attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD or ADHD) formerly hyperactivity Behavioral syndrome in children, whose major symptoms are inattention and distracAbility, restlessness, inability to sit still, and difficulty concentrating on one thing for any period of time. It occurs in about 5% of all schoolchildren, and it is three times more com¬ mon in boys than in girls. It can adversely affect learning, though many children with ADD can learn to control their behaviour sufficiently to per¬ form satisfactorily in school. It appears to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Certain aspects of the syndrome may persist into adulthood. Treatment usually entails counseling and close parental supervision, and it may also include prescription medication.
atthakatha \,a-t3-'ka-t3\ Commentaries on the Pali Buddhist canon from ancient India and Ceylon. Pali commentaries had reached Ceylon by the 3rd century bc and been translated into Sinhalese by the 1st century ad. The scholar Buddhaghosa (5th century) reworked in Pali much of the early material plus Dravidian commentaries and Sinhalese traditions. The earlier atthakatha have disappeared, but the works of Buddhaghosa and his successors provide information on the development of life and thought in the Theravada Buddhist community and contain much secular and leg¬ endary material as well.
attic Floor of a dwelling contained within the eaves of the roof structure. The word originally denoted any portion of a wall above the main cornice (see entablature). Used by the ancient Romans principally for decorative purposes and inscriptions, as in triumphal arches, it became an important part of the Renaissance facade, often enclosing an additional story. See photograph on opposite page.
Atrium of the basilica of S. Ambrogio, Milan, 1088-1128
AUNARI—ART RESOURCE
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Attica ► Auden I 129
Attica Greek Attiki \,a-te-'ke\ Ancient district, eastern central Greece. It was bordered by the Aegean Sea on the south and east and included the island of Salamis; its chief cities were Athens, Piraeus, and Eleusis. Its coastal settlements were enriched by maritime trade. Origi¬ nally inhabited by Pelasgians, it was a center of Mycenaean culture in the 2nd millennium bc; the Ionian Greeks invaded it c. 1300 bc. The territory was unified under Athens by 700 bc, traditionally through the efforts of King Theseus.
Attila Va-Ul-o, a-'ti-b\ (d. 453) King of the Huns (434-53, ruling jointly with his elder brother until c. 445). He was one of the greatest of the barbarian rulers who assailed the Roman Empire. He and his brother Bleda inherited an empire that stretched from the Alps and the Baltic nearly to the Caspian Sea. The failure of the Romans to pay promised tributes prompted Attila to launch assaults along the Danube in 441 and 443. He murdered his brother in 445 and two years later invaded the Balkan provinces and Greece, a campaign later ended by another peace treaty that exacted heavy damages from the Eastern Romans. He invaded Gaul (451) but was defeated by an alliance of the Roman gen¬ eral Aetius and the Visigoths. His invasion of Italy (452) was ended by fam¬ ine and plague. His depredations, which seemed to some like divine punishment, earned him the epithet Flagellum Dei (“Scourge of God”). Attila died on his wedding night, possibly murdered by his bride. His sons took control of his empire, which collapsed shortly after Attila’s death.
Attis Mythical consort of the Great Mother of the Gods and vegetation god worshiped in Phrygia and Asia Minor. His worship later spread to the Roman empire, where he became a solar deity in the 2nd century ad. The worship of Attis and the Great Mother included the celebration of mys¬ teries at the beginning of spring.
attitude In psychology, a mental position with regard to a fact or state. Attitudes reflect a tendency to classify objects and events and to react to them with some consistency. Attitudes are not directly observable but rather are inferred from the objective, evaluative responses a person makes. Thus, investigators depend heavily on behavioral indicators of attitudes—what people say, how they respond to questionnaires, or such physiological signs as changes in heart rate. Attitude research is employed by social psychologists, advertising professionals, and political scientists, among others. Public-opinion researchers often attempt to distinguish atti¬ tudes from related concepts such as values, opinions, and knowledge.
Attlee, Clement (Richard), 1 st Earl Attlee of Walthamstow
(b. Jan. 3, 1883, Putney, London,
Eng.—d. Oct. 8, 1967, Westminster,
London) British Labour Party leader (1935-55) and prime minister (1945—51). Committed to social reform, he lived for much of the years (1907-22) in a settlement house in London’s impoverished East End. Elected to Parliament in 1922, he served in several Labour governments and in the wartime coa¬ lition government of Winston Churchill, whom he succeeded as prime minister in 1945. Attlee pre¬ sided over the establishment of the WELFARE STATE in Britain, the national¬ ization of major British industries, and the granting of independence to India, an important step in the con¬ version of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations. He resigned when the Conservatives narrowly won the election in 1951.
attorney See lawyer
attorney, power of Authorization to act as agent or attorney for another. Many of the general powers of attorney important in civil-law countries come under the powers of trust in common-law countries (see civil law, common law). Durable power of attorney becomes effective when the principal becomes unable to manage his or her affairs; general power of attorney authorizes the agent to carry on business for the principal; special power of attorney authorizes the agent to carry out a particular business transaction.
attorney general Chief law-enforcement officer of a state and legal adviser to the chief executive. The office dates to the Middle Ages but did not assume its modem form until the 16th century. In the U.S., the posi¬ tion dates to the Judiciary Act of 1789. Head of the Department of Jus¬ tice and a member of the cabinet, the attorney general oversees all the government’s law business and acts as the president’s legal adviser. Every U.S. state also has an attorney general.
Attucks \'at-oks\, Crispus (b. 1723?—d. March 5, 1770, Boston, Mass.) American patriot and martyr of the Boston Massacre. His early life is unclear, but he was probably a runaway slave of African and Natick Indian ancestry, and he may have served on whaling ships. He is the only one of the massacre’s five victims who is widely remembered. In 1888 the Crispus Attucks monument was unveiled in the Boston Common.
Atwood, Margaret (Eleanor) (b. Nov. 18, 1939, Ottawa, Ont., Can.) Canadian poet, novelist, and critic. Atwood attended the University of Toronto and Harvard University. In the poetry collection The Circle Game (1964; Governor General’s Award), she celebrates the natural world and condemns materialism. Her novels, several of which have become best-sellers, include Lady Oracle (1976), Bodily Harm (1981), The Hand¬ maid’s Tale (1985; Governor General’s Award), The Robber Bride (1993), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin (2000). She is noted for her feminism and Canadian nationalism.
Aubusson \,o-b3-'so n \ carpet Floor covering produced at the village of Aubusson in central France. A centre for the production of tapestries and furniture coverings since the 16th century, Aubusson was granted the title of Royal Manufactory in 1665. In 1743 workshops were established to manufacture pile carpets for the nobility, and soon thereafter carpets were being produced in the flat-woven tapestry technique in floral and chinoiserie patterns. In the 19th-20th centuries the name Aubusson became synonymous with a flat-woven French carpet.