Key terms & definitions

Learning norms, values and behaviour through educational experiences rather than through planned subject teaching; this includes the hidden curriculum.

Influence over another territory through economic, diplomatic or military power without fully annexing it as a colony.

Work that is not fully registered or regulated by the authorities, often without formal contracts or employment protections.

Influence exercised outside an official governmental role, for example through personal connections, persuasion or public pressure.

Influence that does not depend on holding an officially recognised position.

Prayer expressed in a believer’s own words rather than a set text; it may be spontaneous.

Work outside formal registration and regulation, often without secure contracts or legal employment protections.

An area of housing developed outside formal planning or land-ownership arrangements, often with inadequate infrastructure and services.

Control exercised through everyday social reactions, such as approval, ridicule or exclusion, usually enforcing unwritten expectations.

Learning through everyday work, such as watching an experienced colleague and receiving guidance, rather than following a structured course.

Christian worship with a spontaneous or less formal style, allowing worshippers to express their faith freely.

A person who supplies information about other people to the authorities, sometimes secretly.

Meaning carried by variations in a wave, such as the pattern representing speech in a sound wave.

Using media to gain knowledge, learn about events or understand an issue.

Technology used to store, process and communicate information, including computers, internet connections and mobile networks.

Computers, software and communication technologies used to store, process and share information.

The process of receiving information, choosing a response, carrying it out and using feedback to inform future responses.

A sequence of mental operations through which information is taken in, encoded, stored, retrieved and used.

Action whose purpose, message and method are shaped by research evidence rather than unsupported assumptions.

Agreement given freely after a person has received and understood relevant information about a treatment's possible benefits, risks and alternatives.

Voluntary agreement to a treatment or test after understanding its purpose, possible benefits and risks.

Voluntary agreement to participate after receiving enough information to understand the research and one's role in it.

Agreement to take part in research after receiving enough information to make a free and informed decision.

A judgement supported by reasons and specific details, rather than simply stated as a preference.

An interpretation supported by knowledge of the text and reasoned analysis, rather than an unsupported opinion or a general statement about feelings.

Electromagnetic radiation beyond the red end of visible light, emitted by warm objects and used for heating, imaging and communication.

An instrument that responds to infrared radiation, allowing radiation from different surfaces to be compared.

Radiation emitted by Earth's warmed surface and absorbed by greenhouse gases.

Electromagnetic radiation emitted by warm objects; Earth’s warmed surface emits long-wavelength infrared radiation.

Electromagnetic radiation associated with heating that can transfer energy to or from an object.