Convention on Cluster Munitions, international treaty, adopted by more than 100 countries on May 30, 2008, that prohibited the manufacture, transfer, and use of cluster munitions. It entered into force on Aug. 1, 2010. Cluster munitions are characterized as bombs or shells that consist of an outer

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1979 that defines discrimination against women and commits signatory countries to taking steps toward ending it. The convention, which is

Sir Matthew Hale: …in the proceedings of the Convention Parliament, called after the dissolution of the Long Parliament, and in promoting the restoration of Charles II.

Kwame Nkrumah: Early years: …in June 1949 the new Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP), a mass-based party that was committed to a program of immediate self-government. In January 1950, Nkrumah initiated a campaign of “positive action,” involving nonviolent protests, strikes, and noncooperation with the British colonial authorities.

asylum: …burdens on certain countries,” the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which was adopted by the United Nations (UN) Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons in 1951, did not create a right of asylum for those seeking it, and the impressive array of rights…

Geneva Conventions: The third Geneva Convention, the Convention Relating to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1929), required that belligerents treat prisoners of war humanely, furnish information about them, and permit official visits to prison camps by representatives of neutral states.

environmental law: Historical development: …the United Kingdom adopted the Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State, which committed those countries to preserve natural fauna and flora in Africa by means of national parks and reserves. Spain and France signed the convention but never ratified it, and Tanzania formally…

Geneva Conventions: …of War, and (4) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

Geneva Conventions: …Forces at Sea, (3) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and (4) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

National Convention, assembly that governed France from September 20, 1792, until October 26, 1795, during the most critical period of the French Revolution. The National Convention was elected to provide a new constitution for the country after the overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792). The

United Nations: Arms control and disarmament: …the Security Council organized the Commission for Conventional Armaments to deal with armaments other than weapons of mass destruction, but progress on this issue also was blocked by disagreement between the Soviet Union and the Western powers. As a result, in 1952 the General Assembly voted to replace both of…

electric current: …defined the current is called conventional current.

laser: Types of lasers: Conventional edge-emitting semiconductor lasers have mirrors on opposite edges of the p-n junction, so light oscillates in the junction plane. Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have mirrors above and below the p-n junction, so light resonates perpendicular to the junction. The wavelength depends on the semiconductor…

20th-century international relations: From skepticism to reality: In the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, the NATO and Soviet sides each pledged to limit themselves to 20,000 battle tanks and 20,000 artillery tubes, 6,800 combat aircraft, 30,000 other armoured combat vehicles, and 2,000 attack helicopters. The CSCE member states signed the Charter of Paris for…

natural gas: Conventional gas reservoirs: Gas reservoirs differ greatly, with different physical variations affecting reservoir performance and recovery. In a natural gas (single-phase) reservoir it should be possible to recover nearly all of the in-place gas by dropping the pressure sufficiently. If the pressure is effectively maintained…

Max Nordau: …conventionellen Lügen der Kulturmenschheit (The Conventional Lies of Our Civilization), a vitriolic attack on the inadequacy of 19th-century institutions to meet human needs; he took a particularly harsh look at organized religion. Banned in Russia and Austria, the book nevertheless was translated into numerous languages and went into some…

human behaviour: A moral sense: …the intermediate level, that of conventional moral reasoning, the child or adolescent views moral standards as a way of maintaining the approval of authority figures, chiefly his parents, and acts in accordance with their precepts. Moral standards at this level are held to rest on a positive evaluation of authority,…

coal mining: Room-and-pillar mining: …two main room-and-pillar systems, the conventional and the continuous. In the conventional system, the unit operations of undercutting, drilling, blasting, and loading are performed by separate machines and work crews. In a continuous operation, one machine—the continuous miner—rips coal from the face and loads it directly into a hauling unit.…

war crime, in international law, serious violation of the laws or customs of war as defined by international customary law and international treaties. The term war crime has been difficult to define with precision, and its usage has evolved constantly, particularly since the end of World War I. The

law of war: Civilians: In addition, the 1981 Conventional Weapons Convention specifically prohibits the use of mines, booby traps, and other similar devices and incendiary weapons directed against the civilian population or used indiscriminately, and the first Protocol of 1977 imposes very detailed target restraints in order to protect civilians. For example, aerial…

Hilary Putnam: Realism and meaning: Putnam was equally critical of conventionalism, the view that logic, mathematics, and extensive portions of science do not express truths but are based on human stipulations—i.e., convention.

collective behavior: Contingencies: …upon the ubiquitous process of conventionalization. In a spontaneous fad or mob action, participants usually copy the pattern of earlier incidents with which they are familiar, so that separate incidents in a wave of collective behavior exhibit a similarity indicating the development of customary ways of rioting, or playing at…

Max Nordau: …conventionellen Lügen der Kulturmenschheit (The Conventional Lies of Our Civilization), a vitriolic attack on the inadequacy of 19th-century institutions to meet human needs; he took a particularly harsh look at organized religion. Banned in Russia and Austria, the book nevertheless was translated into numerous languages and went into some…

Manoel de Oliveira: The mystery O convento (1995; The Convent) added international stars Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich to Oliveira’s repertory of actors, and Viagem ao princípio do mundo (1997; Voyage to the Beginning of the World) featured Marcello Mastroianni’s final screen role.

Roman Catholicism: From the late Middle Ages to the Reformation: …papal relaxation and exemptions (the Conventuals)—were an open sore for 60 years, vexing the papacy and infecting the whole church. New expressions of lay piety and heresy challenged the authority of the church and its teachings, leaving the papacy itself vulnerable to disintegration.

Spain: Administration: …which had a district (conventus) attached to it: in Baetica those were Corduba, which was the provincial capital, Astigi (Ecija), Gades (Cádiz), and Hispalis (Sevilla); in Tarraconensis, Tarraco itself, Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), Nova Carthago (Cartagena), Clunia (Peñalba de Castro), Asturica (Astorga), Lucus Augusti (Lugo), and Bracara Augusta (Braga); and, in…

convergence, in mathematics, property (exhibited by certain infinite series and functions) of approaching a limit more and more closely as an argument (variable) of the function increases or decreases or as the number of terms of the series increases. For example, the function y = 1/x converges to

drafting: Perspective: …to a central point of convergence—the lens of the eye or the camera, or the reference point of the perspective construction. In the case of the eye these lines of sight are focused by the lens into an image on the curved retina. In the camera they pass through the…

climate: The ocean surface and climate anomalies: …of upward motion known as convergence zones. This process liberates latent heat of condensation, which in turn provides a major fraction of the energy to drive tropical circulation and is one of the mechanisms responsible for the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon discussed later in this article.

The Rodent That Acts Like a Hippo: Although the animals that live in rainforests on different continents can differ significantly, the environments they live in are very similar. These environments, therefore, exert similar pressures on the evolution of the animals living in each. As a result, unrelated species may be similar in…

convergence and divergence, in meteorology, the accumulation or drawing apart of air, as well as the rate at which each takes place. The terms are usually used to refer specifically to the horizontal inflow (convergence) or outflow (divergence) of air. The convergence of horizontal winds causes air

Convergence and Union, historical political party that supported greater autonomy for Catalonia within Spain. The party advocated for greater European integration and held moderate positions on economic policy. The Convergence and Union (CiU) was established in 1978 as an alliance between the

perturbation: …sequence converges is called the radius of convergence of the solution.

Angola: Angola in the 21st century: …marked the debut of the Broad Convergence for Angola’s Salvation–Electoral Coalition (Convergência Ampla de Salvação de Angola–Coligação Eleitoral; CASA-CE), which had split from UNITA earlier that year; it came in third, garnering 6 percent of the parliamentary seats.

Convergence and Union, historical political party that supported greater autonomy for Catalonia within Spain. The party advocated for greater European integration and held moderate positions on economic policy. The Convergence and Union (CiU) was established in 1978 as an alliance between the

The Rodent That Acts Like a Hippo: Although the animals that live in rainforests on different continents can differ significantly, the environments they live in are very similar. These environments, therefore, exert similar pressures on the evolution of the animals living in each. As a result, unrelated species may be similar in…

migration: Insects: One coccinellid, the convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens), lives in valley regions of California, where the eggs hatch in March or April and develop into adults one month later. In early summer they migrate to the mountains, particularly to the Sierra Nevada, where they may lay eggs if food…

migration: Insects: One coccinellid, the convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens), lives in valley regions of California, where the eggs hatch in March or April and develop into adults one month later. In early summer they migrate to the mountains, particularly to the Sierra Nevada, where they may lay eggs if food…

earthquake: Tectonic associations: …zones, which are associated with convergent plate boundaries, intermediate- and deep-focus earthquakes mark the location of the upper part of a dipping lithosphere slab. The focal mechanisms indicate that the stresses are aligned with the dip of the lithosphere underneath the adjacent continent or island arc.

Milky Way Galaxy: Moving groups: …its poles will be the convergent point for the moving group. Membership of stars can be established by criteria applied to the distances of proper-motion poles of individual stars from the mean great circle. The reliability of the existence of the group itself can be measured by the dispersion of…

collective behavior: Interaction theories: …have been labeled contagion and convergence theories, respectively—the former stressing the contagious spread of mood and behavior; the latter stressing the convergence of a large number of people with similar predispositions. Both have sought to explain why a group of people feel and act (1) unanimously, (2) intensely, and (3)…

creativity: Individual qualities of creative persons: …distinction is sometimes made between convergent thinking (the analytic reasoning measured by intelligence tests) and divergent thinking (exemplified by a richness of ideas and originality of thought). Both seem necessary to creative performance, although the degree of each varies according to the task or occupation (i.e., a mathematician may exhibit…

lens: Optical principles for lenses: …rays can be caused to converge on, or to appear to diverge from, a single point. This point is called the focal point, or principal focus, of the lens (often depicted in ray diagrams as F). Refraction of the rays of light reflected from or emitted by an object causes…

Mario Vargas Llosa: Conversación en la catedral (1969; Conversation in the Cathedral) deals with Manuel Odría’s regime (1948–56). The novel Pantaleón y las visitadoras (1973; “Pantaleón and the Visitors,” filmed in Spanish, 1975; Eng. trans. Captain Pantoja and the Special Services, filmed 2000) is a satire of the Peruvian military and religious fanaticism.…

furniture: France: …specialized chair known as a caquetoire, or conversation chair, supposedly designed for ladies to sit and gossip in, had a high, narrow back and curved arms.

Elio Vittorini: , Conversation in Sicily; U.S. title In Sicily), the clearest expression of his anti-fascist feelings. The action of the book is less important than the emotional agony of its hero, brought on by his constant consciousness of fascism, war, and the plight of his brothers.

Mario Vargas Llosa: Conversación en la catedral (1969; Conversation in the Cathedral) deals with Manuel Odría’s regime (1948–56). The novel Pantaleón y las visitadoras (1973; “Pantaleón and the Visitors,” filmed in Spanish, 1975; Eng. trans. Captain Pantoja and the Special Services, filmed 2000) is a satire of the Peruvian military and religious fanaticism.…

John Zoffany: …theatre and with portraits and conversation pieces (i.e., paintings of groups of people in their customary surroundings).

conversation piece, a piece of writing (such as a play) that depends for its effect chiefly upon the wit or excellent quality of its dialogue. The term is also used to describe a poem that has a light, informal tone despite its serious subject. Examples include Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The

Francis Ford Coppola: The 1970s: …Coppola wrote, directed, and produced The Conversation (1974), a meditation on technology’s dehumanizing power. Gene Hackman starred as a surveillance expert who suspects that a couple upon whom he has electronically eavesdropped are about to be murdered. Too bleak for some tastes, the film nonetheless boasted an Academy Award-nominated screenplay…

George Saintsbury: …foremost practitioner of the so-called conversational school of criticism; he analyzed the style of literary works and the development of literary forms in an informal, lively, and readable prose designed as much to stimulate and entertain as to inform. Saintsbury deliberately formulated no philosophy of criticism; however, certain principles underlie…

Gabriel Josipovici: …were The Echo Chamber (1980), Conversations in Another Room (1984), Contre-Jour (1986), The Big Glass (1991), In a Hotel Garden (1993), Hotel Andromeda (2014), and The Cemetery in Barnes (2018). The radio play Vergil Dying (1981) was perhaps his most acclaimed drama. He also wrote the

Marguerite Gardiner, countess of Blessington: …writer chiefly remembered for her Conversations of Lord Byron and for her London salon.

Jane Marcet: Her best-known work, Conversations on Chemistry (1805), was one of the first basic science textbooks.

Jane Marcet: …with the 1819 publication of Conversations on Natural Philosophy, which Marcet had written prior to Chemistry.

Jane Marcet: Marcet then wrote Conversations on Political Economy (1816), which notably drew on the work of David Ricardo. It followed a style similar to that of her previous book and was also hugely popular. Further success came with the 1819 publication of Conversations on Natural Philosophy, which Marcet had…

James Russell Lowell: In 1845 Lowell published Conversations on Some of the Old Poets, a collection of critical essays that included pleas for the abolition of slavery. From 1845 to 1850 he wrote about 50 antislavery articles for periodicals. Even more effective in this regard were his Biglow Papers, which he began…

Bernard Le Bovier, sieur de Fontenelle: …la pluralité des mondes (1686; A Plurality of Worlds, 1688). These charming and sophisticated dialogues were more influential than any other work in securing acceptance of the Copernican system, still far from commanding universal support in 1686. Fontenelle’s basis of scientific documentation was meagre, and some of his figures were…

Rubenist: …1677 he followed it with Conversations sur la peinture (“Conversations on Painting”). The victory for the colourists was signaled in 1699 when de Piles was elected to the Academy (as an amateur), and the triumph became complete in 1717 with the submission and subsequent acceptance of Antoine Watteau’s “L’Embarquement pour…

Sally Rooney: Conversations with Friends: Conversations with Friends, Rooney’s first published novel, debuted in 2017. It tells the story of a college student, Frances, and her affair with an older married actor. The novel highlights the ways in which complex interpersonal relationships can help people develop their individual and political…

Johann Peter Eckermann: von Goethe; his Gespräche mit Goethe in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens, 1823–32, 3 vol. (1836–48; “Conversations with Goethe in the Last Years of His Life”), is comparable in importance with James Boswell’s Life of Johnson.

Frank Sargeson: …collection of short fiction was Conversations with My Uncle, and Other Sketches (1936), titled after the first story he had published in Tomorrow. He remained in New Zealand during World War II because of his illness. More of his fiction was collected in A Man and His Wife (1940). The…

Shōtetsu: 1450; Conversations with Shōtetsu), a work of poetic criticism:

Milovan Djilas: …publication in the West of Conversations with Stalin (1962), which was critical of the Soviet leader. He received amnesty in December 1966 and thereafter lived in Belgrade. In the closing years of his life he was an outspoken critic of Yugoslavia’s faltering democratization.

Elio Vittorini: , Conversation in Sicily; U.S. title In Sicily), the clearest expression of his anti-fascist feelings. The action of the book is less important than the emotional agony of its hero, brought on by his constant consciousness of fascism, war, and the plight of his brothers.

converse, in logic, the proposition resulting from an interchange of subject and predicate with each other. Thus, the converse of “No man is a pencil” is “No pencil is a man.” In traditional syllogistics, generally only E (universal negative) and I (particular affirmative) propositions yield a

fallacy: Material fallacies: (2) The converse fallacy of accident argues improperly from a special case to a general rule. Thus, the fact that a certain drug is beneficial to some sick persons does not imply that it is beneficial to all people. (3) The fallacy of irrelevant conclusion is committed…

Frederick Shepherd Converse was an American composer whose essentially Romantic music is coloured with chromaticism and advanced harmonies. Converse studied with John Knowles Paine and George Chadwick, two members of a conservative, German-influenced group of American composers, and his early works

history of logic: Categorical forms: …to be converted “accidentally” (per accidens). Propositions of form O cannot be converted at all; from the fact that some animal is not a dog, it does not follow that some dog is not an animal. Aristotle used these laws of conversion in later chapters of the Prior Analytics…

American football: The play of the game: …is allowed to attempt a conversion: a placekick through the goal posts for one point or a run or completed pass across the goal line for two points. (In the NFL the ball is placed at the 15-yard line for a kick attempt and at the 2-yard line for a…

papermaking: Finishing and converting: The rolls of paper produced by the paper machine must still undergo a number of operations before the paper becomes useful to the consumer. These various operations are referred to as converting or finishing and often make use of intricate and fast-moving machinery.

conversion, in law, unauthorized possession of personal property causing curtailment of the owner’s possession or alteration of the property. The essence of conversion is not benefit to the wrongful taker but detriment to the rightful owner. Conversion concerns possession, not ownership; thus,

converso: “converted”), one of the Spanish Jews who adopted the Christian religion after a severe persecution in the late 14th and early 15th centuries and the expulsion of religious Jews from Spain in the 1490s. In the minds of many Roman Catholic churchmen the conversos were…

conversion, in syllogistic, or traditional, logic, interchanging the subject and predicate of a categorical proposition (q.v.), or statement. Conversion yields an equivalent proposition (and is hence a valid inference) in general only with so-called E and I propositions (universal negatives and

conversion disorder, a type of mental disorder in which a wide variety of sensory, motor, or psychic disturbances may occur. It is traditionally classified as one of the psychoneuroses and is not dependent upon any known organic or structural pathology. The former term, hysteria, is derived from

The Conversion of St. Paul, two paintings (c. 1601) by Italian artist Caravaggio portraying the conversion of Paul the Apostle to Christianity. The second version, which hangs in the funerary chapel of Tiberio Cerasi in the basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, is the better-known work. It

The Conversion of St. Paul, two paintings (c. 1601) by Italian artist Caravaggio portraying the conversion of Paul the Apostle to Christianity. The second version, which hangs in the funerary chapel of Tiberio Cerasi in the basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, is the better-known work. It

Pieter Bruegel, the Elder: Artistic evolution and affinities of Pieter Bruegel, the Elder: …Way to Calvary and in The Conversion of St. Paul. The latter work also conveys the sensation of the movement of figures through the constantly changing terrain of mountainous regions. This sensation had appeared first in the early mountain drawings and later, in different form, in The Flight into Egypt…

The Conversion of St. Paul, two paintings (c. 1601) by Italian artist Caravaggio portraying the conversion of Paul the Apostle to Christianity. The second version, which hangs in the funerary chapel of Tiberio Cerasi in the basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, is the better-known work. It

history of logic: Categorical forms: …to be converted “accidentally” (per accidens). Propositions of form O cannot be converted at all; from the fact that some animal is not a dog, it does not follow that some dog is not an animal. Aristotle used these laws of conversion in later chapters of the Prior Analytics…

petroleum refining: Conversion refineries: The most versatile refinery configuration is known as the conversion refinery. A conversion refinery incorporates all the basic building blocks found in both the topping and hydroskimming refineries, but it also features gas oil conversion plants such as catalytic cracking and hydrocracking units,…

history of logic: Categorical forms: …to be converted “simply” (simpliciter). But propositions of form A cannot be converted in this way; if every β is an α, it does not follow that every α is a β. It does follow, however, that some α is a β. Such propositions, which can be converted provided…

converso, (Spanish: “converted”), one of the Spanish Jews who adopted the Christian religion after a severe persecution in the late 14th and early 15th centuries and the expulsion of religious Jews from Spain in the 1490s. In the minds of many Roman Catholic churchmen the conversos were still

American football: The play of the game: …is allowed to attempt a conversion: a placekick through the goal posts for one point or a run or completed pass across the goal line for two points. (In the NFL the ball is placed at the 15-yard line for a kick attempt and at the 2-yard line for a…

copper processing: Roasting, smelting, and converting: The converter is a cylindrical steel shell, normally about four metres in diameter and lined with refractory brick. After being charged with matte, flux, and copper scrap (to control temperature), the converter is rotated in order to immerse tuyeres in the molten bath. Air or oxygen-enriched…

automobile: Body: Convertible models with retractable fabric tops rely on the pillar at the side of the windshield for upper body strength, as convertible mechanisms and glass areas are essentially nonstructural. Glass areas have been increased for improved visibility and for aesthetic reasons.

business finance: Convertible bonds and stock warrants: Companies sometimes issue bonds or preferred stock that give holders the option of converting them into common stock or of purchasing stock at favourable prices. Convertible bonds carry the option of conversion into common stock at a specified price during…

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Finance, trade, and services: The national currency, the convertible marka (konvertibilna marka; KM), is pegged to the euro. After the war, fiscal consolidation was strong, and most banks are now privately owned. Foreign direct investment was substantial in the early 21st century, but foreign investors faced serious obstacles, including a complex legal and…

helicopter: Convertiplanes: Other types of vertical-takeoff aircraft include convertiplanes. There are two types of V/STOL (vertical- or short-takeoff-and-landing) aircraft that may alternate between vertical takeoff and conventional horizontal flight. These are convertible rotorcraft and convertible airplanes.

optimization: Theory: In convex problems the graph of the objective function and the feasible set are both convex (where a set is convex if a line joining any two points in the set is contained in the set). Another special case is quadratic programming, in which the constraints…

optimization: Theory: …the feasible set are both convex (where a set is convex if a line joining any two points in the set is contained in the set). Another special case is quadratic programming, in which the constraints are linear but the objective function is quadratic; that is, it contains terms that…

property law: Contract and conveyance: Any legal system that distinguishes between property and obligation (as do all Western systems) will distinguish between a promise to alienate property and the alienation itself. The promise may be fully enforceable between the parties; it may even affect the rights of third parties,…

conveyor, any of various devices that provide mechanized movement of material, as in a factory; they are used principally in industrial applications but also on large farms, in warehousing and freight-handling, and in movement of raw materials. Conveyors may be only a few inches in length, or they

conveyor: Belt conveyors of fabric, rubber, plastic, leather, or metal are driven by a power-operated roll mounted underneath or at one end of the conveyor. The belt forms a continuous loop and is supported either on rollers, for heavy loads, or on a metal slider pan…

organized labour: Craft unionism in the 19th century: The penal character of the settlements established in Australia from the late 18th century was hardly conducive to forming workers’ combinations, but the transition from convict to free settlement brought the first signs of union activity. Local societies of craftsmen were operating in the 1830s and…

perciform: Annotated classification: Family Pholidichthyidae (convict-blennies) Very elongated, striped eel-like fish; reclusive, living under excavations; move sand and gravel in mouths. 1 genus (Pholidichthys), 2 species; marine; in tropics, Indonesia and the Philippines; size up to 30 cm (12 inches); poorly known; relationships in doubt. Family Chiasmodontidae (swallowers)

Sam Rockwell: …a wrongfully convicted man in Conviction. He then was cast as a bar owner in the sci-fi western Cowboys & Aliens (2011). He performed with Colin Farrell and Christopher Walken in the comedy Seven Psychopaths (2012) and won praise for his portrayal of a water-park manager in the coming-of-age movie…

evidence: The free evaluation of evidence: …the concept of the judge’s conviction intime (inner, deep-seated conviction) in contrast to rules of formal evidence that prescribed exactly when the evidence amounted to proof. The primacy this gave to the personal conviction of the judge meant that it was not even necessary to state the reasons for the…

evidence: The burden of proof: The burden of conviction, on the other hand, comes into play at the end of the hearing of evidence, if doubts remain. This is simply to recognize that the evidence is not sufficient to convince the jury or the judge and that, in general, the party…

Benjamín Jarnés: Similar motifs occur in El convidado de papel (1928; “The Paper Guest”), in which erotic pictures and writings smuggled into a seminary come to life. In 1929 Jarnés joined the editorial board of La Gaceta Literaria (“The Literary Gazette”) and began to write biographies. He continued to write novels,…