beet Cultivated form of the plant Beta vulgaris of the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), one of the most important vegetables. Four distinct types are cultivated: the garden beet, as a garden vegetable; the sugar beet, a major source of sugar and commer¬ cially the most important type; the mangel-wurzel, a succulent feed for livestock; and the leaf beet, or Swiss chard, for its edible leaves. Beet greens are a source of riboflavin, iron, and vitamins A and C. Beets are grown most extensively in temperate to cool regions or during the cooler seasons.
Beethoven Vba-.to-vonX, Lud¬ wig van (baptized Dec. 17, 1770,
Bonn, archbishopric of Cologne—d.
March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria)
German composer. Born to a musi¬ cal family, he was a precociously gifted pianist and violist. After nine years as a court musician in Bonn, he moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn and remained there for the rest of his life. He was soon well known as both a virtuoso and a composer, and he became the first important composer to earn a success¬ ful living while forsaking employment in the church or court. He uniquely straddled the Classical and Romantic eras. Rooted in the traditions of Haydn and Mozart, his art also encompassed the new spirit of humanism expressed in the works of German Romantic writers as well as in the ide¬
als of the French Revolution, with its passionate concern for the freedom and dignity of the individual. His astonishing Third ( Eroica ) Symphony (1803) was the thunderclap that announced the Romantic century, and it embodies the titanic but rigorously controlled energy that was the hall¬ mark of his style. He began to lose his hearing from c. 1795; by c. 1819 he was totally deaf. For his last 15 years he was unrivaled as the world’s most famous composer. In musical form he was a considerable innova¬ tor, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto, and string quar¬ tet. His greatest achievement was to raise instrumental music, hitherto considered inferior to vocal, to the highest plane of art. His works include the celebrated 9 symphonies; 16 string quartets; 32 piano sonatas; the opera Fidelio (1805, rev. 1814);2 masses, including the Missa Solemnis (1823); 5 piano concertos; a violin concerto (1806); 6 piano trios; 10 vio¬ lin sonatas; 5 cello sonatas; and several concert overtures.
beetle Any of at least 250,000 species of insects constituting the order Coleoptera (the largest order in the animal kingdom), characterized by special forewings, called elytra, which are modified into hardened covers over a second pair of functional wings. Beetles occur in almost all envi¬ ronments except Antarctica and the peaks of the highest mountains. Tem¬ perate zones have fewer beetle species than the tropics but in greater numbers. The smallest species are less than 0.04 in. (1 mm) long; the largest can exceed 8 in. (20 cm). Most beetles eat either other animals or plants; some eat decaying matter. Some species destroy crops, timber, and textiles and spread parasitic worms and diseases. Others are valuable predators of insect pests. Some beetles are known by other common names (e.g., borer, chafer, curculio, firefly, weevil). Beetles are preyed on by other insects and by bats, swifts, and frogs.
Begin \be-'gen,\ English \'ba-gin\, Menachem (Wolfovitch) (b.
Aug. 16, 1913, Brest-Litovsk,
Russia—d. March 9, 1992, Tel Aviv,
Israel) Prime minister of Israel (1977-83). He earned a law degree from the University of Warsaw, Pol.
During World War II (1939—45) the Soviet authorities sent him to Sibe¬ ria, but he was soon released to join the Polish army in exile. He escaped to Palestine, where he became leader in 1943 of the Irgun Zvai Leumi (a right-wing underground movement in favour of a Jewish state). From 1948 to 1977 he led the opposition in the Israeli Knesset, except for three years when he sat in the Gov¬ ernment of National Unity (1967- 70). As head of the Likud party coalition, he became prime minister in 1977. He shared the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace with Anwar el-Sadat for negotiations that resulted in the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. His 1982 invasion of Lebanon turned world opinion against Israel, and he resigned in 1983. See also Arab-Israeli wars; Vladimir Jabotinsky.
begonia \bi-'gon-y3\ Any of about 1,000 species (genus Begonia) of mostly succulent, tropical or subtropical plants, many with colourful flow¬ ers or leaves and used as potted plants indoors or as garden plants. Bego¬ nias come in a bewildering array of cultivated varieties. The wax begonia ( B. semperfiorens) is the most popular for use as a summer bedding plant; angelwing begonias are characterized by their tall stems; hairy begonias have feltlike leaves. Most begonias are tender and intolerant of dry con¬ ditions; they require protection from strong sunlight.
Behan \'be-9n\, Brendan (Francis) (b. Feb. 9,1923, Dublin, Ire.—d. March 20, 1964, Dublin) Irish author. An alcoholic from age eight and an anti-English rebel, he was repeatedly arrested. Borstal Boy (1958) is an account of his detention in an English reform school, which combines earthy satire and powerful political commentary. His first play. The Quare Fellow { 1954), is an explosive statement on capital punishment and prison life. His second, The Hostage (produced 1958), is considered his master- work. He also wrote poetry, short stories, radio scripts, anecdotes, mem¬ oirs, and a novel.
behaviour genetics Study of the influence of an organism’s genetic composition on its behaviour and of the interaction of heredity and envi-
Beet (Beta).
GRANT HEILMAN
Menachem Begin, 1987.
RALPH CRANE/CAMERA PRESS FROM GLOBE PHOTOS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
190 I behaviour therapy ► Beirut
ronment (“nature” and “nurture”) in determining behaviour. The first sci¬ entist to explore the area was Sir Francis Galton, who sought to show that mental powers run in families. His work was followed by huge numbers of studies seeking to establish a link between IQ and genetics, none of them conclusive. Other human characteristics or behaviours studied for their possible hereditary nature include schizophrenia, alcoholism, depres¬ sion, introvert and extravert behaviour, and general activity level (includ¬ ing sleep disorders). Many such studies are based on long-term observation of identical (monozygotic) twins raised in different environ¬ ments. In animal studies, which examine topics such as learning, sexual activity, and aggressive behaviour, selective breeding is used to produce groups of genetically similar individuals that may be compared with other, dissimilar individuals or groups. See also human nature.
behaviour therapy or behaviour modification Application of experimentally derived principles of learning to the treatment of psycho¬ logical disorders and the control of behaviour. The concept, which has its roots in the work of Edward L. Thorndike, was popularized in the U.S. by theorists of behaviourism, including B.F. Skinner. Behaviour-therapy tech¬ niques are based on the principle of operant conditioning, in which desired behaviours are rewarded. There is little or no concern for conscious expe¬ rience or unconscious processes. Such techniques have been applied with some success to disturbances such as enuresis, tics, phobias, stuttering, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and various neuroses. Behaviour modification more generally refers to the application of reinforcement techniques for shaping individual behaviour toward some desired end or for controlling behaviour in classrooms or institutional situations. See also psychotherapy.
behaviourism Highly influential academic school of psychology that dominated psychological theory in the U.S. between World War I and World War 11. Classical behaviourism concerned itself exclusively with the objective evidence of behaviour (measured responses to stimuli) and excluded ideas, emotions, and inner mental experience (see conditioning). It emerged in the 1920s from the work of John B. Watson (who borrowed from Ivan Pavlov) and was developed in subsequent decades by Clark L. Hull and B.F. Skinner. Through the work of Edward C. Tolman, strict behav¬ iourist doctrines began to be supplemented or replaced by those admit¬ ting such variables as reported mental states and differences in perception. A natural outgrowth of behaviourist theory was behaviour therapy.