Reed, John (b. Oct. 22, 1887, Portland, Ore., U.S.—d. Oct. 19, 1920, Moscow, Russia) U.S. journalist. He attended Harvard University and began writing for the radical socialist journal The Masses in 1913. He covered the revolutionary fighting in Mexico (1914) and was frequently arrested for leading labour strikes. A war correspondent during World War I, he became a close friend of Vladimir Lenin and witnessed the Russian Revolution of 1917, described in his book Ten Days That Shook the World (1919). He became head of the U.S. Communist Labor Party; indicted for sedition, he escaped to the Soviet Union, where he died of typhus and was buried beside the Kremlin wall.
Reed, Thomas B(rackett) (b. Oct. 18, 1839, Portland, Maine, U.S.—d. Dec. 7, 1902, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician. He served in the Maine legislature and was elected to the U.S. House of Representa¬ tives (1877-99). As speaker of the House (1889-91, 1895-99) he intro¬ duced procedural changes that strengthened legislative control by the majority party and increased the power of the speaker and the Rules Committee. The Reed Rules were attacked by opponents, who called Reed “Czar Reed” for his vigorous promotion of their passage. Ten years later the speaker’s powers were reduced.
Reed, Walter (b. Sept. 13. 1851. Belroi, Va„ U.S.—d. Nov. 22, 1902, Washington, D.C.) U.S. pathologist and bacteriologist. He received a medical degree at age 18 from the University of Virginia and entered the Army Medical Corps in 1875. He investigated the spread of typhoid fever in military camps during the Spanish-American War and was later curator of the Army Medical Museum in Washington, D.C. Yel¬ low fever was believed to be spread by bedding and other articles, but Carlos Finlay had theorized in 1886 that it was carried by insects, and Reed’s team ruled out a bacterium suspected as the cause and found pat¬ terns of spread that supported the insect theory. Controlled experi¬ ments proved transmission by mos¬ quito bite, and in 1901 efforts to combat an outbreak in Havana suc¬ ceeded within 90 days.
Reed, Willis (b. June 25, 1942, Hico, La., U.S.) U.S. basketball player. Drafted by the New York Knicks in 1964, he averaged 19.5 points in his first season and was named Rookie of the Year. He led the Knicks to the NBA title in 1970 and that year became the only player ever to win the Most Valuable Player award for the regular season, the championships, and the All-Star game. After retiring in 1974 he coached the Knicks (1977-79) and other teams.
reed instrument Any musical wind instrument that sounds when the player’s breath or air from a wind chamber causes a reed (a thin blade of cane or metal) to vibrate, thereby setting up a sound wave in an enclosed air column or in the open air. Reed pipes have single or double reeds. A double reed, as in the oboe or bassoon, consists of two cane blades tied together that beat against each other. A single reed may hit against a frame (beating reeds), as in the clarinet or saxophone, or it may vibrate freely through a closely fitting frame (free reeds), as in a harmonica or accor¬ dion. Beating reeds in woodwind instruments depend on the pipe’s sound¬ ing length (as determined by the fingering) to determine the pitch. Free reeds have their own single pitch, determined by their thickness and length. See also English horn; shawm.
Common, or American, redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
HAL H. HARRISON FROM GRANT HEILMAN
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reed organ ► Reformed church I 1601
reed organ See harmonium
Reeds, Plain of Vietnamese Dong Thap Muoi Vdoq-'tap-'mwoiV Low, swampy region, a northwestern extension of the Mekong River delta, southern Vietnam and eastern Cambodia. It has been partially reclaimed by a levee and drainage system.
reef, coral See coral reef
Ref ah \re-'fa\ Parly or Welfare Parly Turkish political party noted for its Islamic orientation. It was founded in 1983 by Necmettin Erbakan. After doing well in local elections in the early 1990s, it won nearly one- third of the seats (the largest single bloc) in the 1995 national legislative elections, becoming the first religious party in Turkey to win a general election. It took office in 1996 at the head of a new coalition after a centre-right coalition formed to oppose it collapsed after a few months. The party’s pro-Islamist policies brought it into conflict with the army and other secular elements in the country, and it left power in 1997. It was subsequently banned.
reference frame or frame of reference Coordinate system that allows description of time and position of points relative to a body. The axes, or lines, emanate from a position called the origin. As a point moves, its velocity can be described in terms of changes in displacement and direction. Reference frames are chosen arbitrarily. For example, if a per¬ son is sitting in a moving train, the description of the person’s motion depends on the chosen frame of reference. If the frame of reference is the train, the person is considered to be not moving relative to the train; if the frame of reference is the Earth, the person is moving relative to the Earth.
referendum and initiative Electoral devices by which voters express their wishes regarding government policy or proposed legislation. Obligatory referenda are those required by law. Optional referenda are put on the ballot when a sufficient number of voters sign a petition demand¬ ing that a law passed by the legislature be ratified by the people. Obliga¬ tory and optional referenda should be distinguished from the voluntary referenda that legislatures submit to voters to decide an issue or to test public opinion. Initiatives are used to invoke a popular vote on a pro¬ posed law or constitutional amendment. Direct initiatives are submitted directly to the public after approval by a required number of voters; indi¬ rect initiatives are submitted to the legislature. Switzerland has held about half the world’s national referenda. Referenda also are common at the local and state level in the U.S. In the late 20th century, referenda were employed more frequently, particularly in Europe, to decide public policy on voting systems, treaties and peace agreements (e.g., the Maastricht Treaty), and social issues. See also plebiscite.
referential opacity See intentionality
reflection Change in the direction of propagation of a wave that strikes a boundary between different media through which it cannot pass. When a wave strikes such a boundary it bounces back, or is reflected, just as a ball bounces off the floor. The angle of incidence is the angle between the path of the wave and a line perpendicular to the boundary. The angle of reflection is the angle between the same line and the path of the reflected wave. All reflected waves obey the law of reflection, which states that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. The reflectivity of a material is the fraction of energy of the oncoming wave that is reflected by it.
reflex In biology, an automatic and inborn response to a stimulus that involves a nerve impulse passing from a sensory nerve cell to a muscle or gland without reaching the level of consciousness. Simple reflexes include sucking, swallowing, blinking, scratching, and the knee jerk. Most reflexes consist of complex patterns of many unconsciously coordinated muscular actions that form the basis of much instinctive behavior in ani¬ mals. Examples include walking, standing, the cat’s righting reflex, and basic sexual acts.
Reform Bill of 1832 British parliamentary act that expanded the elec¬ torate. It transferred voting privileges from the small rural boroughs con¬ trolled by the nobility and gentry to the heavily populated but underrepresented industrial towns. Conceived by Prime Minister Earl Grey and introduced by Earl Russell, it passed in the House of Commons three times but was opposed by the House of Lords until Grey’s threat to create 50 new liberal peers (enough to carry the bill) finally brought their