852 résultats pour "wels"

• Tobacco - biology.

  quality cigars are made entirely by hand, most cigars are manufactured by machine. Chewing tobaccos are generally made from thick grades of leaves to which binders and flavorings are added. Chewing tobacco is formed by pressing the tobacco intoblocks known as plugs. Snuff is made by grinding tobacco into fine powder, which is then allowed to ferment for a long period of time. Frequently, snuff is scented withspices, such as jasmine or cloves. V TOBACCO INDUSTRY Over 6 million tons of commercial...

• Feudalism I INTRODUCTION Feudalism, contractual system of political and military relationships existing among members of the nobility in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages.

  lord”; thus, it was not rebellion for a subvassal to fight against his lord’s lord. In England, however, William the Conqueror and his successors required their vassals’vassals to take oaths of fealty to them. B Duties of a Vassal Military service in the field was basic to feudalism, but it was far from all that the vassal owed to his lord. When the lord had a castle, he might require his vassals togarrison it, a service called castle-guard. The lord also expected his vassals to attend his cour...

• Assyria - USA History.

  villages and cities were ransacked and razed, but no attempt was made to annex their territories. In the course of time this pattern of conquest changed, and the Assyrian rulers began to make Assyria the center of a new empire by incorporating the conquered landsinto their domain, although probably not according to a conscious plan. Toward the end of the 10th century BC, for example, Adad-nirari II annexed the Aramaean state centering on Nisibis, east of the Habur River. His son, Tukulti-Ninurt...

• Benjamin Franklin.

  Copley Medal for distinguished contributions to experimental science. Franklin also exerted a great influence on education in Pennsylvania. In 1749 he wrote thepamphlet Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania; its publication led to the establishment in 1751 of the Academy of Philadelphia, later to become the University of Pennsylvania. The curriculum he suggested departed considerably from the study of the Greek and Roman classics then in vogue. Instead itemphasized Engl...

• Benjamin Franklin - USA History.

  Copley Medal for distinguished contributions to experimental science. Franklin also exerted a great influence on education in Pennsylvania. In 1749 he wrote thepamphlet Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania; its publication led to the establishment in 1751 of the Academy of Philadelphia, later to become the University of Pennsylvania. The curriculum he suggested departed considerably from the study of the Greek and Roman classics then in vogue. Instead itemphasized Engl...

• Cuban Revolution.

  Confederation of Labor, threw its support behind Batista. In the same month, the U.S. government cut off weapons sales to Batista’s government. U.S. envoys andpolitical moderates in Cuba tried to convince Batista to leave power peacefully, but Batista refused. Meanwhile, revolutionaries from Castro’s movement and from otherorganizations escalated violent resistance. During the second half of 1958, guerrillas seized ground in the countryside from the army. In the cities, several of Batista’sleadi...

• Greenhouse Effect.

  addition, humans cut down huge tracts of trees for lumber or to clear land for farming or building. This process, known as deforestation, can both release the carbonstored in trees and significantly reduce the number of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide. As a result of these human activities, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is accumulating faster than Earth’s natural processes can absorb the gas. By analyzing airbubbles trapped in glacier ice that is many centuries old, scientists have d...

• Neandertals.

  Neandertals made stone tools by striking flakes from rock “cores.” The cores were carefully selected and prepared so that only a single blow was normally required todetach a flake. A number of relatively standardized flakes were sometimes produced from a single core. These sharp flakes served as “blanks” that were further workedand shaped into the desired tools. Suitable stone was sometimes rare, and often tools were sharpened and resharpened to make new tools, yielding a whole variety ofshapes...

• Extrasolar Planets - astronomy.

  When a planet passes in a front of the star it orbits—an event called a transit—it causes a small dip in the brightness of the star. Measuring the slight change in thebrightness can be used not only to directly detect a planet, but to determine its size and orbit. However, the planet needs to orbit in a plane that lies in a telescope’sline of sight on the star. Despite long odds, Earth-based telescopes have detected and studied a few exoplanets using this method. The first space telescope design...

• Fruit - biology.

  from a flower with several pistils. The ovary may have a single compartment, or carpel, which houses the ovule or ovules. Or the ovary may consist of two or morecarpels, each of which may contain one or more ovules. A drupe develops from an ovary with a single carpel and is characterized by an edible exocarp and mesocarp and an inedible, hard endocarp, or pit that encloses asingle seed. Cherries, peaches, apricots, and plums are examples of drupes. Almonds also are classified as drupes, but in a...

• Aztec Empire.

  tribute to the empire in agricultural products, which were used to finance public projects. All able-bodied men owed military service to the empire. Citizens could also bedrafted to work on public lands or build temples, dikes, aqueducts, and roads. Although Aztec society had strict classes, a person’s status could change based on his or her contribution to society. Commoners could improve their rank, especially byperforming well in battle, and become prosperous landowners. Young people of some...

• Aztec Empire - USA History.

  tribute to the empire in agricultural products, which were used to finance public projects. All able-bodied men owed military service to the empire. Citizens could also bedrafted to work on public lands or build temples, dikes, aqueducts, and roads. Although Aztec society had strict classes, a person’s status could change based on his or her contribution to society. Commoners could improve their rank, especially byperforming well in battle, and become prosperous landowners. Young people of some...

• Montréal - geography.

  percent), and Eastern Orthodox (2.8 percent) religions. Another 5.4 percent claim no religious affiliation. IV EDUCATION AND CULTURE Montréal has a large number of private schools, most of them partially funded by the province. Like the rest of Québec province, Montréal has two public schoolsystems, one for French speakers and one for English speakers. The Charter of the French Language (1977), known as Bill 101, restricts access to English-languageschools and requires children of immigrants t...

• Montréal - Geography.

  percent), and Eastern Orthodox (2.8 percent) religions. Another 5.4 percent claim no religious affiliation. IV EDUCATION AND CULTURE Montréal has a large number of private schools, most of them partially funded by the province. Like the rest of Québec province, Montréal has two public schoolsystems, one for French speakers and one for English speakers. The Charter of the French Language (1977), known as Bill 101, restricts access to English-languageschools and requires children of immigrants t...

• Armenian Massacres .

  Some of the Armenian revolutionaries and others hoped that the massacres would provoke the intervention of the European powers (Britain, France, Austria-Hungary,and Germany). Although the leaders of the European powers publicly condemned the actions of the sultan, they failed to intervene. Mutual rivalries and suspicions, aswell as the imprecise terms of Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin, helped produce this inaction. But these bloody episodes soon paved the way for the rise of a newnationalist...

• Influenza.

  days and disappear in seven to ten days. However, coughing and fatigue may persist for two or more weeks. Death from influenza itself is rare. But influenza can aggravate underlying medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease. Invading influenza viruses produceinflammation in the lining of the respiratory tract, damage that increases the risk that secondary infections will develop. Common complications include bronchitis,sinusitis, and bacterial pneumonia, occurring most frequently in olde...

• Toys. I INTRODUCTION Toys, objects that serve as playthings for children. Although the

  clay. These readily available elements were also used to make more elaborate toys as human society advanced. Archaeologists have found primitive, handmade toys such as wooden or cloth dolls, clay marbles, and terracotta figures that date back thousands of years. In ancientEgypt, Greece, and Rome, people placed dolls or clay figures in the graves or tombs of children for them to play with in the afterlife. The yo-yo may seem like a 20th-century fad, but it actually dates back at least 2,500 years...

• Trinidad and Tobago - country.

  III PEOPLE The history of Trinidad and Tobago is reflected in the makeup of its population, among the most ethnically diverse in the Caribbean. Blacks of African ancestry andAsians of Indian ancestry each make up about 40 percent of the population. The remainder is mainly of mixed ancestry, although there are also small groups of peopleof Chinese, European, South American, and Middle Eastern descent. The ethnic diversity of Trinidad and Tobago owes its origins to slavery and its abolition. Afr...

• Louis XIV I INTRODUCTION Louis XIV (1638-1715), king of France (1643-1715), known as the Sun King.

  he could defend against attack from his enemies. In the first instance, Louis worked to tighten central control over the array of departments, regions, and duchies that together made up France. To this end, he revivedthe use of regional intendants, officials who were sent to the provinces with instructions to establish order and effective royal justice. Although agents of the centralgovernment, intendants worked closely with the local nobility and legal institutions to establish efficient admini...

• Louis XIV.

  he could defend against attack from his enemies. In the first instance, Louis worked to tighten central control over the array of departments, regions, and duchies that together made up France. To this end, he revivedthe use of regional intendants, officials who were sent to the provinces with instructions to establish order and effective royal justice. Although agents of the centralgovernment, intendants worked closely with the local nobility and legal institutions to establish efficient admini...

• Diving (sport).

  water that creates a larger, more noticeable splash after the diver’s body displaces water under the surface. To minimize this upjet, top-level divers make a quickswimming motion by releasing their hands and collapsing their arms as they submerge. Instead of a large splash, the surface of the water appears to boil as the airbubbles rise from the diver’s entry. For feetfirst entries, which are rare in top-level competitions, divers place their legs and feet together while pointing their toes down...

• Protestantism.

  F England The Anglican Church became the established church in England when Henry VIII assumed (1534) the ecclesiastical authority over the English church that had previouslybeen exercised by the pope. Henry’s motive was to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragón rather than to reform church doctrine, and he imposed severe lawsupholding the major tenets of medieval Catholicism. Under King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth, however, the Anglican Church developed a distinctly Protestant creedthat w...

• Horse Racing.

  interested parties claim the same horse at the same price, lots are drawn to determine the winning offer. Knowledgeable owners and trainers may use claiming races toobtain, at bargain prices, horses whose former owners underestimated the potential of their animals. Two other types of contests are match races and walkovers. A match race pits only two horses, almost always that season’s most successful racers, in a head-to-headduel. A walkover occurs when only one horse has not been scratched (w...

• Warfare.

  organizations as the League of Nations in 1920 and the United Nations in 1945, and détente (suggested for scaling down the cold war). See Arms Control. Modern antiwar sentiment and organized peace movements are derived in large part from the beliefs of religious sects such as the Society of Friends and the MennoniteChurch. The first peace societies in history were established in the U.S. in 1815, and since then pacifists have actively opposed wars and conscription, and promoted thecause of con...

• Virus (life science) - biology.

  RNA into DNA earned them their name because this process is the reverse of the usual transfer of genetic information, from DNA to RNA.) The DNA form of theretrovirus genome is then integrated into the cellular DNA and is referred to as the provirus. The viral genome is replicated every time the host cell replicates its DNA and is thus passed on to daughter cells. Hepatitis B virus can also transcribe RNA to DNA, but this virus packages the DNA version of its genome into virus particles. Unlike...

• Han Dynasty - History.

  However, these reforms faced serious opposition. The feudal barons formed an alliance and rebelled against Wang Mang. They were joined by members of the Liufamily, who were descended from Jingdi (Ching-ti), a former Han emperor, and a civil war followed. As the empire fell into disorder, militant secret societies formedarmed bands and attacked villages and towns. Wang Mang had believed that proper institutions would eventually bring peace to China, but in AD 23, an army led by the Liu clan brea...

• Vladimir Lenin I INTRODUCTION Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), Russian revolutionary leader and theorist, who presided over the first government of Soviet Russia and then that of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

  with Japan ( see Russo-Japanese War). A string of military defeats and the strains placed on society by the war made for a tense atmosphere in Saint Petersburg, and by the beginning of 1905 various segments of Russian society, including students and liberal members of the nobility, were calling for political reform. When an unarmedcrowd of workers marched to the city’s Winter Palace on January 9 (or January 22, in the Western, or New Style, calendar) to submit a petition to Emperor Nicholas II,s...

• Vladimir Lenin.

  with Japan ( see Russo-Japanese War). A string of military defeats and the strains placed on society by the war made for a tense atmosphere in Saint Petersburg, and by the beginning of 1905 various segments of Russian society, including students and liberal members of the nobility, were calling for political reform. When an unarmedcrowd of workers marched to the city’s Winter Palace on January 9 (or January 22, in the Western, or New Style, calendar) to submit a petition to Emperor Nicholas II,s...

• Vladimir Lenin .

  with Japan ( see Russo-Japanese War). A string of military defeats and the strains placed on society by the war made for a tense atmosphere in Saint Petersburg, and by the beginning of 1905 various segments of Russian society, including students and liberal members of the nobility, were calling for political reform. When an unarmedcrowd of workers marched to the city’s Winter Palace on January 9 (or January 22, in the Western, or New Style, calendar) to submit a petition to Emperor Nicholas II,s...

• Portraiture I INTRODUCTION Portraiture, visual representation of individual people, distinguished by references to the subject's character, social position, wealth, or profession.

  CaracallaCaracalla is a Roman portrait bust in marble of the emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, probably done circa ad 215. Theson of Septimius Severus, Caracalla (as he was known) was a brutal man whose qualities come through in this piece withits dramatic realism. The bust, which is now in the Louvre, Paris, evidently served as the inspiration for Michelangelo’sbust of Brutus more than one thousand years later.Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York The first representations of identifiable ind...

• Asteroid - astronomy.

  Asteroids of the S type, related to the stony iron meteorites, make up about 15 percent of the total population of asteroids that can be seen from Earth. Much rarer arethe M-type objects, corresponding in composition to the meteorites known as “irons.” These objects are made up of an iron-nickel alloy and may represent the cores ofbodies that were large enough to differentiate into layers and to melt deep inside. Their rocky outer layers may have been removed by impacts with other asteroids . A...

• Human Sexuality.

  About six weeks after conception, if a Y chromosome is present in the embryo's cells (as it is in normal males), a gene on the chromosome directs the undifferentiatedgonads to become testes. If the Y chromosome is not present (as in normal females), the undifferentiated gonads will become ovaries. If the gonads become testes, they begin to produce androgens (male hormones, primarily testosterone) by about eight weeks after conception. These androgens stimulate development of the one set of the...

• Skin. I INTRODUCTION Skin, outer body covering of an animal. The term skin

  III SKIN APPENDAGES In humans, the skin appendages, or structures embedded in the skin, include hair, nails, and several types of glands. Glands are groups of cells that produce andsecrete substances needed by other parts of the body. In other vertebrates, the skin appendages include scales (in fish and reptiles) and feathers (in birds). Together,the skin and the skin appendages are known as the integumentary system of the body. A Hair Hair is a distinguishing characteristic of mammals, a gro...

• Atlantic Slave Trade.

  members of the planters’ society. Through most of the years of the Atlantic trade, prices for Africans remained favorable in relation to the price of the crops theyproduced. They were, thus, the best economic solution for plantation owners seeking inexpensive labor. The Atlantic slave trade began as a trickle in the 1440s and grew slowly through the 17th century. By 1700, 25,000 slaves, on average, were crossing the Atlantic everyyear. After 1700 the trade grew much more rapidly to a peak in the...

• United States House of Representatives.

  Because of the high cost of elections and the short two-year term of office, members of the House campaign almost constantly. They spend much of their time raisingcampaign funds, and they frequently return to their districts to keep in touch with voters. Because the elections are so frequent, House members tend to pay closeattention to how their votes in Congress will be seen in the short term. House members tend to come from wealthier family backgrounds than average Americans. Few working class...

• From Bulfinch's Mythology: Cupid and Psyche - anthology.

  waters, and fast by, a magnificent palace whose august front impressed the spectator that it was not the work of mortal hands, but the happy retreat of some god.Drawn by admiration and wonder, she approached the building and ventured to enter. Every object she met filled her with pleasure and amazement. Golden pillarssupported the vaulted roof, and the walls were enriched with carvings and paintings representing beasts of the chase and rural scenes, adapted to delight the eye of thebeholder. Pro...

• Children's Literature I INTRODUCTION Kate Greenaway's May Day The delicate skill and graceful simplicity of English artist Kate Greenaway's illustrations delighted children and impressed thinkers, including art critic John Ruskin.

  With the development of vernacular literature, particularly after the invention of printing, more children's books appeared. The publications of the first English printer,William Caxton, included the Book of Curtesye (1477), a collection of rhymes that sets forth rules of conduct for a “goodly chylde.” Eight years later Caxton printed Le Morte d'Arthur (1469-1470; The Death of Arthur ) by English translator and compiler Sir Thomas Malory, which became the basis for later treatments of the A...

• Reformation .

  Saxony, he made war against the Schmalkaldic League, a defensive association of Protestant princes. The Roman Catholic forces were successful at first. Later,however, Duke Maurice went over to the Protestant side, and Charles V was obliged to make peace. The religious civil war ended with the religious Peace of Augsburg in1555. Its terms provided that each of the rulers of the German states, which numbered about 300, choose between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism and enforcethe chosen faith up...

• Moon - astronomy.

  B Volcanic Features Maria, domes, rilles, and a few craters display indisputable characteristics of volcanic origin. Maria are plains of dark-colored rock that cover approximately 40 percent ofthe Moon's visible hemisphere. The maria formed when molten rock erupted onto the surface and solidified between 3.16 billion and 3.96 billion years ago. This rockresembles terrestrial basalt, a volcanic rock type widely distributed on Earth, but the rock that formed the maria has a higher iron content an...

• Gerald Ford.

  In May 1973 the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities opened hearings and in a series of startling revelations, Dean testified that Mitchell had ordered thebreak-in and that the president had authorized payments to the burglars to keep them quiet. The Nixon administration vehemently denied these assertions. In March 1974 a grand jury indicted Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and four other White House officials for their part in covering up the Watergate break-in andreferred to Nixon...

• Gerald Ford

  In May 1973 the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities opened hearings and in a series of startling revelations, Dean testified that Mitchell had ordered thebreak-in and that the president had authorized payments to the burglars to keep them quiet. The Nixon administration vehemently denied these assertions. In March 1974 a grand jury indicted Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and four other White House officials for their part in covering up the Watergate break-in andreferred to Nixon...

• Census.

  Prior to any census, a census agency must develop an accurate list of addresses and maps to ensure that everyone is counted. The U.S. Census Bureau obtainsaddresses primarily from the United States Postal Service and from previous census address lists. It also works closely with state, local, and tribal governments tocompile accurate lists. Finally, census agencies often conduct an extensive marketing campaign before Census Day to remind the general population about theimportance of responding t...

• Astrobiology - astronomy.

  water to help reactions along. American chemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey tested part of Oparin and Haldane’s hypothesis in the early 1950s by simulating conditions of the early Earth. In whathas become known as the Miller-Urey experiment, the two scientists connected two flasks with a loop of glass tubing that allowed the gases to pass between the flasks.They filled the upper flask with methane, ammonia, and hydrogen—components thought to have been in the early atmosphere. They filled the...

• Mountain Climbing.

  teeth on one side, and a straight, flat, metal blade called an adze on the other. Ice axes have many uses. One of the most common is to help the climber stay balanced on steep slopes. The climber swings the axe with a short, quick movement to lodge the pick in snow or ice, creating a secure anchor. If a climber should slip and beginsliding down a snowfield, a self-arrest can be performed by turning face down on the snow and burying the pick in the snow surface. The climber’s weight over the...

• Internet.

  usually pays a fixed monthly fee for a dedicated connection. In exchange, the company providing the connection agrees to relay data between the user’s computer andthe Internet. Dial-up is the least expensive access technology, but it is also the least convenient. To use dial-up access, a subscriber must have a telephone modem, a device thatconnects a computer to the telephone system and is capable of converting data into sounds and sounds back into data. The user’s ISP provides software that con...

• Detroit - geography.

  of German and Irish immigrants. In the first half of the 20th century, the percentage of foreign-born residents declined, even though many immigrants arrived fromeastern Europe. During World War II (1939-1945), both whites and blacks were attracted from the South to work in the city’s defense industries. In 1950 foreign-bornand black residents each made up about 16 percent of the total population. In the five decades after 1950, the city lost almost half of its population, as many white resident...

• Iceland - country.

  III PEOPLE Icelanders are one of the most homogenous peoples in the world. They are predominantly of Nordic origin, descendants of the hardy people who emigrated fromNorway to Iceland in the Middle Ages. There are also some Celtic influences from Irish and Scottish immigrants who arrived from the British Isles ( see Celts). The population of Iceland (2008 estimate) is 304,367. Numerous times in its history, Iceland has suffered major population losses due to epidemics, volcanic eruptions, and...

• Mythology.

  Across cultures, mythologies tend to describe similar characters. A common character is the trickster. The trickster is recklessly bold and even immoral, but through hisinventiveness he often helps human beings. In Greek mythology, Hermes (best known as the messenger of the gods) was a famous trickster. In one version of acharacteristic tale, Hermes, while still an infant, stole the cattle of his half-brother Apollo. To avoid leaving a trail that could be followed, Hermes made shoes from thebark...

• African Literature I INTRODUCTION African Literature, oral and written literature produced on the African continent.

  that few scholars of African culture know any African languages, and few Africans know an African language other than their own. The best-known literatures in Africanlanguages include those in Yoruba and Hausa in West Africa; Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu in southern Africa; and Amharic, Somali, and Swahili in East Africa. In West Africa, Yoruba writing emerged after Bishop Ajayi Crowther, a former slave, developed a script for the language and in 1900 published the first Yorubatranslation of the Bible...

• Public Education in the United States.

  opportunities for them to break out from whatever social or economic circumstances constrained their development. IV HIGHER EDUCATION During the 20th century participation in higher or postsecondary education in the United States increased as dramatically as it did in American high schools. At thebeginning of the century about 2 percent of Americans from the ages of 18 to 24 were enrolled in a college. There were fewer than 1,000 colleges then, with enrollmenttotaling about 157,000 students. N...