All articles starting with P
28,818 articles
Public safety power shutoff
A public safety power shutoff (PSPS) is the proactive de-energization of power lines by a utility during extreme wildfire risk, used as a last resort before fire starts.
Public school (United Kingdom)
Public school (UK): a fee-charging independent school, historically the nine schools of the Public Schools Act 1868 such as Eton, Harrow, and Winchester; not a state school, now subject to 20% VAT from January 2025.
Public School Number Four
Public School Number Four (Annie Lytle Elementary), Jacksonville, Florida: a 1918 brick schoolhouse by Rutledge Holmes, closed 1960, condemned 1971, landmarked 2000, known as 'The Devil's School.'
Public sector
Public sector: the general government sector plus government-controlled public corporations; spans a quarter to a half of most economies, about 400 million workers, defined by ownership and control of institutional units.
Public sector banks in India
Public sector banks (PSBs) in India are government-majority scheduled commercial banks created by the 1969 and 1980 nationalisations. Now 12 in number after 2017-2020 mergers, they hold majority banking assets but show lower profitability than private banks.
Public service
Public service: services a public authority ensures are available in the public interest, also called services of general interest; covers education, health, transport and utilities, delivered by public, private or mixed providers, with EU categories and OECD digital delivery benchmarks distinguishing it.
Public service announcement
Public service announcement (PSA): unpaid, non-commercial message promoting government or nonprofit programs or community interests, per FCC definition. Known for campaigns like Smokey Bear, "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," and Fairness Doctrine anti-smoking spots; effectiveness measured via perceived effectiveness (r = .41 with actual effectiveness).
Public Service Broadcasting (band)
Public Service Broadcasting: London band formed 2010 by J. Willgoose, Esq., making post-rock and electronica concept albums with archival speech samples; albums include The Race for Space, Bright Magic, The Last Flight.
Public Service Commission of South Carolina
The Public Service Commission of South Carolina is the state agency that adjudicates cases involving investor-owned utilities, with seven commissioners elected by the General Assembly to staggered four-year terms.
Public Service Commission of West Virginia
The Public Service Commission of West Virginia is the state agency that regulates public utilities, including electric, gas, water, and telephone services, created by the Legislature in 1913.
Public Service Company of Colorado
Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) is an investor-owned electric and natural gas utility centered on Denver, formed in 1924 and now an Xcel Energy subsidiary.
Public Service Company of North Carolina
Public Service Company of North Carolina (PSNC), doing business as Enbridge Gas North Carolina, is a regulated natural gas utility headquartered in Gastonia serving more than 600,000 customers.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Public Service Company of Oklahoma, or PSO, is an investor-owned electric utility in Tulsa serving about 580,000 customers as a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
Public Service Electric and Gas
Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) is a regulated utility distributing electricity and natural gas throughout New Jersey, serving roughly 2.4 million electric and 1.9 million gas customers.
Public sex
Public sex is sexual activity carried out in public settings like parks, beaches, rest stops, and public toilets, practices known as cruising, cottaging, and dogging.
Public space
Public space: streets, squares, parks, and plazas open for common urban use. Key facts: UN-Habitat's 50% city-surface benchmark, six planning norms, health and equity benefits, privatization debates, and car-to-people conversion trends.
Public speaking
Public speaking: delivering speeches to live audiences to inform, persuade, or entertain, also called rhetoric or oratory. Covers its Greek rhetorical roots, elocution movement, Toastmasters training, delivery modes, and speech anxiety management.
Public sphere
Public sphere (Öffentlichkeit): the space between state and private life where private individuals debate matters of general concern; defined by Jürgen Habermas's 1962 Structural Transformation, critiqued via Fraser's counterpublics, and transformed by digital platforms.
Public Staff - North Carolina Utilities Commission
The Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission is an independent state agency, created by the General Assembly, that represents the using and consuming public in utility rate cases.
Public switched telephone network
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the worldwide infrastructure of switching and transmission facilities providing most telephone services, using circuit switching to give constant call quality.
Public Technical Identifiers
Public Technical Identifiers (PTI) is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation and ICANN affiliate that performs the IANA functions, incorporated in 2016 as part of the IANA stewardship transition.
Public toilet
A public toilet, also called a public restroom or public washroom, is a toilet available to the general public in streets, parks, markets, and transit hubs.
Public Toilet (화장실 어디에요?) (2002 film)
Public Toilet (화장실, 어디에요?; Renmin gongche) is Fruit Chan's 2002 South Korea–Japan–Hong Kong co-production drama about young people seeking miracle cures, shot on digital video across Beijing, Pusan, Hong Kong, New York, and India.
Public transport
Public transport, also known as public transportation or mass transit, is shared-ride service open to the public, including buses, light rail, metros, and commuter rail.
Public trustee
Public trustee: statutory office or government agency in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, and Singapore that administers deceased estates, trusts, wills, and finances of people lacking capacity, as a public alternative to private trustees.
Public Universal Friend
The Public Universal Friend, born Jemima Wilkinson, was an American religious leader who, from 1776, claimed to be a genderless spirit and founded the Society of Universal Friends.
Public university
Public university: government-funded and governed higher education institution, distinct from private institutions. Key figures include the Morrill Act of 1862, land-grant colleges, state appropriations, and tuition trends.
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) regulates Ohio's electric, gas, telephone, and water utilities, with five commissioners appointed by the governor to staggered five-year terms.
Public utility
A public utility, or utility company, is an enterprise providing essential services such as electricity, natural gas, water, or telecommunications, and is subject to public regulation.
Public Utility Commission of Texas
The Public Utility Commission of Texas, also known as PUCT, regulates Texas's electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities and oversees the ERCOT electric market, and was created in 1975.