Statistical Terms Glossary

Electric railway vehicle designed for use on a metro line. It usually draws power from a third rail.

A large concentration of the population, usually an area with 100,000 or more inhabitants, and includes at least one main city center inhabited by 50,000 or more of the population, and all surrounding territories that are economically integrated with it. The criteria for the large civilian range vary from one city to another.

See Subordinated bond

In a venture capital operation, the stage in a company's development immediately before going public.

See Most favoured nation (MFN) principle

See Multi-factor productivity

Very small or microscopic. Basic or small-scale.

A micro-basin is a small earth basin with a nearly flat bottom surrounded by low bunds. These bunds are constructed to prevent lateral flow to adjacent fields. Micro-basins are commonly used for rice irrigation on flat lands or in terraces on hillsides. Trees can also be grown in micro-basins, with one tree in the middle of each micro-basin.

A microclimate is a climatic structure of a small area

Traditional edit performed on record-level data. The logical antonym to macroedit.

See Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

An editing procedure whereby detailed micro-edits are replaced
with a combination microedit and macro/statistical edit. The microedits in the combined procedure are less detailed than in the first. The idea is to “develop survey edits based upon an ‘impact on the estimates’ philosophy rather than a ‘catch all data inconsistencies’ philosophy”.

Plastics have become indispensible in many areas of modern life, used for clothing, storage, transportation, packaging, construction and a host of consumer goods. One of plastics’ greatest properties, its durability, is also one of the main reasons that plastics present a threat to the marine environment. The risk increases as long as plastic continues to enter the ocean. The term microplastics was introduced within the last decade to describe small pieces of plastic found in the ocean, commonly defined as < 5mm in diameter.

Broadly refers to all Microsoft certifications. But it can also refer to an individual who completes any exam within the program (subject to some exclusions).

A system in which micro mechanisms are coupled with microelectronics, most commonly fabricated as microsensors or micro actuators. Abbreviated MEMS. Also known as microsystem.

Digital wireless transmission system that works in the 2.2-2.4 GHz range. It requires line of sight between transmitter and receiver, which can be 30 or more miles apart. It was designed initially as a one-way service for bringing cable TV to subscribers in remote areas or in locations that are difficult to install cable. MMDS supports approximately 33 analog channels and more than 100 digital channels of TV. In late 1998, the FCC opened up the technology for two-way transmission, enabling MMDS to provide data and Internet services to subscribers.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mostly underwater mountain range of the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean that runs from 87° N (about 333 km south of the North Pole) to subantarctic Bouvet Island at 54° S. The highest peaks of this mountain range extend above the water mark, to form islands. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge forms part of the global mid-oceanic ridge system and, like all mid-oceanic ridges, is thought to result from a divergent boundary that separates tectonic plates: the North American Plate from the Eurasian Plate in the North Atlantic, and the South American Plate from the African Plate in the South Atlantic. These plates are still moving apart, so the Atlantic is growing at the ridge, at a rate of about 2.5 centimeters per year in an east–west direction.

The term MENA is an acronym referring to the Middle East and North Africa region. The term MENA covers an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including all Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries.

A subscription-only weekly newsletter focusing on the region’s energy strategies and developments, within their economic and political contexts. MEES charts trends in oil and gas, and the industries that rely on them.

The ICT Fund has a determined mission to provide targeted funding and advisory services to companies, organisations and individuals to empower them to develop the innovation and knowledge capital of the UAE ICT sector with their research, education and entrepreneurship. The Fund strives to promote a culture of entrepreneurship in the UAE ICT sector and improve linkage between industry and academia to ultimately promote the involvement of UAE nationals in the realm of scientific and technology research to foster self-reliance of the UAE in technology creation and development.

A price index that utilises either the quantity or value weights from an intermediate period that lies between the base period and the current period when the number of periods between them is odd or the average of the quantity or value weights for two consecutive intermediate periods that lie between the base period and the current period when the number of periods between them is even.

The EU Commission has published a Communication on the Mid-Term Review on the Common Agricultural Policy in July 2002, in January 2003 the Commission adopted a formal proposal. A formal decision on the "Cap reform" - a long-term perspective for sustainable agriculture was taken by the EU farm ministers. The reform includes far reaching amendments of current policies, including further reductions in support prices, partly offset by direct payments, and a further decoupling of most direct payments from current production.

Trawl towed by two boats, thus ensuring the horizontal opening of the net, these nets are designed and rigged to work in midwater. Surface trawls are also included in this category.