All articles A–Z

Struct (C programming language)

A struct in the C programming language is a composite data type grouping named members of different types into one object, introduced by Dennis Ritchie around 1972.

Structural adjustment

Structural adjustment, or structural adjustment programs, is development lending introduced by the World Bank in 1980, tying loans to reforms such as privatization, deregulation, and spending cuts.

Oct 22, 2026

Structural adjustment in Zambia

Structural adjustment in Zambia was a program of market-oriented reforms imposed through IMF and World Bank conditions, running from 1983 through the 1990s privatization of the state copper mines.

Oct 22, 2026

Structural adjustment programme in Nigeria

The structural adjustment program in Nigeria was a set of market-oriented reforms adopted in 1986 under General Ibrahim Babangida, combining exchange rate and trade liberalization to answer falling oil prices and rising debt.

Structural alignment of proteins

Structural alignment of proteins, also called multiple structure alignment, is a computational method that superimposes protein 3D structures to map corresponding residues, detect remote homologs, and classify folds.

Structural analysis

Structural analysis is the branch of engineering mechanics that determines the effects of loads on buildings, bridges, and other structures, predicting internal forces, stresses, displacements, and support reactions, most often using the finite element method.

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization is a peer-reviewed Springer engineering journal founded in 1989 as Structural Optimization; it covers structural, fluid, thermal, and electromagnetic optimization and is ISSMO's official journal.

Oct 22, 2026

Structural battery

A structural battery is a multifunctional material that stores energy like a lithium-ion battery while carrying mechanical load, replacing added battery mass in electric vehicles, aircraft, and drones.

Structural biology

Structural biology determines the 3D structures of biological macromolecules using X-ray crystallography, NMR, cryo-EM, and mass spectrometry to link structure to function, from the 1958 myoglobin model to cryo-EM's resolution revolution and AlphaFold's 214-million-structure database.

Structural causal model

A structural causal model (SCM) is a statistical framework that represents causal relationships among variables through structural equations and a directed graph, supporting interventions and counterfactuals.

Structural coloration

Structural coloration, or structural color, is the production of color by light interacting with micro- and nanoscale structures rather than by pigments, seen in peacocks, beetles, and Morpho butterflies.

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the strength and stability of built structures, from homes and hospitals to bridges, rollercoasters, and skyscrapers.

Structural Engineering International

Structural Engineering International (SEI) is a quarterly peer-reviewed journal covering structural engineering, founded in 1991 to bridge professional practice and academic research, published by Taylor & Francis for IABSE.

Structural equation modeling

Structural equation modeling, also known as covariance structure modeling, is a family of statistical techniques combining factor analysis with regression to test relationships among observed variables and latent constructs.

Structural estimation (econometrics)

Structural estimation is a class of econometric methods that estimates the parameters of an explicitly specified economic model, such as a utility or cost function, to answer counterfactual policy questions.

Structural formula

A structural formula, also called a displayed or constitutional formula, is a representation of a molecule showing how its atoms are connected and arranged in space.

Structural functionalism

Structural functionalism, also called functionalism, is a macro-level sociological theory treating society as an interdependent system whose institutions perform functions maintaining stability. Associated with Spencer, Durkheim, Parsons, and Merton; criticized for equilibrium bias and declined after the 1960s.

Structural glass

Structural glass is glass used as a load-bearing material in buildings, appearing in beams, columns, floors, stair treads, and facades that carry loads rather than merely fill openings.

Structural health monitoring

Structural health monitoring, known for bridges as bridge health monitoring, uses sensor networks to detect, locate, and quantify damage in structures such as bridges and buildings.

Structural heart interventions in adults

Structural heart interventions in adults are catheter-based procedures that repair or replace heart valves, close septal defects, and occlude the left atrial appendage without open surgery, a subspecialty grouped from older pediatric techniques.

Structural induction

Structural induction is a proof technique that establishes a property for all elements of an inductively defined data type, such as lists, trees, or formulae.

Structural insulated panel

A structural insulated panel (SIP) is a prefabricated building panel with a rigid foam core between two facings, typically OSB, replacing framing, sheathing, and insulation with one component.

Structural integrity and failure

Structural integrity and failure covers how structures such as buildings, bridges, and dams carry their intended loads, absorb local damage, and fail when that ability is lost.

Structural isomer

A structural isomer, or constitutional isomer, is one of two or more compounds with the same molecular formula but different atom connectivity, such as ethanol and dimethyl ether.

Structural linguistics

Structural linguistics: the 20th-century school treating language as a relational system of interdependent units, founded on Saussure's Cours (1916); schools of Geneva, Prague, Copenhagen, and American Bloomfieldian structuralism, later displaced by Chomskyan generative grammar.