FrequentReceipt

Steinitz, Wilhelm

2005-04-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Austrian-American chess master who is considered to have been the world champion longer than any other player, winning the championship in 1866 from Adolf Anderssen (although the first official claim to hold the title was not made until 1886) and losing it in 1894 to Emanuel Lasker. See the

Forbes

2005-04-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

Town, south central New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. Named after former New South Wales chief justice Sir Francis Forbes, it was proclaimed a town in 1861 during a gold rush and became a municipality in 1870. The bushranger (outlaw) Ben Hall was shot and killed there in 1865. Now a marketing centre in an irrigated wheat, fruit, vegetable, and livestock region, Forbes processes

Sinhala Maha Sabha

2005-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

Political group in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that was founded in 1937 by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. It was a communally oriented group and promoted the interests of the Sinhalese sector of the population and of Buddhism. In 1945 Bandaranaike threw the support of the Sabha behind the newly created United National Party (UNP) of D.S. Senanayake, which was to dominate politics for the first

Parsons Table

2005-04-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

Also called T-square Table, simple, sturdy rectangular table having straight lines, overall flush surfaces, and square legs that form the four corners of the top and whose diameter is identical with the thickness of the top. It is not certain who designed the Parsons table, and it may have been the result of a class project, but prototypes exist in the early work of both the French interior designer

Yalta Conference

2005-04-02T00:50:00.000-08:00

It had already been decided that Germany

Glaucoma

2005-04-01T23:24:00.000-08:00

Disease caused by an increase in pressure within the eye as a result of blockage of the flow of aqueous humour, a watery fluid produced by the ciliary body. (The ciliary body is a ring of tissue directly behind the outer rim of the iris; besides being the source of aqueous humour, it contains the muscle that flattens the curvature of the lens for far vision.) The normal flow

Biblical Literature, Leviticus

2005-04-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

The cultic and priestly laws presented in Exodus are expanded to take up virtually the whole of Leviticus, the Latin Vulgate title for the third of the Five Books of Moses, which may be translated the Book (or Manual) of Priests. With one exception (chapters 8–10), the narrative portions are brief connective or introductory devices to give an ostensibly narrative framework

Rocky Mountains

2005-04-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

Two nontechnical, abundantly illustrated descriptions of the Rocky Mountains are William S. Ellis and Dick Durrance II, The Majestic Rocky Mountains (1976); and Bryce S. Walker et al., The Great Divide (1973, reissued 1985), covering the landforms, plant life, and early exploration of the American Rockies. The mountains are also treated in Mel Griffiths and Lynnell Rubright, Colorado: A Geography (1983); and American West, The Magnificent Rockies: Crest of a Continent (1973). Dennis Glick, Mary Carr, and Bert Harting, An Environmental Profile of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (1991), compiles baseline information on the ecological processes and components of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and discusses how the ecosystem's future is affected by current and proposed resource development plans. David V. Harris and Eugene P. Kiver, The Geologic Story of the National Parks and Monuments, 4th ed. (1985), chapters 8–11, covers the geologic history and special features of U.S. parks and monuments in the northern, middle, and southern Rockies and on the Colorado Plateau. Lawrence M. Ostresh, Jr., Richard A. Marston, and Walter M. Hudson, Wyoming Water Atlas (1990), although specifically about Wyoming water resources, treats issues that are typical throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

Dandolo, Vincenzo

2005-03-30T03:47:00.000-08:00

Of modest origins, Dandolo, after studying chemistry at the University of Padua, became a champion of new scientific

Skalkottas, Nikos

2005-03-29T02:30:00.000-08:00

Skalkottas began violin studies at the age of five, continuing them later at the Athens conservatory and in Berlin, where he also studied composition. Influenced by Schoenberg, with whom he studied (1927–31), he began using the 12-tone method in his compositions but adhered to traditional forms.

Yang Kuei-fei

2005-03-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yang Guifei notorious beauty and concubine of the great T'ang emperor Hsüan Tsung (reigned 712–756). Because of her the Emperor is said to have neglected his duties, and the T'ang dynasty (618–907) was greatly weakened by a rebellion that ensued. Her story has been the subject of many outstanding Chinese poems and dramas. The daughter of a high official, she was one of the few obese women

Economics

2005-03-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Social science that seeks to analyze and describe the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth.

Taedong River

2005-03-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

Korean Taedong-gang river, southern North Korea, rising in the Nangnim Mountains in Hamgyong-nam do (province). It flows 273 miles (439 km) southwestward to enter Korea Bay, an arm of the Yellow Sea, at Namp'o. With its tributaries it forms a drainage basin of 7,855 square miles (20,344 square km). Because of its deep water and the tidal influence of the Yellow Sea, it is useful for water transportation, and many river ports,

Azteco-tanoan Languages

2005-03-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

A major grouping (phylum or superstock) of American Indian languages that includes the large Uto-Aztecan language family and the small Kiowa-Tanoan language family of New Mexico and Oklahoma. The Uto-Aztecan languages are widely spoken in Mexico, northern Guatemala, and, by fewer numbers, in California, the Great Basin, and Arizona. The Kiowa-Tanoan languages are four

Pelusium

2005-03-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

Greek Pelousion, ancient Egyptian city on the easternmost mouth of the Nile River (long silted up). The Egyptians likely called it Sa'inu and also Per-Amon (House of Amon), whence perhaps the site's modern name, Tell Farama. It lies about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Port Said, in the Sinai Peninsula. In the Bible the city is called (Ezekiel 30:15) “the stronghold of Egypt” (the name being given in the King James

Ufa

2005-03-25T04:12:00.000-08:00

City and capital, Bashkortostan republic, western Russia. It lies along the Belaya (White) River just below its confluence with the Ufa River. A defensive site in a loop formed by the two rivers led to the foundation there of a fortress in 1574 to protect the trade route across the Ural Mountains from Kazan to Tyumen. It became a town in 1586 and derived importance from this trade

Peter

2005-03-23T22:50:00.000-08:00

Until Peter's tenure as metropolitan, the centre of the Russian Orthodox Church had for many years been in Kiev, the ancient capital of Rus, and then for a while in Vladimir. When Peter became metropolitan, he, like his predecessors,

Clammyweed

2005-03-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

(Polanisia trachysperma), North American herb of the caper family (Capparaceae). The plant is 60 cm (2 feet) tall and has leaves that give off a foul odour when bruised. The stems and three-parted leaves are hairy and sticky. Bladelike bracts (leaflike appendages) are crowded along the flowering stalks. The flowers have four sepals, four white petals, and eight-to-many protruding

Benedict I

2005-03-22T13:43:00.000-08:00

Little is known about his life. He was elected to succeed John III, probably just after the latter's death (July 574), but was not consecrated until June 575, so that the see of Rome was vacant for almost 11 months. He consecrated 21 bishops during his pontificate and granted the Massa Veneris, an estate near Minturnae (near modern Minturo, Italy), to Abbot Stephen

Daehlie, Bjørn

2005-03-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

Involved in many sports growing up, Daehlie was not serious about cross-country

Southeast Asia, History Of, Reappearance of regional interests

2005-03-21T03:20:00.000-08:00

After the end of the 17th century, the long-developed polities of Southeast Asia were pulled into a Western-dominated world economy, weakening regional trade networks and strengthening ties with distant colonial powers. In the early years of independence these ties often remained strong enough to be called neocolonial by critics, but after the mid-1960s these partnerships

Scylitzes, John

2005-03-20T05:58:00.000-08:00

Scylitzes was a high officeholder at the Byzantine court. He may have written a legal work for Alexius I in 1092. In his history he drew on the work of others for the early part and then largely relied on sources no longer extant and on contemporary oral tradition. In some manuscripts

Kafzeh

2005-03-20T03:31:00.000-08:00

The remains,

France, History Of, Principalities north of the Loire

2005-03-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

The northernmost of these was Flanders, whose founder, Baldwin I Iron-Arm (862–879), managed not only to abduct the Carolingian king's daughter and marry her but also to win that king's approval as count of Ghent. His authority

Radegunda, Saint

2005-03-19T00:05:00.000-08:00

A Thuringian princess, Radegunda was captured about 531 by Chlotar I during an expedition against the Thuringians. She was educated in letters at his court;

Turgenev, Ivan Sergeyevich

2005-03-18T22:47:00.000-08:00

Russian novelist, poet, and playwright, whose major works include the short-story collection A Sportsman's Sketches (1852) and the novels Rudin (1856), Home of the Gentry (1859), On the Eve (1860), and Fathers and Sons (1862). These works offer realistic, affectionate portrayals of the Russian peasantry and penetrating

Plantagenet, House Of

2005-03-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Although well established, the surname Plantagenet has little historical justification. It seems to have

Fiscal Policy

2005-03-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

The usual goals of both fiscal and monetary policy are to achieve or maintain full employment, to achieve or

Bohra

2005-03-16T01:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bohora, in general, any Shi'i Isma'ili Muslim of the Musta'li sect, living in western India. The name is a corruption of a Gujarati word, vahaurau, meaning “to trade.” The Bohras include, in addition to this Shi'i majority, often of the merchant class, a Sunni minority who are usually peasant farmers. The Musta'li sect (see Isma'ilite), which originated in Egypt and later moved its religious centre to Yemen,

Aqueduct

2005-03-16T01:46:00.000-08:00

Although

Narayan, R.k.

2005-03-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

Reared by his grandmother, Narayan completed his education in 1930 and briefly worked as a teacher before deciding to devote himself to writing. His first novel, Swami and Friends (1935), is an episodic narrative recounting the adventures of a group of schoolboys.

Grain

2005-03-15T02:32:00.000-08:00

In metallurgy, any of the crystallites (small crystals or grains) of varying, randomly distributed, small sizes that compose a solid metal. Randomly oriented, the grains contact each other at surfaces called grain boundaries. The structure and size of the grains determine important physical properties of the solid metal. Grains of a metal ingot can be elongated and

Halebid

2005-03-14T20:57:00.000-08:00

Historic site and modern village, south-central Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southwestern India. It is situated north-northwest of the town of Hassan. It grew up beside a large artificial lake, known as Dorasamudra (Dvarasamudra), which was probably built by the Rastrakutas in the 9th century. In the early 12th century the Hoysalas made it their capital, and for about two centuries

Allen, Richard

2005-03-13T02:21:00.000-08:00

Soon after Allen was born, to slave parents, the family was sold to a Delaware farmer. At age 17 he became a Methodist convert and at 22 was permitted to preach. Two years later (1784), at the first general conference of the

Adair, John

2005-03-13T02:10:00.000-08:00

Scottish surveyor and cartographer whose maps established a standard of excellence for his time and probably inspired the early 18th-century surveys of Scotland. Between 1680 and 1686 he completed maps of the counties adjoining the River Forth as well as charts of the Firth of Forth, the River Clyde, and the west of Scotland. Manuscripts of these are in the National

Augustine, Saint

2005-03-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

The most widespread and longest-lasting theological controversies of the 4th century focused on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity—that is, the threeness of God represented in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Augustine's Africa had been left out of much of the fray, and most of what was written on the subject was in Greek, a language Augustine barely knew and had little

Alaska, Climates

2005-03-12T03:12:00.000-08:00

Southern coastal and southeastern Alaska, the Gulf of Alaska islands, and the Aleutians have average temperature ranges in the summer of 40 to 60 °F (4 to 16 °C) and in the winter of 40 to 20 °F (4 to -7 °C). Rainfall varies locally from 60 to 160 inches (1,525 to 4,065 mm), and the panhandle and southern islands are covered

Cosby, Bill

2005-03-12T00:59:00.000-08:00

Cosby left high school without earning his diploma and joined the U.S. Navy in 1956. While enlisted he passed a high school equivalency exam, and after his discharge he received an athletic scholarship to Temple

Arecidae

2005-03-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

Subclass of flowering plants belonging to the class Liliopsida.

Perciform, Use as food

2005-03-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Since early times, the rivers and oceans have provided man with food; fishing was one of man's earliest means for securing food. Archaeological findings among shell mounds of Scotland indicate that the sea bream (family Sparidae) formed part of the diet of early man. The Nile perches (family Latidae) have been found as mummies in ancient tombs in Egypt. The goatfishes

Jainism, Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism

2005-03-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism share many key concepts derived from the Sanskrit language and dialects that have enabled them to hone their religious debates. For example, all three traditions share a notion of karman as the actions of individuals that determine their future births; yet each has attached unique connotations to the concept. This is also true with

Agulhas, Cape

2005-03-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

Cape that is the southernmost point of the African continent, located 109 miles (176 km) southeast of Cape Town, S.Af. Its name, Portuguese for “needles,” refers to the rocks and reefs that have wrecked many ships. A lighthouse was established there in 1849. The Agulhas Banks are excellent for trawling. The cape's meridian (20° E) is the official boundary between the Indian and Atlantic

Koch, Rudolf

2005-03-10T03:47:00.000-08:00

Koch's father was on the staff of the Bavarian industrial museum in Nürnberg, and Koch went to high school in that city. As a youth he studied art in the evening while serving as an apprentice in metalworking at Hanau. After an unsuccessful effort to become an art teacher, he moved to Leipzig,

Boeotia

2005-03-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Voiotía district of ancient Greece with a distinctive military, artistic, and political history. It corresponds somewhat to the modern nomós (department) of Boeotia, the administrative centre of which is Levádhia. The nomós extends farther to the northwest, however, to include part of ancient Phocis (Fokís). It is bounded by Attica (Attikí; southeast), the Gulf of Corinth (south),

Holography

2005-03-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

An ordinary

Bur Cucumber

2005-03-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

Any of several tropical climbing plants in the genus Sicyos, of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae). One species (S. angulatus), known also as star cucumber, is native to North America. A bur cucumber has sharply lobed leaves, forked tendrils, clusters of five-petaled white flowers that are borne at the ends of long stalks that arise from the leaf axils, and clusters of

Allobroges

2005-03-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

Ancient Celtic tribe living in the northeast of Gallia Narbonensis (i.e., Narbonne Gaul, in the part of southeastern France bounded by the Rhône and Isère rivers) and in the area around Geneva. The Allobroges were first mentioned in history when Hannibal passed through their territory in 218 BC. Later, they were attacked by the Romans and finally conquered (121 BC) at the junction

Cabanatuan

2005-03-07T03:34:00.000-08:00

Chartered city, Nueva Ecija province, central Luzon, Philippines, on the Pampanga River. Formerly the capital of the province, it is the commercial centre for the eastern portion of Luzon's central plain, which is heavily farmed in rice. An important highway junction, it is also the terminus of a rail spur line. Cabanatuan is the site of Central Luzon Polytechnic College.

Guernsey

2005-03-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

In the south, Guernsey rises in a plateau to about 300 ft (90 m), with ragged coastal cliffs. It descends in steps and is drained

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Aristeas

2005-03-06T03:18:00.000-08:00

An important document of Jewish Hellenistic literature is The Letter of Aristeas, a pseudepigraphon ascribed to Aristeas, an official of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, a Greek monarch of Egypt in the 3rd century BCE. The letter is addressed to his brother and gives an account of the translation of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) into Greek, by order of Ptolemy.

Magdalena

2005-03-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Magdalena Contreras, or Contreras, delegación (district), west-central Federal District, central Mexico. It lies along the Magdalena River near Cerro Ajusco. Although once simply the commercial centre for the cereals, beans, fruits, and livestock produced in the surrounding area, Magdalena gained prominence as the site of a battle (Aug. 19–20, 1847) in the Mexican War (1846–48) that enabled the U.S. general Winfield Scott to

Tereshkova, Valentina

2005-03-04T04:46:00.000-08:00

Although she had no pilot training, Tereshkova was an accomplished amateur parachutist

Ghazni

2005-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly Ghazna, city, east-central Afghanistan. It lies beside the Ghazni River on a high plateau at an elevation of 7,300 feet (2,225 m). Afghanistan's only remaining walled town, it is dominated by a 150-foot- (45-metre-) high citadel built in the 13th century. Around the nearby village of Rowzeh-e Sultan, on the old road to Kabul (the nation's capital, 80 miles [130 km] northeast), are the ruins of ancient Ghazna, including two

Bohemian-moravian Highlands

2005-03-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Czech Ceskomoravská Vysocina , or Vrchovina plateau (125 miles [200 km] long and 35 to 50 miles wide) forming the southeastern boundary of the Bohemian Massif, which separates the former historic provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. The highlands are roughly defined by the Luznice River (west), the Dyje River (south), the Morava River (east), and the tributaries of the Elbe (Labe) River (north). They form a rolling,

Roman Road System

2005-03-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

The first of the great Roman roads, the Via Appia (Appian Way), begun by the censor Appius

Coralroot

2005-03-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the genus Corallorhiza, family Orchidaceae, consisting of about 13 species of nearly leafless, nonphotosynthetic orchids that live primarily on dead organic matter. One species is Eurasian; the others are native to North and Central America. The name coralroot refers to the coral-like shape of the reddish rhizomes (underground

Düsseldorf

2005-03-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Regierungsbezirk (administrative district), west-central North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. Düsseldorf is bordered by The Netherlands to the west and the Regierungsbezirke of Münster to the northeast, Arnsberg to the east, and Köln to the south. The district occupies an area of 2,042 square miles (5,288 square km) and consists of the northern portion of the larger

Van, Lake

2005-03-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

Turkish Van Gölü, lake, largest body of water in Turkey and the second largest in the Middle East. The lake is located in the region of eastern Anatolia near the border of Iran. It covers an area of 1,434 square miles (3,713 square km) and is more than 74 miles (119 km) across at its widest point. Known to the ancient Greek geographers as Thospitis Lacus, or Arsissa Lacus, its modern Turkish name, Van Gölü, is derived

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Of Antioch And All The East

2005-03-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

The authority of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East was limited after the Council of Chalcedon (451) to the community known as Romans,

Dream Allegory

2005-02-28T21:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Dream Vision, allegorical tale presented in the narrative framework of a dream. Especially popular in the Middle Ages, the device made more acceptable the fantastic and sometimes bizarre world of personifications and symbolic objects characteristic of medieval allegory. Well-known examples of the dream allegory include the first part of Roman de la rose (13th century); Chaucer's

Biblical Literature, The process of canonization

2005-02-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

The process of canonization was relatively long and remarkably flexible and detached; various books in use were recognized as inspired, but the Church Fathers noted, without embarrassment or criticism, how some held certain books to be canonical and others did not. Emerging Christianity assumed that through the Spirit the selection of canonical books was “certain

Medicine, Britain

2005-02-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

Before 1948, general practitioners in Britain settled where they could make a living. Patients fell into two main groups: weekly wage earners, who were compulsorily insured, were on a doctor's “panel” and were given free medical attention (for which the doctor was paid quarterly by the government); most of the remainder paid the doctor a fee for service at the time of the illness.

Romanian Orthodox Church

2005-02-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

Christianity first reached Dacia (roughly coextensive with modern Romania) under the Roman Empire at least as early as the 4th century

Chaucer, Geoffrey

2005-02-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

The outstanding English poet before Shakespeare and “the first finder of our language.” His The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English. He also contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public affairs as courtier, diplomat, and civil servant. In that career he was trusted and

Roberts, Kate

2005-02-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

Roberts set her works in the quarrying districts of North Wales and in the mining villages of South Wales, where poverty is usually the harsh determinant

Chacao

2005-02-25T04:02:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Miranda state, northern Venezuela. The city, in a valley in the central highlands, was formerly a commercial centre in an agricultural area producing coffee, corn (maize), sugarcane, and fruit. With the growth of the national capital, it has become a residential and commercial part of the Caracas metropolitan area. Highways and expressways connect

Paer, Ferdinando

2005-02-24T03:51:00.000-08:00

Paer produced his first opera, Orphée et Euridice, in Parma in 1791. From 1797 to 1802 he was in Vienna, where his most successful opera, Camilla, was produced in 1799. He was in Dresden from 1802 to 1806 and then went

Xenarthran

2005-02-23T23:44:00.000-08:00

Alfred L. Gardner, “Order Xenarthra,” in Don E. Wilson and DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.), Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (1993), pp. 63–68, provides lists of the families, genera, and species of the Xenarthra; the author is a wildlife biologist and curator of mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Gerald G. Montgomery (ed.), The Evolution and Ecology of Armadillos, Sloths, and Vermilinguas (1985), compiles 43 well-illustrated scholarly reports on all aspects of xenarthran biology, including pathology and parasitology.

Muhammad Xi

2005-02-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Instigated by his mother, a jealous wife, Boabdil rebelled against his father, the sultan Abu al-Hasan 'Ali (called in Spanish sources Muley Hacén, or Alboacen); and with the aid of the Abencerrajes

Aurunci

2005-02-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ancient tribe of Campania, in Italy. They were exterminated by the Romans in 295 BC as the culmination of 50 years of Roman military campaigns against them. The Aurunci occupied a strip of coast situated between the Volturnus and Liris (Volturno and Liri) rivers in the modern province of Caserta, with their capital at Suessa (modern Sessa Aurunca). No written record of their language

Diez, Friedrich Christian

2005-02-22T08:53:00.000-08:00

As a student Diez acquired a deep interest in Italian poetry, but a visit to the great German poet J.W. von Goethe in 1818 directed his attention to exploring

Wied, Gustav

2005-02-21T18:51:00.000-08:00

Wied was the son of a well-to-do farmer. He spent most of his life in provincial surroundings, which provide the usual background for his works. He was a private tutor for years, and then an actor, before he became

Nagasaki

2005-02-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), northwestern Kyushu, Japan, facing the East China Sea. It includes the islands of Tsushima, Iki, Hirado, and the Goto Archipelago. The prefecture has an irregular shape, with rounded Shimabara Peninsula in the southeast; Cape Nomo and Nishisonoki Peninsula enclose Omura Bay also in the southeast. Dominated by mountains, the limited agricultural land

Algebra, The structural approach dominates

2005-02-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

After the late 1930s it was clear that algebra, and in particular the structural approach within it, had become one of the most dynamic areas of research in mathematics. Structural methods, results, and concepts were actively pursued by algebraists in Germany, France, the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The structural approach was also successfully applied to redefine

Africa, Languages

2005-02-20T00:46:00.000-08:00

The knowledge of most of the individual languages of Africa is still very incomplete, but there are known to be in excess of 1,500 distinct languages. Many attempts to classify them have been inadequate because of the great complexity of the languages and because of a confusion relating language, “race,” and economy; for example, there was once a spurious view of pastoralism

Costbenefit Analysis

2005-02-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

In governmental planning and budgeting, the attempt to measure the social benefits of a proposed project in monetary terms and compare them with its costs. The procedure, which is equivalent to the business practice of cost-budgeting analysis, was first proposed in 1844 by the French engineer A.-J.-E.-J. Dupuit. It was not seriously applied until the 1936 U.S. Flood Control Act, which

Niue

2005-02-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Internally self-governing island state in free association with New Zealand. It is the westernmost of the Cook Islands but is administratively separate from them. Niue lies 1,340 miles (2,156 km) northeast of Auckland and 240 miles (385 km) east of Vava'u, Tonga, in the south-central Pacific. The capital is Alofi. Area 100 square miles (260 square km). Pop. (1994 est.) 2,200.

Submissive Behaviour

2005-02-18T07:49:00.000-08:00

Form of animal behaviour in which one individual attempts through appeasement displays to avoid injury by a dominant member of its own species. Appeasement displays are commonly found in species that are well armed (e.g., carnivores) and social. The displays, even when performed by adult males, commonly incorporate elements of infantile behaviour (e.g., in wolves, rolling

Nepenthales

2005-02-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

An order of carnivorous plants, belonging to the class Magnoliopsida, also called dicotyledon (characterized by two seed leaves). The order consists of three families: the Droseraceae, containing the sundews and the Venus's-flytrap; the Nepenthaceae, consisting of the Old World pitcher plants; and the Sarraceniaceae, containing the New World pitcher plants. All of

Mcmurtry, Larry

2005-02-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

McMurtry was educated at North Texas State College (now University; B.A., 1958) and Rice University (M.A., 1960). He was an instructor at Texas Christian University (1961–62), a lecturer in English and creative writing

Tibet, Relief

2005-02-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

Tibet is on a high plateau—the Plateau of Tibet—surrounded by enormous mountain masses. The relatively level northern part of the plateau is called the Ch'iang-t'ang; it extends more than 800 miles (1,300 kilometres) from west to east at an average elevation of 15,000 feet (4,500 metres) above sea level. The Ch'iang-t'ang is dotted with brackish lakes, the largest of these being Lakes Ch'i-lin and

Kulakova, Galina

2005-02-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

A member of four Soviet Olympic ski teams from 1964 to 1976, Kulakova was a national champion from 1969 to 1971 and a world champion in 1969 and 1970. In 1968 at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, Kulakova won

Kyrgyzstan, Plant and animal life

2005-02-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

Woodlands run along the lower valleys and on slopes of the north-facing ranges. These are coniferous forests, containing the striking Tien Shan white spruce and occupying 3 to 4 percent of the country's area. The brown bear, wild pig, lynx, gray wolf, and ermine live in the woodlands. Wooded ravines and the valleys of the mountainous steppe regions provide the abode of the

New Deal

2005-02-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

The domestic program of the administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1939, which took action to bring about immediate economic relief as well as reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labour, and housing, vastly increasing the scope of the federal government's activities. The term was taken from Roosevelt's speech accepting the

Ikire

2005-02-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

Town, Osun state, southwestern Nigeria. The town lies along the road from Ibadan to Ile-Ife. A collecting point for local cash crops (cocoa and palm oil and kernels), it also serves as a trade centre for yams, maize (corn), cassava, palm produce, cotton, and kola nuts. Cotton weaving is a traditional industry of its Yoruba inhabitants. Pop. (1991 est.) 111,500.

Absurd, Theatre Of The

2005-02-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

Dramatic works of certain European and American dramatists of the 1950s and early '60s who agreed with the Existentialist philosopher Albert Camus's assessment, in his essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942), that the human situation is essentially absurd, devoid of purpose. The term is also loosely applied to those dramatists and the production of those works. Though no formal Absurdist

Girodet-trioson, Anne-louis

2005-02-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Girodet-Trioson won the Prix de Rome (1789) for his “Joseph Recognized by His Brothers,” which was influenced by the cold, sober Neoclassicism of his teacher, Jacques-Louis David. In “The Sleep of Endymion” (1792; Louvre, Paris)

Harding, Chester

2005-02-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Early in his life, Harding worked as a chair maker, peddler, innkeeper, and house painter. He eventually began to paint signs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and became a self-taught, itinerant portrait

Victor (iv)

2005-02-13T02:56:00.000-08:00

Made cardinal by Pope Innocent II in 1138, he was elected by a minority of cardinals in September 1159, while, concurrently, a majority elected Alexander

Bruegel, Pieter, The Elder

2005-02-12T03:02:00.000-08:00

Byname Peasant Bruegel, Dutch Pieter Bruegel De Oudere, or Boeren Bruegel, Bruegel also spelled Brueghel, or Breughel the greatest Flemish painter of the 16th century, whose landscapes and vigorous, often witty scenes of peasant life are particularly renowned (see photograph). Since Bruegel signed and dated many of his works, his artistic evolution can be traced from the early landscapes,

Buzau

2005-02-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Buzau judet (county), southeastern Romania, on the Buzau River, approximately 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Bucharest. Its location near the foothills of the Eastern Carpathians at the limit of the Danube Plain fostered its development as a market and trading centre. It was first documented in the records of the Brasov merchants in a reference to the Buzau Fair of

Digestive System Disease, Roundworms

2005-02-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

Roundworms, particularly Ascaris lumbricoides, may cause intestinal obstruction if present in sufficient numbers. As they mature from the larval state to the adult worm, roundworms migrate through the body, causing ascariasis, an infection characterized by fever, pneumonitis (lung inflammation), cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts), and pancreatitis

Fiedler, Arthur

2005-02-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

Maestro of the Boston Pops Orchestra for 50 seasons and the best-selling classical conductor of all time; his recordings with the Pops sold some 50,000,000 discs. (The Pops Orchestra is the Boston Symphony minus its principal players.) Fiedler, whose principal aim was “to give audiences a good time,” led the Pops in performances of popular tunes, show

China, The bureaucratic style

2005-02-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

Regular posts in the Nan Sung civil service numbered about 20,000 without counting numerous sinecures, temporary commissions, and a slightly larger number of military officers. Besides eliminating most patronage privileges, by which high officials were entitled to obtain an official title for a son or other family member, the court occasionally considered a general

Temple, Shirley

2005-02-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

At age three Temple was picked from her dancing class to appear in Baby Burlesks, a series of one-reel comedies. In 1934 she gained recognition in her first feature film, the musical Stand Up and

Sitrah

2005-02-10T03:06:00.000-08:00

Town, in the state and emirate of Bahrain, located on Sitrah island in the Persian Gulf. An oil port, Sitrah handles not only the entire petroleum production of Bahrain but is also an export centre for oil fields in northeastern Saudi Arabia. A submarine and land pipeline runs northwest about 36 miles (58 km) across the Gulf of Bahrain and Bahrain island, from Al-Damman on the

Cabot Family

2005-02-09T05:58:00.000-08:00

John and his son Joseph were highly successful merchants, trading in rum and slaves and also operating a fleet of privateers. Joseph's son George Cabot furthered the family fortune, but he is best remembered for

Knebel, Karl Ludwig Von

2005-02-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

After serving in the Prussian army, Knebel became tutor to Prince Konstantine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. While traveling with the prince and his older brother,

Braddock, James J.

2005-02-07T17:06:00.000-08:00

Braddock's professional name was changed by his manager to James J. early in his career, patterning the name

Gentil, émile

2005-02-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

A naval officer, Gentil led an expedition from the French Congo down the Chari (Shari) River to Lake Chad in 1895–97, establishing a French protectorate