Austrian Netherlands (1713-95) Provinces located in the southern part of the Low Countries, roughly comprising modern Belgium and Lux¬ embourg. In 1713, the Peace of Utrecht gave Emperor Charles VI control of what had been called the Spanish Netherlands. Administration of the region continued under the Habsburg rulers Maria Theresa and later Joseph II. until the Austrian Netherlands was annexed to France in 1795.
Austrian school of economics Body of economic theory developed by several late 19th-century Austrian economists. Carl Menger (1840- 1921) published a paper on their new theory of value in 1871. The con¬ cept of value was subjective, the source of a product’s value being its ability to satisfy human wants. The actual value depended on the utility derived by the consumer from the product in its least important use (mar¬ ginal utility). The theory was also applied to production and pricing. Other founders of the school included Friedrich von Wieser (1851-1926) and Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk (1851-1914). See also opportunity cost; pro¬ ductivity.
Austrian Succession, War of the (1740^-8) Group of related wars that took place after the death (1740) of Emperor Charles VI. At issue was the right of Charles’s daughter Maria Theresa to inherit the Habsburg lands. The war began when Frederick II of Prussia invaded Silesia in 1740. His victory suggested that the Habsburg dominions were incapable of defend¬ ing themselves, prompting other countries to enter the fray. The conflict was ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
Austro-German Alliance or Dual Alliance (1879) Pact between Austria-Hungary and the German Reich in which the two powers prom¬ ised each other support in case of attack by Russia, and neutrality in case of aggression by any other power. Germany’s Otto von Bismarck saw the alliance as a way to prevent the isolation of Germany and to preserve peace, as Russia would not wage war against both empires. The addition
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136 I Austro-Hungarian Empire ► automaton
of Italy in 1882 made it the Triple Alliance. The agreement remained an important element of both German and Austro-Hungarian foreign policy until 1918.
Austro-Hungarian Empire See Austria-Hungary Austro-Prussian War See Seven Weeks' War
Austroasiatic languages Superfamily of about 150 languages spo¬ ken by close to 90 million physically and culturally very diverse people in South and Southeast Asia. Today most scholars believe that it is sub¬ divided into two families, Munda and Mon-Khmer. The present fragmented distribution of Austroasiatic languages is most likely the result of rela¬ tively recent incursions by Indo-Aryan, Sino-Tibetan, Tai, and AusTRONESiAN-speaking peoples. In prehistoric times Austroasiatic lan¬ guages most likely extended over a much broader and more continuous area, including much of what is now southeastern China. Other than Viet¬ namese and Khmer, no Austroasiatic language is an official national lan¬ guage.
Austronesian languages formerly Malayo-Polynesian lan¬ guages Family of about 1,200 languages spoken by more than 200 mil¬ lion people in Indonesia, the Philippines, Madagascar, the central and southern Pacific island groups (except most of New Guinea; see Papuan languages), and parts of mainland Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Before European colonial expansion, it had the widest territorial extent of any lan¬ guage family. A primary genetic division in the family separates the Aus¬ tronesian languages of Taiwan from the remaining languages, which are divided into Western and Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian. Western Malayo-Polynesian includes Javanese, which is spoken by about 76 mil¬ lion people—more than a third of all Austronesian-speakers. Eastern Malayo-Polynesian includes Oceanic, the best-defined subgroup of Aus¬ tronesian, comprising nearly all the languages of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Typological generalizations about Austronesian languages are difficult because of their enormous number and diversity, though content words tend to be disyllabic, and vowel and consonant inventories tend to be limited, especially in Polynesian. Written records in scripts of Southeast Asian provenance (see Indic writing system) survive for several languages, including Old Javanese and Cham, the language of the kingdom of Champa.
auteur \o-'toer\ theory Theory that holds that a film’s director is its “author” (French, auteur). It originated in France in the 1950s and was promoted by Francois Truffaut and Jean- Luc Godard and the journal Cah- iers du Cinema. The director oversees and “writes” the film’s audio and visual scenario and therefore is considered more responsible for its con¬ tent than the screenwriter. Supporters maintain that the most successful films bear the distinctive imprint of their director.
authoritarianism Principle of unqualified submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action. As a political sys¬ tem, authoritarianism is antidemocratic in that political power is concen¬ trated in a leader or small elite not constitutionally responsible to those governed. It differs from totalitarianism in that authoritarian governments usually lack a guiding ideology, tolerate some pluralism in social orga¬ nization, lack the power to mobilize the whole population in pursuit of national goals, and exercise their power within relatively predictable lim¬ its. See also absolutism, dictatorship.
autism Neurobiological disorder that affects physical, social, and lan¬ guage skills. First described by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger in the 1940s, the syndrome usually appears before IVi years of age. Autistic infants appear indifferent or averse to affection and physical contact. They may be slow in learning to speak and suffer episodes of rage or panic; they may also appear deaf and display an almost hypnotized fascination with certain objects. Autism is often characterized by rhythmic body movements such as rocking or hand-clapping and by an obsessive desire to prevent change in daily routines. Autistic individuals may be hyper¬ sensitive to some stimuli (e.g., high-pitched sounds) and abnormally slow to react to others (e.g., physical pain). The disorder is three to four times more common in males. Though postnatal factors such as lack of paren¬ tal attention were once blamed, it is now known that autism is the result of abnormalities in the brain structure. About 15-20% of autistic adults live and work independently; “high-functioning” autistic people may have special abilities based on their unusual ability for visual thinking. See also SAVANT SYNDROME.
auto sacramental Vau-to-.sa-kra-men-'taL Spanish "sacramental act" Spanish dramatic genre of short plays on sacred or biblical subjects.
Performed outdoors as part of Corpus Christi feast-day celebrations, they were verse allegories dealing with some aspect of the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. The form first appeared in the 16th century and reached its height in plays by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, who covered a wide range of nonsacramental subjects. Their performance was prohibited by royal decree in 1765 on the ground of irreverence.
autobiography Biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Little auto¬ biographical literature exists from antiquity and the Middle Ages; with a handful of exceptions, the form begins to appear only in the 15th century. Autobiographical works take many forms, from intimate writings made during life that are not necessarily intended for publication (including let¬ ters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to the formal autobi¬ ography. Outstanding examples of the genre extend from St. Augustine’s Confessions (c. ad 400) to Vladimir Nabokov’s Speak, Memory (1951).
autoclave Vessel, usually of steel, able to withstand high temperatures and pressures. The chemical industry uses various types of autoclaves in manufacturing dyes and in other chemical reactions requiring high pres¬ sures. In bacteriology and medicine, instruments, equipment, supplies, and culture media are sterilized by superheated steam in an autoclave. In 1679 Denis Papin (1647-c. 1712) invented a prototype known as a steam digester; still used in cooking, it is now called a pressure cooker.