adversary procedure In Anglo-American law, the principal method of offering evidence in court. It requires the opposing sides to present per¬ tinent information and to introduce and cross-examine witnesses before a jury and/or a judge. Each side must conduct its own investigation. In criminal proceedings, the prosecution represents the government and has at its disposal the police department with its investigators and laborato¬ ries; the defense must arrange and pay for its own investigation. (Legal aid is available for the poor.) In civil (noncriminal) proceedings the adver¬ sary system works similarly, except that both sides engage private attor¬ neys to prepare their cases. Skillful questioning often produces testimony that can be interpreted in various ways; in cross-examination, lawyers seek to alter the jury’s initial perception of the testimony.
adverse possession In Anglo-American property law, holding of real property (see real and personal property) with the knowledge and against the will of one who has a superior ownership interest in it. Statutes of limitation in most U.S. states allow an adverse possessor to acquire legal title if the owner does not seek timely possession.
advertising Techniques and practices used to bring products, services, opinions, or causes to public notice for the purpose of persuading the pub¬ lic to respond in a certain way. Weekly newspapers in London first carried advertisements in the 17th century; by the 18th century such advertising was flourishing. The first advertising agencies were established in the 19th century to broker for space in newspapers, and by the early 20th century agencies were producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork. Most advertising promotes goods for sale, but similar meth¬ ods are used in public service messages to promote causes, charities, or political candidates. In many countries, advertising is the most important source of income for the media through which it is conducted. In addition to newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media, advertising media
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20 I Adwa ► aepyornis
include direct mail (see direct-mail marketing), billboards and posters, tran¬ sit advertising, the Internet, and promotional items such as matchbooks or calendars. Advertisers attempt to choose media that are favoured by the advertisers’ target audience. See also marketing; merchandising.
Adwa Vad-9-w9\, Battle of or Battle of Adowa (March 1, 1896) Military clash at Adwa, in north-central Ethiopia, between the Ethiopian army of King Menilek II and Italian forces. The decisive Ethiopian victory produced independence for Ethiopia and checked Italy’s attempt to build an empire in Africa comparable to that of the French or British. The colony of Eritrea was carved out in the ensuing peace negotiations.
adze or adz Hand tool for shaping wood. A handheld stone chipped to form a blade, it is one of the earliest tools, and was used widely in the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. By Egyptian times, it had acquired a wooden haft (handle) with a copper or bronze blade set flat at the top of the haft to form a T. In this form but with a steel blade, it continued to be the prime hand tool for shaping and trimming wood; the carpenter stands on or astride a log or other piece of timber, swinging the adze like a pick, down and between the legs.
A \'a-'e\ orig. George William Russell (b. April 10, 1867, Lurgan, County Armagh, Ire.—d. July 17, 1935, Bournemouth, Hampshire, Eng.) Irish poet and mystic. A leading figure in the Irish Literary Renaissance, he published many books of verse, including Homeward (1894). Though ini¬ tially considered by many to be the equal of William Butler Yeats, he did not develop as a poet, and many critics found him facile, vague, and monotonous. His pseudonym arose from a proofreader’s query about an earlier pseudonym, jEon.
Aegean \e-'je-9n\ civilizations The Bronze Age civilizations that arose and flourished c. 3000-1000 bc in the region bordering the Aegean Sea. They included Crete, the Cyclades, the Greek mainland south from Thessaly, including the Peloponnese, and Macedonia, Thrace, and western Anatolia. The most significant were the Minoan and Mycenaean civiliza¬ tions. The term also sometimes refers to Neolithic civilizations in the same region c. 7000-3000 bc.
Aegean \e-'je-9n\ Islands Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, particu¬ larly the Cyclades, Sporades, and Dodecanese groups. The Cyclades con¬ sist of about 30 islands. The Dodecanese, or Southern Sporades, include Kalimnos, Karpathos, Cos, Leros, Patmos, Rhodes, and Simi. The Spo¬ rades, or Northern Sporades, include Skyros, Skopelos, and Skiathos.
Aegean Sea Arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Greece and Turkey. About 380 mi (610 km) long and 186 mi (300 km) wide, it has a total area of some 83,000 sq mi (214,000 sq km) and a maximum depth of 11,627 ft (3,543 m). The straits of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus connect it with the Black Sea. The Aegean was the cradle of the great early civilizations of Crete and Greece. Thira, one of its numerous islands, has been linked with the legend of Atlantis.
Aegina \e-'jl-n9\ Island in the Saronic group of Greece. Located 16 mi (26 km) southwest of Piraeus, it has an area of 32 sq mi (83 sq km). Its chief town and port, Aegina, lies over the ancient town of the same name. Inhabited since c. 3000 bc, it became a maritime power after the 7th cen¬ tury bc; its period of glory, reflected in Pindar’s poetry, was in the 5th cen¬ tury bc. Its economic rivalry with Athens led to frequent warfare, and in 431 bc the Athenians deported all its population. It came under Roman rule in 133 bc. It was briefly the capital of independent Greece (1826-28). See photograph opposite.
aegirine Va-g9-,ren\ Pyroxene mineral, sodium and iron silicate (NaFe +3 Si 2 0 6 ), commonly found in alkaline igneous rocks, particularly in syenites (composed of an alkali feldspar and a ferromagnesian min¬ eral) and syenite pegmatites. It also occurs in schists. Aegirine is gener¬ ally dark green to greenish black.
aegis Ye-jas\ In ancient Greece, the leather cloak or breastplate associ¬ ated with Zeus. It was worn most prominently by Zeus’s daughter Ath¬ ena (whose aegis bore the head of Medusa) but occasionally also by other gods (e.g., Apollo in the Iliad).
Aegospotami X.e-gs-'spa-ts-.mlX, Battle of (405 bc) Naval victory of Sparta over Athens in the final battle of the Peloponnesian War. The Spar¬ tans under Lysander surprised the Athenians at anchor off Aegospotami, in Thrace, and defeated them decisively. The Athenians escaped with only 20 of 180 ships, and the Spartans put almost 4,000 captured Athenians to death. The victory led the Spartans to march on Athens, and the Athe¬ nians surrendered in 404 bc.
Aehrenthal Ve-rsn-.talX, Aloys, Count Lexa von (b. Sept. 27, 1854, Gross-Skal, Bohemia—d. Feb. 17, 1912, Vienna, Austria-Hungary) Austro-Hungarian diplomat. As foreign minister of Austria-Hungary (1906-12), he aggressively revived the empire’s dormant foreign policy. His proclamation of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 provoked fears of war with Russia, inflamed Serbia’s Austrophobe pas¬ sions, and drew international censure, leading to the Bosnian crisis.