin of fish. Bald eagles vary in size....
-
Roman Mythology
I
INTRODUCTION
Roman Mythology, the religious beliefs and practices of the people of ancient Rome.
Aeneas and AnchisesAccording to mythology, Aeneas was a Trojan prince. After Troy fell to the Greeks during the Trojan War, Aeneas traveledto Italy and met and married a woman in the kingdom that occupied the region that would one day become Rome.Through this marriage, Aeneas was the direct ancestor of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. In thispainting he is carrying his father, Anchises, on his back while fleeing from Troy. This painting by Lionello Spada is in theLouvre Museum...
-
-
Reproductive System.
in which the young develop, and a thinner channel, the vagina, which opens exteriorly. V GENITALS In animals that lay their eggs and discharge their sperm into water, the spermatozoa reach the eggs by chemical attraction; the eggs of individuals of a species attractonly the sperm of members of the same species. When eggs and sperm are deposited at great distances from each other, the number of eggs fertilized is small. Manyamphibians and aquatic vertebrates solve this problem by attaching thems...
-
Aegean Civilization .
warlike. The styles are also more formal and geometric than those of earlier examples, anticipating the art of classical Greece. A typical Mycenaean city had, at its center, the fortress palace of the king. The cities were fortified with massive structures of unevenly cut stones, known as Cyclopeanwalls. The Linear B tablets from this time include names of Greek gods, such as Zeus, and contain detailed records of royal possessions. The gold masks, weapons, andjewelry found by Schliemann at the r...
-
Aegean Civilization - USA History.
warlike. The styles are also more formal and geometric than those of earlier examples, anticipating the art of classical Greece. A typical Mycenaean city had, at its center, the fortress palace of the king. The cities were fortified with massive structures of unevenly cut stones, known as Cyclopeanwalls. The Linear B tablets from this time include names of Greek gods, such as Zeus, and contain detailed records of royal possessions. The gold masks, weapons, andjewelry found by Schliemann at the r...
-
Benjamin Franklin.
Copley Medal for distinguished contributions to experimental science. Franklin also exerted a great influence on education in Pennsylvania. In 1749 he wrote thepamphlet Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania; its publication led to the establishment in 1751 of the Academy of Philadelphia, later to become the University of Pennsylvania. The curriculum he suggested departed considerably from the study of the Greek and Roman classics then in vogue. Instead itemphasized Engl...
-
Benjamin Franklin - USA History.
Copley Medal for distinguished contributions to experimental science. Franklin also exerted a great influence on education in Pennsylvania. In 1749 he wrote thepamphlet Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania; its publication led to the establishment in 1751 of the Academy of Philadelphia, later to become the University of Pennsylvania. The curriculum he suggested departed considerably from the study of the Greek and Roman classics then in vogue. Instead itemphasized Engl...
-
River.
IV RIVER PATTERNS River patterns, or general shapes, depend on the geologic zone and the climate of the location. There are four river patterns: meandering, braided, anastomosing, andstraight. A meandering pattern follows a winding, turning course. A braided pattern has connected channels that resemble a hair braid. An anastomosing river patterncombines features of the meandering and braided patterns. Some river patterns are simply straight channels. Meandering and braided are the most common...
-
River - Geography.
IV RIVER PATTERNS River patterns, or general shapes, depend on the geologic zone and the climate of the location. There are four river patterns: meandering, braided, anastomosing, andstraight. A meandering pattern follows a winding, turning course. A braided pattern has connected channels that resemble a hair braid. An anastomosing river patterncombines features of the meandering and braided patterns. Some river patterns are simply straight channels. Meandering and braided are the most common...
-
Native American Literature.
Many Native American writers of the 19th century wrote histories of their tribes. One tribal historian was David Cusick (Tuscarora), whose Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations (1827) was the first published tribal history. Tribal histories explained the deep ties that tribes had to their ancestral homelands. Beginning in the 18th century, these ties took on special meaning because the United States government began removing Native Americans from their traditional lands. These removal...
-
-
Arctic - Geography.
The Arctic is not a frozen desert devoid of life on land or sea, even during the cold, dark winter months. Spring brings a phenomenal resurgence of plant and animal life.Low temperatures are not always the critical element—moisture, the type of soil, and available solar energy are also extremely important. Some animals adapt well toArctic conditions; for instance, a number of species of mammals and birds carry additional insulation, such as fat, in cold months. Arctic summers with extended dayli...
-
Ethiopia - country.
constitute about 6 percent of the population. The Somali, who live in the east and southeast, notably in the Ogadēn region, are about equal in number to the Shangalla.The Denakil inhabit the semidesert plains east of the highlands. The nonindigenous population includes Yemenis, Indians, Armenians, and Greeks. B Political Divisions Ethiopia is divided into nine regions composed of specific ethnic groups. The regions, which have a significant degree of autonomy, are Tigray; Afar; Amhara; Oromia;S...
-
Rain Forest.
dropped into the heart of the forest by helicopters. Suspended from the crane’s long, movable arm is a large gondola that functions as a mobile treetop laboratory.Moving from tree to tree, forest researchers collect specimens, conduct experiments, and observe life in the canopy frontier. The highest stratum of the rain forest is made up of the emergent trees, those individuals that stick up above the forest canopy. Emergents, which do not form acontinuous layer, are usually the giants of the for...
-
Butterflies and Moths - biology.
The smallest butterflies are certain blues that have wingspans of a mere 0.7 cm (0.25 in). The largest are the female giant birdwings of Papua New Guinea, whichmeasure up to 30 cm (12 in) across. Moths range in size from tiny Microlepidoptera, several groups of small moths with wings no more than 0.16 cm (0.06 in) across, togiant silk moths, such as the atlas moth, which may exceed 30 cm (12 in) in wingspan. IV REPRODUCTION AND LIFE CYCLE Butterflies locate potential mates by sight, identifyin...
-
Alabama (state) - geography.
indentations along the coast are measured, the state’s shoreline is 977 km (607 mi) long. It includes the shores of Mobile Bay, an inlet 56 km (35 mi) long at the mouthof the Mobile River. Barrier beaches partly block the entrance to the bay, leaving narrow openings on either side of Dauphin Island. Dauphin and other islands alongAlabama’s coast west of Mobile Bay are separated from the mainland by Mississippi Sound. D Climate Alabama has a humid subtropical climate, with short, relatively mild...
-
Alabama (state) - USA History.
indentations along the coast are measured, the state’s shoreline is 977 km (607 mi) long. It includes the shores of Mobile Bay, an inlet 56 km (35 mi) long at the mouthof the Mobile River. Barrier beaches partly block the entrance to the bay, leaving narrow openings on either side of Dauphin Island. Dauphin and other islands alongAlabama’s coast west of Mobile Bay are separated from the mainland by Mississippi Sound. D Climate Alabama has a humid subtropical climate, with short, relatively mild...
-
Wisconsin (state) - geography.
-6° C (22° F) in the southeast, along the Lake Michigan shore. During winter extremely cold weather persists for several weeks at a time. C2 Precipitation Average annual precipitation ranges from 700 to 800 mm (28 to 32 in). Rainfall is generally heaviest during the spring and summer, and snowfall is generally moderatein the south, but can be quite heavy in the north. Thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by devastating tornadoes, are common in spring and summer, particularly inthe southern part...
-
Wisconsin (state) - USA History.
-6° C (22° F) in the southeast, along the Lake Michigan shore. During winter extremely cold weather persists for several weeks at a time. C2 Precipitation Average annual precipitation ranges from 700 to 800 mm (28 to 32 in). Rainfall is generally heaviest during the spring and summer, and snowfall is generally moderatein the south, but can be quite heavy in the north. Thunderstorms, sometimes accompanied by devastating tornadoes, are common in spring and summer, particularly inthe southern part...
-
-
Mars (planet) - astronomy.
The Martian core is probably much like Earth’s, consisting mostly of iron, with a small amount of nickel. If other light elements, particularly sulfur, exist there as well, thecore may be larger than presently thought. From studying Earth’s magnetic field and core, scientists theorize that the motions of the liquid rock in Earth’s core generateits magnetic field. Mars does not have a significant magnetic field, so scientists believe that Mars’s core is probably solid. However, spacecraft data in...
- The way in which companies frame themselves, their products and their clients