Spandrel
Also spelled �Spandril, � the roughly triangular area above and on either side of an arch, bounded by a line running horizontally through the apex of the arch, a line rising vertically from the springing of the arch, and the curved extrados, or top of the arch. When arches adjoin, the entire area between their crowns and springing line is a spandrel. If it is filled in, as is ordinarily the case, the
Dragon Rug
Early examples are narrow for their length, with a single-stripe
More, Sir Anthony
More studied his art under Jan van Scorel, and, after making a professional visit to Italy, he began to paint portraits in the style of Hans Holbein. His rise to eminence was rapid. In 1552 he was invited to Madrid by the emperor Charles V. In 1554 he
Marqu�s, Ren�
His best-known play,
Wage And Salary, Subsistence theory
Subsistence theories emphasize the supply aspects and neglect the demand aspects of the labour market. They hold that change in the supply of workers is the basic force that drives real wages to the minimum required for subsistence. Elements of a subsistence theory appear in The Wealth of Nations, where Smith wrote that the wages paid to workers had to be enough
Annelid, Hormones
Neurosecretory cells, which are nerve cells that produce hormones, are found in the brain; their structure, similar to that of nonsecretory nerve cells, consists of fine projections (an axon and neurofibrils)
Italian Literature, Poetry after World War II
Paradoxically, of all the forms of writing, poetry seems to be the form most thriving, although one late 20th-century critic remarked that there may be more poets in Italy than readers of poetry. Furthermore, the more recent the author, the more arguable his or her place in the canon. An authoritative 1,200-page anthology by two experts in the field, poet Maurizio Cucchi and critic
Eisenhower, Mamie
Although she did not change the job of first lady, Mamie Eisenhower was a favourite of many American women, who imitated her youthful style (known as the �Mamie style�) and what her husband called her �unaffected manner.�
Furniture, Fireplaces
The heating of rooms and large halls remained a major problem until the advent of modern central heating systems. The open hearth was replaced during the late Middle Ages by the fireplace, which is merely an architectonic way of framing the burning logs. During the period when it was important as a source of heat, the fireplace became the object of design work by significant
China, Internal migration
Migrations have occurred often throughout the history of China. Sometimes they took place because a famine or political disturbance would cause the depopulation of an area already intensively cultivated, after which people in adjacent crowded regions would move in to occupy the deserted land. Sometime between 1640 and 1646 a peasant rebellion broke out in Szechwan,
Arts, Central Asian, Turkish literature
The purely Turkish period in the history of Turkish literatures came before the conversion of the Turks to Islam and covers approximately the 8th to the 11th centuries AD. The oldest literary legacy of the period is found in the Orhon inscriptions, found in the Orhon valley, northern Mongolia, in 1889 and deciphered in 1893 by the Danish philologist Vilhelm Thomsen. The inscriptions
Pacific Ocean, The westerlies
Within the belts of the westerly winds, cold easterly winds from polar regions meet the warm westerly winds of the middle latitudes, causing the formation of the traveling depressions characteristic of middle latitudes. The zone of convergence, or polar front, is most strongly developed in winter when the contrast in temperature and humidity of the air between
Permafrost
Arthur H. Lachenbruch, Mechanics of Thermal Contraction Cracks and Ice-Wedge Polygons in Permafrost (1962), is a classic paper on the quantitative interpretation of the formation of ice-wedge polygons in permafrost. Troy L. P�w�, Richard E. Church, and Marvin J. Andresen, Origin and Paleoclimatic Significance of Large-Scale Patterned Ground in the Donnelly Dome Area, Alaska (1969), discusses the origin of ice-wedge casts and relict permafrost in central Alaska and offers paleoclimatic interpretations. R. Dale Guthrie, Frozen Fauna of the Mammoth Steppe (1990), discusses fossil carcasses of Ice Age mammals preserved in permafrost. Troy L. P�w�, Geologic Hazards of the Fairbanks Area, Alaska (1982), a highly illustrated work, contains an up-to-date presentation of the greatest geologic hazard to life in polar areas: problems posed by seasonally and perennially frozen ground. G.H. Johnston (ed.), Permafrost: Engineering Design and Construction (1981), is a comprehensive book on construction problems in permafrost areas, with examples mainly from northern Canada. Troy L. P�w�, �Permafrost,� in George A. Kiersch et al. (eds.), The Heritage of Engineering Geology: The First Hundred Years (1991), pp. 277 - 298, provides an up-to-date, well-illustrated treatment of the origin, distribution, and ice content of permafrost and of engineering problems in permafrost regions.
Austrian Succession, War Of The
In the war for the Austrian succession itself, France unsuccessfully supported the dubious claims of Bavaria, Saxony, and Spain to parts of the Habsburg domain and supported the claim of Charles
Ford, Betty
After Gerald Ford narrowly lost the election of 1976 to Jimmy Carter, the Fords retired to Rancho Mirage, California, where Betty's dependence on prescription drugs continued. In early 1978, under pressure from her family, she agreed to enter a treatment centre in Long Beach, California. After her successful stay she founded the Betty Ford Center to treat others with similar addictions; the centre became very popular and attracted patients from all walks of life. Although much about her life was traditional, Betty Ford compiled a remarkably independent record as first lady, and she became enormously popular for her honesty and candour.
Taeuber, Conrad; And Barnes Taeuber, Irene
Conrad Taeuber was educated at the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., 1931). He held a number of positions in
Luxor
Also called �El-Aksur,� or� Al-Uqsur,�
Zande
Also called �Azande�, also spelled �Asande� a people of central Africa who speak a language of the Adamawa-Ubangi branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Extending across the Nile-Congo drainage divide, they live partly in The Sudan, partly in Congo (Kinshasa), and partly in the Central African Republic. The regions they inhabit, savanna in the north and rainforest in the south, are mostly suitable for agriculture
Culloden, Battle Of
Also called �Battle Of Drummossie� (April 16, 1746), the last battle of the �Forty-five Rebellion,� when the Jacobites, under Charles Edward, the Young Pretender (�Bonnie Prince Charlie�), were defeated by British forces under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Culloden is a tract of moorland in the county of Inverness, Scotland, forming a part of the northeast of Drummossie Moor and lying about 6 miles (10 km) east of
Balbo, Italo
After studying at Florence University and the Institute of Social Science in Rome, Balbo served as an officer in the Alpine Corps during World War I. An early Fascist, he led the Blackshirt militia in the March on Rome (October
Ilex
Genus of plants commonly known collectively as holly (q.v.).
Arts, Central Asian, Mongolian Huns
In the 4th century BC the Huns started to migrate westward from the Ordos region. By the 3rd century BC they had reached the Transbaikalia and had begun to enter Mongolia, which soon became the centre of their empire. Many mounds mark their progress. Those in the Zidzha Valley lie at the same latitude as the Pazyryk mounds and were subjected to similar conditions of freezing,
Pocahontas
Matoaka, whose pet name was
Steer Wrestling
Also called �bulldogging� rodeo event in which a mounted cowboy chases a full-grown steer, dives from his horse on top of the animal, grasps its horns, digs his heels in the ground to bring the animal to a stop, and twists it to the ground. The event is timed from the moment a barrier in front of the cowboy is released to the moment the steer is judged down - i.e., flat on its side with all four legs and head in
