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health insurance
health insurance prepayment plan providing services or cash indemnities for medical care needed in times of illness or disability. It is effected by voluntary plans, either commercial or nonprofit, or by compulsory national insurance plans, usually connected with a social security program.
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insurance
insurance or assurance, device for indemnifying or guaranteeing an individual against loss. Reimbursement is made from a fund to which many individuals exposed to the same risk have contributed certain specified amounts, called premiums. Payment for an individual loss, divided among many, does ...
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terrorism
terrorism the threat or use of violence, often against the civilian population, to achieve political or social ends, to intimidate opponents, or to publicize grievances. The term dates from the Reign of Terror (1793-94) in the French Revolution but has taken on additional meaning in the 20th cent...
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initiation
initiation the transition and attendant ceremonies, such as ordeals and rites, involved in passing from one state or status to another, often from childhood to adulthood. It was among the most important social institutions of early humans. The ordeal measures the initiate's worthiness to enter the ...
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podzol
podzol or podzolic soil, member of a group of soils that are gray in color, have an ashy appearance, and extend immediately south of the tundra regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Although characteristically capped with an abundant surface accumulation of organic matter, these soils are often s...
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent U.S. federal executive agency designed to promote public confidence in banks and to provide insurance coverage for bank deposits up to $100,000 (temporarily increased to $250,000 from Oct., 2008, through Dec., 2009). The corporation was e...
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orbiting observatory
orbiting observatory research satellite designed to study solar radiation, electromagnetic radiation from distant stars, the earth's atmosphere , or the like. Because the atmosphere and other aspects of the earth's environment interfere with astronomical observations from the ground, especiall...
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social welfare
social welfare or public charity, organized provision of educational, cultural, medical, and financial assistance to the needy. Modern social welfare measures may include any of the following: the care of destitute adults; the treatment of the mentally ill; the rehabilitation of criminals; the ...
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Margaret Bourke-White
Margaret Bourke-White , 1904-71, American photo-journalist, b. New York City. One of the original staff photographers at Fortune, Life, and Time magazines, Bourke-White was noted for her coverage of World War II, particularly of the invasion of Russia and the liberation of Italy and of German co...
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Individual Retirement Account
Individual Retirement Account (IRA), tax-sheltered retirement plan, originally created (1974) to assist individuals not covered by company pensions. Under the U.S. tax law of 1981, IRA provisions were liberalized to allow individuals to contribute up to $2,000 per year (up from $1,500) to such acco...
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