- acidification
- when a substance becomes acidic, or is converted into an acid
- adaptation
- an evolutionary trait a plant or animal develops to better suit its environment
- Agricultural Revolution
- a period of massive change in the way that agriculture is practised
- agriculture
- the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool and other products
- anaerobic
- (organism) an organism that can live without free oxygen (oxygen in the air)
- animal husbandry
- the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock
- appropriate technology
- the idea that technology use in middle- and low-income countries should meet the community’s needs, be compatible with local socio-cultural traditions, and be cheap, small and promote independence by using local natural and human resources
- artisan mining
- individual or small group mining activity carried out using minimal machinery and very basic tools, such as a bucket and spade
- aspect
- the warming effect of the sun’s rays on vegetation
- bed and breakfast
- a guest house that just supplies sleeping accommodations and a meal in the morning
- biodiversity
- the diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat
- biofuel
- fuel made from natural sources
- biome
- grouping of plant and animal communities that have adapted to inhabit particular parts of the Earth’s surface
- bund
- an embankment, like that of a river’s edge
- capacitor
- a passive electronic component – it does not require extra electricity to function – that, in a circuit, holds a voltage, or a charge, for a specific period of time when the electronic device is unplugged from an electrical outlet
- cereal crop
- grasses grown to produce edible grains, such as wheat, oats and rice
- chlorophyll
- the green substance in plants that allows them to use the energy from the sun
- city
- a larger town; in Australia this is generally defined by being a metropolitan area
- climate
- the long-term changes in temperature and rainfall experienced in an area
- climax vegetation
- the most dominant form of vegetation in an area
- cloud computing
- broadly, programs and services available via the internet: the ‘cloud’ is used as a metaphor to symbolise the worldwide and intangible character of the internet
- colonisation
- the process in which a species enters a new area and dominates it
- coloniser
- the first to inhabit an area
- commodity
- a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee
- conflict mineral
- a mineral mined in areas where there are armed conflict and human rights abuses
- confluence
- the point at which rivers meet
- coniferous
- describing an evergreen tree that grows cones
- consensus
- an agreement reached by a group as a whole
- crepuscular
- active at dawn or in the early evening
- Crown land
- land owned by the government
- deciduous
- describing trees that drop their leaves each year, typically for winter
- decomposer
- an animal, fungus or bacterium that breaks down or cleans up waste matter
- demographic
- related to the structure of a population
- desert
- an area that receives less than 250 millimetres rainfall per year
- diaspora
- a community of people who have had to leave their homeland but wish to return or remain connected to it
- digital divide
- inequalities in access and use of technology between countries, or between rural and urban regions, and even between men and women
- diurnal
- active during the day
- domestic tourism
- where people travel within their own country for recreation
- domesticated
- describing a plant grown from seeds originally harvested from plants growing wild, and which are used to plant areas such as rice fields
- domestication
- the process of taming animals or cultivating plants for uses that benefit humans
- dryland agriculture
- farming that depends only on natural rainfall and soil moisture to water crops
- dugout
- a shelter that is dug in the ground and roofed over
- ecology
- the way in which everything living interacts with the world around it
- economic development
- improvement in the standard of living in a region as measured by financial indicators
- economy of scale
- the advantage that a larger producer or consumer has over a smaller one because of costs that do not increase proportionately with size or amount purchased
- ecosystem
- an area of the Earth’s surface where living organisms interact with parts of the Earth
- El Niño
- extensive warming of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, leading to an increased possibility of dry conditions in eastern Australia
- environmental degradation
- a change or disturbance to the environment perceived as harmful or undesirable
- erosion
- the weaning away of the surface of the Earth by the action of water and wind
- eutrophication
- an excess of nutrients in water, resulting in an increase of bacteria and plant life, which leads to the deaths of animals as the oxygen levels in the water decrease
- evapotranspiration
- the process by which water evaporates from land and water and is expired from plant material and joins the atmosphere
- e-waste (electronic waste)
- rubbish created by throwing away used electronic devices and components, such as batteries; also, the disposal of materials involved in their manufacture or use
- expatriate
- a person who lives and works outside their native country
- extensive agriculture
- crop or livestock production over large areas of land that requires fewer inputs such as labour; one example is wool production
- exurbia
- a residential area beyond the suburbs
- factory farm
- a farm where many animals are raised together in a small space
- fair trade
- trade based on the buying and selling of products (usually from poorer nations) that have been mined, grown or manufactured under humane working conditions, with appropriate wages for the workers and minimal environmental impact
- floating
- (a company) letting the public buy shares in it; this gives the company money to invest or spend
- food chain
- the sequence of feeding arrangements in an ecosystem in which each member may be food for the next highest member of the chain
- food security
- the knowledge that enough food will be provided for the population now and in the future
- footloose
- able to relocate easily
- fragmented
- broken up into smaller or separate parts
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
- the total value of all goods and services produced in a particular country; often used to compare the size of national economies
- geographical concept
- a key notion or idea that helps us to explore, understand and explain features, patterns and relationships on the Earth’s surface
- global citizenship
- our rights and responsibilities as citizens of the global community as well as our rights and responsibilities as citizens in our local community and the country we live in
- globalisation
- the process by which the world is becoming more interconnected, with an increase in social and economic integration between countries (for example, an increase in international trade and communication)
- governance
- the set of rules, organising processes and structures that groups, societies and countries follow to make decisions and maintain order in their day-to-day living
- Green Revolution
- a period beginning in the 1940s where new agricultural techniques brought great increases in production and greatly decreased the incidence of hunger worldwide
- gross national income (GNI) per capita
- the average total annual income of each person in a particular country
- hectare
- a unit of land equal to 10 000 square metres
- high-yielding varies (HYVs)
- varieties developed by selective breeding and cross-breeding to achieve faster growth and to produce more seeds
- hi-tech
- products and technology that are complex, and that use or produce the latest advances in computers and electronics
- hunting and gathering
- the practice of obtaining food requirements through the hunting of wild animals and the collection of naturally growing plants and plant products
- identity
- the ways in which we define ourselves
- immigrant
- a person who has left their country of origin and settled in a new country
- industrialism
- when a country’s economic and social systems become based on the production of goods through mechanised industries in urban centres, rather than through agriculture
- industry
- a type of commerce or business, such as the metal industry or the tourism industry
- information and communications technology (ICT)
- devices that can electronically receive, store, retrieve and manipulate digital data, and communication technologies, such as the internet and wireless, that transmit information
- in situ
- in the original position; not having been moved
- intensive agriculture
- where the land is intensively farmed with high inputs of things such as labour, water and fertiliser; one example is wheat production
- international tourism
- where people travel outside their own country for recreation
- internet
- a worldwide interconnected network of computers
- intertidal wetland
- the part of a shore between the high water and the low water marks
- irrigation
- the process of supplying water to a crop, typically via channels
- La Niña
- cooling of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, leading to an increased possibility of wet conditions in eastern Australia
- landscape aesthetic
- the way a person responds to their environment
- leaching
- the draining of water-soluble compounds out of the soil by the flow of water
- legume
- a type of plant, such as clover, soybeans and lupins, that carries nodules on its roots; working with certain bacteria, legumes are responsible for the fixing of nitrogen in the soil
- low- or middle-income country
- a country that has a lower GNI per capita than wealthier countries
- maize
- a grain known in most English-speaking countries as ‘corn’
- manufacture
- to produce something in a mechanical way
- megatrend
- a major movement, pattern or trend emerging in the global environment
- metropolitian
- relating to a large city, its surrounding suburbs and other neighbouring communities
- migration
- movement from one location to another
- monocot
- a flowering plant that grows its parts in threes (the number of petals is typically a multiple of three); it only produces one embryonic leaf (cotyledon) in its seeds
- monoculture
- the growing of a single crop in an area
- nitrogen
- an odourless, colourless, unreactive gas forming about 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere
- nocturnal
- active at night
- nomadic herding
- moving cattle or other animals, such as goats or yaks, from place to place as food becomes available and so as not to exhaust the biome
- north–south gap
- the gap between the economically ‘richer’ and economically ‘poorer’ countries of the world – the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’
- nostalgia
- remembering good things about the past
- ocean current
- the regular movement of water in the ocean in a particular direction
- offshoring
- moving a business activity or part of a business activity to an overseas location
- offsite sedimentation
- the contamination of waterways by accumulated sediments washed from the land
- orographic rainfall
- rainfall produced when rain-bearing winds are forced upwards by mountain ranges; they then form clouds and (often) rain
- outsourcing
- contracting part of a business function to another person or business
- panicle
- a cluster of rice flowers from which the grain develops
- pastoral land
- land used for the grazing of cattle or sheep
- penal colony
- an institution where prisoners are held (often located on an island or an isolated location from which escape is difficult, or impossible)
- peri-urban
- areas just beyond the boundaries of the major urban centres
- perpetual frost
- an area that is constantly covered in ice, such as the polar caps
- personal mobility
- one’s ability to move around
- pesticides
- substances used to destroy insects and other organisms that can harm or damage plants or animals
- phosphate
- the salt of phosphoric acid, which is commonly used as fertiliser
- photosynthesis
- the process of plants converting sunlight to energy
- population
- the number of people residing in an area
- precipitation
- water, in forms such as rain, snow or hail, that condenses in the air, becomes too dense to remain suspended, and falls to the Earth’s surface
- primary producer
- an animal that eats only plant matter
- principles
- rules or morals that a person or company/group decides to follow
- rainforest
- a tropical forest environment with a large rainfall
- rural–urban migration
- the movement of workers from farmlands to cities and other urban areas
- salinisation
- when salt is deposited on the soil
- salinity
- the level of salt in soil and water
- savanna
- a grassy plain with scattered trees and shrubs
- scale
- (on a map) the amount by which the real world has been reduced so that it fits onto the map
- sea changer
- the colloquial term for a person who opts for what they perceive as an improved quality of life by the coast
- selector
- a farmer, often with few resources, who bought a small parcel of land following the land reforms in Australia in the 1860s
- sequent occupance
- land use changing over a period of time
- service centre
- a settlement (village, town or city) that has shops and services such as education, health and banking; larger service centres (cities) have a greater range of services than smaller service centres
- shareholder
- a person with a financial interest in a company
- smelter
- a factory where a metal (such as tantalum) is melted under extreme heat to separate the mineral (such as coltan) from the ore containing the mineral; conflict-free smelters use only minerals from lawful sources
- soil acidification
- a gradual increase in the acidity of a soil, which reduces crop productivity
- solstice
- the two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the winter solstice is the shortest
- squatter
- a farmer who in colonial Australia occupied large tracts of Crown land in order to raise sheep or cattle
- staple food
- the most commonly eaten food in a specific region
- subsistence
- (agriculture) producing just enough for the family to survive
- surplus
- excess
- sustainable agriculture
- farming that is conducted in a way that preserves resources
- synthetic pesticide
- a pesticide in which the active ingredient has been manufactured (as opposed to a natural pesticide, in which the active ingredient occurs naturally)
- tantalum
- a heat-resistant powder, refined from ores such as coltan (columbite–tantalite), that can hold a high electric charge
- tariff
- a government tax on imports and exports
- temperate
- belonging to a broad climate zone between the tropics and the poles
- title deed
- a legal document that shows ownership of a piece of land
- topography
- the natural or artificial features of an area
- town
- a built-up area somewhere between a city and a village in size
- trace element
- a chemical element required only in minute amounts by living organisms for normal growth
- trade
- the buying and selling of goods and services
- transnational companies
- (or corporations) companies that operate their businesses in and across more than one country; also called multinational companies
- tundra
- an area where plant growth is limited by low temperatures and a short growing season; usually found at high latitudes or high altitudes
- turbidity
- cloudiness in the water due to the presence of extremely fine soil particles that are held in suspension
- urbanisation
- an increase in the proportion of people living in built-up areas
- vegetative phase
- the stage at which a plant produces its leaves
- venture capitalist
- a company or individual that invest large sums of money in small companies to help them start up and grow
- vineyard
- a plantation where grapevines are grown, usually for use in wine-making
- water table
- the level below which the ground is saturated with water
- weather
- the state of the atmosphere at a given time
- winery
- a place where wine is made
- World Wide Web (WWW)
- the sites and pages that are connected across the internet
- worldview
- the collection of ideas, beliefs and spiritual connections through which we – personally, as groups and as cultures – understand, connect with and interact with the world
- xeric
- extremely dry, or adapted to extremely dry conditions
- zonation
- variation in plant life due to differing environmental conditions
- 1848 revolution
- an uprising in the Netherlands by middle-class people who wanted more political rights
- absolute monarchy
- a political system in which monarchs have complete power, including over armed forces
- age of consent
- the minimum age at which it is legal for a person to have sexual intercourse
- amphibious
- involving land forces that arrive by sea
- animism
- the belief that spirits exist in inanimate objects, including plants, mountains and weather phenomena
- anti-colonialism
- a belief that a state or country should be independent, and not under the rule of another country
- anti-racism
- opposition to any form of racism
- anti-semitism
- prejudice against or hatred of Jewish people
- arbitration
- settling disputes by using an independent judge
- aristocracy
- a privileged upper class of hereditary nobles
- Armageddon
- from the Bible, the last battle between good and evil
- armaments
- military weapons and equipment
- armistice
- the ending of hostilities by mutual agreement
- attrition
- the wearing down of enemy numbers by constant attack
- bannermen
- a professional military group loyal to the Chinese emperor, in which positions were inherited by family members
- bends
- a condition divers can acquire by surfacing too quickly from deep water
- benevolent asylum
- an institution used to house impoverished families who could not support themselves
- bereavement
- the deprivation of relations and friends through death
- bicameral parliament
- a parliament consisting of two houses or chambers
- blockade
- isolation of an area by hostile ships or forces in order to prevent the entrance and exit of traffic and commerce
- bluestocking
- an insulting term for women who pursued higher learning in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
- bourgeoisie
- capitalist owners and rulers
- boycott
- the refusal to buy goods, usually for political reasons
- British Raj
- British rule in India
- cameleer
- a camel driver
- canal
- an artificial waterway large enough for boats to travel upon
- capitalism
- an economic system based on private ownership and free-market enterprise
- capitalist
- a businessperson who seeks profit by using others’ labour
- carding
- the process of combing raw wool or cotton to make it smooth and to remove impurities
- cash crop
- a crop grown for sale, rather than to feed farmers or their stock
- casualties
- those wounded or killed in war
- catalyst
- a person or thing precipitating a change
- cavalry
- soldiers who fight on horseback
- Chartism
- a social movement of people committed to the People’s Charter, a set of basic political claims, including the right to vote
- chattel
- a movable property or slave
- cochineal
- a scarlet dye made from the cochineal insect
- cohong
- a guild or group of 13 merchants who were authorised by the Chinese emperor to have a monopoly over trade, especially tea and silk, with the West
- collectivism
- an outlook that places the interests of individuals as subordinate to the group for the benefit of all
- colonial system
- arrangements made for the successful operation of colonies
- colony
- a settlement formed in a conquered territory
- commodity
- an item that is bought or sold, especially a raw material or something that is manufactured, for which there is a commercial demand
- conciliation
- establishing goodwill
- Confucianism
- a philosophy derived from teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE)
- conscript
- a person who is enrolled for compulsory military service
- conscription
- compulsory enlistment for military service
- coolie
- an insulting term for Indian and Chinese indentured workers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
- daimyo
- a feudal Japanese lord, roughly equivalent to a medieval European duke or earl
- demobilisation
- disbanding troops back into civilian life
- depot
- a station for assembling recruits
- diaspora
- the forced or voluntary movement of people from their homeland to new regions
- discriminatory
- showing an unfair bias or prejudice
- dispossession
- taking a people’s land or dislodging or removing them from their territory
- diversion
- a strategy designed to divert an enemy’s attention
- domestic system
- a system of production in houses, cottages and villages, using hand-operated tools
- dripping
- fat melted from roasted meat and used for cooking or as a spread on bread or damper
- drover
- a person who drives a herd of animals long distances
- egalitarianism
- the idea that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities
- Eight Regent Ministers
- the ministers entrusted by Xianfeng Emperor before his death to guide his son when he assumed the throne
- emancipist
- a convict who served their term of imprisonment and became a free member of colonial society
- embarkation
- going on board a ship or plane
- Enlightenment
- a philosophical movement that placed emphasis on reason rather than tradition and gave rise to many progressive ideas
- entrepreneur
- one who undertakes an enterprise with a chance of profit or loss
- equilibrium
- a state of balance
- ethnic
- of a social group with a common national or cultural heritage
- eugenist
- a person who wants to improve natural characteristics by controlled breeding
- eulogy
- a speech praising a person, usually given at their funeral
- exemption
- freedom from an imposition
- extraterritoriality
- an exemption to local law; typically as a result of diplomatic negotiations
- factory system
- a system where many workers gather in a factory to operate large-scale machinery
- female infanticide
- the killing of female infants
- feminism
- advocacy for the belief that men and women are equals and should enjoy all the same rights
- feminist
- a person who believes that women and men are equals and should enjoy all the same rights
- fire-stick farming
- environmental management to create regeneration and grasslands by controlled burning
- foot-binding
- the painful practice of tightly binding the feet of young women, breaking the foot bones to stop their feet from growing; it was thought to make the women, beautiful, dainty and feminine
- fossil fuel
- a non-renewable fuel formed by geological pressure over a long time span
- furlough
- military leave of absence
- girmit
- a term for an Indian indentured labourer; derived from the word ‘agreement’
- global warming
- a rise in the Earth’s average temperature due to the atmosphere’s inability to release heat because of the growth of greenhouse gas emissions
- governess
- a female teacher, usually teaching children in a private house
- Grand Canal
- begun in 486 BCE; the longest artificial waterway in the world; crucial for transportation of goods and people in China
- greenhouse gas
- a gas, such as carbon dioxide, that contributes to the insulating effect of the Earth’s atmosphere
- Han Chinese
- the largest ethnic group in China
- hierarchy
- a system of organisation in which individuals or groups are ranked one above the other
- Hindu
- a member of India’s major religion, which involves the worship of many gods and a belief in reincarnation
- hoeing
- using a long-handled tool to dig the earth
- homogeneous
- similar or of the same type
- howitzer
- a big gun for the high-angle firing of shells
- Hun
- an offensive term for a German person
- imperialism
- the domination of one or more nations by another, which seeks to use the wealth and people of the dominated nation for its own interests
- incapacitated
- permanently injured
- indentured labour
- a system in which workers enter contracts to perform labour at reduced wages for a certain period of time, usually at a place far from their home
- indigenous
- native to, or belonging to, a particular land or region
- Indigenous
- relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- individualism
- an outlook that emphasises the rights and interests of individuals
- infantry
- soldiers who fight on foot
- infrastructure
- structures (for example, roads, railway lines and canals) needed for the operation of a particular service
- intoxicant
- alcoholic drink
- intrigue
- a secret and underhand scheme
- investment
- the commitment of money or capital with the aim of gaining a profitable return
- inviolable
- not to be injured or disturbed
- iron gang
- a party of convict workers undergoing further punishment by being chained together
- irregulars
- troops that do not belong to the regular army
- Islam
- a religion based upon belief in one God of whom Muhammad is the chief and last prophet
- junk
- a Chinese sailing ship or river boat
- kanaka
- a disparaging term for a South Sea Islander brought to Australia to work; the word is derived from the Melanesian term kanak, meaning ‘person’
- kowtow
- to kneel and bow, touching one’s forehead to the ground
- land fill
- buried waste
- lithography
- the process of making a drawing or design on a stone or metal plate, so that multiple impressions in ink can be taken from it
- loom
- a machine on which thread is woven into cloth
- lugger
- a small sailing boat with two or three masts used for pearling or fishing near the coast
- manhood suffrage
- the right of all adult men to vote in parliamentary elections
- mechanisation
- the invention and use of machines for farming, production and transport
- merchant
- a person who buys and sells goods
- merchant ship
- a ship designed and used for commercial purposes (trading, buying and selling)
- militia
- a military force made up of ordinary citizens rather than highly trained soldiers
- missionary
- a person sent to spread a particular religious faith in another country
- mortality rate
- the measure of total deaths in relation to a total population
- Mughal emperors
- Muslim rulers who were in power in India from around 1525 to 1857
- muster
- gathering together a group of people to check their identity against a list or roll
- mutiny
- open revolt by soldiers or sailors against their officers
- nationalism
- devotion to national identity, or patriotism
- neutrality
- not helping or supporting either of the opposing sides
- Opium Wars
- wars in 1839–42 and 1856–60 between China and the British Empire over trade and diplomatic relations
- outside daimyo
- a daimyo (lord) whose lands were distant from Edo, the Japanese capital
- Owenite
- the term given to a follower of Robert Owen’s movement of an idealistic, socialist society
- pacifist
- a person who believes that war and violence are morally unjustifiable
- pandemic
- infectious disease that spreads over a large area of the world
- pastoralism
- the raising of sheep and cattle
- pastoralist
- a person who runs sheep and cattle on large landholdings
- pauper
- a very poor person
- peerage
- a system of hereditary noble ranks, such as duke, duchess, count and countess
- penal colony
- a colony that serves as a prison
- pie-melon jam
- jam made from tasteless melons that grew plentifully in paddocks
- pilgrimage
- a journey to a place of particular religious, personal or political significance
- pogrom
- a violent mob attack, often on Jewish people, that may be government-sanctioned
- polarise
- to divide into two opposing groups
- polygamy
- a system where men can have more than one wife
- privation
- lack of life’s necessities
- pseudonym
- a false name used by writers to hide their real identity
- Quaker
- a member of a Christian group, the Society of Friends, often involved in humanitarian campaigns and opposed to war
- real wages
- the purchasing power of earnings relative to prices
- real of eight
- an old silver coin, about 38 millimetres in diameter; also known as the Spanish dollar
- referendum
- taking a political question to the electorate to get a direct decision from voters
- regent
- a person who rules on behalf of a monarch who is too young or ill to take the throne
- rehabilitate
- restore to normal life
- repatriate
- to send someone back to their country of origin
- restricted property franchise
- an electoral system where voting is restricted to people with a substantial amount of property
- rural
- of the countryside
- samurai
- the hereditary warrior class of Japan
- Sanskrit
- an ancient language in which sacred Hindu texts were written in about 2000 BCE
- schism
- division of one group into opposing parties
- Scottish Enlightenment
- refers to a group of Scottish thinkers (Adam Smith, David Hume, etc.) who espoused the ideas of the Enlightenment
- secular
- non-religious
- servile
- slave-like
- settler colony
- a colony developed by free individuals, usually with the protection and assistance of a parent government
- Shinto
- a Japanese religion involving worship of ancestors and nature
- shogun
- the military dictator of Japan
- social Darwinism
- the idea that only the ‘fittest’ or most suited individuals or nations or races survive
- socialism
- a political ideology based on shared contributions to and shared benefits from society and the economy
- spindle
- a circular rod on which raw wool is twisted and formed into a thread
- squatter
- an Australian settler who ran sheep or cattle on large tracts of land without the permission of the government
- stagflation
- inflation coupled with high unemployment and stagnant economic growth
- stalemate
- a situation where opposing forces are deadlocked, so no winner is possible
- standard of living
- a measure of how well people live, with regard to their diet, housing, education and health
- status quo
- the existing state of things
- suffrage
- the right to vote in political elections
- sultanate
- a territory ruled by an Islamic leader (sultan)
- sustainability
- the ability to replace resources as we consume them
- Taiping Rebellion
- a civil war across south China in 1850–64 led by Hong Xiuquan
- tallow
- animal fat that is melted down to make soap and candles
- tariff
- government tax charged on imported or exported goods
- tenement
- a room or rooms forming a separate residence within a house
- trade union
- an organisation of workers joining together in order to achieve common goals such as better wages or working conditions
- treason
- the betrayal of one’s country, particularly by trying to kill a national leader or overthrow a government
- trench foot
- a painful destruction of foot tissue caused by continual immersion in cold water or mud
- two-up
- a gambling game played with two pennies, with bets placed on a showing of two ‘heads’ or two ‘tails’ when the coins land after being tossed in the air
- unequal treaty
- a treaty that is far more favourable to one country than the other; often the result of a military threat or defeat
- unfree labour
- a system in which labourers are compelled to work and are not paid wages
- urbanisation
- the growth of cities
- vassal state a
- state that pays tribute, either monetarily or militarily
- veteran
- returned soldier
- xenophobia
- having a hatred or fear of foreigners or foreign cultures and customs
- award
- an agreement that sets out the minimum terms and conditions of employment relating to an industry
- brand
- the distinguishing name, term, symbol or design used to identify a manufacturer’s product
- brand leader
- the brand in the market with the highest market share
- budget deficit
- where government spends more money than it receives in taxation and other revenue in order to expand economic activity
- budget surplus
- where the government spends less money than it receives in revenue in order to contract economic activity
- budgetary (fiscal) policy
- policy that sets out the revenue and expenditure of the government (both federal and state level)
- card skimming
- a scam that involves using a skimmer to collect information from a credit or debit card
- collective agreement
- an agreement that results from negotiations between an employer and employers at a workplace to determine pay and working conditions
- commodity
- a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee
- comparative advantage
- the ability to produce goods and/or services at a lower opportunity cost than other firms or individuals; the ability to sell goods and services at a lower price than competitors
- competition
- the rivalry that occurs among sellers in their desire to seek and satisfy a market
- competitive advantage
- a point of difference or superiority held over a business’ competitors
- composition of trade
- types of products (goods and/or services) being traded
- consumer
- a customer or shopper who purchases goods and services
- containerisation
- the practice of transporting cargo in containers that can be used on ships, trucks and trains
- debt
- money that is owed to another party
- deregulation
- removal of laws and regulations
- direction of trade
- refers to the particular countries and kinds of countries towards which a country’s exports are sent, and from which its imports are brought
- discrimination
- any practice that makes distinctions between different groups based on a range of characteristics such as sex, race, age and religion
- dividend
- a sum of money paid regularly (typically half-yearly) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits
- e-commerce
- commercial transactions conducted electronically on the internet
- economies of scale
- a proportionate saving in costs gained by an increased level of production
- employed
- describes a person over the age of 15 years who has worked for 1 or more hours for payment
- employee relations
- the relationship between employees (and their representatives) and employers (and their representatives) encompassing all aspects of their working lives including wages and conditions of employment
- employer association
- a group of employers who unite to promote their common interest in employee relations as well as to share information and offer mutual support
- entrepreneur
- an employee within a business who is takes risks, demonstrates innovative practices and often turns an idea into a profitable product or service for the business
- ethics
- a set of moral principles that a business needs to establish and follow
- expatriate worker
- an employee temporarily working in a foreign nation
- exports
- goods and services that are produced domestically and sold abroad
- factors of production
- a term used to describe the inputs used in the production of goods and services
- Fair Work Commission
- the national workplace relations tribunal responsible for dealing with workplace matters including dispute resolution, wages and terminations
- Fair Work Ombudsman
- a central point of contact for the Australian national workplace with the power to investigate allegations of workplace discrimination and then start legal proceedings against the employer
- free market
- a market economy based on supply and demand with little or no government intervention
- Global Financial Crisis (GFC)
- a worldwide economic issue that started in the United States and adversely affected economic activity around most of the world
- globalisation
- the growing integration of national economies and societies, so that no society is isolated and unaffected by changes and developments in other countries
- government
- a group with authority to govern a country or state
- identity theft
- theft that occurs is when a person’s identity is assumed to gain goods, services, money and other benefits, or to avoid obligations
- import quota
- restriction on the quantity of a specific product to be imported over a given period of time
- imports
- purchases of foreign goods and services; the opposite of exports
- insolvency
- the inability of a debtor to pay their debt
- insurance
- a service created to provide financial protection against loss, damage, illness or death
- intermediate product
- a good or service that is used in the eventual production of a finished product (for example, sugar and car components)
- logistics
- the activities related to product distribution between companies and to the consumer
- lottery scam
- a scam that typically begins with a false notification that someone has won something, but they need to supply an advance fee to collect their prize
- market
- any place where the sellers of a particular good or service can meet with the buyers of that good and service and where there is potential for a transaction to take place
- market share
- the percentage of total sales in a market held by one brand or business
- mass production
- production of large quantities of a standardised article (often using assembly line techniques)
- mixed economy
- an economic system that is partially free enterprise and partially under government control
- money transfer scam
- a false request for a large sum of money to be transferred to the scammer, usually under a false identity
- monopoly
- a market containing a single business
- multinational organisation
- an organisation with branches in more than one nation
- national comparative advantage
- an economic concept that states that a country should specialise in production and export of only goods and services it can produce more efficiently than other goods and services (which it should import)
- National Employment Standards
- the 10 minimum conditions that provide a safety net for employees
- open innovation
- a concept that encourages utilising external and internal knowledge by sharing knowledge
- outsourcing
- where a company gives some of its roles or functions to another company; for example, information technology is often outsourced
- phishing
- a scam where someone tries to trick you into giving them your personal details
- price mechanism
- an economic system where the forces of demand and supply determine how economic resources will be utilised
- primary sector
- a sector of the economy relating to natural resources
- producer
- a person or business that makes a good or provides a service to consumers
- product differentiation
- the way products are developed and advertised with unique selling points to make them appear different from others on the market
- quaternary sector
- the branch of the tertiary sector that provides intellectual activities
- quinary sector
- the branch of the tertiary sector that contains businesses that are in hospitality and services such as household services
- scam
- a strategy used to steal money or identity from unsuspecting people
- shareholder
- any person, company or other institution that owns at least one share in a company
- social media
- websites, applications and platforms that allow users to create and share content
- social responsibility
- the accountability of a business towards its stakeholders; the idea that businesses should contribute to the welfare of their community
- stakeholder
- an individual or group that has a direct or vested interest in the activities of a business
- start-up company
- a newly established business
- superannuation
- a compulsory payment made into a fund by an employee or employer that is invested and goes towards the person’s pension
- supply chain
- a system of organisations, people, resources and information involved in getting a product or service from suppliers to consumers
- supply chain management (SCM)
- the efficient use of resources, the production process and distribution of the finished product
- tariff
- a tax or levy on imported goods and services
- tertiary sector
- a sector of the economy relating to products known as services
- trade
- exchange of goods and services between countries
- Trade Confidence Index
- an index that measures the confidence of businesses involved in exporting goods and services to other countries
- trade union
- an association of workers in a trade or profession focused on protecting rights and interests of employees
- transnational corporation
- a firm owning or controlling production facilities in more than one country through foreign investment
- unemployed
- describes a person over the age of 15 years who has not been paid for any work and has actively looked for work within a 4-week period
- work
- the process whereby a person provides labour or other resources in return for a reward or remuneration
- work from home scam
- typically a get-rich-quick scheme that convinces victims to take on a role of working from home doing minimal work for large sums of money; money is taken from the victim in the form of fees and false investments
- worker (employee)
- a person who works for themselves or a business to produce a product or service
- civil law
- a body of law concerned with disputes between individuals, organisations or between the two, and compensation for the victim
- common law
- a body of law concerned with law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals
- Commonwealth law
- laws made by the federal government
- criminal law
- a body of law concerned with crime and the legal punishment of criminal offences
- disparity
- a large difference
- electorate
- an area with a member of parliament representing it
- global citizenship
- practising awareness of the wider world and having a sense of your own role as a citizen of the world
- habeas corpus
- a judicial law that requires all prisoners to be brought before a court to determine whether the government has the right to continue to detain them
- hung parliament
- an even division of seats between the two major political parties
- minority government
- a government that is formed when a party does not have a majority of seats in parliament, but is sworn into government by outside support
- national identity
- a collection of shared feelings, attitudes and values that represent an entire country
- non-governmental organisation (NGO)
- an organisation working on important human rights issues without influence and orders from a government
- Opposition
- the political party which has most seats, but does not have enough to hold a majority
- parliamentary majority
- held by the political party with the most amount of seats in the House of Representatives
- precedent
- an earlier action or decision that will influence all other following decisions on the issue
- representative democracy
- where people elect others to represent them in a decision-making process