SecondChain

Managerial Economics

2005-11-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

Application of economic principles to decision-making in business firms or of other management units. The basic concepts are derived mainly from microeconomic theory, which studies the behaviour of individual consumers, firms, and industries, but new tools of analysis have been added. Statistical methods, for example, are becoming increasingly important in

Gravity, Centre Of

2005-10-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

In physics, imaginary point in a body of matter where, for convenience in certain calculations, the total weight of the body may be thought to be concentrated. The concept is sometimes useful in designing static structures (e.g., buildings and bridges) and in predicting the behaviour of a body when it is acted on by external accelerating forces. Although the term centre

Hale, Horatio (emmons)

2005-08-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

While a student at Harvard University (1833–37), Hale studied the language of some

Georgia Platform

2005-07-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

Drawn up by Charles J. Jenkins and adopted by a state convention on Dec. 10, 1850, at Milledgeville, the Georgia Platform consisted of a set of resolutions accepting the Compromise of 1850. It was not an endorsement of the compromise, but it said that Georgia would abide by the

Peretz, I.l.

2005-07-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Peretz began writing in Hebrew but soon turned to Yiddish. For his tales, he drew material from the lives of impoverished Jews of eastern Europe. Critical of their

Grafton

2005-07-13T05:40:00.000-07:00

County, western New Hampshire, U.S. It is bounded to the west by Vermont (the Connecticut River constituting the entire border) and consists of a mountainous region, with the White Mountains and a large portion of White Mountain National Forest occupying the northeastern part of the county. It is drained by the Ammonoosuc, Baker, Mascoma, and Pemigewasset rivers. Other

Margaret Of Anjou

2005-07-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

Margaret was the daughter of René I

Binchy, Maeve

2005-06-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

Educated at University College, Dublin (B.A., 1960), Binchy taught school in Dublin from 1961 to 1968, when she began her career as a reporter for the daily

Yuki

2005-06-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

Four groups of North American Indians who lived in the Coast Ranges and along the coast of northwestern California, U.S. They spoke distinctive languages unaffiliated with any other known language. The four Yuki groups were the Yuki proper, who lived along the upper reaches of the Eel River and its tributaries; the Huchnom, who dwelt in the Redwood Valley to the west;

Loxodrome

2005-06-01T03:50:00.000-07:00

Also called Rhumb Line, or Spherical Helix, curve cutting the meridians of a sphere at a constant nonright angle. Thus, it may be seen as the path of a ship sailing always oblique to the meridian and directed always to the same point of the compass. Pedro Nunes, who first conceived the curve (1550), mistakenly believed it to be the shortest path joining two points on a sphere (see great circle route). Any ship following such

Biblical Literature, The Hasmonean kingdom

2005-05-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

After Alexander's death the empire was split, and first the Ptolemies, an Egyptian dynasty, and then the Seleucids, a Syrian dynasty, held Palestine. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a 2nd-century-BC Seleucid king, desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem; a successful Jewish revolt under the Maccabees, a priestly family, resulted in its purification (164 BC) and in freedom from Syrian domination

Stilicho, Flavius

2005-05-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

Stilicho was half-Roman, half-Vandal by birth. Making the army his career, in 383 he served

Asgard

2005-03-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

Each important god had his own palace in Asgard, and many Germanic peoples believed that

Y�

2005-03-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

Pinyin �Yue, � aboriginal people of South China who in the 5th - 4th century BC formed a powerful kingdom in present-day Chekiang and Fukien provinces. The name Vietnam means �south of the Y�eh,� and some Chinese scholars consider the Vietnamese to be descendants of the Y�

Yahya (mahmud Al-mutawakkil)

2005-03-04T21:24:00.000-08:00

When Yahya was a child, Yemen was a province of the Ottoman Empire. His youth was spent in the service of his father's administration, and, when his father died in 1904, Yahya succeeded him as imam. The Yemenis had always resented Turkish rule, and Yahya was soon able to assemble a potent military force. Sporadic warfare lasted until 1911, when he was

Zirconia

2005-03-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

Zirconium dioxide, an industrially important compound of zirconium and oxygen usually derived from the mineral zircon (see zirconium).

Warning System, Air defense systems

2005-03-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Radar and identification friend or foe (IFF) equipment constitute the forward elements of complex systems that have appeared throughout the world. Examples include the semiautomatic ground environment (SAGE), augmented by a mobile backup intercept control system called BUIC in the United States, NATO air defense ground environment (NADGE) in Europe, a similar

Canterbury

2005-03-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Local government region, east-central South Island, New Zealand, centred on the Canterbury Plains. The region borders the Pacific Ocean to the east and extends southward from the vicinity of Kaikoura to the Waitaki River and includes the city of Christchurch and Banks Peninsula. Canterbury's area also stretches westward to include the eastern slopes of the Southern

Egypt, Growth of Mamluk armies

2005-02-28T02:19:00.000-08:00

The only real security for Ayyubid Egypt lay in its independent military strength. This explains why one of the last sultans, al-Malik as-Salih Ayyub (died 1249), resorted to increased purchase of Turkish slaves - called Mamluks, a name derived from the Arabic word for slave - as a means of manning his armies. Although slave troops had formed an important part of Egyptian armies since

Arctic Circle

2005-02-27T00:34:00.000-08:00

Parallel, or line of latitude around the Earth, at approximately 66�30� N. Because of the Earth's inclination of about 23 1/2� to the vertical, it marks the southern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the Sun does not set (about June 21) or rise (about December 21). The length of continuous day or night increases northward from one day on the Arctic Circle to six months

Pacorus

2005-02-26T05:16:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 51 BC Pacorus was sent to invade Syria with an army commanded by Osaces, an older warrior. Osaces, however, was killed in battle, and early the next year Orodes, learning that one of his satraps was conspiring to make Pacorus king, recalled his son. In 45, Pacorus intervened in

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Allegory and cosmology

2005-02-25T02:02:00.000-08:00

The allegorical mode has been of major importance in representing the cosmos: the earliest Greek philosophers, for example, speculated on the nature of the universe in allegorical terms; in the Old Testament's oblique interpretation of the universe, too, the world is seen as a symbolic system. The symbolic stories that explain the cosmos are ritualized to ensure

Nitrogen Cycle

2005-02-23T04:39:00.000-08:00

Circulation of nitrogen in various forms through nature. Nitrogen, a component of proteins and nucleic acids, is essential to life on Earth. Although 78 percent by volume of the atmosphere is nitrogen gas, this abundant reservoir exists in a form unusable by most organisms. Through a series of microbial transformations, however, nitrogen is made available to plants,

Cimbri

2005-02-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

A Germanic tribe whose military incursion into Roman Italy was thrust back in 101 BC. Forced out of what is now Denmark by overpopulation and the encroaching sea, the Cimbri pushed southward, eventually swelling in numbers by the addition of their allies the Teutoni and other tribes. They scored victories over the Romans in 113, 109, and 107. Following a particularly devastating Roman

Carloman

2005-02-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

Eldest son of Louis II the German and father of the emperor Arnulf. Carloman rebelled against his father in 861 and 863 but in 865 was entrusted by Louis with a share in his authority, being granted jurisdiction over Bavaria and Carinthia. After this he remained loyal to his father, even helping to suppress the rebellion of his two younger brothers

Ibadan

2005-02-20T05:07:00.000-08:00

Ibadan's beginnings are shrouded in mystery; they were recorded only in oral tradition. It is said that the earliest group of settlers at Ibadan were fugitives from justice who were expelled from nearby villages.

Taft, Lorado

2005-02-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

Taft graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign and from 1880 to 1883 attended the �cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he received a conservative, traditional art education with an emphasis on mythological

Orvieto Ware

2005-02-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

Italian maiolica, a tin-glazed earthenware produced originally at Orvieto, in Umbria, from the 13th century onward. It was copied from, or inspired by, the faience produced in Paterna, Spain. The most common colours of Orvieto ware are the green and manganese purple of their Spanish prototype, though sometimes blue and yellow were added. The style of decoration is Gothic,

Conductive Ceramics

2005-02-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

In addition to the well-known physical properties of ceramic materials - hardness, compressive strength, brittleness - there is the property of electric resistivity. Most ceramics resist the flow of electric current, and for this reason ceramic materials

B-film

2005-02-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

Also called� B-movie,� or� B-picture,� cheaply produced, formulaic film initially intended to serve as the second feature on a double bill. During the 1930s and '40s, a period often called the Golden Age of Hollywood, B-films were usually paired with bigger-budget, more prestigious A-pictures; but two B-films were sometimes used for midweek or Saturday matinee showings. The characteristics of B-films included low

H I Region

2005-02-15T16:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Hi Region, � in astronomy, interstellar matter composed of neutral hydrogen atoms. Most of the matter between the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, to which the Earth belongs, as well as in other spiral galaxies, occurs in the form of relatively cold, neutral hydrogen gas with a temperature of only about 100 K and a density of approximately one atom per cubic cm. There also exist cold compact

Section D'or

2005-02-14T23:32:00.000-08:00

(French: �Golden Section�), group of Cubist painters concerned with the proportion and rhythm of geometric forms. The group's name was suggested by Jacques Villon, and the principal members included Robert Delaunay, Marcel Duchamp, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Albert Gleizes, Juan Gris, Roger de La Fresnaye, Fernand L�ger, Andr� Lhote, Louis Marcoussis, Jean Metzinger, Francis

Ovonramwen

2005-02-13T03:34:00.000-08:00

He was called Idugbowa

Graziano, Rocky

2005-02-12T01:25:00.000-08:00

In his youth Graziano was a juvenile delinquent, and he later deserted from the U.S. Army after punching an officer. Though he had begun using the name Graziano, he was nevertheless found, sentenced to nine months in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, and dishonourably

Price Discrimination

2005-02-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

Practice of selling a commodity at different prices to different buyers, even though sales costs are the same in all of the transactions. Discrimination among buyers may be based on personal characteristics such as income, race, or age or on geographic location. For price discrimination to succeed, other entrepreneurs must be unable to purchase goods at the lower

Sino-japanese War

2005-02-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

(1937 - 45), conflict that broke out when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory (begun in 1931). In an effort to unseat the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937 - 38. A stalemate then ensued, and Japanese forces were diverted to Southeast Asia and to the Pacific War against the

Powers, Separation Of

2005-02-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

The doctrine may be traced to ancient and

Central African Republic, Settlement patterns

2005-02-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

About three-fifths of the population is rural, residing primarily in the southern and western parts of the country. The eastern and northeastern sections of the country are less populated. Of the urban population, a significant proportion lives in Bangui. Other major towns are Berb�rati, Bossangoa, and Bouar in the west, Bambari and Bria in the central plains, and Bangassou

Davies, Samuel

2005-02-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Davies was educated at Samuel Blair's �log college� at Fagg's Manor, Pa., and was ordained in 1747. His work during the Great Awakening centred at Hanover, Va.; in

Pacific Islands, High oceanic islands

2005-02-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

Extensive volcanic mountain ranges in the central and eastern Pacific rise abruptly from the ocean deep, their cores of dense black basalt built up from lava flows from the fractured seafloor. Where summits stand in high relief above sea level, they represent most of the islands that constitute Polynesia and Micronesia. Small to intermediate in land area, nowhere

Doris

2005-02-05T04:24:00.000-08:00

The alleged mother country of the Dorian conquerors of the Peloponnese. It was a small district in central Greece, lying between Mounts Oeta (modern Oiti) and Parnassus and consisting of a narrow valley nowhere exceeding 4 miles (6 km) in breadth, with only four small townships. Doris had some importance because it commanded the road from Heraclea in Trachis to Amphissa,

Algebra, Commerce and abacists in the European Renaissance

2005-02-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

Greek and Islamic mathematics were basically �academic� enterprises, having little interaction with day-to-day matters involving building, transportation, and commerce. This situation first began to change in Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries. In particular, the rise of Italian mercantile companies and their use of modern financial instruments for trade with the

Acceptance

2005-02-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

An exporter of goods, for

Telephone And Telephone System, Digital facsimile

2005-02-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

Although the Group 2 fax machines proved to be successful in business applications where electronic transmission of documents containing nontextual information such as drawings, diagrams, and signatures was required, the slow transmission rate and the cost of the terminals ultimately limited the growth of fax services. In response, the CCITT developed standards

Ford, John

2005-02-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

American motion-picture director who was Hollywood's best-known director of westerns. He developed a distinctive directorial style characterized by effective cutting, an emphasis on action, colourful characterization, a sentimentalized vision of the past, and

Ke Ga, Point

2005-01-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

Vietnamese �Mui Ke Ga�, also called �Mui Dieu�, formerly �Cap Varella�, or �Cape Varella� the easternmost point of Vietnam, lying along the South China Sea. The promontory, rising to 2,316 feet (706 m) above the sea, lies southeast of Tuy Hoa and is a continuation of a massive southwest-northeast - trending granite spur of the Annamese Cordillera. Ke Ga is also the name of another cape in Vietnam on the South China Sea about 180 miles (290 km) to the south-southwest.

Quidde, Ludwig

2005-01-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

During 1889 - 96 he was editor of the Deutsche Zeitschrift f�r Geschichtswissenschaft and in 1890 became professor and secretary of the Prussian Historical Institute

Sabellic Dialects

2005-01-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

A group of inscriptions from eastern central Italy, sometimes referred to as Sabellic,

Cyrus I

2005-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Achaemenian king, the son of Teispes and grandfather of Cyrus II the Great; he had control over Anshan (northeast of Susa in Elam) and possibly also over Parsumash to the east during the second half of the 7th century. Although he sent aid to Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon (651), who was in revolt against Assyria, Cyrus was forced to accept Assyrian overlordship about

Writing

2005-01-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

This definition highlights the fact that writing is in principle the representation of language rather than a direct representation of thought and the fact that spoken language has a number of levels of structure, including

Ob, Gulf Of

2005-01-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Russian �Obskaya Guba, � large inlet of the Kara Sea indenting northwestern Siberia, between the peninsulas of Yamal and Gyda, in north-central Russia. The gulf forms the outlet for the Ob River, the delta of which is choked by a huge sandbar. The gulf is about 500 miles (800 km) in length and has a breadth varying between 20 and 60 miles (32 and 97 km). The depth of the sea at this point is 33 - 40 feet (10 - 12 m). Its eastern coastline is

Saint David, Fort

2005-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

British stronghold near the town of Cuddalore, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Madras on the southeastern coast of India. The fort was sold by the Marathas to the English East India Company in 1690. It was named for the patron saint of Wales because the governor of Madras at the time, Elihu Yale, was Welsh. It was purchased because of increasing political instability in southern India,

Pax

2005-01-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, personification of peace, probably recognized as a deity for the first time by the emperor Augustus, in whose reign much was made of the establishment of political calm. An altar of Pax Augusta (the Ara Pacis) was dedicated in 9 BC and a great temple of Pax completed by the emperor Vespasian in AD 75.

Hayden, Melissa

2005-01-23T21:12:00.000-08:00

Hayden began studying dance while a schoolgirl. In 1945 she went to New York City and found a position in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall. Within a few months she had been accepted by the Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre)

Harbour Grace

2005-01-22T22:01:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Newfoundland, Canada. It lies on the northeast coast of Avalon Peninsula, 32 miles (51 km) west-northwest of St. John's, across Conception Bay. Settled about 1550, it was probably named for Le Havre-de-Gr�ce (Le Havre, France). Peter Easton, the pirate, had his headquarters there about 1600. Since 1856 the town has been the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop. Until the 1920s it was one of the

Earth, The magnetopause current

2005-01-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

Farther still from the Earth, at about 10 Re along the Earth - Sun line, is yet another current system that affects the surface field and profoundly changes the nature of the Earth's field in space. This system is called the magnetopause current, or Chapman-Ferraro current system after the English physicist Sydney Chapman and his student V.C.A. Ferraro who first suggested

Wig

2005-01-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

Manufactured head covering of real or artificial hair worn in the theatre, as personal adornment, disguise, or symbol of office, or for religious reasons. The wearing of wigs dates from the earliest recorded times; it is known, for example, that the ancient Egyptians shaved their heads and wore wigs to protect themselves from the sun and that the Assyrians, Phoenicians,

Amphion And Zethus

2005-01-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. When children, they were left to die on Mount Cithaeron but were found and brought up by a shepherd. Amphion became a great singer and musician, Zethus a hunter and herdsman. After rejoining their mother, they built and fortified Thebes, huge blocks of stone forming themselves into walls at the sound of Amphion's lyre.

Scandinavian Literature, Development of lyric poetry

2005-01-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

Several of the best Swedish writers were connected with the development of lyric poetry. One of the most notable, Vilhelm Ekelund, was in his youth the chief exponent of Symbolism in Sweden and later, as an author of aphorisms, exerted much influence on the development of literary modernism. Among the most popular poets were Dan Andersson, Birger Sj�berg, and Hjalmar

Aleksin

2005-01-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

City, Tula oblast (province), western Russia, on the Oka River, 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Tula city. Aleksin, first documented in 1236, was at first a fortress, then a river port. The decline of river trade adversely affected the city, but since the October Revolution (1917) it has become a significant industrial centre, with engineering and building-materials industries. Pop. (1991 est.) 74,200.

Race

2005-01-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

The most important promoter of racial ideology in Europe during the mid-19th century was Joseph-Arthur, comte de Gobineau, who had an almost incalculable effect on late 19th-century social theory. Published in 1853 - 55, his Essay on the Inequality of Human Races was widely read, embellished, and publicized by many different kinds of writers. He imported some of his arguments from

Baybars I

2005-01-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

Baybars was born

Mammeri, Mouloud

2005-01-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

Mammeri was reared in the Kabylian mountains but was educated in Morocco, Paris, and Algiers, after which he was drafted into the French army to fight in World War II. He later became a professor at the University of

Kramer, Dame Leonie Judith

2005-01-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

Kramer studied at the University of Melbourne and at the University of Oxford and thereafter taught on Australian literature at various universities, serving as professor at the University of Sydney from 1968. She wrote several authoritative works on the Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson

Teflon

2005-01-12T01:32:00.000-08:00

Trade name for synthetic resin composed of polytetrafluoroethylene (q.v.).

Venetian School

2005-01-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

The founder of the dynasty of painters that was most important

Faguibine, Lake

2005-01-10T22:27:00.000-08:00

French �Lac Faguibine, � isolated lake in Mali, west of Timbuktu (Tombouctou). It lies north of the Niger River in the Macina depression, and it is reached by branches of the Niger in times of flood. At high water it reaches a length of about 50 miles (80 km).

Holarctic Region

2005-01-09T20:50:00.000-08:00

One of the six major land areas of the world defined on the basis of its characteristic animal life. It is part of the Megagaean realm; it encompasses all the nontropical parts of Europe and Asia, Africa north of the Sahara, and North America south to the Mexican desert region. This vast region is often subdivided into the Palaearctic (Old World) and Nearctic (New World)

Mataram

2005-01-08T01:51:00.000-08:00

Under Sultan

Karadjordje

2005-01-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

The son of a peasant, Karadjordje (�Black George�), so named because of his dark complexion and penetrating eyes, in his youth herded swine and goats.

Olympic Games, Helsinki, Finland, 1952

2005-01-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

The 1952 Games were the first Olympics since 1912 in which the Soviet Union participated, and the international tension caused by the Cold War initially prevailed. Prior to the Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee used the rivalry between East and West to raise funds for the U.S. team. The Soviet Union announced plans to house their athletes in Leningrad and fly into Helsinki each

Trademark

2005-01-05T19:56:00.000-08:00

Any visible sign or device used by a business enterprise to identify its goods and distinguish them from those made or carried by others. Trademarks may be words or groups of words, letters, numerals, devices, names, the shape or other presentation of products or their packages, colour combinations with signs, combinations of colours, and combinations of any of the

Biblical Literature, Amos

2005-01-04T01:57:00.000-08:00

The Book of Amos, the third of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the Bible from the time it was written (8th century BCE) down to the 20th century. Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of Jeroboam II, king of Israel from 786 to 746 BCE. His reign was marked by great economic prosperity, but the rich were

Aurichalcite

2005-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

A mineral composed of the hydroxide carbonate of zinc and copper (Zn, Cu)5(OH)6(CO3)2. It is commonly found with malachite in the oxidized zone of zinc and copper deposits as at Tomsk, Siberia; Santander, Spain; and Bisbee, Ariz., U.S. Its pale blue-green featherlike form distinguishes it from malachite; and, because it is a weathered product of zinc-rich ores, it can serve as a guide to

Balance

2005-01-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

The invention of the equal-arm balance dates back at least to the time of the ancient Egyptians, possibly as early as 5000 BC. In the earliest types, the beam was supported at the centre and the pans were hung from the ends by cords. A later improvement

Alegr�a, Ciro

2005-01-01T06:47:00.000-08:00

Educated at the National College of San Juan, Alegr�a acquired a firsthand knowledge of Indian life in his native province of Huamachuco; this first appeared in his novel La serpiente de oro (1935; The Golden Serpent), which portrays the diverse human life to be found along

Mckenna, Joseph

2004-12-31T23:38:00.000-08:00

McKenna grew up in California and was admitted to the state bar in 1865. A Republican, he served as Solano county district attorney (1866 - 70) and in the California state legislature (1875 - 76). Despite the prevailing anti-Roman Catholic sentiments that contributed to two defeats at the polls, McKenna was elected in

Epidermis

2004-12-30T07:53:00.000-08:00

In zoology, protective outermost portion of the skin. There are two layers of epidermis, the living basal layer, which is next to the dermis, and the external stratum corneum, or horny layer, which is composed of dead, keratin-filled cells that have migrated outward from the basal layer. The melanocytes, responsible for skin colour, are found in the basal cells. The epidermis

European Parliament

2004-12-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

Legislative assembly of the European Union (EU). Inaugurated in 1958 as the Common Assembly, the European Parliament originally consisted of representatives selected by the national parliaments of EU member countries. Beginning in 1979, members of the Parliament, who now number more than 600, were elected by direct universal suffrage to terms of five years. The number of members

Kirby-smith, E.

2004-12-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

Born Edmund Kirby Smith, he later signed his name E. Kirby Smith; the hyphenated form of the name was adopted by his family after

Constance, Council Of

2004-12-27T04:09:00.000-08:00

(1414 - 18), 16th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Following the election of two rival popes (Gregory XII in Rome and Benedict XIII in Avignon) in 1378 and the attempt at the Council of Pisa in 1409 to resolve the Western Schism by the election of a new pope, the church found itself with three popes instead of one. Under pressure from the Holy Roman emperor Sigismund, John

Performing Arts, World Dance

2004-12-26T02:32:00.000-08:00

Popular folk dance troupes from the former Soviet Union toured the United States and Europe in 2002 and showed that they had lost none of their verve or attraction. Remarkably, the companies were headed by legendary figures active into their 90s. The Moiseyev Dance Company was created in 1937 by choreographer Igor Moiseyev, and in 2002, aged 95, he was still involved with the company.

Endo Shusaku

2004-12-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

Endo became a Roman Catholic at age 11 with the encouragement of his mother and an aunt. At Keio University he majored in French literature (B.A., 1949), a subject he studied from 1950 to 1953 at the University of Lyon in France. His first

East Berlin

2004-12-24T05:47:00.000-08:00

German �Ost Berlin, � eastern part of the city of Berlin (q.v.) that served as the capital of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) until the reunification of the German state in 1990.

Olympic Games, Montreal, Canada, 1976

2004-12-23T15:18:00.000-08:00

Despite producing 32 new world records and a host of memorable performances, the 1976 Games drew more attention to the apparent problems of the Olympic movement. Twenty-six nations, mostly from Africa, chose to boycott the Games when the IOC denied their request to ban New Zealand, whose national rugby team had recently toured South Africa. Taiwan also boycotted, when Canada,

Arabian Desert, Soils

2004-12-22T02:21:00.000-08:00

Mechanical weathering, which physically breaks down coarse particles into finer grains, is the most significant process in the formation of desert soils. Quartz sand abounds, covering more than a third of the desert surface. Granular debris from the Precambrian crystalline basement forms pebbly fans about the bases of hills. Sands and silts are washed down to

Procyon

2004-12-21T00:46:00.000-08:00

Also called �Alpha Canis Minoris� brightest star in the northern constellation Canis Minor (Lesser Dog) and one of the brightest in the entire sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. Procyon lies about 11 light-years from the Earth and is a visual binary, a bright yellow-white subgiant with a faint, white dwarf companion of about the 11th magnitude. The name apparently derives from Greek words for �before

Vistula Lagoon

2004-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

German �Frisches Haff�, Polish �Zalew Wislany�, Russian �Vislinsky Zaliv� shallow, marsh-fringed lagoon on the Baltic coast, bisected by the Polish-Russian border and considered part of the Gulf of Gdansk. Covering 330 square miles (855 square km), it is 56 miles (90 km) long, 6 to 15 miles (10 to 19 km) wide, and up to 17 feet (5 m) deep. The Nogat, the eastern distributary of the Vistula River delta, is the principal river entering the lagoon. The long, narrow Vistula Spit protects the

Spain, Society

2004-12-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

In discussing the influx of the Muslims into Spain, the various social groups into which the population was divided have already been pointed out: Arabs (baladiyyun and Syrians), Berbers, muwallads, Mozarabs, Jews, and slaves. The Muslim population continued to increase during the early centuries of the occupation because of the wave of conversions that markedly reduced

Furniture, France and England: 17th and 18th centuries

2004-12-18T21:16:00.000-08:00

The French Rococo chair in its most mature form - that is, as developed in Paris around 1750 - spread over most of Europe and has been imitated or copied into the mid-20th century. The model owes its popularity to a combination of comfort and elegance. The seat conforms to the human body and permits a relaxed sitting position. The back is bow-shaped, the legs curved. Normally the seat

Skeena River

2004-12-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

River in western British Columbia, Canada. It rises in the Skeena Mountains in the northern part of the province and flows generally southwestward, receiving its two major tributaries, the Babine and Bulkley rivers, before emptying into Chatham Sound (an arm of the Pacific Ocean), south of Prince Rupert, after a course of about 360 miles (580 km). The Skeena is an important salmon-fishing

Vacuum Technology

2004-12-16T23:06:00.000-08:00

This type of pump utilizes extremely low temperatures to condense gases and thus remove them from the system. Pumping speeds of millions of cu ft per minute are possible with the cryopump over the pressure range 10-3 torr to well below 10-10 torr. This type of pump can develop its full speed curve over the entire pumping range. Most cryopumps employ helium to cool the low-temperature

Noverre, Jean-georges

2004-12-15T07:08:00.000-08:00

Distinguished French choreographer whose revolutionary treatise, Lettres sur la danse et sur les ballets (1760), still valid, brought about major reforms in ballet production, stressing the importance of dramatic motivation, which he called ballet d'action, and decrying overemphasis on technical virtuosity. His first choreographic

Guadalajara, University Of

2004-12-14T00:41:00.000-08:00

Spanish �Universidad De Guadalajara, � coeducational state-supported autonomous institution of higher learning at Guadalajara, Mex., founded in 1792 and restructured in 1925. Dissident students and professors from the university formed a private Autonomous University of Guadalajara (1935), which continues to exist independently. The original university includes faculties covering a wide range of academic

Mah� Island

2004-12-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, Republic of Seychelles, in the western Indian Ocean. The island is 4 miles (6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long and has an area of 57 square miles (148 square km). The island is granitic in origin and mountainous; the highest peak is Morne Seychellois, which rises to 2,969 feet (905 m) and forms part of a national park of the same name. Port Launay Marine National

Dangerfield, Thomas

2004-12-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Dangerfield robbed his father, a farmer, and was imprisoned several

Differential Equation

2004-12-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

Mathematical statement containing one or more derivatives, that is, terms representing the relationships between the rates of change of continuously varying quantities. Differential equations are very common in science and engineering, other fields of quantitative study. The solution of a differential equation is, in general, an algebraic equation expressing

Vigo, Jean

2004-12-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

French film director whose blending of lyricism with realism and Surrealism, the whole underlined with a cynical, anarchic approach to life, distinguished him as an original talent. Although he completed only three feature films and one short, Taris (1931), before his early death, his films produced great public reaction. A Jean Vigo Prize is

Biblical Literature, The Geneva Bible

2004-12-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

The brief efflorescence of the Protestant movement during the short reign of Edward VI (1547 - 53) saw the reissue of the Scriptures, but no fresh attempts at revision. The repressive rule of Edward's successor, Mary, a Roman Catholic, put an end to the printing of Bibles in England for several years. Their public reading was proscribed and their presence in the churches

Biblical Literature, The Geneva Bible

2004-12-08T17:58:00.000-08:00