Переводчик Островская Екатерина Евгеньевна

The human being has been struggling in order to shape the ecosphere in a manner he wants since the first day. The period in which this struggle was observed most intensively was the period covering the transition from a migrant and primitive
hunter society to a resident life and farming. The most deep-seated environmental modification against the nature that had been realized in the history of the human being has started at this time. Even the development and downfall of civilizations are correlated to this interaction between the human being and nature.
Dams have one of the most important roles in utilizing water resources. They were started to construct long years before gaining present information about hydrology and hydromechanics.
Dams have a great deal of positive and negative effects on the environment besides their benefits like controlling stream regimes, consequently preventing floods, obtaining domestic and irrigation water from the stored water and generating energy. Wherever the location of a dam is, its ecological results are the same.

False acacia, black locust. Fabaceae, tribe Robinieae. Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a deciduous, broad-leaved tree, up to 20 m high but, occasionally taller. Bark greyish-brown to dark brown, becoming longitudinally fissured with age. Branchlets greyish-brown and sparsely hairy. Winter buds small, hairy. Leaves imparipinnate, 20–35 cm long, rachis adaxially grooved. Leaflets in 2–12 pairs, usually opposite, with an additional one at the end of the rachis; blades oblong, elliptic or ovate, 2–5 × 1.5–2.5 cm, margin entire. Young leaflets appressed hairy, glabrous at maturity. Stipules modified to dark brown spines up to 2 cm long. Flowers fragrant, in pendulous, many-flowered, axillary racemes 10–20 cm. Corolla white to cream, with yellow spots inside, up to 2 cm long. Pod brown or with reddish-brown stripes, linear-oblong, 5–12 × 1–1.5 cm, compressed, with narrow wings along a ventral suture and 2–15 seeds; calyx persistent. Seeds brown to dark brown, slightly glossy, 5–6 mm long and c. 3 mm wide, rounded and oblique to one end.

Water flows in rivers are regulated by a number of natural and
human factors. At the highest level there is the climate, where water flows are regulated by the balance between precipitation and evapotranspiration. The magnitude and timing of flows depends on the season when rainfalls occur and the nature of the precipitation-whether it is snow or rain. The magnitude and timing is also influenced by geology, land cover, the presence of lakes, and by humans. Humans manipulate rivers with dams for hydropower generation and irrigation and abstraction of water for run-of-river irrigation or municipal supply.
In New Zealand a wide range of river types reflect the parame-
ters regulating the river: boulder-filled mountain torrents, issuing
from glaciers in mountains only a few kilometres from the coast;
wide, braided, gravel-bedded channels; meandering silt water-courses; and tree-lined urban waterways. Some rivers that rise in the high mountains may change dramatically along their course, before discharging via a lagoon or estuary to the sea. Rivers rising in the foothills or from lowland springs tend to have more uniform morphology.
But every river has its own unique character. What makes each
one different? The answer lies in the combination of physical and
climatic features and human influences that regulate the
flows and influence what we call the “flow regime” or “hydrologic regime” of a river.

Tbilisi is famous for its diverse architecture that occurred due to the blend of different cultures. Yet since it is a small city, you may easily find buildings from different periods occupying the same street. But few tourists know about incredible old houses hidden in different districts of the city that can be considered excellent representatives of its architectural heritage. Here we present three most exceptional old houses of Tbilisi, which are distinct for their unique design, architecture and amazing entrance halls.

A unique stained glass house on Betlemi Street

This eye-catching vintage house is the only house decorated with colorful stained glass windows on Tbilisi’s Betlemi Street, which is built on the Sololaki rocky slope. The old building dates back to the 19th century and is one of the distinct attractions for the tourists, having preserved its stained glass windows for over a hundred years. The building’s balconies are decorated with exquisite carvings and ornaments.

Qvevri wine-making is practised throughout Georgia, particularly in village communities where unique varieties of grapes are grown. The Qvevri is an egg-shaped earthenware vessel used for making, ageing and storing the wine. Knowledge and experience of Qvevri manufacture and wine-making are passed down by families, neighbours, friends and relatives, all of whom join in communal harvesting and wine-making activities. Children learn how to tend the vines, press grapes, ferment wine, collect clay and make and fire Qvevris through observing their elders. The wine-making process involves pressing the grapes and then pouring the juice, grape skins, stalks and pips into the Qvevri, which is sealed and buried in the ground so that the wine can ferment for five to six months before being drunk. Most farmers and city dwellers use this method of making wine. Wine plays a vital role in everyday life and in the celebration of secular and religious events and rituals. Wine cellars are still considered the holiest place in the family home. The tradition of Qvevri wine-making defines the lifestyle of local communities and forms an inseparable part of their cultural identity and inheritance, with wine and vines frequently evoked in Georgian oral traditions and songs.

Social psychology is about understanding individual behavior in a social context.
Social psychologists therefore deal with the factors that lead us to behave in a given way in the presence of others, and look at the conditions under which certain behavior/actions and feelings occur. Social psychology is to do with the way these feelings, thoughts, beliefs, intentions and goals are constructed and how such psychological factors, in turn, influence our interactions with others.
Topics examined in social psychology include: the self concept, social cognition, attribution theory, social influence, group processes, prejudice and discrimination, interpersonal processes, aggression, attitudes and stereotypes.