Mamore \ l ma-mo- , ra\ River River, north-central Bolivia. It rises in the Andes Mountains and in its upper course is sometimes known as Rio Grande. It flows north to the Brazilian border, where it is joined by the Guapore River; it forms the border of Bolivia and Brazil as far north as Villa Bella, where it joins the Beni River to form the Madeira River, after a total course of about 1,200 mi (1,900 km). It is navigable to Guajara- Mirim, Braz.
Mamoulian ymo-'mu-le-onV Rouben (b. Oct. 8, 1897, Tiflis, Geor¬ gia, Russian Empire—d. Dec. 4,
1987, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.)
Russian-U.S. director. After training as an actor at the Moscow Art The¬ atre, he moved to London in 1918, where he directed operettas and musicals. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1923, he worked for the The¬ atre Guild and directed the play Porgy (1927); he later directed the original production of its musical adaptation, Porgy and Bess (1935), and later musicals such as Okla¬ homa! (1943) and Carousel (1945).
Invited to direct the film musical Applause (1929), he won acclaim for his innovative camera work; his later films include City Streets (1931),
Queen Christina (1933) with Greta
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Ma’mun ► Manaus i 1181
Garbo, Becky Sharp (1935), The Gay Desperado (1936), Blood and Sand (1941), and Silk Stockings (1957). He was noted for the skillful blending of music and sound effects with an imaginative visual rhythm.
Ma’mun \ma-'mun\, al- (b. 786, Baghdad, Iraq—d. August 833, Tar¬ sus, Cilicia) Seventh caliph (r. 813-833) of the ‘Abbasid dynasty. He was the son of the celebrated Harun al-Rashid and after his father’s death (809) defeated his brother al-Amln in a civil war (813) to assume the caliph¬ ate. Attempting to reconcile Sunnite and Shl'ite Muslims, he designated as his heir a Shl'ite, 'All al-Rida, which failed to satisfy Shl'ite extrem¬ ists and angered Sunnites. In any event, al-Ma’mun was predeceased by his heir. He became a supporter of the Mu'taziutes, a theological school whose opinions on such issues as the nature of God and man’s free will were at variance with accepted doctrine and found little popular support. His sponsorship of translations of Greek philosophical and scientific works and his building of observatories and libraries proved a more last¬ ing legacy.
Man, Isle of Island, in the Irish Sea off the northwestern coast of England. Area: 221 sq mi (572 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 76,900. It is a self-governing crown possession of Britain, with its own legislature. The popularly elected House of Keys constitutes one of the most ancient legislative assemblies in the world. Capitaclass="underline" Douglas (pop., 2001: 25,347). The island is about 30 mi (48 km) long and 10 mi (16 km) wide. The Manx breed of tailless cats is believed to have originated there. The isle was home to Irish missionaries beginning in the 5th century ad. It was held by the Norse (9th—13th centuries), Scots (13th—14th centuries), and English settlers (from the 14th century). It was made a crown possession in 1828.
Man, Paul de See Paul de Man
Man o' War (foaled 1917) U.S. Thoroughbred racehorse. In two sea¬ sons (1919-20), he won 20 of 21 races, including the Preakness and Bel¬ mont stakes. (He did not run in the Kentucky Derby.) He sired 64 stakes horses, including War Admiral, a Triple Crown winner (1937). In a 1950 Associated Press poll, Man o’ War was voted the greatest horse of the first half of the 20th century.
man-o'-war bird See frigate bird
Man Ray orig. Emmanuel Radnitzky (b. Aug. 25, 1890, Phila¬ delphia, Pa., U.S.—d. Nov. 18, 1976, Paris, France) U.S. photographer, painter, and filmmaker. He grew up in New York City, where he studied architecture, engineering, and art. With Marcel Duchamp he formed the New York Dada group in 1917 and produced ready-mades. In 1921 he moved to Paris and became associated with the Surrealists. He rediscov¬ ered the technique for making “cameraless” pictures (photograms), which he called “rayographs,” by placing objects on light-sensitive paper; he also experimented with the technique of solarization, which renders part of the image negative and part positive by exposing a print or negative to a flash of light during development. He turned to portrait and fashion photogra¬ phy and made a virtually complete record of the celebrities of Parisian cultural life of the 1920s and ’30s. He also made important contributions as an avant-garde filmmaker in the 1920s.
mana Vma-noN Among Polynesian and Melanesian peoples, a super¬ natural force or power that may be ascribed to persons, spirits, or inani¬ mate objects. Mana may be either good or evil, beneficial or dangerous, but it is not impersonal; it is never spoken of except in connection with powerful beings or things. The term was first used in the 19th century in the West in connection with religion, but mana is now regarded as a sym¬ bolic way of expressing the special qualities attributed to persons of sta¬ tus in a hierarchical society, of providing sanction for their actions, and of explaining their failures. See also animism.
managerial economics Application of economic principles to deci¬ sion making in business firms or other management units. The basic con¬ cepts are drawn from microeconomic theory, but new tools of analysis have been added. Statistical methods, for example, are increasingly important in estimating current and future demand for products. The methods of operations research and programming provide scientific criteria for maxi¬ mizing profit, minimizing cost, and selecting the most profitable combi¬ nation of products. Decision-making theory and game theory, which recognize the conditions of uncertainty and imperfect knowledge under which business managers operate, have contributed to systematic meth¬ ods of assessing investment opportunities.
Managua \ma-'na-gwa\ City (pop., 1995: 864,201), capital of Nicara¬ gua. Located on the southern shore of Lake Managua, it was of minor importance during Spanish colonial times. It was selected as the nation’s capital in 1857 when a choice between Leon and Granada could not be settled. It was devastated by earthquake and fire in 1931 and by another major earthquake in 1972. It was the scene of fighting in 1978-79 during the civil war. The largest city and commercial centre of Nicaragua, it has several institutions of higher education, including the University of Man¬ agua, now part of the National University of Nicaragua. Sites of interest include Dario Park, with its monument to poet Ruben Dario.
Managua, Lake or Xolotlan Lake, western Nicaragua. It occupies an area of 400 sq mi (1,035 sq km), extending 36 mi (58 km) long and 16 mi (25 km) wide. Located north of the city of Managua, it is fed by numerous streams rising in the central highlands and is drained by the Tipitapa River, which flows into Lake Nicaragua. Momotombo Volcano (4,199 ft [1,280 m]) is on the northwestern shore.
Mana la \'ma-na-,la\ In Finnish mythology, the realm of the dead. Manala is ruled by the goddess Louhi, a fierce haglike creature. It is reached by crossing a fiery stream, the river of death, either over a nar¬ row bridge or on a boat brought by a denizen of the other world. Though dark and gloomy, it is not a place of everlasting torment like the Chris¬ tian HELL.
Manama Vma-'na-moV Arabic Al-Manamah City (pop., 1999 est.: 162,000), capital of Bahrain. Situated at the northeastern tip of Bahrain island, it is Bahrain’s largest city, with about one-third of the emirate’s population, and is one of the Persian Gulf’s most important ports. A com¬ mercial and financial centre enriched by Bahrain’s oil wealth, it is linked by causeway with the nearby island city of Muharraq. First mentioned in Islamic chronicles c. 1345, it was taken by the Portuguese in 1521 and by the Safavid Persians in 1602. It has been held, with brief interruptions, by the Khallfah dynasty since 1783. It was the seat of the British politi¬ cal resident for the Persian Gulf (1946-71), after which it became the capital of independent Bahrain.