1.
Nauru
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Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati,300 kilometres to the east and it further lies northwest of Tuvalu, north of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With 10,084 residents in a 21-square-kilometre area, Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific and third smallest state by area in the world, behind only Vatican City and Monaco. Settled by native peoples from Micronesia and Polynesia, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century, after World War I, Nauru became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops, after the war ended, the country entered into UN trusteeship. Nauru gained its independence in 1968, Nauru is a phosphate rock island with rich deposits near the surface, which allowed easy strip mining operations. It has some remaining phosphate resources which, as of 2011, are not economically viable for extraction, Nauru boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world during the late 1960s and early 1970s. When the phosphate reserves were exhausted, and the environment had been seriously harmed by mining. To earn income, Nauru briefly became a tax haven and illegal money laundering centre, from 2001 to 2008, and again from 2012, it accepted aid from the Australian Government in exchange for hosting the Nauru detention centre. As a result of dependence on Australia, many sources have identified Nauru as a client state of Australia. Nauru was first inhabited by Micronesians and Polynesians at least 3,000 years ago, there were traditionally 12 clans or tribes on Nauru, which are represented in the 12-pointed star on the countrys flag. Traditionally, Nauruans traced their descent matrilineally, inhabitants practised aquaculture, they caught juvenile ibija fish, acclimatised them to fresh water, and raised them in the Buada Lagoon, providing a reliable source of food. The other locally grown components of their diet included coconuts and pandanus fruit, the name Nauru may derive from the Nauruan word Anáoero, which means I go to the beach. The British sea captain John Fearn, a hunter, became the first Westerner to visit Nauru in 1798. From around 1830, Nauruans had contact with Europeans from whaling ships, around this time, deserters from European ships began to live on the island. The islanders traded food for alcoholic palm wine and firearms, the firearms were used during the 10-year Nauruan Tribal War that began in 1878. After an agreement with Great Britain, Nauru was annexed by Germany in 1888, the arrival of the Germans ended the civil war, and kings were established as rulers of the island. The most widely known of these was King Auweyida, christian missionaries from the Gilbert Islands arrived in 1888
2.
Island country
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An island country is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. As of 2011,46 of the 193 UN member states are island countries, the percentage of island countries that are democratic is higher than that of continental countries. Historically they have been prone to political stability than their continental counterparts. Island countries have often been the basis of maritime conquest and historical rivalry between other countries, Island countries are more susceptible to attack by large, continental countries due to their size and dependence on sea and air lines of communication. Many island countries are vulnerable to predation by mercenaries and other foreign invaders. Many island countries rely heavily on fish for their supply of food. Some are turning to renewable energy—such as wind power, hydropower, geothermal power, some island countries are more affected than other countries by climate change, which produces problems such as reduced land use, water scarcity and sometimes even resettlement issues. Some low-lying island countries are slowly being submerged by the water levels of the Pacific Ocean. Climate change also impacts island countries by causing natural disasters such as cyclones, hurricanes, flash floods. In 2011, the Center for Climate Change Law held a conference attended by 272 registrants from 39 island nations titled Legal Issues for Threatened Island Nations, many island countries rely heavily on imports and are greatly affected by changes in the global economy. The dominant industry for many countries is tourism. Island countries are small with low populations, although some, like Indonesia. Some island countries are centred on one or two islands, such as the United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, Cuba, Bahrain, Singapore, Malta. Others are spread out over hundreds or thousands of islands, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Seychelles. Geographically, the country of Australia is considered a continental landmass rather than an island, in the past, however, it was considered an island country for tourism purposes and is still often referred to as such
3.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
4.
Census
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A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population, the term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses, other common censuses include agriculture, business, and traffic censuses. United Nations recommendations also cover census topics to be collected, official definitions, classifications, the word is of Latin origin, during the Roman Republic, the census was a list that kept track of all adult males fit for military service. Current administrative data systems allow for other approaches to enumeration with the level of detail but raise concerns about privacy. A census can be contrasted with sampling in which information is obtained only from a subset of a population, typically main population estimates are updated by such intercensal estimates. Modern census data are used for research, business marketing, and planning. Census counts are necessary to adjust samples to be representative of a population by weighting them as is common in opinion polling, similarly, stratification requires knowledge of the relative sizes of different population strata which can be derived from census enumerations. In some countries, the census provides the official used to apportion the number of elected representatives to regions. In many cases, a carefully chosen random sample can provide accurate information than attempts to get a population census. A census is often construed as the opposite of a sample as its intent is to count everyone in a rather than a fraction. However, population censuses rely on a frame to count the population. This is the way to be sure that everyone has been included as otherwise those not responding would not be followed up on. The fundamental premise of a census is that the population is not known, the use of a sampling frame is counterintuitive as it suggests that the population size is already known. However, a census is also used to collect data on the individuals in the nation. This process of sampling marks the difference between historical census, which was a house to house process or the product of a decree. The sampling frame used by census is almost always an address register, thus it is not known if there is anyone resident or how many people there are in each household. Depending on the mode of enumeration, a form is sent to the householder, as a preliminary to the dispatch of forms, census workers will check any address problems on the ground. While it may seem straightforward to use the postal service file for this purpose, a particular problem is what are termed communal establishments which category includes student residences, religious orders, homes for the elderly, people in prisons etc
5.
Life expectancy
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Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of their birth, their current age and other demographic factors including sex. National LEB figures reported by national agencies and international organizations are indeed estimates of period LEB. In the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, LEB was 26 years, for recent years, in Swaziland LEB is about 49, and in Japan, it is about 83. But for those who survive early hazards, a life expectancy of 60 or 70 would not be uncommon, for example, a society with a LEB of 40 may have few people dying at precisely 40, most will die before 30 or after 55. In populations with high infant mortality rates, LEB is highly sensitive to the rate of death in the first few years of life. Mathematically, life expectancy is the number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by e x, which means the number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x. Longevity, maximum lifespan, and life expectancy are not synonyms, Life expectancy is defined statistically as the mean number of years remaining for an individual or a group of people at a given age. Longevity refers to the characteristics of the long life span of some members of a population. Maximum lifespan is the age at death for the individual of a species. Moreover, because life expectancy is an average, a person may die many years before or many years after the expected survival. The term maximum life span has a different meaning and is more related to longevity. Life expectancy is also used in plant or animal ecology, life tables, an analysis published in 2011 in The Lancet attributes Japanese life expectancy to equal opportunities and public health as well as diet. The oldest confirmed recorded age for any human is 122 years and this is referred to as the maximum life span, which is the upper boundary of life, the maximum number of years any human is known to have lived. Theoretical study shows that the life expectancy at birth is limited by the human life characteristic value δ. The following information is derived from the 1961 Encyclopædia Britannica and other sources, unless otherwise stated, it represents estimates of the life expectancies of the world population as a whole. In many instances, life expectancy varied considerably according to class, Life expectancy at birth takes account of infant mortality but not prenatal mortality. Life expectancy increases with age as the individual survives the higher mortality rates associated with childhood, for instance, the table above listed the life expectancy at birth among 13th-century English nobles at 30
6.
Birth rate
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The birth rate is the total number of live births per 1,000 of a population in a year. The birth rate are used to calculate population growth, the crude birth rate is the number of live births per year per 1,000 midyear population Another term used interchangeably with birth rate is natality. When the crude death rate is subtracted from the birth rate. This is equal to the rate of population change, the total birth rate —typically indicated as births per 1,000 population—is distinguished from an age-specific rate. The first known use of the birth rate in English occurred in 1859. In 2012 the average birth rate was 19.611 according to the World Bank and 19.15 births per 1,000 total population according to the CIA. Again, the average birth rate has shrunk to 18.6 births per 1,000 total population in 2016. The 2016 average of 18.6 births per 1,000 total population is estimated to be about 4.3 births/second or about 256 births/minute for the world, the birth rate is an issue of concern and policy for national governments. Some seek to increase the rate with financial incentives or provision of support services to new mothers. Conversely, other countries have policies to reduce the birth rate, policies to increase the crude birth rate are known as pro-natalist policies, and policies to reduce the crude birth rate are known as anti-natalist policies. Measures such as improved information on birth control and its availability have achieved results in countries such as Iran. There has also been discussion on whether bringing women into the forefront of development initiatives will lead to a decline in birth rates, in some countries, government policies have focused on reducing birth rates by improving womens rights, sexual and reproductive health. Typically, high rates are associated with health problems, low life expectancy, low living standards, low social status for women. Demographic transition theory postulates that as a country undergoes economic development and social change its population growth declines, at the 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest, Romania, womens issues gained considerable attention. Family programs were discussed, and 137 countries drafted a World Population Plan of Action, as part of the discussion, many countries accepted modern birth control methods such as the birth control pill and the condom while opposing abortion. Abortion, according to a research based on psychological aspect stated, Birth rates ranging from 10–20 births per 1,000 are considered low, while rates from 40–50 births per 1,000 are considered high. There are problems associated with both extremes, high birth rates may stress government welfare and family programs. Low birth rates may stress the government to provide adequate senior welfare systems, there will be fewer children to support an aging population
7.
Mortality rate
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Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. It is distinct from morbidity, a used to refer to either the prevalence or incidence of a disease. Other specific measures of mortality include, Crude death rate – the total number of deaths per year per 1,000 people, as of 2014 the crude death rate for the whole world is 7.89 per 1,000 according to the current CIA World Factbook. Note that the death rate can be misleading. The crude death rate depends on the age specific mortality rates, the number of deaths per 1,000 people can be higher in developed nations than in less-developed countries, despite a higher life expectancy in developed countries due to better standards of health. This happens because developed countries typically have a higher proportion of older people. A more complete picture of mortality is given by a life table, a life table is necessary to give a good estimate of life expectancy. Perinatal mortality rate – the sum of neonatal deaths and fetal deaths per 1,000 births, maternal mortality ratio – the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in same time period. Maternal mortality rate – the number of deaths per 1,000 women of reproductive age in the population. Infant mortality rate – the number of deaths of less than 1 year old per 1,000 live births. Child mortality rate, the number of deaths of less than 5 years old per 1,000 live births. Standardized mortality ratio – a proportional comparison to the numbers of deaths that would have expected if the population had been of a standard composition in terms of age, gender. Age-specific mortality rate – the total number of deaths per year per 1,000 people of a given age, cause-specific mortality rate – the mortality rate for a specified cause of death. Cumulative death rate, a measure of the proportion of a group that die over a specified period, case fatality rate – the proportion of cases of a particular medical condition that lead to death. Late mortality rate – the total number of deaths in the stages of an ongoing treatment. Mortality may also be expressed in terms of survival, thus, the survival rate is equivalent to 1 minus the cumulative death rate. The ten countries with the highest crude death rate, according to the 2014 CIA World Factbook estimates, are, See list of causes of death by rate for worldwide statistics. According to Jean Ziegler, mortality due to malnutrition accounted for 58% of the mortality in 2006, In the world, approximately 62 millions people, all causes of death combined
8.
Nauruans
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Nauruans are an ethnic group indigenous to Nauru, which inhabit the Pacific island of Nauru. They are most likely a blend of other Pacific peoples, the origin of the Nauruan people has not yet been finally determined. It can possibly be explained by the last Malayo-Pacific human migration, the Nauruans have two elements of their population, the native Micronesians and the Polynesians who had immigrated long before. The Micronesians are represented through coarse, dark hair, the Polynesians are lighter brown and have smoother, through these two extremes the diverse transitions came to exist. At about 1920, influenza spread through Nauru, which took a toll on the indigenous people. In 1925 the first cases of diabetes was diagnosed by doctors, today, depending on age, every second to third Nauruan is diabetic – a higher rate than any other country in the world. Nauruan language Nauruan nationality law, for the distinction between indigenous Nauruans and Nauruan citizens
9.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
10.
Roman Catholic
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
11.
Literacy
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Literacy is traditionally understood as the ability to read, write, and use arithmetic. The concept of literacy is expanding in OECD countries to include skills to access knowledge through technology and ability to assess complex contexts. A person who travels and resides in a country but is unable to read or write in the language of the host country would also be regarded by the locals as being illiterate. The key to literacy is reading development, a progression of skills that begins with the ability to understand words and decode written words. The inability to do so is called illiteracy or analphabetism, Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society. Literacy is thought to have first emerged with the development of numeracy, script developed independently at least four times in human history in Mesopotamia, Egypt, lowland Mesoamerica, and China. The earliest forms of written communication originated in Sumer, located in southern Mesopotamia about 3500-3000 BCE, writing systems in Mesopotamia first emerged from a recording system in which people used impressed token markings to manage trade and agricultural production. The token system served as a precursor to early cuneiform writing once people began recording information on clay tablets, proto-cuneiform texts exhibit not only numerical signs, but also ideograms depicting objects being counted. Egyptian hieroglyphs emerged from 3300-3100 BCE and depicted royal iconography that emphasized power amongst other elites, the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system was the first notation system to have phonetic values. Writing in lowland Mesoamerica was first put into practice by the Olmec and Zapotec civilizations in 900-400 BCE and these civilizations used glyphic writing and bar-and-dot numerical notation systems for purposes related to royal iconography and calendar systems. The earliest written notations in China date back to the Shang Dynasty in 1200 BCE and these systematic notations were found inscribed on bones and recorded sacrifices made, tributes received, and animals hunted, which were activities of the elite. These oracle-bone inscriptions were the ancestors of modern Chinese script and contained logosyllabic script. According to social anthropologist Jack Goody, there are two interpretations that regard the origin of the alphabet, many classical scholars, such as historian Ignace Gelb, credit the Ancient Greeks for creating the first alphabetic system that used distinctive signs for consonants and vowels. Thus, many argue that the ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of northern Canaan invented the consonantal alphabet as early as 1500 BCE. Much of this development is credited to English archeologist Flinders Petrie. Ten years later, English Egyptologist Alan Gardiner reasoned that these contain an alphabet. In 1948, William F. Albright deciphered the text using additional evidence that had been discovered subsequent to Goodys findings and this included a series of inscriptions from Ugarit, discovered in 1929 by French archaeologist Claude F. A. Schaeffer. Some of these inscriptions were mythological texts that consisted of a 32-letter cuneiform consonantal alphabet, another significant discovery was made in 1953 when three arrowheads were uncovered, each containing identical Canaanite inscriptions from twelfth century BCE
12.
Academic degree
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An academic degree is a qualification awarded on successful completion of a course of study in higher education, normally at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, typically including bachelors, master’s and doctorates, often alongside other academic certificates, and professional degrees. The most common degree is the bachelors degree, although in some countries lower qualifications are titled degrees while in others a higher-level first degree is more usual. The degrees awarded by European universities—the bachelor’s degree, the licentiate, the degree. The doctorate appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach at a medieval university and its roots can be traced to the early church when the term doctor referred to the Apostles, church fathers and other Christian authorities who taught and interpreted the Bible. The right to grant a licentia docendi was originally reserved to the church required the applicant to pass a test, to take oath of allegiance. The Third Council of the Lateran of 1179 guaranteed the access – now largely free of charge – of all able applicants, at the university, doctoral training was a form of apprenticeship to a guild. The traditional term of study before new teachers were admitted to the guild of Master of Arts, originally the terms master and doctor were synonymous, but over time the doctorate came to be regarded as a higher qualification than the master degree. The earliest doctoral degrees reflected the historical separation of all higher University study into three fields. Over time, the D. D. has gradually become less common outside theology, Studies outside theology, law, and medicine were then called philosophy, due to the Renaissance conviction that real knowledge could be derived from empirical observation. The degree title of Doctor of Philosophy is of a later time. Studies in what once was called philosophy are now classified as sciences and humanities, Master of Arts were eligible to enter study under the higher faculties of Law, Medicine or Theology, and earn first a bachelors and then master or doctors degrees in these subjects. Thus a degree was only a step on the way to becoming a qualified master – hence the English word graduate. The naming of degrees eventually became linked with the subjects studied, scholars in the faculties of arts or grammar became known as master, but those in theology, medicine, and law were known as doctor. As study in the arts or in grammar was a prerequisite to study in subjects such as theology, medicine and law. The practice of using the doctor for PhDs developed within German universities. The French terminology is tied closely to the meanings of the terms. The baccalauréat is conferred upon French students who have completed their secondary education
13.
Universal health care
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Universal health care is not one-size-fits-all and does not imply coverage for all people for everything. Universal health care can be determined by three dimensions, who is covered, what services are covered, and how much of the cost is covered. It is described by the World Health Organization as a situation where citizens can access health services without incurring financial hardship, U. N. member states have agreed to work toward universal health coverage by 2030. The first move towards a health insurance system was launched in Germany in 1883. Other countries soon began to follow suit, in the United Kingdom, the National Insurance Act 1911 provided coverage for primary care for wage earners, covering about one third of the population. The Russian Empire established a system in 1912, and other industrialized countries began following suit. By the 1930s, similar systems existed in all of Western. Japan introduced a health insurance law in 1927, expanding further upon it in 1935 and 1940. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Soviet Union established a fully public, however, it was not a truly universal system at that point, as rural residents were not covered. In New Zealand, a health care system was created in a series of steps. In Australia, the state of Queensland introduced a public hospital system in the 1940s. Following World War II, universal health care began to be set up around the world. On July 5,1948, the United Kingdom launched its universal National Health Service, Universal health care was next introduced in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. Universal health insurance was introduced in Japan, and in Canada through stages, starting with the province of Saskatchewan in 1962. The Soviet Union extended universal health care to its residents in 1969. Italy introduced its Servizio Sanitario Nazionale in 1978, Universal health insurance was implemented in Australia beginning with the Medibank system in 1975, which led to universal coverage under the Medicare system, established in 1984. From the 1970s to the 2000s, Southern and Western European countries began introducing universal coverage, in addition, universal health coverage was introduced in some Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, and Thailand. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia retained and reformed its universal health system, as did other former Soviet nations
14.
Australian dollar
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Within Australia, it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign, with A$ or AU$ sometimes used to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided into 100 cents, in 2011, the Australian dollar was the fifth most traded currency in the world, accounting for 7. 6% of the worlds daily share. It trades in the foreign exchange markets behind the US dollar, the euro, the yen. The currency is referred to by foreign-exchange traders as the Aussie dollar. With pounds, shillings and pence to be replaced by decimal currency on 14 February 1966, in 1963, the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, a monarchist, wished to name the currency the royal. Other proposed names included more exotic suggestions such as the austral, the oz, the boomer, the roo, the kanga, the emu, the digger, the quid, the dinkum and the ming. Menzies influence resulted in the selection of the royal, and trial designs were prepared and printed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Treasurer, Harold Holt, announced the decision in Parliament on 5 June 1963. The royal would be subdivided into 100 cents, but the existing names shilling, florin, the name royal for the currency proved very unpopular, with Holt and his wife even receiving death threats. On 24 July Holt told the Cabinet the decision had been a terrible mistake, on 18 September Holt advised Parliament that the name was to be the dollar, of 100 cents. The Australian pound, introduced in 1910 and officially distinct in value from the pound sterling since devaluation in 1931, was replaced by the dollar on 14 February 1966. The rate of conversion for the new currency was two dollars per Australian pound, or ten Australian shillings per dollar. The exchange rate was pegged to the pound sterling at a rate of $1 =8 shillings, in 1967, Australia effectively left the sterling area, when the pound sterling was devalued against the US dollar and the Australian dollar did not follow. It maintained its peg to the US dollar at the rate of A$1 = US$1.12, on 27 September 2012, the Reserve Bank of Australia stated that they had ordered work on a project to upgrade the current banknotes. The upgraded banknotes will incorporate a number of new features so that they remain secure into the future, the first new banknotes were issued from the 1st of September 2016, with the remaining denominations to be issued in the coming years. In 1966, coins were introduced in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20 and 50 cents. The initial 50-cent coins contained high silver content and were withdrawn after a year after the value of the silver content was found to exceed the face value of the coins. One-dollar coins were introduced in 1984, followed by two-dollar coins in 1988, the one- and two-cent coins were discontinued in 1991 and withdrawn from circulation. In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of decimal currency, the 2006 mint proof and uncirculated sets included one-, in early 2013, Australias first triangular coin was introduced, to mark the 25th anniversary of the opening of Parliament House
15.
Phosphate mining in Nauru
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The economy of Nauru has been almost wholly dependent on phosphate, which has led to environmental catastrophe on the island, with 80% of the nation’s surface having been strip-mined. The islands phosphate deposits were exhausted by 2000 although some small-scale mining is still in progress. In 1896, an officer for the Pacific Islands Company on the Lady M, Henry Denson. He originally believed it to be a piece of petrified wood, Denson, according to legend, had planned on making childrens marbles from it but fate would have it end up as a door stop in the companys Sydney office. In 1899, Albert Ellis, a management official of the division of the Pacific Islands Company, was transferred to the Sydney office to analyse rock samples coming from the Pacific Islands. Ellis noticed the rock and suspected it to be phosphate, but was rebuffed by Denson, three months later, Ellis decided to test his hunch and tested the rock for phosphate. It turned out to be phosphate ore of the richest quality, a neighboring island to the East, Banaba Island, shared Naurus geology and also had significant reserves of phosphate. Ellis discovery of phosphate excited John T. Arundel of the Pacific Islands Company, the negotiations to pursue rights to the phosphate involved four parties, the British and German governments, the newly reorganised Pacific Phosphate Company, and Jaluit-Gesellschaft. In the first year of mining alone,11,000 pounds of phosphate were shipped to Australia, after World War I the interests of the Pacific Phosphate Company were acquired and the phosphate mining on Nauru was managed through a trust established between Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Those governments established the British Phosphate Commissioners, who took over the rights to the phosphates, in 1968, Nauru became a sovereign, independent nation. In 1970, the newly formed government purchased the rights to the phosphate business from Australia for A$21 million. Gross production of phosphate from 1968 through exhaustion has been 43 million tons, certain Phosphate Lands, Nauru v. Australia led to an out-of-court settlement to rehabilitate the mined-out areas of Nauru. A number of prominent Nauruans, notably René Harris, who have headed the Nauru Phosphate Corporation, have gone on to serve as President of Nauru, the government puts profits from the mining into a trust for the islanders. This trust reached a peak of A$1 billion, returning approximately 14% annually, poor investments and corruption have left the trust fund nearly empty and therefore Nauru with little money. In the year 1948, revenues from mining were A$745,000. A minuscule 2% was being returned to the Nauruans, while 1% was being charged for administration, in the 1960 future president Hammer DeRoburt negotiated royalties of profit to the Nauruans to be 22% while administration would increase to 14%. One apparently successful development project was in 1988, whereby the Royalty Trust purchased 600 acres of vacant, residentially zoned land near Portland, called Forest Heights, it was controlled by the Nauru trust until 75% of the allotments were sold, when the homeowners association took over. Environmental effects of agriculture Economy of Nauru Nauru Phosphate Royalties Trust Nauru on the verge of bankruptcy Photographs of the mining
16.
Coconut
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The coconut tree is a member of the family Arecaceae and the only species of the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the coconut palm or the seed, or the fruit. The spelling cocoanut is a form of the word. The term is derived from the 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish word coco meaning head or skull, coconuts are known for their great versatility, as evidenced by many traditional uses, ranging from food to cosmetics. They form a part of the diets of many people in the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are distinct from other fruits for their quantity of water. When mature, they can be used as seed nuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell, the endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, when dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are used in cooking and frying, as well as in soaps. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating, the coconut also has cultural and religious significance in certain societies, particularly in India, where it is used in Hindu rituals. Cocos nucifera is a palm, growing up to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m long. Coconuts are generally classified into two types, tall and dwarf. On fertile soil, a coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year. Given proper care and growing conditions, coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years, botanically, the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut. Like other fruits, it has three layers, the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp, the exocarp and mesocarp make up the husk of the coconuts. Coconuts sold in the shops of nontropical countries often have had the exocarp removed, the mesocarp is composed of a fiber, called coir, which has many traditional and commercial uses. The shell has three germination pores or eyes that are visible on its outside surface once the husk is removed. A full-sized coconut weighs about 1.44 kg and it takes around 6,000 full-grown coconuts to produce a tonne of copra
17.
Unemployment
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During periods of recession, an economy usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate. According to International Labour Organization report, more than 200 million people globally or 6% of the workforce were without a job in 2012. There remains considerable debate regarding the causes, consequences and solutions for unemployment. Classical economics, new classical economics, and the Austrian School of economics argue that market mechanisms are reliable means of resolving unemployment, Keynesian economics emphasizes the cyclical nature of unemployment and recommends government interventions in the economy that it claims will reduce unemployment during recessions. This theory focuses on recurrent shocks that suddenly reduce aggregate demand for goods and services, Keynesian models recommend government interventions designed to increase demand for workers, these can include financial stimuli, publicly funded job creation, and expansionist monetary policies. Structural arguments emphasize causes and solutions related to disruptive technologies and globalization, Causes and solutions for frictional unemployment often address job entry threshold and wage rates. Behavioral economists highlight individual biases in decision making, and often involve problems and solutions concerning sticky wages, for centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete and increase unemployment. The state of being without any work both for an educated & uneducated person, for earning ones livelihood is meant by unemployment, some additional types of unemployment that are occasionally mentioned are seasonal unemployment, hardcore unemployment, and hidden unemployment. Though there have been several definitions of voluntary and involuntary unemployment in the economics literature, voluntary unemployment is attributed to the individuals decisions, whereas involuntary unemployment exists because of the socio-economic environment in which individuals operate. In these terms, much or most of frictional unemployment is voluntary, on the other hand, cyclical unemployment, structural unemployment, and classical unemployment are largely involuntary in nature. So, in practice, the distinction between voluntary and involuntary unemployment is hard to draw and this happens with cyclical unemployment, as macroeconomic forces cause microeconomic unemployment which can boomerang back and exacerbate these macroeconomic forces. Classical, or real-wage unemployment, occurs when real wages for a job are set above the market-clearing level causing the number of job-seekers to exceed the number of vacancies. On the other hand, some argue that as wages fall below a livable wage many choose to drop out of the labor market. This is especially true in countries where low-income families are supported through public welfare systems, in such cases, wages would have to be high enough to motivate people to choose employment over what they receive through public welfare. Wages below a livable wage are likely to result in lower labor market participation in above stated scenario, in addition it must be noted that consumption of goods and services is the primary driver of increased need for labor. Higher wages leads to workers having more available to consume goods. Therefore, higher wages increase general consumption and as a result need for labor increases, many economists have argued that unemployment increases with increased governmental regulation. For example, minimum wage laws raise the cost of some low-skill laborers above market equilibrium, laws restricting layoffs may make businesses less likely to hire in the first place, as hiring becomes more risky
18.
Urbanization
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Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas, and the ways in which each society adapts to the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed, the United Nations projected that half of the worlds population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008. It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of the developing world and that is equivalent to approximately 3 billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in Africa and Asia. Notably, the United Nations has also projected that nearly all global population growth from 2017 to 2030 will be absorbed by cities. Urbanization is relevant to a range of disciplines, including geography, sociology, economics, urban planning, the phenomenon has been closely linked to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological process of rationalization. Urbanization can be seen as a condition at a set time or as an increase in that condition over time. The first major change in settlement patterns was the accumulation of hunter-gatherers into villages many years ago. This unprecedented movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the few decades. Outside Asia, Mexico City, São Paulo, London, New York City, Lagos, in England the proportion of the population living in cities jumped from 17% in 1801 to 72% in 1891. Growing trade around the world also allowed cereals to be imported from North America and refrigerated meat from Australasia, spatially, cities also expanded due to the development of public transport systems, which facilitated commutes of longer distances to the city centre for the working class. Urbanization rapidly spread across the Western world and, since the 1950s, at the turn of the 20th century, just 15% of the world population lived in cities. According to the UN the year 2007 witnessed the turning point when more than 50% of the population were living in cities. Living in a city can provide opportunities of proximity, diversity, as against this, there may be alienation issues, stress, increased cost of living, and negative social aspects that result from mass marginalization. In cities, money, services, wealth and opportunities are centralized, many rural inhabitants come to the city to seek their fortune and alter their social position. Businesses, which provide jobs and exchange capital, are concentrated in urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the ports or banking systems, commonly located in cities, many people move into cities for the economic opportunities, but this does not fully explain the very high recent urbanization rates in places like China and India. Rural flight is a factor to urbanization. Farm living has always been susceptible to environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or pestilence
19.
Total fertility rate
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It is obtained by summing the single-year age-specific rates at a given time. The TFR is a rate, not based on the fertility of any real group of women since this would involve waiting until they had completed childbearing. Nor is it based on counting up the number of children actually born over their lifetime. Instead, the TFR is based on the fertility rates of women in their child-bearing years. When the NRR is exactly one, then each generation of women is exactly reproducing itself, the NRR is less widely used than the TFR, and the United Nations stopped reporting NRR data for member nations after 1998. But the NRR is particularly relevant where the number of babies born is very high due to gender imbalance. This is a significant factor in population, due to the high level of gender imbalance in the very populous nations of China. The gross reproduction rate, is the same as the NRR, in particular, the TFR does not necessarily predict how many children young women now will eventually have, as their fertility rates in years to come may change from those of older women now. However, the TFR is a summary of current fertility levels. In other words, the TPFR is a measure of life cycle fertility when childbearing age is changing. This is a significant factor in some countries, such as the Czech Republic, some measures seek to adjust for this timing effect to gain a better measure of life-cycle fertility. Replacement fertility is the fertility rate at which women give birth to enough babies to sustain population levels. If there were no mortality in the population until the end of the childbearing years then the replacement level of TFR would be very close to 2.0. The replacement fertility rate is roughly 2.0 births per woman for most industrialized countries, taken globally, the total fertility rate at replacement is 2.33 children per woman. At this rate, global population growth would tend towards zero, a log-transformation of the data gives an alternative view of the relation. The coefficients taken literally imply that for each 1% advance in GDP, the term lowest-low fertility is defined as TFR at or below 1.3. This is characteristic of some Eastern European, Southern European and East Asian countries, in 2001, more than half of the population of Europe lived in countries with lowest-low TFR, but the situation has since slightly improved. However, it may take several generations for a change in the fertility rate to be reflected in birth rate
20.
Japanese occupation of Nauru
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The Japanese hoped to exploit the islands phosphate resources, and to build up their military defences in the area. The most important infrastructure built by the Japanese was an airfield, the war deeply affected the local population. The Japanese enforced a harsh regime, particularly on Chinese labourers who they saw as being at the bottom of the hierarchy, forced labour. They decided to deport the majority of Naurus indigenous population to the Truk islands, hundreds of miles away, still overpopulated with troops and imported labourers, the island was subject to food shortages, which worsened as the Allies island-hopping strategy left Nauru completely cut off. Although effectively neutralised by Allied air and sea control, the Japanese garrison did not surrender until eleven days after the surrender of Japan. Mining operations on Nauru began in 1906, at time it was part of the German colonial empire. During the First World War, Nauru came under the control of the British Crown as a trusteeship of the League of Nations, the BPC instead imported large numbers of indentured workers, mainly Chinese and Pacific islanders. Modernity reached Nauru in the form of imported goods, which had the effect of making the increasingly dependent on the Australian economy. This achievement is celebrated in Nauru as Angam Day. The Second World War first reached Nauru in early December 1940 when two German armed merchantmen disguised as civilian freighters targeted the island and their aim was to disrupt production of phosphate and thereby weaken the agriculture-based economies of Australia and New Zealand. Orion, Komet, and their supply ship Kulmerland headed for Nauru with the purpose of destroying the main infrastructure, due to bad weather conditions, they were unable to make a landing on the island, but sank several merchantmen in the area. On 27 December, Komet returned to Nauru, and though unable to land a shore party, severely damaged the mining facilities. The attack on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941, marked American entry into the war in the Pacific, on the 8th a Japanese surveillance aircraft was sighted above the island. The first attack took place on 9 December, three planes flying from the Marshall Islands bombed the station at Nauru, but failed to cause any damage. The Nauruans, warned by observers on Ocean Island 350 kilometres to the east, the following day, another plane made a second attempt on the radio station. The third day, four made a low-altitude strike and finally destroyed it. During these three days,51 bombs were dropped on or close to the station, all maritime contact with the rest of the world was interrupted. The BPC ship Trienza, en route with supplies, was recalled, until the end of February 1942, there were daily sightings of Japanese planes over the island
21.
Demographics of Tuvalu
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The population of Tuvalu is primarily of Polynesian ethnicity with approximately 5. 6% of the population being Micronesian. Tuvaluans are ethnically related to the people of Samoa and Tonga, the vast majority of Tuvaluans belong to the Church of Tuvalu, a Protestant denomination. Their ancestors were converted by Christian missionaries in the 19th century, School attendance at school is 10 years for males and 11 years for females. Primary school enrollment,100 percent Secondary school enrollment,79.5 percent Life expectancy for women in Tuvalu is 68.41 years and 64.01 years for men. The population of Tuvalu is recorded by the Central Statistics Department of Tuvalu in the census information, the threat of global warming in Tuvalu is not a dominant motivation for migration as Tuvaluans appear to prefer to continue living on the islands for reasons of lifestyle, culture and identity. The high proportion in range of ages 15 to 29 years is described as indicating the significance of overseas tertiary education, the 2013 Census of New Zealand reported 3,537 Tuvaluans, an increase of 80 percent from the 1,965 reported in the 2001 census. In the 2013 census, only about 40 percent had been born in Tuvalu, the high proportion of Tuvaluans who are New Zealand born illustrates the significance of New Zealand as a long term destination for Tuvaluan migrants. The Tuvaluan community in Australia is recorded in the 2011 Australian Census as 228 people who put Tuvaluan as their first response to a question on ‘ancestry’, of these 120 were born in Tuvalu. The islands of Nanumea, Nanumaga, Nukufetau and Niutao had relatively high net migration losses, Vaitupu had the largest net migration gain, although this is attributed to the location of Motufoua Secondary School on Vaitupu and the movement of students from the other islands. The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated
22.
United States Census Bureau
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The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureaus primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, in addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, and the Current Population Survey, furthermore, economic and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government typically contain data produced by the Census Bureau. The Bureaus various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and help states, local communities, the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States. The Census Bureau now conducts a population count every 10 years in years ending with a 0. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population estimates and projections, the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations, the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, and economy. The Census Bureaus legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code, the Census Bureau also conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, crime, health, consumer expenditures, and housing. Within the bureau, these are known as surveys and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts. The Census Bureau also conducts surveys of manufacturing, retail, service. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts, the Census Act of 1840 established a central office which became known as the Census Office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses, typically at the 10-year intervals, in 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, and in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor. The department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every 2 years, in 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code, by law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are widely used. for data collection, the Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information, all Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment. The Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government, only after 72 years does the information collected become available to other agencies or the general public
23.
The World Factbook
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The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the National Technical Information Service, Other companies—such as Skyhorse Publishing—also print a paper edition. The Factbook is available in the form of a website that is updated every week. It is also available for download for use off-line, the World Factbook is prepared by the CIA for the use of U. S. Government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements. However, it is used as a resource for academic research papers. As a work of the U. S. Government, it is in the domain in the United States. In researching the Factbook, the CIA uses the sources listed below, Other public and private sources are also consulted. However, the CIA requests that it be cited when the Factbook is used, copying the official seal of the CIA without permission is prohibited by U. S. federal law—specifically, the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949. Before November 2001 The World Factbook website was updated yearly, from 2004 to 2010 it was updated every two weeks, since 2010 it has been updated weekly, generally, information currently available as of January 1 of the current year is used in preparing the Factbook. The first, classified, edition of Factbook was published in August 1962, the World Factbook was first available to the public in print in 1975. In 2008 the CIA discontinued printing the Factbook themselves, instead turning printing responsibilities over to the Government Printing Office and this happened due to a CIA decision to focus Factbook resources on the online edition. The Factbook has been on the World Wide Web since October 1994, the web version gets an average of 6 million visits per month, it can also be downloaded. The official printed version is sold by the Government Printing Office, in past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM, microfiche, magnetic tape, and floppy disk. Many Internet sites use information and images from the CIA World Factbook, several publishers, including Grand River Books, Potomac Books, and Skyhorse Publishing have re-published the Factbook in recent years. As of July 2011, The World Factbook consists of 267 entities and these entities can be divided into categories. They are, Independent countries This category has independent countries, which the CIA defines as people politically organized into a state with a definite territory. In this category, there are 195 entities, others The Other category is a list of other places set apart from the list of independent countries. Currently there are two, Taiwan and the European Union, dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty This category is a list of places affiliated with another country
24.
Fijians
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Fijians, officially known since 2010 as iTaukei, are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. Indigenous Fijians are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, later they would move onward to other surrounding islands, including Rotuma, as well as blending with other settlers on Tonga and Samoa. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma, the original settlers are now called Lapita people after a distinctive pottery produced locally. Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BCE onward, as of 2005, indigenous Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the total Fijian population. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, with some Polynesian admixture, the estimated Pacific Islander population size is 231,800 in 2001 Fijians comprising about 7,000 of that. Outside of the Oceania, substantial Fijian diaspora is found in anglophone countries namely Canada, United States. The Bose Levu Vakaturaga once passed laws and regulations governing the indigenous Fijian people, until its disbanding by the Military of Fiji following the 2006 coup, the Great Council of Chiefs met yearly to discuss native Fijian concerns. The council, which was responsible for appointing Fijis president, was composed of 55 Fijian chiefs selected from the 14 provinces. Included in the council were three appointees from the island of Rotuma and six appointed by the Minister of Fijian Affairs, the Minister of Fijian Affairs consulted with the President as part of the selection process. Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was given an appointment on the council. The Tabua is a much revered whales tooth which is used in public and private occasions or ceremonies. Yaqona, otherwise known as kava – another important traditional custom – is an infusion prepared from the root of Piper methysticum, the plant itself is also often referred to as yaqona or the kava plant. Yaqona is extremely important in indigenous Fijian culture – in the time of the old religion it was used ceremonially by chiefs, today, yaqona is part of daily life, both in villages and in urban areas and across all classes and walks of life. Having a grog or drinking grog, as drinking kava is sometimes known, is used for welcoming and bonding with visitors, the native Fijian language belongs to the Central Pacific – Fijian – Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family. About 86 percent of the land in Fiji is owned by indigenous Fijian people, in 1876, Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, the British colonial Governor, prohibited the sale of Fijian land to non-ethnic Fijians. This controversial policy continues to this day, the Governor also banned the employment of native Fijians as labourers, and in 1878, began importing indentured labourers from India to work in the sugarcane fields. The effects of this created an ethnic polarisation, which has proven to be politically challenging to Fijian race relations. Indigenous Fijians overwhelmingly report as being Christian, with the Methodist Church of Fiji, other significant denominations include the Roman Catholic Church, the Assemblies of God and the Seventh-day Adventists
25.
Solomon Island
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The countrys capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years, in 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit them, naming them the Islas Salomón. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomon Islands archipelago in June 1893, during World War II, the Solomon Islands campaign saw fierce fighting between the United States and the Empire of Japan, such as in the Battle of Guadalcanal. The official name of the then British overseas territory was changed from the British Solomon Islands Protectorate to Solomon Islands in 1975, self-government was achieved in 1976, independence was obtained two years later. Today, Solomon Islands is a monarchy with the Queen of Solomon Islands, currently Queen Elizabeth II. Manasseh Sogavare is the current prime minister, in 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit the Solomon Islands archipelago, naming it Islas Salomón after the wealthy biblical King Solomon. It is said that they were given name in the mistaken assumption that they contained great riches. During most of the period of British rule the territory was named the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. On 22 June 1975 the territory was renamed Solomon Islands, when Solomon Islands became independent in 1978 they retained the name. The definite article, the, is not part of the official name but is sometimes used. It is believed that Papuan-speaking settlers began to arrive around 30,000 BC, austronesian speakers arrived c.4000 BC also bringing cultural elements such as the outrigger canoe. Between 1200 and 800 BC the ancestors of the Polynesians, the Lapita people, the first European to visit the islands was the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira, coming from Peru in 1568. The people of Solomon Islands were notorious for headhunting and cannibalism before the arrival of the Europeans, missionaries began visiting the Solomons in the mid-19th century. They made little progress at first, because blackbirding led to a series of reprisals, the evils of the labour trade prompted the United Kingdom to declare a protectorate over the southern Solomons in June 1893. Traditional trade and social intercourse between the western Solomon Islands of Mono and Alu and the societies in the south of Bougainville, however. Missionaries settled in the Solomons under the protectorate, converting most of the population to Christianity, in the early 20th century several British and Australian firms began large-scale coconut planting. Economic growth was slow, however, and the islanders benefited little, journalist Joe Melvin visited in 1892, as part of his undercover investigation into blackbirding. In 1908 the islands were visited by Jack London, who was cruising the Pacific on his boat, with the outbreak of the Second World War most planters and traders were evacuated to Australia and most cultivation ceased
26.
Austronesian languages
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The Austronesian languages are a language family that is widely dispersed throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, Madagascar and the islands of the Pacific Ocean, with a few members in continental Asia. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger–Congo, and Afroasiatic as one of the language families. Major Austronesian languages with the highest number of speakers are Malay, Javanese, the family contains 1,257 languages, which is the second most of any language family. Otto Dempwolff was the first researcher to extensively explore Austronesian using the comparative method, another German, Wilhelm Schmidt, coined the German word austronesisch which comes from Latin auster south wind plus Greek nêsos island. The name Austronesian was formed from the same roots, the family is aptly named, as the vast majority of Austronesian languages are spoken on islands, only a few languages, such as Malay and the Chamic languages, are indigenous to mainland Asia. Twenty or so Austronesian languages are official in their respective countries, hawaiian, Rapa Nui, and Malagasy are the geographic outliers of the Austronesian family. According to Robert Blust, Austronesian is divided in several branches, all. The Formosan languages of Taiwan are grouped into as many as nine first-order subgroups of Austronesian, all Austronesian languages spoken outside Taiwan belong to the Malayo-Polynesian branch, sometimes called Extra-Formosan. Most Austronesian languages lack a long history of attestation, making the feat of reconstructing earlier stages – up to distant Proto-Austronesian – all the more remarkable. The oldest inscription in the Cham language, the Đông Yên Châu inscription and it is difficult to make generalizations about the languages that make up a family as diverse as Austronesian. The phenomenon has frequently referred to as focus. Furthermore, the choice of voice is influenced by the definiteness of the participants, the word order has a strong tendency to be verb-initial. They are also characterized by the presence of preposed clitic pronouns, unlike the Philippine type, these languages mostly tend towards verb-second word-orders. A number of languages, such as the Batak languages, Old Javanese, Balinese, Sasak, finally, in some languages, which Ross calls post-Indonesian, the original voice system has broken down completely and the voice-marking affixes no longer preserve their functions. The Austronesian languages tend to use reduplication, like many East and Southeast Asian languages, most Austronesian languages have highly restrictive phonotactics, with generally small numbers of phonemes and predominantly consonant–vowel syllables. Some cognate sets are very stable, the word for eye in many Austronesian languages is mata. Other words are harder to reconstruct, the word for two is also stable, in that it appears over the entire range of the Austronesian family, but the forms require some linguistic expertise to recognise. The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database gives word lists for approximately 1000 Austronesian languages, the internal structure of the Austronesian languages is complex
27.
Religion in Nauru
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In Nauru, Nauru Congregational Church is the largest religion, encompassing 35. 71% of the population, as of the 2011 census. According to the 2002 census, approximately two-thirds of Christians are Protestant, the largest denomination is the Nauru Congregational Church. The ethnic Chinese on the island, approximately 3 to 4 percent of the population, may be Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, the largely Christian communities of Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati expatriates were repatriated in late 2006 following the near cessation of phosphate mining in the country. The Jehovahs Witnesses and the Mormons said they had numbers of followers among the native population. Nauruan indigenous religion was the predominant religion in Nauru before the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are a few active Christian missionary organisations, including representatives of Anglicanism, Methodism, the Constitution provides for freedom of religion, however, the Government restricted this right in some circumstances
28.
Assemblies of God
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As an international fellowship, the member denominations are entirely independent and autonomous, however, they are united by shared beliefs and history. The Assemblies originated from the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century and this revival led to the founding of the Assemblies of God in the United States in 1914. Through foreign missionary work and establishing relationships with other Pentecostal churches and it was not until 1988, however, that the world fellowship was formed. As a Pentecostal fellowship, the Assemblies of God believes in the Pentecostal distinctive of baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, the World Assemblies of God Fellowship is structured as a loose alliance of independent national and regional Pentecostal denominations. The AG is Trinitarian and holds the Bible as divinely inspired, baptism by immersion is practiced as an ordinance instituted by Christ for those who have been saved. Baptism is understood as an sign of an inward change. As an ordinance, Communion is also practiced, the Assemblies of God also places a strong emphasis on the fulfillment of the Great Commission and believes that this is the calling of the church. As classical Pentecostals, the Assemblies of God believes all Christians are entitled to, the AG teaches that this experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of salvation. The baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers the believer for Christian life, the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. In addition, it believes in the present day use of other spiritual gifts. The Assemblies of God USA, for example, adheres to the Statement of Fundamental Truths, the Assemblies of God has its roots in the Pentecostal revival of the early 20th century. The Pentecostal aspects of the revival were not generally welcomed by established churches and these people sought out their own places of worship and founded hundreds of distinctly Pentecostal congregations. By 1914, many ministers and laymen began to realize just how far-reaching the spread of the revival. Concerned leaders felt the desire to protect and preserve the results of the revival by uniting through cooperative fellowship, a remaining fellowship emerged from the meeting and was incorporated under the name General Council of the Assemblies of God in the United States of America. In 1919, Pentecostals in Canada united to form the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada which formally affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA the next year. The Assemblies of God in Great Britain was formed in 1924 and would have an influence on the Assemblies of God in Australia. The Australian Assemblies of God was formed in 1937 by a merger of the Pentecostal Church of Australia, the Queensland AG had formed in 1929, though, it was never formally affiliated with the AG in America. The Assemblies of God of South Africa was founded in 1925, prior to 1967, the Assemblies of God, along with the majority of other Pentecostal denominations, officially opposed Christian participation in war and considered itself a peace church
29.
Baptists
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Other tenets of Baptist churches include soul competency, salvation through faith alone, Scripture alone as the rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of the local congregation. Baptists recognize two ministerial offices, elders and deacons, Baptist churches are widely considered to be Protestant churches, though some Baptists disavow this identity. Historians trace the earliest church labeled Baptist back to 1609 in Amsterdam, in accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where the General Baptists considered Christs atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect. Thomas Helwys formulated a distinctively Baptist request that the church and the state be kept separate in matters of law, Helwys died in prison as a consequence of the religious persecution of English dissenters under King James I. In 1638, Roger Williams established the first Baptist congregation in the North American colonies, in the mid-18th century, the First Great Awakening contributed to Baptist growth in both New England and the South. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent, the largest Baptist denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, with the membership of associated churches totaling more than 15 million. Modern Baptist churches trace their history to the English Separatist movement in the century after the rise of the original Protestant denominations and this view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal and it was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical truth had been discovered, during the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church. There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation, there also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the Churchs direction, some chose to stay and they became known as Puritans and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction, historians trace the earliest Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor. Three years earlier, while a Fellow of Christs College, Cambridge, reared in the Church of England, he became Puritan, English Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist, and ended his days working with the Mennonites. He began meeting in England with 60–70 English Separatists, in the face of great danger, Smyth and his lay supporter, Thomas Helwys, together with those they led, broke with the other English exiles because Smyth and Helwys were convinced they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the others, in 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled The Character of the Beast, or The False Constitution of the Church. In it he expressed two propositions, first, infants are not to be baptized, and second, Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism. Hence, his conviction was that a church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith
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Freedom of religion
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It also includes the freedom to change ones religion or belief. Freedom of religion is considered by people and most of the nations to be a fundamental human right. Historically, freedom of religion has been used to refer to the tolerance of different theological systems of belief, each of these have existed to varying degrees. Compare examples of individual freedom in Italy or the Muslim tradition of dhimmis, in Antiquity, a syncretic point of view often allowed communities of traders to operate under their own customs. When street mobs of separate quarters clashed in a Hellenistic or Roman city, Cyrus the Great established the Achaemenid Empire ca.550 BC, and initiated a general policy of permitting religious freedom throughout the empire, documenting this on the Cyrus Cylinder. Some of the exceptions have been in regions where one of the revealed religions has been in a position of power, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity. This was the core for resentment and the persecution of early Christian communities, Freedom of religious worship was established in the Buddhist Maurya Empire of ancient India by Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BC, which was encapsulated in the Edicts of Ashoka. Greek-Jewish clashes at Cyrene in 73 AD and 117 AD and in Alexandria in 115 AD provide examples of cities as scenes of tumult. Dhimmis were allowed to operate their own courts following their own systems in cases that did not involve other religious groups. ISIS re-established the punitive jizya tax and forbade Christians in Syria from building places of worship, ringing bells, wearing crosses or criticizing Islam, ancient Jews fleeing from persecution in their homeland 2,500 years ago settled in India and never faced anti-Semitism. Freedom of religion edicts have been written during Ashoka the Greats reign in the 3rd century BC. Freedom to practise, preach and propagate any religion is a right in Modern India. Most major religious festivals of the communities are included in the list of national holidays. Although India is an 80% Hindu country, India is a state without any state religions. Many scholars and intellectuals believe that Indias predominant religion, Hinduism, has long been a most tolerant religion, rajni Kothari, founder of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies has written, is a country built on the foundations of a civilisation that is fundamentally non-religious. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan leader in exile, said that religious tolerance of Aryabhoomi, not only Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism which are the native religions but also Christianity and Islam have flourished here. Religious tolerance is inherent in Indian tradition, the Dalai Lama said, Freedom of religion in the Indian subcontinent is exemplified by the reign of King Piyadasi. One of King Ashokas main concerns was to reform governmental institutes and exercise moral principles in his attempt to create a just and humane society
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations, according to the church, it has over 70,000 missionaries and a membership of over 15 million. It is ranked by the National Council of Churches as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States and it is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. Adherents, often referred to as Latter-day Saints, or, less formally, Mormons, view faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement as fundamental principles of their religion. The church has a canon which includes four scriptural texts, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants. The current president is Thomas S. Monson, individual members of the church believe that they can also receive personal revelation from God in conducting their lives. The president heads a hierarchical structure with various levels reaching down to local congregations, Bishops, drawn from the laity, lead local congregations. Male members, after reaching age 12, may be ordained to the priesthood, Women do not hold positions within the priesthood, but do occupy leadership roles in some church auxiliary organizations. Both men and women may serve as missionaries, and the church maintains a large missionary program which proselytizes, faithful members adhere to church laws of sexual purity, health, fasting, and Sabbath observance, and contribute ten percent of their income to the church in tithing. The LDS Church was formally organized by Joseph Smith on April 6,1830, Smith intended to establish the New Jerusalem in North America, called Zion. In 1831, the moved to Kirtland, Ohio, and began establishing an outpost in Jackson County, Missouri. However, in 1833, Missouri settlers brutally expelled the Latter Day Saints from Jackson County, the Kirtland era ended in 1838, after a financial scandal rocked the church and caused widespread defections. Smith regrouped with the church in Far West, Missouri. Believing the Saints to be in insurrection, the Missouri governor ordered that the Saints be exterminated or driven from the State, in 1839, the Saints converted a swampland on the banks of the Mississippi River into Nauvoo, Illinois, which became the churchs new headquarters. Nauvoo grew rapidly as missionaries sent to Europe and elsewhere gained new converts who then flooded into Nauvoo, meanwhile, Smith introduced polygamy to his closest associates. He also established ceremonies, which he stated the Lord had revealed to him, to allow people to become gods in the afterlife. He also introduced the church to an accounting of his First Vision. This vision would come to be regarded by the LDS Church as the most important event in history since the resurrection of Jesus
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Jehovah's Witnesses
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Jehovahs Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a membership of more than 8.3 million adherents involved in evangelism. Jehovahs Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses, a group of elders in Warwick, New York and they prefer to use their own translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, although their literature occasionally quotes and cites other Bible translations. The name Jehovahs witnesses was adopted in 1931 to distinguish themselves from other Bible Student groups, Jehovahs Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door preaching, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake. and refusing military service and blood transfusions. They consider use of the name Jehovah vital for proper worship and they reject Trinitarianism, inherent immortality of the soul, and hellfire, which they consider to be unscriptural doctrines. They do not observe Christmas, Easter, birthdays or other holidays, adherents commonly refer to their body of beliefs as the truth and consider themselves to be in the truth. They consider secular society to be corrupt and under the influence of Satan. Congregational disciplinary actions include disfellowshipping, their term for formal expulsion, baptized individuals who formally leave are considered disassociated and are also shunned. Disfellowshipped and disassociated individuals may eventually be reinstated if deemed repentant, the religions position regarding conscientious objection to military service and refusal to salute national flags has brought it into conflict with some governments. Consequently, some Jehovahs Witnesses have been persecuted and their activities are banned or restricted in some countries, persistent legal challenges by Jehovahs Witnesses have influenced legislation related to civil rights in several countries. The organization has received criticism over issues surrounding biblical translation, doctrines, handling of abuse cases. The claims are rejected by the leaders, and some have been disputed by courts. In 1870, Charles Taze Russell and others formed a group in Pittsburgh, in 1876, Russell met Nelson H. Barbour, later that year they jointly produced the book Three Worlds, which combined restitutionist views with end time prophecy. Beginning in 1878 Russell and Barbour jointly edited a religious journal, from 1879, Watch Tower supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible topically. Thirty congregations were founded, and during 1879 and 1880, Russell visited each to provide the format he recommended for conducting meetings, as congregations continued to form during Russells ministry, they each remained self-administrative, functioning under the congregationalist style of church governance. In 1881, Zions Watch Tower Tract Society was presided over by William Henry Conley, by about 1900, Russell had organized thousands of part- and full-time colporteurs, and was appointing foreign missionaries and establishing branch offices. By the 1910s, Russells organization maintained nearly a hundred pilgrims, Russell engaged in significant global publishing efforts during his ministry, and by 1912, he was the most distributed Christian author in the United States. He identified the movement as Bible Students, and more formally as the International Bible Students Association
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Education in Nauru
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Education in Nauru is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16. There are eleven schools in Nauru, including three schools and two secondary schools. There is an Able/Disable Centre for children with special needs, Education at these schools is free. In 2011, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reported that 3,026 children were enrolled at Naurus schools, the Minister for Education is the Hon. Charmaine Scotty, MP from 2013. The Nauru Campus of the University of the South Pacific is located in Aiwo District, USP began teaching remote courses in the 1970s. A local campus was established in 1987, courses of study focus on the fields of education and business. The campus also serves the community through a Continuing education programme. Education in Nauru was first formalised by the work of Protestant missionaries in the twentieth century. The first schools were established by missionary Philip Delaporte, teaching literacy in the Nauru language. In 1923, the joint administration of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand made education compulsory, australias AusAID funded an $11 million refurbishment of Nauru Secondary School beginning in late 2007. The project to assist in improving performance in Nauru was completed in 2010. Part of the focused on enhancing Nauruan construction capacity
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University of the South Pacific
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The University of the South Pacific, or USP is an intergovernmental organisation and public research university with a number of locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. It is a centre for teaching and research on Pacific culture. USPs academic programmes are recognised worldwide, attracting students and staff throughout the Pacific region. USP is owned by the governments of 12 Pacific island countries, uSPs main campus, called Laucala, is located in Fiji. The Alafua Campus in Samoa hosts the School of Agriculture and Food Technology, in addition, USP operates 11 regional centres based in Pacific islands countries. The entire region served by USP covers 33 million km2 of the Pacific ocean, in contrast, the total land mass of territories served corresponds to the area of Denmark. Populations of member countries vary from Tokelau with 1,500 people to Fiji with more than 900,000 people, the total population of the region is about 1.3 million
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Government of Australia
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The Government of the Commonwealth of Australia is the government of the Commonwealth of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, the terms of this contract are embodied in the Australian Constitution, which was drawn up at a Constitutional Convention and ratified by the people of the colonies at referendums. Separation of powers is implied by the structure of the Constitution, the Australian system of government combines elements of the Westminster and Washington systems with unique Australian characteristics, and has been characterised as a Washminster mutation. Section 51 of the Constitution provides for the Commonwealth Governments legislative powers and allocates certain powers, all remaining responsibilities are retained by the six States. Further, each State has its own constitution, so that Australia has seven sovereign Parliaments, the High Court of Australia arbitrates on any disputes which arise between the Commonwealth and the States, or among the States, concerning their respective functions. The Commonwealth Parliament can propose changes to the Constitution, the Commonwealth Constitution also provides that the States can agree to refer any of their powers to the Commonwealth. This may be achieved by way of an amendment to the Constitution via referendum, more commonly powers may be transferred by passing other acts of legislation which authorise the transfer and such acts require the legislative agreement of all the state governments involved. This transfer legislation may have a clause, a legislative provision that nullifies the transfer of power after a specified period. In addition, Australia has several territories, two of which are self-governing, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, Australian citizens in these territories are represented by members of both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament. The territory of Norfolk Island was self-governing from 1979 until 2016, the other territories that are regularly inhabited—Jervis Bay, Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands—have never been self-governing. The federal nature of the Commonwealth and the structure of the Parliament of Australia were the subject of protracted negotiations among the colonies during the drafting of the Constitution, the House of Representatives is elected on a basis that reflects the differing populations of the States. Thus New South Wales has 48 members while Tasmania has only five, but the Senate is elected on a basis of equality among the States, all States elect 12 Senators, regardless of population. This was intended to allow the Senators of the smaller States to form a majority, the ACT and the NT each elect two Senators. The third level of government after Commonwealth and State/Territory is Local government, in the form of shires, towns, the Councils of these areas are composed of elected representatives, usually serving part-time. Their powers are devolved to them by the State or Territory in which they are located, with this act, Australian law was made unequivocally sovereign, and the High Court of Australia was confirmed as the highest court of appeal. The theoretical possibility of the British Parliament enacting laws to override the Australian Constitution was also removed, the Legislature makes the laws, and supervises the activities of the other two arms with a view to changing the laws when appropriate. The Australian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the Queen of Australia, a 76-member Senate, twelve Senators from each state are elected for six-year terms, using proportional representation and the single transferable vote, with half elected every three years. In addition to the state Senators, two senators are elected by voters from the Northern Territory, while another two senators are elected by the voters of the Australian Capital Territory
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Radiology
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Radiology is a specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases seen within the body. Interventional radiology is the performance of medical procedures with the guidance of imaging technologies, the acquisition of medical images is usually carried out by the Radiographer, often known as a Radiologic Technologist. Depending on location, the Diagnostic Radiologist, or Reporting Radiographer, then interprets or reads the images and produces a report of their findings and this report is then transmitted to the Clinician who requested the imaging, either routinely or emergently. Radiographs are produced by transmitting X-rays through a patient, the X-rays are projected through the body onto a detector, an image is formed based on which rays pass through versus those that are absorbed or scattered in the patient. Röntgen discovered X-rays on November 8,1895 and received the first Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery in 1901, in film-screen radiography, an X-ray tube generates a beam of X-rays, which is aimed at the patient. The film is then developed chemically and an image appears on the film, film-screen radiography is being replaced by computed radiography but more recently by digital radiography and the EOS imaging. In the two latest systems, the X-rays strike sensors that converts the signals generated into digital information, in digital radiography the sensors shape a plate, but in the EOS system, which is a slot-scanning system, a linear sensor vertically scans the patient. Plain radiography was the imaging modality available during the first 50 years of radiology. Due to its availability, speed, and lower costs compared to other modalities, also despite the large amount of data in CT scans, MR scans and other digital-based imaging, there are many disease entities in which the classic diagnosis is obtained by plain radiographs. Examples include various types of arthritis and pneumonia, bone tumors, fractures, congenital skeletal anomalies, mammography and DXA are two applications of low energy projectional radiography, used for the evaluation for breast cancer and osteoporosis, respectively. Fluoroscopy and angiography are special applications of X-ray imaging, in which a fluorescent screen and this allows real-time imaging of structures in motion or augmented with a radiocontrast agent. Two radiocontrast agents are presently in common use, barium sulfate is given orally or rectally for evaluation of the GI tract. Iodine, in multiple forms, is given by oral, rectal, intra-arterial or intravenous routes. Iodine contrast may also be concentrated in areas more or less than in normal tissues. CT imaging uses X-rays in conjunction with computing algorithms to image the body, in CT, an X-ray tube opposite an X-ray detector in a ring-shaped apparatus rotate around a patient, producing a computer-generated cross-sectional image. CT is acquired in the plane, with coronal and sagittal images produced by computer reconstruction. Radiocontrast agents are used with CT for enhanced delineation of anatomy. Although radiographs provide higher resolution, CT can detect more subtle variations in attenuation of X-rays
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Body mass index
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The body mass index or Quetelet index is a value derived from the mass and height of an individual. The BMI is defined as the body divided by the square of the body height. The BMI is an attempt to quantify the amount of mass in an individual. However, there is debate about where on the BMI scale the dividing lines between categories should be placed. Commonly accepted BMI ranges are underweight, under 18.5 kg/m2, normal weight,18.5 to 25, overweight,25 to 30, obese, over 30. The modern term body mass index for the ratio of body weight to squared height was coined in a paper published in the July 1972 edition of the Journal of Chronic Diseases by Ancel Keys. In this paper, Keys argued that what he termed the BMI was, BMI was explicitly cited by Keys as appropriate for population studies and inappropriate for individual evaluation. Nevertheless, due to its simplicity, it has come to be used for preliminary diagnosis. Additional metrics, such as waist circumference, can be more useful, the BMI is universally expressed in kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and height in metres. If pounds and inches are used, a factor of 703 / must be applied. When the term BMI is used informally, the units are usually omitted, BMI was designed to be used as a simple means of classifying average sedentary populations, with an average body composition. Some athletes, such as linemen, have a high muscle to fat ratio. BMI is proportional to the mass and inversely proportional to the square of the height, so, if all body dimensions double, and mass scales naturally with the cube of the height, then BMI doubles instead of remaining the same. This results in people having a reported BMI that is uncharacteristically high. In comparison, the Ponderal index is based on the scaling of mass with the third power of the height. However, many people are not just scaled up short people. Nick Korevaar suggests that instead of squaring the body height or cubing the body height, carl Lavie has written that, The B. M. I. Tables are excellent for identifying obesity and body fat in large populations, a frequent use of the BMI is to assess how much an individuals body weight departs from what is normal or desirable for a persons height
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The Independent
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The Independent is a British online newspaper. The printed edition of the paper ceased in March 2016, nicknamed the Indy, it began as a broadsheet newspaper, but changed to tabloid format in 2003. Until September 2011, the paper described itself on the banner at the top of every newspaper as free from party political bias and it tends to take a pro-market stance on economic issues. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. In June 2015, it had a daily circulation of just below 58,000,85 per cent down from its 1990 peak. On 12 February 2016, it was announced that The Independent, the last print edition of The Independent on Sunday was published on 20 March 2016, with the main paper ceasing print publication the following Saturday. Launched in 1986, the first issue of The Independent was published on 7 October in broadsheet format and it was produced by Newspaper Publishing plc and created by Andreas Whittam Smith, Stephen Glover and Matthew Symonds. All three partners were former journalists at The Daily Telegraph who had left the paper towards the end of Lord Hartwells ownership, marcus Sieff was the first chairman of Newspaper Publishing, and Whittam Smith took control of the paper. The paper was created at a time of a change in British newspaper publishing. Rupert Murdoch was challenging long-accepted practices of the print unions and ultimately defeated them in the Wapping dispute, consequently, production costs could be reduced which, it was said at the time, created openings for more competition. As a result of controversy around Murdochs move to Wapping, the plant was effectively having to function under siege from sacked print workers picketing outside, the Independent attracted some of the staff from the two Murdoch broadsheets who had chosen not to move to his companys new headquarters. Launched with the advertising slogan It is, and challenging both The Guardian for centre-left readers and The Times as the newspaper of record, The Independent reached a circulation of over 400,000 by 1989. Competing in a market, The Independent sparked a general freshening of newspaper design as well as, within a few years. Some aspects of production merged with the paper, although the Sunday paper retained a largely distinct editorial staff. It featured spoofs of the other papers mastheads with the words The Rupert Murdoch or The Conrad Black, a number of other media companies were interested in the paper. Tony OReillys media group and Mirror Group Newspapers had bought a stake of about a third each by mid-1994, in March 1995, Newspaper Publishing was restructured with a rights issue, splitting the shareholding into OReillys Independent News & Media, MGN, and Prisa. In April 1996, there was another refinancing, and in March 1998, OReilly bought the other 54% of the company for £30 million, brendan Hopkins headed Independent News, Andrew Marr was appointed editor of The Independent, and Rosie Boycott became editor of The Independent on Sunday. Marr introduced a dramatic if short-lived redesign which won critical favour but was a commercial failure, Marr admitted his changes had been a mistake in his book, My Trade
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Economy of Nauru
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The economy of Nauru is tiny, based on a population in 2014 of only 11,000 people. The economy is based on phosphate mining, offshore banking. Mining of phosphate ceased after the exhaustion of the phosphate reserves. It is hoped that this economic activity might lift Nauru from the bottom rung of global GDP per capita, the only other major source of government revenue is sale of fishing rights in Naurus territorial waters. Nauru is dependent on aid, chiefly from Australia, Taiwan. In the years after independence in 1968, Nauru possessed the highest GDP per capita in the due to its rich phosphate deposits. However, because of spending from the trust funds, including some wasteful foreign investment activities. Economic uncertainty caused by mismanagement and corruption, combined with shortages of basic goods, has resulted in some domestic unrest. In 2004 Nauru was faced with chaos amid political strife and the collapse of the island’s telecommunications system, moreover, the deterioration of housing and hospitals has continued. This has 14 districts, Aiwo, Anabar, Anetan, Anibare, Baiti, Boe, Buada, Denigomodu, Ewa, Ijuw, Meneng, Nibok, Uaboe, few comprehensive statistics on the Nauru economy exist, with estimates of Naurus GDP varying widely. According to the U. S. State Department, Nauru’s GDP volume was US$1 million in 2004, Nauru receives about US$20 million foreign aid a year from Australia. In 2004 income from phosphate export was US$640,000, with Australia, New Zealand, in the same year the Nauru government budget shows that income from licensing foreign fishing vessels was over US$3,000,000. Nauru needs to import almost all basic and capital goods, including food, water, fuel, in 2004 Nauru’s imports totaled about US$19.8 million. Nauru uses the Australian dollar for its currency, deposit-taking institutions do not exist on the island, and community savings are required to be held in the form of cash, and all transactions are conducted using cash. The government is required to fly in Australian currency to maintain liquidity. The Australian government shut down Nauru’s banking system in 2006, Nauru’s government has been talking with Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd. Australia’s fifth-largest lender, to set up a branch on the island, effective from the end of April 2016, Westpac, one of Australias largest banks, ceased having any dealings with the Nauru government. On 21 April 2016, it was announced that the Bendigo Bank was facing pressure to close its operation in Nauru
stands beside a number, it indicates the estimate from The World Factbook.[19] In 2013, the number of births (366) and birth rate (38.8) was the second-highest during this period. In 2011, the total fertility rate of 4.2 was the highest since 1992 (4.5). Since 2009, there has been a natural change of at least 200 inhabitants—the first since the reparations of the population in 2006..jpg)
