Key Concepts in Social Sciences and History
Cold War Confrontation
He called the Cold War confrontation that took place during the twentieth century.
Globalization Defined
Globalization is an economic, technological, social, and cultural process on a global scale. It consists of increasing communication and interdependence among countries, uniting their markets, societies, and cultures through social, economic, and political policies.
Autonomous Regions
An autonomous region is a territorial entity within a constitutional system, such as Spain, equipped with autonomous legislative and executive powers and the option to use its own representatives.
Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence threatens fundamental rights, individual liberty, and the physical integrity of women.
Democracy
Democracy: political doctrines favoring the intervention of the people in government.
Revolution
Revolution: a significant historical event that accelerates social evolution.
Nationalism
Nationalism is an ideology and a social and political movement that emerged with the concept of nation in the contemporary age.
Rural Tourism
Rural tourism is tourism that takes place in rural areas, usually in small towns.
NGOs
NGOs: private institutions with humanitarian and social objectives, independent of governments at local, regional, national, and international levels.
Industrial Estates
Industrial Estate: a territorial space where industrial activities are grouped.
Decolonization
Decolonization is the process by which a colony achieves independence from colonial power.
Imperialism
Imperialism is an attitude adopted by a state to assert superiority over other states or communities.
Constitution
Constitution: the fundamental standard, written or otherwise, of a sovereign state, establishing limits, defining government branch relations, and organizing institutions.
Parliamentary Monarchy
A parliamentary monarchy is a form of government common in Western democracies, where the monarch is Head of State under the control of the legislative (Parliament) and executive branches.
Technological Innovation
Technological Innovation: rapid technological advancement requiring significant capital investment, often leaving poorer countries behind in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution is a historical period (late 18th – early 19th century) of significant socio-economic, technological, and cultural transformations, starting in England and spreading to continental Europe.
Feudalism
He called feudalism the social, political, and economic system based on the feud that prevailed in Western Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries.
Socialism
Socialism is a social model advocating for the socialization of the means of production, where the state or community owns and manages productive assets, and distribution is egalitarian.
Barter
Barter is the exchange of objects or services for other objects or services.
Economic Liberalism
Economic liberalism is an economic theory developed during the Enlightenment (Adam Smith, David Ricardo) advocating for minimal state interference in the economy.
Market
Market: organizations or individuals with needs and desires, capable and willing to purchase goods and services.
Population Density
Population Density: number of inhabitants per square kilometer.
Birth Rate
Birth Rate: (Number of births in 1 year / number of inhabitants) X 1000
Demographic Transition Theory
The demographic transition theory explains global population growth patterns:
- Ancient Demographic Regime (before 1750): High birth and death rates, slow population growth.
- Demographic Transition (1750-1950): High birth rates, declining mortality, rapid population growth.
- Modern Demographic Regime (began 1950): Low birth and death rates in developed countries, slower growth; demographic explosion in developing countries.
Energy Sources
- Non-Renewable Energy Sources: coal, oil, natural gas. (Fossil fuels release CO2, altering Earth’s climate.)
- Renewable Energy Sources: hydroelectric, wind, solar, tidal, biomass, geothermal. (Less polluting, inexhaustible, but require significant investment and infrastructure.)
Land and Sea Distribution
- Hydrosphere: the water-covered part of the planet (71%).
- Lithosphere: the solid part of the planet, land and islands (29%).
- Oceans: large expanses of saltwater (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, Antarctic).
- Continents: large landmasses surrounded by seas and oceans (Europe, Asia, America, Africa, Antarctica, Oceania).
- Atmosphere: a layer of gases surrounding the Earth (mainly oxygen and nitrogen), composed of troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.
The Universe
The universe is made up of:
- Stars: celestial bodies that emit light (e.g., the Sun).
- Planets: celestial bodies that do not emit light and orbit a star.
- Satellites: celestial bodies without light that orbit a planet (e.g., the Moon).
- Comets: celestial bodies formed by rocks and frozen gases.
The Solar System
The Solar System consists of a star and planets (and minor planets) orbiting it:
8 Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
4 Dwarf Planets: Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Eris.