Fables of Bidpai See Panca-tantra
fabliau \'fa-ble-,o\ or fableau \fa-'blo\ Short metrical tale made popu¬ lar in medieval France by jongleurs. Fabliaux were characterized by vivid detail and realistic observation and were usually comic, coarse, and cynical, especially in their treatment of women. Though understandable to the bourgeois and common people, they frequently contain an element of burlesque that depends for its appreciation on considerable knowledge of courtly society, love, and manners. About 150 fabliaux survive, by both amateur and professional writers.
Fabriano, Gentile da See Gentile da Fabriano
Fabricius \f9-'brish-9s\ (ab Aquapendente), Hierony¬ mus Italian Girolamo Fabrici (b. May 20, 1537, Acqua- pendente, Italy—d. May 21, 1619, Padua) Italian surgeon and anatomist. He studied under and later succeeded Gabriel Fallopius at the University of Padua (1562-1613). The first clear description of the valves of the veins, in his De venarum ostiolis (1603), provided his pupil William Harvey with a crucial point in his argument for blood circulation. His De formato foetu (1600) contained the first detailed description of the placenta and opened the field of comparative embry¬ ology. He was the first to perceive the larynx as a vocal organ and to dem¬ onstrate that the pupil of the eye changes size.
Fabricius \fa-'bre-se-us\, Johann Christian (b. Jan. 7, 1745, Tpndem, Den.—d. March 3, 1808, Kiel) Danish entomologist. He stud¬ ied at Uppsala University with Carolus Linnaeus and from 1775 taught not only natural history but also economics and finance at the University of Kiel. He advanced theories progressive for his time, particularly the view that new species and varieties could arise through hybridization and by environmental influence on anatomical structure and function. His taxo¬ nomic research was based on insect mouthparts rather than their wings.
Fabritius Nfa-'bret-se-msV, Corel (baptized Feb. 27, 1622, Midden- beemster, Neth.—d. Oct. 12, 1654, Delft) Dutch painter. He studied with Rembrandt in the early 1640s, then settled in Delft, entering its painters’ guild in 1652. The earliest work attributed to him, The Raising of Laz¬ arus (c. 1645), was strongly influenced by Rembrandt, but he soon devel¬ oped a personal Baroque style marked by cool colour harmonies, subtle lighting effects, and illusionistic perspective. His portraits and his genre and narrative paintings influenced Pieter de Hooch and Johannes Vermeer. All but about a dozen of his paintings were destroyed by an explosion of the Delft powder magazine, which killed him as well.
fabula Vfab-ys-b, Tab-yu-la\ Drama of ancient Rome. Particular types included the fabula Atellana, the earliest form of native farce in ancient Italy; the fabula crepidata, a form of Roman tragedy based on Greek models; the fabula palliata, an ancient Roman comedy based on Greek New Comedy and treating a Greek subject; the fabula praetexta, an ancient Roman drama with a theme from Roman history or legend; and the fab¬ ula togata, a Romancomedy based on Greek models but featuring Roman life and dress.
face Front part of the head, extending from the forehead to the chin and housing the eyes, nose, mouth, and jaws. The receding of the jaw and the increasing size of the brain in human evolution has made the face essen¬ tially vertical, with two distinctively human features: a prominent, pro¬ jecting nose and a clearly defined chin. The face and braincase follow different patterns of growth. While the face grows more slowly, it ends up much larger compared to the braincase in adults than at birth. The facial muscles move the features to express emotion.
fact-value distinction In philosophy, the ontological distinction between what is (facts) and what ought to be (values). David Hume gave
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factor ► Fairbairn I 653
the distinction its classical formulation in his dictum that it is impossible to derive an “ought” from an “is.” See also naturalistic fallacy.
factor In multiplication, one of two or more numerical or algebraic components of a product. A whole number’s factors are the whole num¬ bers that divide evenly into it (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 are factors of 12). To factor a counting number means to break it down into its prime number factors. To factor a polynomial is to find its prime polynomial factors, a basic procedure for solving algebraic equations. According to the funda¬ mental theorem of arithmetic, the prime factorization of any number or polynomial is unique.
factorial For any whole number, the product of all the counting numbers up to and including itself. It is indicated with an exclamation point: 4! (read “four factorial”) is 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 = 24. In order for certain formulas involv¬ ing permutations and combinations to work, 0! is defined to be 1. Factorials are particularly useful in calculating the number of ways an event can occur, for example, the number of possible orders of finish in a race.
factoring In finance, the selling of accounts receivable on a contract basis to an agency known as a factor in order to obtain cash payment before the accounts come due. The factor assumes full responsibility for credit analysis of new accounts, payments collection, and credit losses. Factor¬ ing is most often used in seasonal industries such as textiles and shoes to shift the functions of credit and collection to a specialized agency.
factory Structure in which work is organized to meet the need for pro¬ duction on a large scale usually with power-driven machinery. In the 17th- 18th century, the domestic system of work in Europe began giving way to larger units of production, and capital became available for investment in industrial enterprises. The movement of population from country to city also contributed to change in work methods. Mass production, which trans¬ formed the organization of work, came about by the development of the machine-tool industry. With precision equipment, large numbers of identi¬ cal parts could be produced at low cost and with a small workforce. The assembly line was first widely used in the U.S. meat-packing industry; Henry Ford designed an automobile assembly line in 1913. By mid-1914, chassis assembly time had fallen from \2Vi man-hours to 93 man-minutes. Some countries, particularly in Asia and South America, began industrializing in the 1970s and later. See also American System of manufacture.
factory farming System of modern animal farming designed to yield the most meat, milk, and eggs in the least amount of time and space pos¬ sible. The term, descriptive of standard farming practice in the U.S., is frequently used by animal-rights activists, who maintain that animal- protection measures routinely ignore farm animals. Animals are often fed growth hormones, sprayed with pesticides, and fed antibiotics to mitigate the problems of infestation and disease that are exacerbated by crowded living conditions. Chickens spend their lives crowded into small cages, often so tightly that they cannot turn around; the cages are stacked in high batteries, and the length of “day” and “night” are artificially controlled to maximize egg laying. Veal calves are virtually immobilized in narrow stalls for their entire lives. These and numerous other practices have long been decried by critics.
Fadlallah Uad-'bl-bV (Ayatollah Sayyid) Muhammad Husayn (b. c. 1935, Al-Najaf, Iraq) Muslim Shl'ite cleric associated with Lebanese Hezbollah organization. He was schooled at a traditional madrasah in his birthplace, where he studied under many of the eminent ShTite scholars of his day. His scholarly acumen eventually earned him the honourific ayatollah. He moved to Lebanon (where his parents were bom) in 1966 and quickly established a reputation as a leading religious authority. Fadlallah’s eloquence led many to believe that he was Hezbol¬ lah’s leader after the party was founded in 1982, but both he and the party have denied any direct link, while acknowledging his strong spiritual influence over the organization. Though impressed by the Islamic revo¬ lution in Iran (1979), he generally stood aloof from the more radical posi¬ tion of its leader, Ruhollah Khomeini.