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Khan, Sadiq Aman

(Encyclopedia)Khan, Sadiq Aman, 1970–, British political leader. The son of Pakistani immigrants, he studied law at the Univ. of North London (now London Metropolitan Univ.) and the College of Law (now the Univ. ...

static

(Encyclopedia)static, term formerly use to describe electrical noise in radio reception, especially noise that originates outside a transmitter and receiver, e.g., in the atmosphere or in human-made devices. In gen...

Blacher, Boris

(Encyclopedia)Blacher, Boris bläˈkhər [key], 1903–75, Estonian-German composer, b. Yingkou, China. Blacher lived for six years in Siberia. He studied in Berlin and in 1953 became the director of the West Berli...

motivation

(Encyclopedia)motivation, in psychology, the intention of achieving a goal, leading to goal-directed behavior. Some human activity seems to be best explained by postulating an inner directing drive. While a drive i...

virology

(Encyclopedia)virology, study of viruses and their role in disease. Many viruses, such as animal RNA viruses and viruses that infect bacteria, or bacteriophages, have become useful laboratory tools in genetic studi...

cognitive psychology

(Encyclopedia)cognitive psychology, school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, and language. It had its foundations in the Gestalt psychology of Max Wertheimer, Wo...

fire

(Encyclopedia)fire, the phenomenon of combustion as seen in light, flame, and heat. One of the basic tools of human culture, its use is extremely ancient, predating the existence of Homo sapiens by several hundred ...

Darwish, Mahmoud

(Encyclopedia)Darwish, Mahmoud, 1941–2008, widely considered the Palestinian national poet, b. Barwa, Palestine (now in Israel). He was born to middle-class Sunni Muslim farmers, who were displaced when soldiers ...

behaviorism

(Encyclopedia)behaviorism, school of psychology which seeks to explain animal and human behavior entirely in terms of observable and measurable responses to environmental stimuli. Behaviorism was introduced (1913) ...

Valla, Lorenzo

(Encyclopedia)Valla, Lorenzo lōrānˈtsō välˈlä [key], c.1407–57, Italian humanist. Valla knew Greek and Latin well and was chosen by Pope Nicholas V to translate Herodotus and Thucydides into Latin. From hi...